Hi, I have scent sensitivities and am concerned about carcinogens. Also, I am heavy (220 lbs and 5 foot 4). My husband is also over 200 lb (205 and 6 foot 2). So I’m looking for a foam which has as little scent as possible and at least 10 inches. I’d like to keep the price to a $2000 figure.
I’ve been researching this a bit and I’ve read the Toronto threads. When I first started to search, I contacted TempFlow. The price was a little high for me, (around 2200 plus $379 shipping/delivery plus another couple of hundred for the white glove delivery with mattress removal). So I moved on. I looked at Essentia but their prices were way out of my league for what I wanted, and they only have 8" models.
At this point, I found your wonderful site. I’ve been trying to figure out my best option within a reasonable drive. I’ve looked at Dormio, Soma, Foamite and Ideal. Many times I’ve read you refer to these as not the lowest budget option. What is the lowest budget option in the area for a hypoallergenic foam/latex mattress?
There is a difference between safety and the odor of a mattress (as you probably know) because many unsafe VOC’s are odorless and can’t be smelled at all. Talalay latex tends to have a sweet smell which some have describes as smelling like vanilla or sugar cookies and Dunlop latex tends to have more of a rubber smell that is stronger and probably a little less pleasant and can last longer. All the latex you are likely to encounter whether it is synthetic or natural has been tested to OekoTex 1 standard 100 class 1 (safe for babies) so I would consider all of them to be “safe” even though there are some people who prefer 100% natural rubber latex for personal reasons or for performance reasons. You can read a little more about the different types of latex in post #6 here and in post #6 here and most people who have sensitivities would consider latex to be the “safest” of the foam materials.
You can read a little more about some of the very complex issues surrounding other materials (such as polyfoam and memory foam) and fire barriers in mattresses in post #2 here and the other posts and information sources it links to. There are no definitive answers to the question “how safe is safe enough for me?” when it comes to polyfoam and memory foam because even though there are many foams that have CertiPur certification there are still a small minority of people who are sensitive to these materials. The odor of polyfoam and memory foam can also vary from batch to batch of the same foam.
Tempflow is one of the memory foam sources that I know has been tested for very low levels of VOC’s, is made from MDI instead of TDI and will provide you with the specific results of their testing and also has very little odor (I have one of their pillows). You can read some of my comments about them in post #9 here and Rick who designs their mattresses is well worth talking to (coincidentally I talked with him today about this very subject) however I do understand that the cost of more premium foams can also put a mattress out of a certain budget range. If you get regular delivery for a mattress and they don’t remove your old one then companies like http://www.recovercanada.com/ can pick up your mattress for a reasonable cost and recycle it.
You can read a little more about Essentia in this thread and in this thread and in general I would avoid them both because they are not particularly good value and because of the misleading and inaccurate claims they make on their site.
Some of these are very good quality but “best value” is relative to what is available to you in a constantly changing market and has too many variables to narrow down to just one or even a few manufacturers, retailers, or mattresses (not to mention that I don’t have a list of all the prices). Quantifying value based on a formula is not really possible (either in terms of the time it would take or the method that was used) when there are many unknowns like the type and amount of wool in a cover or the type of cover fabric or somehow including all the more detailed specifics of the design and materials in the mattress. Value has many other components besides just price that can be equally important parts of each person’s mattress purchase and personal value equation. Because of this I focus on helping people with how to recognize value based on their own personal criteria and leave final choices and “best value” judgements up to each person on an individual basis. My goal in other words is to help each person to have the tools to research and decide this for themselves based on their own personal criteria and it would be counterproductive to eliminate a large number of manufacturers or retailers that are among the better value in the industry because the definition of value used was much too narrow or only based on a single part of the value of a mattress purchase. If you have two mattresses you are comparing and can list all the layers and components of each one on the forum I’d be happy to share my thoughts about how they may compare but only each person can decide which one has the best “value”.
Some of the factory direct manufacturers south of Toronto are listed in post #8 here including one in St Catharines.
I know you’ve probably also read these but just in case some of the Toronto threads that have some good feedback from members in the Toronto or Ontario area and and mention prices are here and here and here and here and here and here and a forum search on Toronto (you can just click this) will bring up others as well that may help you make some good value comparisons.
I’m comparing these mattresses at Bestway in St. Catharines:
Firm Latex
Price: $1099.00
4" 2 lb foam, 4" latex, quilted to 1 1/2" quilt flex plus joma wool, 100% cotton cover, self ventilating and hypo allergenic, semi-flex box spring
I-support
Price: $1199.00
4" 2lb high-density soy based foam, 4" ultra cell foam, 2" 4lb gel infused memory foam, 2" latex, semi-flex box spring
Keeping in mind that I’m a side sleeper at 220 lbs, and my husband is a back and sometimes side sleeper at 205 lbs. I don’t want any memory foam right next to me for sure, but this seems to be under some latex.
I would want to know the type and blend of the latex in both mattresses along with the density of the 4" ultracell layer (which is polyfoam).
Other than that the most important thing is careful and objective testing for PPP and of course any guidance and help they can provide in terms of deciding on the most suitable mattress for your body types and sleeping styles. Testing for good alignment by “simulating” your pre-sleep state while you are completely relaxed and in all your sleeping positions is the most difficult part of testing but also the most important.
I would also be a little cautious with 4 lb memory foam with higher weights. It would be more durable under a latex layer and there is only 2" of it but if the mattress is “on the edge” of being too soft for you then even a little bit of foam softening can cross the line and put it out of your ideal range in terms of alignment.
You are looking at what appear to be some good quality/value options
Thank you. I’m leaning towards better quality now. More latex. I’m thinking of Ideal mattress Ltd since they have a financing plan. This way I could afford more. I may visit Bestway and see if they have more natural, latex options. I don’t know if you have any comments on financing.
I think latex is the way to go for me, for both allergy and weight reasons.
Only personal preferences (I don’t like financing anything but that’s only me and others may have a completely different preference). It can also be costly if you miss or delay a payment and trigger some of the charges that you otherwise would have “saved” retroactively that are part of some financing plans so I would make sure you know all the specific details of the financing.
