Looking at a new foam mattress

Hi npolite,

Most slatted bedframes are flat but my main concern with the one you linked would be the strength of the slats and how much they could bend under the weight of your mattress and the people sleeping on it.

A slatted or a wire grid support surface would both be more breathable than a solid support surface (like plywood or MDF). You can see my comments about a solid support surface under a mattress (such as plywood or MDF) in post #10 here. While they can add some additional risk, particularly if there are other risk factors involved that could contribute to the formation or mold or mildew in the mattress, in most cases if there aren’t any additional risk factors they would be fine. As an example I have an adjustable bed with a solid surface platform under my mattress but I don’t have any other significant risk factors so I personally have no concerns about any mold or mildew issues.

The short answer is no they probably wouldn’t be OK. I would treat “unknown quality/density” layers and “low quality/density” layers the same (because they usually are) and I would avoid buying any mattress that either uses lower quality and less durable materials or unknown materials (particularly with manufacturers that commonly use lower quality/density materials in their other mattresses) because it would be a very risky choice.

The only way to know for certain would be to find out the density of all the foam layers in a mattress but the odds are high that they won’t meet the guidelines I linked which means I would avoid them since they would be too risky a choice.

In its simplest form … choosing the “best possible” mattress for any particular person really comes down to first finding a few knowledgeable and transparent retailers and/or manufacturers that sell the types of mattresses that you are most interested in and that you have confirmed will provide you with the all the information in this article about the materials and components inside the mattresses they sell so you will be able to make informed choices and meaningful comparisons between mattresses and then …

  1. Careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) to make sure that a mattress is a good match for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP … and/or that you are comfortable with the options you have available to return, exchange, or “fine tune” the mattress and any costs involved if you can’t test a mattress in person or aren’t confident that your mattress is a suitable choice.

  2. Checking to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress relative to your weight range that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.

  3. Comparing your finalists for “value” based on #1 and #2 and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

I would also keep in mind that the suitability of a mattress in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (how well you will sleep on it) and the durability of a mattress (how long you will sleep well before the foam layers soften and you lose the comfort and support that was the reason you purchased it and need to replace the mattress) are separate issues and aren’t mutually exclusive. They are both important parts of the value of a mattress purchase.

Phoenix