Which stores in the Dallas area would be the best option to see matresses made from natural materials. I was hoping to find some to test that would include coils, latex, wool and organic cotton as their materials or any combination of those types of materials. I am looking for ootiins that do not have flame retardants on them but enough wool to pass the flame retardant test.
First off, thanks a lot for this site and your input, Phoenix.
I have to wonder why/how you put so much effort into your posts, but I’m not complaining. I guess there’s a forum for everything!
Around 3-4 years ago I bought a Sealy mattress. It felt pretty great for maybe a year, if that. The pillow top is pretty much flat at this point, and it probably needed replacing at the two year mark.
Sure, there are warranties, but I haven’t read good things about the process, and I wasn’t interested in duplicating my Sealy experience anyway so I’ve just decided to just buy something completely different.
Here comes this site and this thread through a Google search. There’s apparently a world of mom and pop mattress makers. Who knew?
I’ve lived in DFW for a couple years now, and decided to check out Mattress Factory in Fort Worth based on this thread. My experience was mixed, unfortunately.
I drove the 30 miles from Dallas to Fort Worth on a Saturday to find the front door locked. A girl named Heather let me in, but I found it pretty strange the front door was locked during business hours, and it didn’t exactly make me feel welcome.
I was mainly looking for the Latex mattress they had listed on their site since I’ve never seen one, but gave their inner spring mattresses a test drive first. I almost fell off the edge. I was very unimpressed by the quality of their spring mattresses. I’m not an expert by any means, but I immediately said no when I sat down on these. Maybe I should have gave them a better chance.
The Latex model they had on the floor was pretty great though. The problem came when I started asking questions. The simplest of which was, “What’s inside the mattress?”
The girl pretty much refused to tell me, other than it was “Dunlop latex” and “gel infused memory foam.” That didn’t really mean anything to me, and after asking several times, I said I’m not going to spend a couple grand without more information. She acted like she wasn’t able to acquire this information, even though I could literally see the factory through the window.
I will also say the showroom could have been maintained a lot better. It didn’t seem clean and had a lot of clutter, so I was hesitant to lay down on the mattresses in the showroom. I’m not exactly a germophobe, but I am pretty sensitive about where I lay down I guess. (I’m probably a bit more sensitive towards this. I’m a software dev these days, but in a past life I worked retail and retail management and presentation was always a pretty big deal.)
Anyway, I am sorry for rambling. I was wondering if you had any advice on this? I did like the mattress, but I didn’t like anything else. The glowing reviews here didn’t exactly match my experience.
Maybe I don’t even need advice and should just go somewhere else. Do any of these local businesses have something that might be similar to the Latex mattress I tried?
Hi Chris686,
Welcome to the Mattress Forum! 
You’re welcome. 12-16 hours a day / 365 days a year tends to accumulate quite a bit of material. Not everyone has a passion for their vocation as do I, but I’m happy to be doing it!
I’m sorry your visit didn’t go as smoothly as you had planned to The Mattress Factory. Unfortunately, you’re not providing too much objective information for me to comment upon and I wasn’t there to experience what you did, nor gain experience from the other parties involved, so all I can do is provide you some general comments that I hope will be assistive.
I’m not sure of the reasoning for the door being locked. If you were their first customer on a Saturday, they may have forgot to unlock the front door to the showroom. Or being a working mattress factory they may keep the front door locked if they are short-staffed with sales people on any given day, as everyone will be working in the back. Regardless, I wouldn’t take it too personally, as they certainly want to have customers come and but their mattresses! 
As for the innerspring mattress model you tried, you’ve not provided me any information about the actual product, so I couldn’t tell you anything about it. They do produce a wide variety of products, and it’s entirely possible you were trying out a more promotional mattress. Again, without details I couldn’t be more specific in assisting you there.
Regarding getting specifications, that is certainly something you’ll always want to acquire with any mattress purchase. You always want to make sure that you find out the information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress before making a purchase. As far as the person helping you “pretty much refusing” to tell you what is on the inside, that doesn’t correspond to any of my experiences with Peter or his team, and it sounds more likely you were given more cursory or incomplete information, so I’m wondering if it was someone working in the factory who let you in and perhaps isn’t normally a person working on the showroom floor, as they as a rule tend to be very transparent about what is placed inside of their mattresses. Again, all I can do is speculate as I wasn’t with you, and if I was I would have asked if someone else was available who had more complete information about the product I was considering.
Regarding the showroom, you are visiting a working mattress factory, and I know sometimes these establishments can be a more spartan in their appearance and upkeep.
My best advice would be to place a phone call to the factory and ask to speak with Peter Duncan, the owner, and explain that you visited last week and needed some extra information on the mattress you were considering. I’m sure he’d be able to help you and would also be happy to receive any feedback you had to offer. This is where I purchased my mattress and I’ve always found Peter to be responsive to requests.
I’ll be interested in learning about your progress!
Phoenix
Just found out about the mattress factory after researching mattresses on this site. They are 5 minutes from my work so I’m going to check them out in a few days. Can anyone who has purchased from them give a long term report 3, 5, 8+ years. Specifically, I’d like a review about their latex matresses.
We purchased a Talalay latex mattress from Peter 4 years ago. My wife and I like firm mattresses so our is a 36/36/36 and we love it. We always had a problem with the vertical edge of the mattress sinking some from the weight of sitting on it while dressing. Not so with this mattress so far. Also, we are not experiencing the depression where we lay that we always had with inner spring mattresses. So far so good. We also bought some Talalay pillows for ourselves and for our daughter. We all love them. When the time comes, we will go back to Peter to get a new mattress.
Hi runs100s,
Welcome to the Mattress Forum!
Regarding other people’s reviews, I’ll first provide for you my “standard” disclaimer. While other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful … I would always keep in mind that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and I would be cautious about using anyone else’s suggestions, experiences or reviews on a specific mattress (either positive or negative) or review sites in general as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you. In many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range). In other words … reviews or other people’s experiences in general won’t tell you much if anything about the suitability, quality, durability, or “value” of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here).
As far as The Mattress Factory goes, they are a site member here, which as I think you know means that I think highly of them, their advice and their componentry. If you do decide to purchase from them, be sure to ask for your Mattress Underground discount. The latex they use is a high quality material (as is most latex), and they are the manufacturer of my mattress, with which I am still very happy. They certainly would be worthy of a visit as you are so close.
Phoenix
Hi mjobtx,
Thank you for taking the time to provide an update on your mattress and for replying to runs100s question. I’m happy that you’re still sleeping well on your mattress from The Mattress Factory.
Phoenix
Agreed about reviews. I have the luxury of being able to check them out in person, which I’ll be doing tomorrow. I will also mention that as a Physical Therapist, I can say that your PPP analysis is spot on for choosing what you need in a mattress.
My question is primarily related to long term durability which would be related to both quality of the materials and workmanship. I will also keep in mind that this is influenced by consumer factors such as weight, shape, and use.
Hi runs100s,
As a Physical Therapist, you should be even more in-tune with your own alignment as you go through your testing in person, so that’s a nice advantage to have. I hope your visits go well.
Phoenix
Great list of DFW locations, Phoenix! So Thank you!
Starting our “more informed” mattress search today…
Thanks for all of the information. Do any of these places do “specials” around holidays such as Memorial Day? Or have you found that pricing for local spots tend to hold pretty steady despite holidays?
Hi jrr_brolkien.
Welcome to our Mattress Forum!
Most retailers/manufacturers whether local, national or online brands offer flash sales on major holidays and memorial days. Most mattress sales are more about perception and creating a false sense of urgency and the illusion of saving money than they are about reality. From one perspective it does not make sense to overcharge customers for most of the year and only charge a reasonable price for a few days of the year.
There are very few manufacturers that stand their ground and sell their mattresses for their “best price” every day of the year (and if they do have a sale it will be for a smaller discount and for a more legitimate reason than a holiday or weekend) so usually you don’t need to wait for a sale to get their best possible price.
In other words … you may find that when you are dealing with a better retailer or manufacturer that sells better quality/value mattresses then one time of the year isn’t any better than another.
Phoenix
Excellent! I’m planning on going to Mattress Factory to talk over things and try some beds sometime around this weekend. Very excited to dig into more detail. I was planning on getting an OSO bed after doing some research, but now I’m thinking I might want to actually try laying in some beds at a store first to test out how my wife and I like the different materials - latex, memory foam, etc.
jrr_brolkien.
I very much agree with you… Some good local testing will also give you a much better sense of the many different types of materials and components that are used in mattresses and some reference points about the types of mattresses (see this article) and general firmness levels you tend to prefer which can help you narrow down your choices regardless of whether you end up purchasing locally or online.
The first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here(there is a condensed version of it at the end of that post) which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones. Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well he will sleep), durability (how long he will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
When assessing any product, also be sure that you find out information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.
One step at a time is the most effective way to find “your perfect mattress” and has by far the highest chance of success … and of course once you’ve had the chance to read through the information provided and did some local testing I or any of the Expert members of the site would be happy to help.
Phoenix
Thanks for all of your help Phoenix. We ended up going with the Royal Jewel Latex/Gel mattress from City Mattress Factory in Ft. Worth. It’s a pocketed coil mattress with something like 1,100 or so coils and “quantum edge” coils that definitely help the bed edges feel more flat. PPP was amazing for both myself and my wife. Materials seemed solid - the one exception being that the 1" foam base was 3.5 ILD. However, with this being at the bottom of the mattress, I felt as though this was less of an issue than it would be at the top of the mattress, with myself being a BMI of 29. I also didn’t go in wanting a mattress that contained an element of “cool gel”, because I feel that there is a chance for more rapid wear, however it’s only 1" and my wife liked the feel significantly more than the “plush” model which didn’t have the gel, and I also agreed it felt great. My regret is that I wasn’t able to figure out what type of “cool gel” this was - are you knowledgeable about this model?
In addition there’s 1" of Talalay latex in the comfort layer (I think beneath the gel) which I know is durable so hopefully that helps keep the comfort layer in good shape.
We went to Mattress Factory which you also recommended, however they only had 1 model of each mattress on their floor, so it was tough to get a feel for how a softer variant would feel. They were super nice and friendly so it was a good suggestion though. After laying on the “Royal Jewel Latex/Gel” at City Mattress Factory, laying on the “Elegance” at Mattress Factory just didn’t feel as good.
Thanks again for your suggestions on these places. The mattress gets delivered Thursday and we’re beyond excited!
Hi jrr_brolkien.
Congratulations on your new mattress purchase!
Thank you for your kind words and appreciation. I am glad that both stores were so helpful and that the new mattress is on its way to you. Not long to wait now!
There is a very wide range of cool gel foams and widely different in their properties and I am sure that City Mattress can easily find the specs of this gel foam for you. Adding gel to a foam would in most cases make it slightly cooler than the base foam it was added to but this would depend on the particular version of gel foam that was used and where it was located. Gel that is added as larger particles that can migrate out of the foam is the least durable version of the gel foams IMO while the gel that is added as part of the foam matrix itself (such as the swirl type of gels) or that use smaller particles that are embedded in the foam struts are more effective and more durable based on all the discussions with “experts” and the feedback I have seen. There is much more about gel materials in post #2 here and the information and posts it links to. You can also read some of the previous discussions about the Royal Jewel series in Post #3 & 4 here.
In terms of foam quality, outside of density (which is the most important aspect of durability) and in your case an inch or so in the quilt would meet with the durability guidelines here . Besides this I would make sure that a foam was CertiPur certified which means that it has a higher chance of being safe. My second quality choice among CertiPur certified foams would be North American manufactured because I know that all of the major North American foam manufacturers are making good quality foams.
I hope this helps you set aside the “regret” and enjoy many good nights of sleep.
I’m looking forward to learning about your new mattress once you’ve had a chance to sleep upon it for a while.
Phoenix
I plan on going to The Mattress Factory this Saturday. I called and spoke with a rep (not Peter) and he said they are using dunlop cores with talalay top layers.
I see the thickets latex mattress they make is 10" thickness while some other companies like Flexuscomfort sell a 13" mattress. I’m assuming these thicker 13" mattress’s aren’t meant to be flipped when arranged in S / M / H configuration. I was wondering if there is a benefit to having a 13" latex mattress vs a 10" latex mattress. I understand the longevity of a 10" that can be flipped could possibly be longer. However, would the 13" be inherently better or are those 3" not noticeable when your laying on the bed.
What are the specs of the mattress you bought from The Mattress Factory Phoenix? Layer thickness and IDL of each layer? I’m just curious in what works best for you and I understand that a lot of mattress choices are subjective.
Hi Asus10.
Welcome to our Mattress Forum!
The main benefit of a thicker latex mattress is that it can be more adaptable for heavier weights and multiple sleeping positions. It will compress from softer to firmer more gradually which means that there is more “range” of compression without the mattress becoming too firm for heavier weights (or parts of the body). It can even just be a matter of preference rather than “need” In the large majority of cases … 8" - 9" of latex is easily enough to include the combination softer layers (or sometimes sections) for pressure relief and firmer layers for support that most people of average or even higher weights would need. In some cases … lighter weights or people that sleep in “flatter” sleeping positions, have slimmer less curvy body types, or who prefer a firmer mattress will do well with even 6" even though there is less “room” to design in different layers in the mattress. People that have much higher body weights or larger body types may choose more than the “average” thickness and may prefer the feel and extra adaptability of say 12" of latex. Thicker mattresses can also use firmer materials because thickness and softness are very related and work together. The Mattress Factory has two-sided mattress designs which are very different than the Flexus comfort’s component style system designs that have a zippered cover that allows for rearranging the layers inside for any changes in comfort/support overtime.
Our mattress (before the mattress surgery we performed a few years later) was a two-sided mattress with a support core in the middle (3" + 4" + 3"“) The core was Talalay Latex @ 28 ILD and then identical comfort layers 22 ILD with quilting, on each side with a 0 .4” quiltable latex and a down substitute fiber with an inherent viscose fiber fire retardant . This mattress would be probably too soft for most people and, generallym I wouldn’t recommend this construction unless thera are some specific needs. While it served us well for many years due to my TMG condition I had to change sleeping positions from side sleeping to back sleeping and we performed mattress surgery and removed one of the soft layers. After we tested the new configuration for comfort and support we got an organic mattress cover from SleepEZ to enclose the two layers and I couldn’t be more happy with it. At the time durablilty was one of our considerations and we chose a mattress that could be flipped for more even wear and greater durability because you are only using each side for half the time and it gives the unused layer time to recover somewhat, but as you can see life had different plans for us.
I am glad that you live close enough to The Mattress Factory and that you visit them and test try a few of their mattresses as this will reveal much more about your mattress needs and preferences. . As you are aware, both The Mattress Factory and Flexus Comfort are Trusted Members of our site which means that I think very highly of them and that I believe that they compete well with best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency.
I look forward to any updates after your visit on Saturday to The Mattress Factory. Don’t forget to use your TMU coupon to get a discount.
Phoenix
Thanks for the reply. I’ve been sleeping on a sleep number bed set to 100 for probably the last 4 years. The air mattress just offer no support under my hips when deflated so I’ve been forced to sleep with a higher number which is giving me pressure point problem in my upper back (back/side sleeper). I also have a BMI of 30.6 (5’9" and 207lb) but I plan to probably go down to around 180 in the future as this is heavy for me.
Their current configurations before doing anything custom are 2/6/2 for a full latex 10" mattress at the Mattress Factory. I know I want something a little softer so I’m thinking I will like a 28/36/28 but I will know for sure once I start laying on them. I may get a softer topper if I want something softer than that instead of making the mattress it’s self softer.
Also, have you written anywhere explaining the differences in the feeling and pros/cons of a mattress with changeable layers and a bed that is made static (can’t remember the term).
Thanks for sharing all of your knowledge.