This site is a great wealth of information and I look forward to learning a lot from you all about the science behind mattresses. I just arrived in the Bay Area from the East Coast and will be moving into my new apartment soon. I long ago decided I wanted a memory foam mattress instead of a traditional coil spring mattress despite loving my old Serta coil mattress. After reading about memory foam mattresses and talking to a family member about it I learned about Latex mattresses and thought it would be a better solution for me.
I tend to āsleep hotā so I realize a memory foam will most likely not be the right solution for me, I also donāt want to have to deal with the mattress āde-gassingā while Iām moving into a new place.
About me: Iām 6ā ~180 lbs, and primarily sleep on my back although I occasionally sleep on my stomach - albeit rarely. I was recently diagnosed with GERD and have taken up sleeping on my side more recently, especially when I do things I shouldnāt be.
Iāve already read through the first thread for all newbies and the list of SF bay places to look at but was hoping for two things:
To make sure Latex is a good idea for me as well as the type of mattress I should be focused on - I prefer soft over firm but can be amenable.
Narrow down the list of places to visit. Iāll be staying in Mountain View for a few days before I move to my apartment in the city but will have a car so I should be pretty flexible.
Ideally Iād like to keep the mattress cost ~1000 for a queen and will most likely be sleeping on a steel platform frame.
You can read more about the many factors that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress in post #2 here. While memory foam is the most insulating of the foam categories ā¦ there is a wide range of breathability between different types of memory foam and there are many other factors that can affect sleeping temperature as much or more than the type of foam in your mattress.
All mattresses (including latex) will have some initial odor when they are new although some are certainly worse than others and the smell is certainly different between them. There is more about offgassing and other āsafetyā issues in post #2 here that can help each person answer āhow safe is safe enough for me?ā. By most peopleās standards ā¦ mattress materials that have been certified by CertiPur (memory foam or polyfoam), or OekoTex (latex as well as other materials and fabrics) or other reputable testing standards are generally āsafe enoughā even though they will still have some initial odor.
The choice of materials in a mattress is always based on personal preferences and there really isnāt any āshould or shouldnātā in terms of materials other than making sure that no matter what material you prefer that itās good quality. All materials come in firmer and softer versions and can be part of a very wide range of mattress designs that can be made to be suitable for almost anyone.
The best way I know to narrow down the list is by browsing their sites and then talking with the ones that most interest you on the phone about your specific criteria and budget (along the lines of this article) and asking them for some general suggestions and if they have some mattresses that they feel may be suitable for you to test that are in your budget. This way you will have some preliminary information about what they carry on their floor and the level of knowledge, experience, and guidance you can expect when you visit them to test their mattresses.
As long as you donāt expect them to provide pricing and details of every mattress they carry on the phone (some wonāt provide their specific or ābestā prices on a phone call but will generally talk in terms of budget ranges) you can get a very good idea of who you will be dealing with by talking with them before you visit them. There are too many individual criteria involved to start eliminating retailers or manufacturers that may be an ideal choice for one and not as suitable for the next. Issues of personal preference both in terms of the type of materials or mattress design you prefer and the type of retailer you prefer to deal with are always best decided by each person individually. I would personally never visit a retailer or manufacturer unless I had talked with them first and the research you do at home on the phone can save you a substantial amount of time and frustration and can be one of the most important parts of your research.
Thanks for the insight Phoenix! You truly are a guru.
Iām planning on driving down to Bay Bed tomorrow and will probably check out Nest bedding since they have a location in Mountain View.
I was planning on checking out Foam Order once Iām in the city and will also try to compare the mattresses at Room and Board (where Iāll most likely be buying my frame from).
