Latex mattress

Hi, Phoenix,

Had a chance to go by a specialty mattress store earlier today with the wife to test out some 100% latex mattresses (Omi and Pure Latex Bliss). The wife was a huge fan of the Omi (100% dunlop) while I preferred the Pure Latex Bliss (100% talalay). I was convinced that 100% latex was the way to go until I started looking at Brooklyn Bedding. The only reason BB caught my eye was because of the price. I am just having difficulty justifying spending almost twice as much for 6 inches more of latex. My wife is pushing for a mattress that is both made of natural materials (environmentally friendly) with the least amount of animal fibers (ethical). I am still struggling with the decision to go with 100% latex however. My question is, comparing a bed like Sleep EZ to BB, will the BB sleep hotter because of the foam? Will it trap heat and moisture (thus be less efficient at fighting bacteria)? Also as someone with allergies, will BB be more likely to accumulate dust mites? And lastly, the owner of the mattress store we went to told us that talalay cannot be made without some synthetic ingredients whereas dunlop can. Is this true? Do either contain synthetic ingredients? Oh, and also, Flo Beds claims that dunlop is less durable that talalay. Any links you can provide to an explanation of the difference in durability and longevity of these two types of processing?

Hi yixi,

That’s a lot of questions so I’ll try and answer them one at a time :slight_smile:

There is more about the 3 most important parts of “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on suitability, durability, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you).

There is also more about some of the differences between a latex/polyfoam hybrid and an all latex mattress in post #2 here.

There are also many different types and blends of latex that can vary in their properties and their prices. There is more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here. There is also more about the general differences between Dunlop and Talalay in post #7 here. The Pure Latex Bliss mattresses use blended Talalay latex, the OMI mattresses use 100% natural and certified organic Dunlop, and the BestMattressEver uses 2" of blended Talalay on top of 2" of synthetic Dunlop on top of their polyfoam support core. All of these use high quality and durable materials and there would be no weak links in any of them in terms of durability but of course they will be very different in how they feel because they all have different types and blends of latex and different designs.

While it’s not possible to quantify the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person with any real accuracy because there are so many variables involved including the type of mattress protector and the sheets and bedding that you use (which in many cases can have just as significant an effect on temperature as the type of foam in a mattress) and on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range and because there is no standardized testing for temperature regulation with different combinations of materials … there is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here that can help you choose the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range.

Wool is among the best temperature regulating materials so a mattress that has a wool quilted cotton cover would have an advantage in terms of temperature regulation vs a cover that was quilted with polyfoam or a cover that wasn’t quilted at all but latex in general is the most breathable and the most temperature neutral of all the foam materials so it’s unlikely that most people would have any issues with sleeping temperature on any of the mattresses you mentioned.

I don’t think any of the mattresses you mentioned (or for that matter most mattresses) would have any issues with bacteria because most people would be using a mattress protector on their mattress anyway which can be easily removed and cleaned.

There is more information about dust mites and allergies and methods that can be used to control dust mite populations or other allergens in post #2 here and in post #3 here. There is also more about allergy encasements in post #2 here.

Whether a mattress accumulates dust mites has more to do with your mattress encasement and mattress protector than with the mattress itself.

Latex can be made using either the Dunlop or Talalay method and either one can use either natural rubber, synthetic rubber, or a blend of both. Even latex that uses 100% natural rubber though (either Talalay or Dunlop) will have some additional ingredients in the formulation outside of the rubber itself (see post #7 here). Even Dunlop latex that has an organic certification only has to have 95% natural rubber (see post #2 here for more about the different types of organic certifications and post #2 here for more information about organic and “safety” certifications)

Outside of blended Dunlop latex that has high levels of fillers (which you generally won’t find) or 100% natural Talalay in the softer ILD’s … I would treat all the types and blends of latex as close equivalents in terms of durability and they would all be more durable than most other types of foam materials.

Phoenix

Hi - I’m new member here mostly doing a lot of reading and research. Since one of the brands you are looking at is OMF we currently have 3 OMF beds and are very happy with them. All 3 are innerspring. What prompted us to research mattresses is that we made the mistake and tried out an adjustable bed and had to have it! Unfortunately our current OMF mattress is not made for an adjustable bed. After much reading, going to multiple stores to reacquaint ourselves of what is out there, we are going to stay with OMF and getting the OMF Serenity, hubby liked the Serenity Latex and I preferred the Serenity Plush (memory foam). It’s our first all foam beds. We did try all latex (Savvy Rest) but if we like the foam beds maybe we’ll spend the $$$ in an all latex. Previous to OMF we had a Sleep Number bed which was the worst bed we ever owned - what a waste of money IMO! Anyway we have all good things to say about OMF and highly recommend them. Good luck with your mattress shopping. Also thanks to Phoenix and this site - lot of helpful information! :slight_smile:

Hi meriflower,

Thanks for taking the time to share your comments and feedback about OMF … I appreciate it :slight_smile:

Like you … I also think they are a source for some good quality/value mattresses which is one of the reasons that I include them in any of the local lists where they have a store.

It sounds like you have decided on two versions of the Serenity mattress (although it also sounds like you may still be considering a component latex mattress) and assuming that you decide to pull the trigger … congratulations on your new mattresses :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Hello, just an update. We decided to go with Sleep EZ. Thanks to Geekymom1 for the suggestion on Foam Sweet Foam. They are a bit more than Sleep EZ, but they did have a great labor day sale. Considering Sleep EZ’s own labor day sale plus the discount for being a member at Mattress Underground, Sleep EZ was a better value. We were also really impressed by the transparency of Sleep EZ, especially with their in depth information about the manufacturing process of their latex on their site. And thank you Meriflower for your information on OMF. We were definitely sure we did not want another innerspring mattress as that is what we had previously and did not give us the pressure relief we needed. We received our Sleep EZ talalay mattress on Monday and have been sleeping well on it. No back or shoulder pain so far. It is not as soft as plush as the OMI mattress we tried locally, unfortunately. We may eventually buy a plush mattress topper (we were looking at the flo bed twice shredded talalay topper, for example) to give a more luxury feel. We also made the mistake of ordering a low profile foundation which has made our bed much lower than we are accustomed to!

Hi yixi,

Thanks for letting us know what you ended up deciding … and congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

As you know I think you made a great quality/value choice.

As you also probably know there will be a break in and adjustment period with any new mattress so I would wait a few weeks before making any changes or additions to your mattress (see post #3 here and post #2 here).

It may be worth talking to SleepEZ as well about your low profile foundation as well to see if they can do anything for you.

Phoenix

I am glad I could help, even if you didn’t find the best deal at FSF. I think a lot matters with the type of configuration one chooses. Had I bought my same configuration at SleepEz I would have paid approximately $400 more, taking into account the 10% sale at SleepEz and the Labor Day sale ($400 off each mattress) at FSF. (I went with 100% Talalay for the top layer, which would have only been available with the Organic line at SleepEz.) Had I gone with blended the prices would have been a little closer.

I love the different shopping options that the Internet provides. It is also nice that there are a number of well-regarded mattress companies that one can choose from and save a lot of money with instead of being stuck with the brick and mortar stores that may not have the best choices and deals.

Case in point: a co-worker was loudly bragging about her new Tempurpedic mattress and adjustable foundation she got at Mattress Firm over the Labor Day weekend. She was telling everyone that she got a great deal and really made them drop the price and only paid $4100 for her mattress plus the foundation plus tax. I didn’t want to bust her bubble so I just told her I hope she enjoys it and kept quiet about my purchase. I am thankful for sites like themattressunderground and sleeplike thedead that helped me make, what I consider, a better value choice.

Thanks for reporting back yixi on your purchase and experience so far. OMF’s Serenity mattresses are all foam there are no innersprings. I would suggest calling SleepEZ like Phoenix said and see if they are able to do anything for you.

You get no great deals from Mattress Firm! When we went there they tried selling us a very expensive foam bed that blew hot or cold air called Atmos, over $9000 - we said goodbye!

*** ADMIN EDIT: This post was split into a new topic and was originally a reply to post #13 here. ***

Phoenix or others, can you tell me what latex mattress Yixi bought?
I can’t figure it out from reading the earlier posts.
I’m trying to figure out what might be a good (Talalay) latex mattress that’s not too expensive.
The “Pure Latex Bliss” brand seems pretty pricey.
I know how long something lasts affects the value.
Any guidance is appreciated.
Thank you.

Hi Gail J,

Hopefully Yixi will see your post and let us know the mattress they purchased but he/she didn’t mention it in their post.

I would also keep in mind that while other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be helpful … I would be very cautious about about using other people’s experiences or reviews on a mattress (either positive or negative) as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you and in many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (see post #13 here).

There are also no “standard” definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently than others so a mattress that one manufacturer rates as being a specific firmness could be rated very differently by another manufacturer. Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness as well and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science.

When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.

[quote]I’m trying to figure out what might be a good (Talalay) latex mattress that’s not too expensive.
The “Pure Latex Bliss” brand seems pretty pricey.
I know how long something lasts affects the value.
Any guidance is appreciated.[/quote]

The best place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that you will need to make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for when you sleep on it in “real life” and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability and PPP (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists (based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you).

If you let me know your city or zip code I’d also be happy to let you know about any of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of that are close to you.

If you are also comfortable with an online choice then the tutorial includes this link to a list of the members here that sell mattresses online (in the optional online step) that compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, and transparency and many of them also make component latex and latex hybrid mattresses that use different types and blends of latex that have a range of different designs, options, features, return and exchange policies, and prices that that would also be well worth considering.

The “best” suggestion I have is to follow the steps in the tutorial one at a time which will give you the best possible chance of making the best possible choice.

I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding … and of course any comments or more specific questions you may have along the way.

Phoenix

Phoenix,
Thank you so much for your reply.
My zip is 95482. Any recommendations you have for trying out latex beds in this area and the surrounding areas will be appreciated. I do see that FloBeds is in my county and that they seem to have a good warranty policy that seems to include being able to buy new latex layers over the years at a substantial discount.
https://www.flobeds.com/guarantee/goldilocks-guarantee.htm

I will be delving into the research on your site. Very much appreciated!

Hi Gail J.

Unfortunately you are somewhat out of the way and there isn’t a forum list for your area. I took a look around your area and made a few phone calls to see what was available and there aren’t any other retailers that carry latex and Flobeds would be your closest option to try a latex mattress.

As you probably know Flobeds is also a member of this site which means that I think very highly of them and I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency so even though it would involve a drive … it would probably be well worth the time for a purchase that is as important as a mattress. You are also fortunate to live fairly close to them because you would have the chance to try them out in person and most people that purchase a Floveds mattress purchase them online.

A component mattress certainly has advantages because you can customize the firmness before a purchase by choosing the number and firmness of the layers (and they have a zoned option that has customizable zones as well) and you can also rearrange or exchange a layer after a purchase if your original choice turns out to be either too soft or too firm. Having individual layers also means that if one of the layers in the mattress softens or breaks down before the others (usually the upper layers because a mattress will tend to soften or break down from the top layers down) or if your needs or preferences change over time you can just replace a single layer instead of replacing the whole mattress.

Phoenix

Phoenix,
Thank you so much for looking into this for me. I appreciate that you even made calls about this!

Are some of your mattress forum lists for specific geographic areas?

Santa Rosa, CA is 60 miles away and has the most shopping. If there is anything there it would be very easy to go there. I know that Sleep City there carries Pure Latex Bliss. Although, I would much rather work with one of the commercial members on MU. We could even go further afield (San Francisco, etc.).
Going to FloBeds will be an enjoyable drive and we are motivated to find a good mattress. This is a whole paradigm shift for us. Somehow it’s hard to break out of the corporate force field. Your site lets us know that there is another world out there, even thought it appears hidden otherwise. Thanks for your empowering knowledge. It’s like finding out about a hidden economy and an alternate way to do business, as well as learning about mattresses.

The component concept for latex mattresses seems like a great way to go.

We’ll be out of the area and internet free for awhile, but this is first on our list upon return.
Thank you so much!
Gail

Hi Gail J.

Yes … in addition to the online lists in the tutorial there is a local list in the forum for almost every city or area in the US and Canada.

The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in the San Fransisco / Santa Rosa areas (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines I linked in my first reply) are listed in post #2 here.

Phoenix

Phoenix,
Thank you for the great annotated lists of mattress dealers and makers in the California Bay Area.
I will be looking into that.

Hi Gail J.

You’re very welcome :slight_smile:

I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding … and of course any other comments or questions you may have along the way.

Phoenix

Gail J. we ended up getting the SleepEZ latex mattress from their organic line. We got all talalay layers, and it was recommended we get soft medium firm for our weights. We ended up going soft soft firm on one side and medium medium firm on the other side. Sleeping a lot better now. I will say the SleepEZ latex did have a rubber-like smell for about two weeks… If there is a way you can air out the latex layers ahead of time, it might benefit you. We were just way too ready to start sleeping better.

Hi Yixi,
Thank you for your reply about the latex mattresses you got.
I got a FloBeds and am trying to figure out the best configuration for comfort and support.
It’s med, firm, extra firm. which I like for side sleeping, but not for back sleeping.

Hi Gail J.,

I split your posts and their replies into a new topic of their own with a different title so they wouldn’t get mixed in with another member’s topic with different subject matter.

You certainly made a great quality/value choice … and congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

There will be a break in and adjustment period with any new mattress so I would always suggest waiting for at least a few weeks whenever possible before making any changes to your mattress so that the mattress has a chance to break in a little and your body has the chance to adjust to a sleeping surface that is different from what it’s used to (see post #3 here).

One of the advantages of a component latex mattress is that you can fine tune the comfort and support of the mattress by rearranging or changing layers so if after a few weeks you need to make any changes to your mattress I would talk to Flobeds on the phone and share your experience with them because they are experts at helping their customers to configure or reconfigure their mattress to the most suitable layering combination.

@yixi,

Since I switched your reply to Gail J. to this topic it would also be great if you could update your original topic and share your experience there as well.

Phoenix

Hi Phoenix,
I want to give you the update on my mattress purchase since I’ve now had the mattress for almost 100 days.
It was a difficult adjustment for me to go from a conventional (spring) mattress to an all latex one.
It worked out, but it took this long.

Flobeds is where I got my mattress from and they were great to deal with. Dewey was super patient and willing to let me try different configurations. We live within driving distance to their store and enjoyed meeting them and laying on some of the beds.

I think they may be somewhat more expensive than some other places, but I really liked their 100 day money back guarantee. At one point I thought this just isn’t working for me. I called them and they were totally ready to take it back, no questions asked.
Luckily, I pursued a few more changes and wound up with it working for me.
I also really like that I can buy other layers in the future from FloBeds at a very reduced price, should I feel the need. And that the bed zips open and I can make changes like that.
To me it’s worth it.

Part of my adjustment was that I just had to get used to being on latex. I felt that I had a subconscious resistance to sleeping on something that felt foreign. I related it to when I first got progressive (multi-focus) lenses and visually everything “swam” for 3 months. When I asked my optometrist to check the prescription on my lenses and he told me they were correct, then subconsciously my resistance disappeared and I adjusted.

Then of course there was the issue of needing enough comfort for my shoulders and hips (side sleeping) to be able to sink in a bit and relax, while having enough underlying support to not have my back hurt.
It was a slow journey, but dealing with FloBeds made it possible.
It was great to be able to try out different configurations and get what works. I’m really glad I was able to navigate the mattress world and didn’t throw in the towel and buy a “conventional” mattress that would degrade quickly and not feel as good to sleep on from a soulless corporation.

The mattress underground info on who and what’s out there and on comfort layers and support layers really helped me work toward a successful conclusion.
Thank you so much!
And yes they gave me the 5% discount.