Did you happen to measure your mattress? I’m curious whether the difference in dimensions are a result of the mattress or the foundation. There is no “exact standard” for a full size and in some cases they can be 54" (which is the case with PLB) and in others they can be 53" (see here for an example). Foundations are often a little smaller than the mattress to make sure that they will fit inside a bedframe.
This would be a “comfort issue” and could be a matter of the mattress needing to break in a little or it could be a pillow issue as well (a new mattress will often needs a new pillow as well too keep your head and neck and upper body in good alignment). It could also be that the mattress is “on the edge” of being too soft for you because in some cases if you are just outside of your “natural” alignment in a particular sleeping position it can be OK if you are only in that position for a short while but over longer periods of time your body may start to “complain”.
Regardless of any of this … your experience was certainly unfortunate or at the very least a matter of bad timing with some of the issues that PLB is currently facing.
Now that “part 1” of your search is over … I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up choosing next … and of course any comments or questions you have along the way.
I’m back and still looking. I’m considering a Sealy Posturepedic with the single stage progressive resistance innerspring. I’m concerned about the fire retardant. What can you tell me about their FlameGuardTM Rayon Fiber fire retardant? Do you consider it safe?
Since I’ve been gone, I’ve had the opportunity to try the Therapedic Therawrap Pillowtop mattress. I loved the individually wrapped coils. The price was also good. However, my rear sank deep into the mattress (ugh), while my shoulders remained higher. This caused an alignment issue and pain. What’s been difficult is that when I go test mattresses at the store, I’m aligned. However, once home and sleeping on the mattress a few hours, I find that I slowly sink. This makes mattress testing very difficult. Also, seriously considering a diet (140-150 pounds)!
Anyway, I would love your help in determining if the Sealy FlameGuardTM Rayon Fiber is something you consider safe. I will continue to post updates as I try various mattresses. I hope this journey I’m on will help others gain insight regarding the various mattress options on the market. I apologize for the typos, but my new computer screen is very small.
I look forward to the great information that you always provide.
As you (hopefully) know from the time you’ve spent here … I would tend to avoid buying a Sealy or any major brand (see this article). It’s also very unlikely that they will tell you the specifics of the fire barrier that they use (they are not particularly transparent about any of the materials or components in their mattresses).
I’m not sure which of the Therawrap mattresses you are looking at but it’s possible that it includes some memory foam which tends to sink in more deeply as you sleep on it over the course of the night. I would make sure that you can find out the quality of the materials inside it before purchasing this or any other mattress (see this article).
If you are not confident that your testing will do a good job predicting how well you sleep on a mattress then I would pay particular attention to the options you have available after a purchase to exchange or return the mattress (or in some cases to exchange individual layers of a mattress) so that you can use your actual sleeping experience to decide on whether a mattress is a good match for you. There is more about the most important parts of a successful mattress purchase in post #13 here.
This would depend on what you consider to be “safe” and on how you answer the very complex and controversial question of “how safe is safe enough for me”? (see post #2 here) since all mattress materials could be considered to be “safe” by some standards. For example the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) considers all mattress materials to be “safe enough” or they can’t be sold to consumers although of course there are many consumers that are more concerned about the materials in a fire barrier than they are or have more specific criteria for “safety” than the CPSC (see post #2 here and post #4 here for more about fire barriers).
This is quite difficult. I’m down to either keeping the sleep number (which is uncomfortable), going with a Restonic Belvedere Ultra Plush double sided mattress or a Therapedic Back Sense mattress. I’ve already discussed the Restonic mattress made by Clare bedding with you… Unfortunately, I’m unable to get the specs on the Therapedic. I’ll keep you posted. Thank you again for all of the help you’ve provided.
Here is the information I have on the Therapediic. I will get more information on Thursday.
FiberSafe fiber quilted to cover.
1 inch Everlast plush polyurethane quilt foam.
1/2 inch polyurethane foam.
2.2 inches of plush polyurethane foam.
1/2 inch visco-elastic memory foam through lumbar.
.75 polyurethane foam
Verticoil offset open-ended sensory-arm innerspring. Alternating coil design. Head to toe helical lacing. 13 gauge twice tempered steel.
Here’s one of my big concerns~ Ther-A-Tub solidly glued perimiter encasement unit. Foam base glued to Ther-A-Tub. I was told that this isn’t good, by a friend in the mattress industry. I’m concerned about the amount of glue and whether of not you think a Ther-A-Tub base is effective and safe. What is a Ther-A-Tub?
Thank you again. I look forward to learning more about this topic.
Unfortunately none of this includes the foam quality/density information that I would need to make any meaningful comments about the mattress or whether it has any weak links in the design (see this article).
There is also more about edge support for innersprings in post #2 here. If the polyfoam that they use is CertiPur certified or is made in North America then most people would consider it to be “safe” although there may be some people that are more sensitive or with certain health conditions (such as Multiple Chemical Sensitivities) that would prefer to avoid polyfoam (or memory foam) completely.
Sometimes who you deal with and their knowledge, experience, service, and transparency can be one of the most important parts of a successful mattress purchase and some of the options in post #2 here may be well worth considering. Finding a retailer/manufacturer that already knows what you would otherwise need to learn can save you the time and frustration of dealing with retailers that either can’t or won’t find out and provide you with the information you need to know to make an informed choice.
I’m still looking for a mattress…ugh :ohmy: . I’m noticing on many mattress label/law tags that instead of listing polyurethane, the mattress lists that it is made of urethane foam. Is urethane foam the same as polyurethane foam when inside a mattress? I looked at your tutorial and didn’t see anything about urethane foam (hopefully, I didn’t miss it).
I believe that I have narrowed it down to two mattresses. One is a double-sided Restonic that we’ve already discussed in a previous conversation The other is a Jonathan Stevens one-sided mattress. I would really love your opinion of the specs, so here they are:
1 and 3/4 inch of 1.5 lb polyurethane foam.
1 inch of natural rubber latex, 4.0 density.
1 inch of 2.4 lb polyurethane foam.
1/2 inch of 1.8 lb polyurethane foam.
Visco lumbar support, 3.0 density.
2 oz textile fiber pad.
Full coverage flexible net.
Steel encased perimeter.
Continuous coil.
Perdurable base foam, 1.5 lb polyurethane foam.
I would, as always, really appreciate your knowledge regarding whether of not this is an “on the edge” mattress or a good buy. The price is about $1100.00 for a full mattress. I will also be looking at a lesser expensive mattress at Jonathan Stevens. I look forward to your breakdown of this mattress. Thank you so much for all that you do and for this wonderful (has saved me a lot of money) website!!
The top quilting layer with 1.5 lb polyfoam is just a little thicker than I would normally like to see but it’s still less than 2" so it should be fine.
The 1" of latex and the 1" of 2.4 lb polyfoam are both high quality and durable materials.
The 3 lb visco lumbar support is a belly band not a full layer and it’s also under the other foam layers so this would be fine as well even though it’s only 3 lb density.
The insulator materials are also fine.
You can read more about the different types of innersprings in this article but even though continuous coils are a lower cost type of innerspring … the support layer isn’t the weak link of a mattress and continuous coils can provide good support for a mattress. I would make sure you are OK with any motion transfer that can be be part of innersprings that use coils that are linked with helical wire.
Overall I don’t see any significant weak links in the mattress and it would make a reasonable choice IMO … especially compared to most of the maintream mattresses that most people end up purchasing … although they aren’t in the same quality range as the PLB mattresses that you were also considering previously.
The specs of the Restonic two sided mattress that you mentioned and that I discussed in my reply here is still missing the quality/density of the top 2" quilting layer so I would want to know what it was before I considered it.
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.
I will try to get the additional specs regarding the Restonic double-sided mattress. Also, I’ll be going back to Jonathan Stevens to look at a mattress that’s more in-line with what I can spend at this time. This has been a long journey and I look forward to finally sleeping on my new mattress.
I contacted Clare Bedding (Restonic) and received the information regarding what’s in the 2 inch quilt layer. I have to say, the manager of Clare Bedding is fantastic and very helpful. He’s a unique find regarding an industry that is often rather secretive. Here are the spec of the quilt layers:
1 inch of 1.5 polyurethane foam (15510 gel, is foam type).
1 inch of regular (not get) 15510 polyurethane foam.
Also, the coil gauge is 15 and I’m concerned that isn’t going to last long. However, it will provide a very soft support. Is a 15 gauge coil okay in a double-sided mattress? I read your tutorial and it indicated that 14 gauge may be the softest one would want to go.
Finally, the model has border rods, but it looks like they may have gone to foam encased (I’m checking with the manager). Is foam encased acceptable for a double-sided mattress?
If you want me to provide the all of the specs again, I can do that.
Thank you so much. I feel like I’m getting closer to finally letting the sleep number go and purchasing a nice innerspring mattress. Please let me know what you think regarding the specs, coil gauge, and border rods. :cheer:
I completely agree with you and I have also found them to be open and transparent and a “breath of fresh air” as well.
The density of the polyfoam is inside the suggested guidelines here and as long as you flip and rotate it on a regular basis (see here) and the mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP and also compares well to your other finalists based on the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you then it would certainly make a suitable choice IMO.
The gauge of the coils is only one factor out of many that determines the total amount of steel and can affect the durability of an innerspring (see post #10 here) and by itself it doesn’t mean a lot … especially in your weight range. The innerspring also isn’t normally the weak link of a mattress and the type and specs of the innerspring in a mattress is more a matter of PPP that you can “feel” than an issue of durability.
Thank you so much. The information you’ve provided has been nothing short of amazing
Oh, does it matter whether or not the double-sided mattress has border rods versus a foam encasement?
I’ll be going to Jonathan Stevens next week to check the lesser expensive mattress for PPP and will be submitting those specs to you. Finally, I’ll compare the Restonic to the Jonathan Stevens for PPP and foam quality and then make my purchase!!
There are really two things that are important with edge support … just like with assessing a mattress in general. The first is the things you can feel. This includes how it feels when you sleep on the outside edge of the mattress and whether there is any feeling of roll off, how easy it is to get in and out of bed when you compress the edge of the mattress, and on whether it supports you well enough if you sit on the edge of the mattress (if you do because a mattress isn’t really designed for sitting).
The second part of edge support is what you can’t feel which is the durability of the materials or components that provide the edge support. There is more about this in post #2 here. In general the border rod is used as an attachment point for the coils in some types of mattresses but they don’t really provide enough edge support by themselves and would need various methods such as spring clips that attach to the top and bottom border rod or some of the other edge support methods mentioned in the link.
In general … if the edge support comes from a foam surround and you sit on the edge of your mattress on occasion I would tend to use the same general guidelines as for the quality of the materials themselves (1.5 lbs in a 2 sided mattress and 1.8 lbs or higher in a one sided mattress) as a bare minimum but if you sit on the edge of your mattress on a regular basis higher density yet would be better.
Edge support systems that rely on steel are usually more durable than edge support systems that rely on foam.
Thank you for the information regarding border rods versus a foam edge encasement. I’ll be checking back in later and hopefully will have my final specs.
Here are the specs for the final Jonathan Stevens “Charleston” mattress that I’m considering. We are down to the final three Here we go:
2 inches of 1.5 density polyurethane foam.
2 inches of 1.8 density polyurethane foam.
Inner Panel.
1 inch of 1.8 density polyurethane foam.
Visco Lumbar Support, 3.0 density.
Full coverage flexible net.
Steel encased perimeter.
14.5 gauge, continuous coil.
2 oz textile fiber pad.
Perdurable base foam, I.5 density polyurethane foam.
This mattress is closer to my price point. However, I want to purchase the mattress with the best quality foams that I can afford. Additionally, I’m trying to be very careful regarding PPP. I look forward to the information you’ll provide in your analysis of the mattress. Your analysis saved me from buying an expensive, yet rather low quality mattress in the past :cheer: ! Here’s to hoping I’m close to purchasing a mattress.
As you can see in the guidelines here … all the layers are suitable for a one sided mattress except for the 2" of 1.5 lb polyfoam would be “on the edge” of what I would be comfortable with.
Thank you. Could you clarify something for me~ both of the Jonathan Stevens mattresses have about two inches of 1.5 density polyurethane foam. Therefore, is it the adding of the latex and one inch of 2.4 density polyurethane in the more expensive mattress that makes the difference (the combination)? The lesser expensive “Charleston” is about $950.00 and the more expensive “Chelsea” is about $1100.00. Both are good for PPP. Also, both mattresses use 1.5 density polyurethane as a base foam.
The most important part of the durability of a mattress is the top 3" to 6" (depending on body type, sleeping style, and firmness and several other factors that determine how much each layer compresses when you sleep on it) so a mattress that has 2" of 1.5 lb polyfoam and say 2" of latex underneath that would generally be more durable than a mattress that uses the same 2" of 1.5 lb polyfoam and had 2" of 1.8 lb polyfoam underneath it because most people will sink into more than just the top 2" of the mattress and latex is more durable than 1.8 lb polyfoam.
While there is no way to quantify exactly how durable one mattress will be relative to another one because there are so many variables involved … there is more about the many variables that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress relative to each person in post #2 here and the other posts it links to.
Here we go: