I have bought a Huppe brand (Canadian) platform bed, which I have not received yet. It has Euro flexible slats. I thought this would be a good thing because my current mattress feels like a rock and I had planned to buy a latex mattress and I thought the flexibility of the arched euro slats would be beneficial in my attaining more comfortable mattress.
Today I visited a reputable store, selling Savvy Rest Organic Latex mattress. The owner informed me that any warranty on the mattress would not be valid if I put the mattress on these flexible “arched” Euro slats. Additionally, he advised that latex was meant to go on a firm flat surface, or flat slats. He appeared sincere and he was losing a sale by telling me this, so I’m trying to figure out if this is true. I’m upset because I REALLY want a latex mattress.
I already paid for the bed, although it has not been delivered yet. Can you shed any light on this? Would this type of arched Euro slats be bad for an expensive latex mattress?
A flexible support system under a mattress can change the feel and response of the mattress compared to a rigid non flexing support system (which would be a more common choice for a latex mattress) but this can be either detrimental or beneficial depending on which combination (your mattress on a flexible slat support system vs a rigid non flexing support system) is the best match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). A flexible slat foundation is an “active” part of a sleeping system just like any of the other layers or components in the mattress itself that compresses or flexes under your weight so it can certainly affect the feel and performance of the mattress for better or for worse.
When these types of support systems are used they are typically used under thinner latex mattresses so that the thickness of the mattress doesn’t negate the effect of the flexible slats and these are also very commonly used in Europe under thinner latex mattresses. Some latex mattress manufacturers use these types of support systems as their “default” or actually recommend them. Many flexible slat foundations also have tension adjusters that can be used to create firmer or softer areas under the mattress which can be used to “fine tune” the feel and performance of your sleeping system so that there is firmer support under the heavier parts of the body (like the hips/pelvis) and softer support under the lighter parts of the body (like the shoulders) but again if a mattress is too thick it can reduce or diminish the effect of the adjustments. In some cases if each side of the support system has flex and there is no flex in the middle center support beam (or if you have two twin XL foundations side to side with the firmer edges in the middle) then you may be able to feel the firmer center support through the mattress. You can see some additional comments about flexible slat systems vs rigid non flexing foundations in post #2 here and post #2 here and post #13 here.
If a flexible slat system has the structural strength and integrity to hold the weight of a latex mattress and the people sleeping on it and the gaps between the slats are no more than 3" apart or less, the slatted support surface is about 50% of the total surface area, and it has a center support beam with good support to the floor, then it wouldn’t harm the mattress but you will find that there are some manufacturers that aren’t comfortable with anything except a solid non flexing support surface under their latex mattresses and like many things in the industry you won’t find a unanimous consensus of opinion between different manufacturers so it would be important to check on a manufacturer by manufacturer basis to make sure that your support system wouldn’t invalidate the warranty for any latex mattress that you were considering.
You have many options available to you that are very similar to the Savvy Rest component mattresses that use the same or similar materials and layers and have a similar design, provide the same or more layering or firmness options, and are also in lower budget ranges and will often have better return/exchange policies as well many of these will tell you that your support surface would be fine for their mattresses and that it wouldn’t invalidate their warranty if you choose to use it.