Flex-A-Bed 185 Hi-Lo low profile mattress options

[phoenix]

Hi mattress question,

I was reading your article about proper ventilation for latex mattresses. As I mentioned before, I have the Flex-A-Bed Hi Lo. The foundation is about 3"“. I was considering latex in a 6"” configuration from this site: www.sleepez.com.with the natural wool layer, for a total of 7"". Remembering that every inch counts for this bed height, and with the casters removed, hopefully the bed will be low enough for my mother so she can be independent. The base of the bed (foundation) is fabric covered, and hopefully, will let the latex breathe–again, every inch counts, and if I were to put a mat under the latex mattress, this would increase the height. I’m hoping that the natural wool layer would be sufficient to let the latex mattress breathe.

Good ventilation is important for any foam mattress not just latex but if anything it would be less important with latex than with other types of foam materials such as polyfoam and memory foam because the latex itself is already more breathable than other types of foam materials.

You can see my comments about solid surface support systems under a mattress in post #10 here. While it’s true that they can add some additional risk in terms of mold, mildew, and dust mites because of the lack of ventilation under the mattress … in most cases if there aren’t any additional risk factors involved they would be fine.

Wool is also one of the best materials in the industry in terms of temperature and moisture regulation and IMO would be a good choice as a quilting material for someone that will be on their mattress for extended periods of time.

Also, I was wondering if latex would be the right material for an adjustable bed.

In very general terms most foam mattresses (memory foam, latex foam, polyfoam) that aren’t more than about 12" thick and most pocket coil mattresses will be flexible enough to work well on an adjustable bed. Foam mattresses that are over about 12" thick may not contour to the adjustable bed as effectively. While in general terms thinner mattresses will tend to be more flexible than thicker mattresses and will contour to an adjustable bed more effectively … this can also depend on the specifics of the mattress layers and components so 12" thickness is only a general guideline because some mattresses that are a little thicker than that which use more flexible materials may still be fine and some mattresses that are less than that may be less flexible and not work as well.

Latex in particular is a very good choice for an adjustable bed because it is more elastic, flexible, and “bendy” and is also more durable than other types of foam materials that would generally be used in the base layers of a mattress.

My mother sometime exhibits incontinence, and this is a common issue with her, so she sometimes urinates on her sheets, although I always put a disposable mattress pad down to minimize the situation… I notice that hospital bed mattresses are covered top=to-bottom with a zippered waterproof mattress cover. If I were to put the latex mattress in this type of enclosure, total cut off from the air, I assume that the mattress wouldn’t be able to breathe. In that case, would a latex mattress make sense at all for her situation?

Latex is also less affected by moisture and humidity than other types of materials … especially memory foam so once again it can make a good choice in your mom’s circumstances.

Having said that of course … it’s never a good idea to let moisture build up in a mattress regardless of whether it would actually break down the material so a mattress protector is always a good idea with any mattress to protect your mattress from stains and the body fluids, skin cells, oils that we release each night, to protect against spills and accidents, and to keep your sleeping surface in a clean and hygienic condition. It will also protect your warranty because mattress warranties are usually voided with any type of stain on a mattress.

There is more about the pros and cons of different types of mattress protectors and some examples of each of them in post #89 here that can help you choose between them. Any of them would be suitable for a latex mattress but waterproof may be a little more important in your circumstances.

Some of the “thin membrane” types of waterproof protectors are also waterproof on 5 sides rather than just the top surface so they may also be worth considering if there is a risk of spills or accidents running down the side of the mattress but I wouldn’t use a mattress encasement unless it was really necessary for allergy reasons rather than protecting the mattress because they are designed to be used on a “semi permanent” basis and aren’t nearly as easy to remove and clean on a regular basis.

Also, is there a discount with this site through your website: www.sleepez.com?

Yes … SleepEZ is one of the members of this site which means that I think highly of them and that I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency. They provide a 5% discount/rebate on most of their mattress to the forum members here if you let them know you are a member of the forum.

Phoenix