Hello,
I was really happy to discover this site and forum, it helped me avoid purchasing a mattress from a less-reputable dealer. I am currently located in New Brunswick, Canada and am looking for a full-size/double mattress that minimizes my exposure to harmful VOCs on a pretty limited budget ($600 USD including shipping).
My graduate program has been extended and so my current sleeping solution isn’t viable for the longterm. I’m currently sleeping on a firm 2" latex mattress topper from “Sleep on Latex”. It’s surprisingly comfortable, but I think the issue is that my hips sink in comfortably, but my shoulders do not and so my alignment is not ideal. For reference, I’m 5’3" and 115 lbs. In the past, I’ve slept on an all-latex mattress and found it very comfortable, however, they are out of my budget.
I am currently looking at the “Restore Hybrid 8 Latex Mattress” available from Majestic Sit and Sleep. It’s on sale for $599 and currently has free shipping. Is “biofoam” more than just a marketing scheme? Does it have reduced harmful VOC offgassing? I’d appreciate any thoughts on this mattress for my needs or any other suggestions.
I am glad to hear that the resources you’ve found on The Mattress Underground helped you steer clear of less reputable mattress dealers!
Knowing that you prefer a latex mattress, I’d recommend talking to MFC (in Delta, Canada) who is a mattress expert and Trusted Member on our site and can help you with an all-latex DIY build within your budget, My be worth also calling another of our trusted members, Restmore Bedding in Winnipeg and explain your situation to see if they offer anything in your price range that would help you and make sure you steer clear of high VOCs.
Biofoam is polyurethane foam, except that a very small portion of the polyols that compose the polyfoam (derived from refined crude oil) have been replaced by some plant alcohol (usually soy).
The mattress has….
This mattress uses good quality materials and there are no weak links in terms of durability. The “BioFoam” certainly meets our criteria as far as foam density is considered (we don’t recommend any foam with less than a 1.8 lb foam density for someone of your BMI). They do quite well on the latex side of certifications but I would check on the source of their HD polyfoams to make sure that it is not a Chinese import and that it has all the safety certifications for low VOCs
That said, it is still synthetic - most of the “eco” claims for polyfoam are mostly “greenwashing”. They are still polyfoam or memory foam which are made from chemicals with just a little bit of highly processed plant oils in them. We have a whole thread here about “eco foams” if you’re interested.
The short answer, it’s unlikely there would be a noticeable difference in the VOC off-gassing but I would still do the due diligence on checking on where they source their polyfoam
I hope this adds a bit more info to your already well-researched mattress shopping journey. Certainly, feel free to reply with any questions that may arise, and do keep us posted!
Thanks a lot for the valuable feedback. I’ve reached out to MFC about a custom latex mattress and it looks like I can order a custom latex mattress through them in my budget. This leads me to a few more questions:
I currently have a 3" 44 ILD mattress topper that I would like to include in my setup. MFC has said they can offer two 2" latex components and a 7" tencel cover within my budget. These components can be soft (20 ILD), medium (30 ILD), or firm (40 ILD). Would it be a good idea to do a 2" soft layer on top followed by either a 2" medium or firm layer to place on top of my 3" firm layer? I definitely prefer a firmer mattress, but as a side sleeper want to ensure I get the “cradle” depth, which is what I think I’m missing right now.
I understand comfort varies depending on the individual, but do you have any guidance?
