What is the life expectancy difference between latex mattress and memory foam?
Hi CLHeck,
While in very general terms latex is a more durable material than memory foam … this would depend on the specifics of each mattress and the quality of the materials in each of them because there are many versions of both latex and memory foam. There is no way to quantify how long any mattress will last for any particular person but if a mattress is well inside the comfort/support range that is suitable for someone and isn’t close to the edge of the range that is too soft for someone when it is new (see post #2 here) and meets the minimum quality specs that are suggested in the guidelines here then it would be reasonable to expect a useful lifetime in the range of 7 - 10 years and with higher quality and more durable materials like latex or higher density memory foam or polyfoam (in the comfort layers especially) it would likely be in the higher end of the range or even longer.
There is also more detailed information in post #4 here about the many variables that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress relative to different people.
It’s always more realistic to think of 10 years as a maximum reasonable expectation for any mattress no matter what the quality of the materials and then treat any additional time after that as “bonus time” because after about 10 years the limiting factor in the useful life of a mattress will often be the changing needs and preferences of the person sleeping on the mattress and even if a mattress is still in good condition after a decade … a mattress that was suitable for someone 10 years earlier may not be the best “match” any longer.
With higher quality materials throughout a mattress and/or for people whose needs and preferences or physical condition or body type hasn’t changed much over 10 years then “bonus time” or even “extended bonus time” with higher quality/density materials like latex is much more likely than with materials that are in a lower quality/density range.
Phoenix