We are considering buying a latex mattress with adjustable layers that are not glued together. We would be using them on an adjustable bed frame. Will the layers stay in place or will they need regular adjusting?
Hi amyalk,
This is a fairly frequent question and some retailers who only sell “finished latex mattresses” with glued layers and a tape edged (non zip) cover will sometimes try to convince their customers that it is an issue.
Latex is very dense (heavy) and “sticky” so it doesn’t tend to shift inside a good quality tight fitting cover so this normally wouldn’t be an issue. If they do shift if you move or transport the mattress or in longer term use … then it’s an easy matter to open the mattress and “wave” them back into position. With a mattress that has a zip cover the benefits of having unglued layers which allow you to re-arrange or exchange layers either initially or in the longer term where a single layer can be replaced if your needs change or single layer softens or breaks down more rapidly than the rest (usually the top layer) outweighs any small potential benefit of gluing layers IMO.
With a finished mattress that doesn’t provide access to the individual layers then gluing the layers can be a good idea because you can’t access the layers if they do shift. Some local manufacturers will also open up a mattress and change out a single layer and then close the mattress again if you need to make any adjustments after a purchase.
There are also more detailed comments about the pros and cons of each in post #15 here and in post #2 here.
Phoenix