Help!!!!! Been on a 1 year journey for a green mattress...

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

Hi Phoenix,

I have been on the hunt for a green/healthy/organic mattress for over a year now. I was sleeping on a conventional innerspring Simmons pillowtop mattress and both of was sleeping great. I decided to get rid of the mattress and go for a healthier alternative and that is when the nightmare began over a year ago!!! We haven’t truly slept well since the Simmons. :frowning:

I think I may have finally narrowed it down to an OMI (Organicpedic) mattress. What has made this journey so difficult is that I am looking for a green mattress that feels like a pillow top…supportive but yet soft, cushy and luxurious. I want to lay on it and say “ahhhh, that feels good!”.

I owned a couple Essentia’s which I returned. Too bad I purchased them before the news came out about them. I’ve also owned two from ReliefMart (the Eros and the Airpedic). The Eros was not supportive enough as both of our backs were bothering us. We then moved to the Airpedic and again our backs weren’t much all better and feel like the air chambers is a bit gimmicky and annoying. We then went as far as to swap the top layers out on the Airpedic and its still not great. Feel likes it’s a little too rigid now and I was feeling pressure points in my hips and sides. This is what I am currently sleeping on and plan on returning it because it’s just not working out for us. UGH! I threw an egg crate and featherbed on it for now so I can sleep. That has made it softer so I feel my hip pressure points less but it is still too soft and we still feel it in our backs.

I am 5’6 130lbs and a total side sleeper
Husband is 5’10 180lbs and a mostly side/sometimes stomach sleeper

I recently layed on a OMI mattress and like the Duo and the Terra. I also tried out the Wooly toppers, both the 1.5 and the 3 inch on top of the mattresses. Both felt really good and as close to a conventional pillowtop I have experienced yet. I a hopeful but also very apprehensive to purchase because of the price and return policies for the stores in my area that sell them. Basically, they will swap the mattress out for you with another mattress in the store but your money stays in the store and you loose any of the “discounts” they offer on your first purchase so a mistake could end up costing quite a bit. They both feel good in the store but you truly don’t know until you sleep on the thing for 8 hours. Another thing is that the toppers are non-refundable and are costly. I am willing to pay for a quality nights sleep without a question, just don’t want to make the wrong decision again as I am in the hole already for all the other mattresses I have tried so far.

I am thinking that what I have missed in this search is adding a topper to the mattress to give it that pillowtop feel. The Terra is softer than the Duo and “almost” feels like I could sleep on it without a topper. From what I understand, you can flip the top part and the bottom part on the Terra and with the Duo, it seems like it offers a bit more flexibility for actually swapping out layers.

Can you please break down these both mattresses in laymen terms and what you think about them and what you think about adding a 1.5" or a 3" Wolly topper.

I am concerned that by adding a 3" topper to the Terra may make it too soft?? Also think that since the Duo is not as soft as the Terra, that it would need a 3" topper. That is my logic and not sure if I am right. Lastly, concerned that they topper may throw off our spine alignment.

So with all of this, please help!!!

Thank you for your assistance :slight_smile:

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Hi Green SD,

Many of your questions are about “comfort” issues and unfortunately only you can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone to help you with “what” specific mattress to choose based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or "theory at a distance (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here) although of course I can certainly link you to more information that can be helpful with “how” to choose a mattress that is the best “match” for all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

Post #2 here and the more detailed posts and information it links to have more information about safe, natural, organic, “chemical free”, and “green” mattresses and mattress materials that can help you sort through some of the marketing information and terminology that you will encounter in the industry and can help you differentiate between them and answer “how safe is safe enough for me” or “how green is green enough for me” or even “how organic is organic enough for me” so you can decide on the types of materials you are most comfortable having in your mattress. These types of issues are complex and are generally specific to each person and their individual sensitivities, circumstances, criteria, and lifestyle choices.

The “feel” of a mattress is completely subjective and there is a wide range of pillowtop mattresses that feel very different from each other depending on their specific design or the materials inside them. A mattress that feels too soft for one person can feel too firm for the next and some tight top mattresses can feel softer than some pillowtop mattresses that use firmer materials so the only way to know for certain whether a mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) is based on your own personal testing or sleeping experience. The choice of different materials is also a preference choice and some people have strong preferences for some types of materials and others will have equally strong preferences for other types of materials completely. There is more about the different ways to choose a mattress and how to identify and minimize the risks involved in making a choice that doesn’t “match” your personal criteria in post #2 here.

There is also more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses. Outside of PPP … a mattress is only as good as its construction and the quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label. OMI mattresses certainly use high quality materials (including certified organic latex) but they are also in a more premium price range compared to many other mattresses that use the same or similar materials so I would make sure that you’ve made some good “value comparisons”.

There are certainly many people that love the feel of sleeping on wool but wool is generally firmer than the softer foams that you will find in many pillowtop mattresses and unlike foams will also become firmer as you sleep on it and it compresses over time. There is more about wool toppers in post #8 here and the posts it links to.

I would also make sure that you have read the mattress shopping tutorial which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choices. It also includes a link to a list of the members here that sell mattresses online (in the optional online step) and many of them also make latex and latex hybrid mattresses that use different types and blends of latex (including organic latex) that have a range of different designs, options, features, return and exchange policies, and prices that you can use for reference and comparison purposes.

If you let me know your city or zip code I’d also be happy to let you know about the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area as well.

Phoenix