Do you have any info on Penny Mustard latex mattresses?

[phoenix]

Hi DogLover,

A forum search on Penny Mustard and Platinum Dreams (you can just click both of these) will bring up more information and comments about both of them.

(1) When I asked the sales associate where the latex was sourced from (EG: Latex International, etc.), she said she didn’t know and that “they won’t tell us.” (“They” being the Michigan company that makes their mattresses. When I asked what company in MI made their mattresses, she said, “I don’t know.” Oy.) So, although they say it is “all natural,” I assume that could still mean it is a blend. If so, is that really such a bad thing? (I’m new to this whole latex mattress thing, so forgive my ignorance!)

Platinum Dreams mattresses are made by Clare Bedding which is the Restonic Licencee in their area. Restonic sources its Talalay latex from Latex international as far as I know.

Latex International makes both 100% natural Talalay and blended Talalay. The blended comes in ILD’s of 14, 19, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, and 44. the 100% natural comes in firmness ranges from N1 to N5. If the ILD’s are correct it would indicate that the Talalay latex they use is blended which many manufacturers call “natural” vs “all natural” which refers to the 100% natural (see here). It certainly gets confusing because if a manufacturer said that their mattresses contained all “natural” latex it can be read to mean that all of the latex in the mattress is “natural” (which is blended) while if they say all the latex is “all natural” this would indicate that the latex is 100% natural. The terminology is confusing and often leads to manufacturers and retailers confusing which is which.

(2) I asked what the “Miliken Paladin” fire retardant barrier was comprised of and, again, she responded with “I don’t know.” After some research it “seems” to me as if this is a low toxicity (although not completely non-toxic" substance (silica, if I am not mistaken). However, I’m not a scientist, so I don’t know what I don’t know. :unsure:

I would consider a viscose/silica inherent fire barrier to be non toxic. you can read more about this type of fire barrier in post #2 here and the post it links to.

(3) Penny Mustard a “365 day comfort guarantee.” Now, a comfort guarantee sounds nice, but I am always a bit concerned with companies with such liberal return policies; I often wonder if they just repackage the mattersses and send them out again. (A former boyfriend worked in a furniture store that did such returns (NOT Penny Mustard–he worked at a store that has since gone bankrupt) and he told me the sales reps were told to say that returned mattresses were sent to “outlets,” but in reality they put them back into circulation. I asked him how that could happen because I thought that wasn’t legal and his response was, “Who’s gonna police it?” Yuk! So, that has always made me a little leary of working with companies that allow people to return mattresses. BUT…that could just be m paranoai based on my former friend’s comments. Adding to my paranoia, of course, is PM’s requirment that you buy a $60 mattress cover because, "We can’t take the mattress back if it has any soil or stains on it. “It must look like new condition,” according to the sales associate. Hmmm…

It would be illegal to repackage the mattress and sell them again as new and while it’s possible (and some stores have been caught doing just that) … it’s not likely IMO that they are one of them. They are usually sold to liquidation outlets who will often sell them as “scratch and dents” etc. The requirement for a mattress cover and no stains of any kind is so that employees don’t have to handle a mattress with stains and the health issues that could be connected with this. Of course a stain could also affect their ability to re-sell the mattress to a liquidator or clearance store after it’s been sanitized. The cost of comfort returns are built into the cost of the mattress and in some cases it can result in people who are more careful in their mattress choices and don’t need a comfort exchange paying for the exchanges for people who test less carefully.

I really liked the feel of the Penny Mustard mattress better than the Savvy Rest, but am wondering about the quality of the PM mattress. They also put their mattress on a box spring. I asked the sales associate if it was okay to put it on a slatted platform bed, and she looked shocked and said, “Oh, NO! A slatted platform offers NO support for the mattress! You need a SOLID platform–or a boxspring like this.” When I told her that my research indicated that a slatted platform with the slats no more than two inches apart was best, because it allowed for circulation under the mattress, she disagreed. Yet, their “boxspring” (which was a few wood planks on the bottom and very hard steel / wire on top? seemed to me to be the same concept as the slatted platform. (Right now I have an old spring mattress and traditional box spring so, again, all of this is new to me.)

A mattress is only as good as its construction and the quality of the components and materials inside it. Both of these use latex which is a high quality material regardless of the type of latex used. Savvy Rest has a more flexible design because it allows for re-arranging or exchanging layers which can fine tune the mattress after a purchase in many ways while with the Restonic you are limited to the actual design of the mattress. The Platinum Dreams is two sided and two sided designs (that are flipped regularly) are more durable than a similar one sided design. With layered latex mattresses with a zip cover you can also replace just a single layer though if the top layer softens before the rest. Savvy Rest uses either organic Dunlop or 100% natural Talalay while the Restonic appears to use blended Talalay. You can read more about the different types of latex in post #6 here and more about blended vs 100% natural Talalay latex in post #2 here.

I really liked the feel of the Penny Mustard mattress better than the Savvy Rest, but am wondering about the quality of the PM mattress. They also put their mattress on a box spring. I asked the sales associate if it was okay to put it on a slatted platform bed, and she looked shocked and said, “Oh, NO! A slatted platform offers NO support for the mattress! You need a SOLID platform–or a boxspring like this.” When I told her that my research indicated that a slatted platform with the slats no more than two inches apart was best, because it allowed for circulation under the mattress, she disagreed. Yet, their “boxspring” (which was a few wood planks on the bottom and very hard steel / wire on top? seemed to me to be the same concept as the slatted platform. (Right now I have an old spring mattress and traditional box spring so, again, all of this is new to me.)

You can read more about the different types of support systems that are generally used or appropriate for different types of mattresses in the foundation post here and the two other posts it links to in the second paragraph. Box springs are generally used for innerspring mattresses although there are some latex mattress manufacturers that use them under a latex mattress (generally thinner) because the box spring can change the feel of the mattress and is designed as part of the sleeping system. With thicker latex mattresses it’s generally not necessary and in most cases even desirable. A box spring that flexes can change the feel of a mattress vs a solid non flexing foundation or platform bed that doesn’t flex. You can also read more about a solid platform vs a slatted surface in post #10 here. It sounds to me like their “box spring” may be a wire grid type which is a semi flex (not a box spring with actual springs which which flex) and you can see my thoughts about these with an all latex mattress (with latex in the bottom layer of the mattress) in post #10 here.

@dn,

7. It’s surprising they add a chemical fire barrier at all, assuming you’re correct about that. They use organic ticking and organic wool, and natural talalay. The wool would often be used to achieve fire barrier, and otherwise a mattress like that would often be sold as a premium ‘organic’, ‘all natural’, ‘without chemicals’ mattress at a higher price.

Wool needs to be needle punched and used in a certain amount and way to pass the fire code and it’s often just as easy (and less costly) for a manufacturer to use an inherent fire barrier which gives the flexibility to either use less wool or use it in different ways. The viscose/silica fire barriers aren’t a “chemical” fire barrier and are non toxic. You can read more about wool fire barriers in this article that is written by someone that I respect highly and is very knowledgeable about passing the fire regulations.

Both of these mattresses use high quality materials and there are no obvious weak links in their designs.

Phoenix