Mattress Makers (Boston Area)

I am browsing through their website Mattress Makers and I’ve got a few questions.

They have a lot of mattresses and when you click on each on it gives you a image detailing the materials used.

The Ambassador, for example, seems to list the densities of the foam as I see stuff like 1" High IFD 2.645 Foam, but a lot of other mattresses list 1" Hight IFD Comfort Foam.

What is “Comfort Foam”?

What is 1" Shoddy Pad?

What is the panel quilt? Based on the pictures, it looks like it is near the bottom.

Hi thecountofzero,

Generally polyfoam in a lower ILD to add to the “comfort” of the mattress.

This is an insulator which is a non woven material made of leftover waste fabrics or pieces from the clothing industry (called shoddy) that are bonded together with a resin and are used as a layer over an innerspring to help even out the compression of the innerspring and to prevent the foam layers from compressing into the springs.

A quilt panel is generally the top or bottom layer of a mattress and includes the fabric cover and the foam or fibers and in some cases the fire retardant material that is quilted to it. There will be a fabric on both sides of the quilting materials. They often include a flange that is attached to the mattress and then they are tape edged around the top of the mattress to finish the mattress. They are the upper sleeping surface that you directly sleep on in other words.

This video has an example of an insulator and a quilting panel and where how they are used in a mattress.

Phoenix

Not sure exactly what they are refering to, but the word Shoddy always meant cheap to me.

TandL,

Precisely. Where I come from “shoddy” means “crappy”.

Hi thecountofzero,

Where I come from as well (such as in shoddy workmanship) but in the case of mattresses an insulator or shoddy pad is an important part of good construction with some types of innersprings and it’s the ones that don’t have them (and need one) that would be “shoddy” workmanship :slight_smile:

Phoenix

[quote]What is “Comfort Foam”?

Generally polyfoam in a lower ILD to add to the “comfort” of the mattress.[/quote]

Aren’t these exactly the layers that you warn us to steer clear of?

Hi thecountzero,

That depends on the quality/density of the polyfoam, the thickness, and where it is in the mattress. There is some very good quality and very durable polyfoam and some that is very a very low quality and cheap material. Post #4 here and point #4 in this article include the guidelines I would use.

There is also more detailed information about all the factors that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress relative to each person in post #4 here and the posts it links to.

Phoenix

[quote=“thecountofzero” post=31798][quote]What is “Comfort Foam”?

Generally polyfoam in a lower ILD to add to the “comfort” of the mattress.[/quote]

Aren’t these exactly the layers that you warn us to steer clear of?[/quote]

Hi thecountofzero,

You might be confusing low density with low ild. They are 2 different things. You can have low ild but higher density polyfoam.

[quote=“thecountofzero” post=31790]TandL,

Precisely. Where I come from “shoddy” means “crappy”.[/quote]

LOL … Im about an hour south of where you come from.

[quote=“dn” post=31804]

You might be confusing low density with low ild. They are 2 different things. You can have low ild but higher density polyfoam.[/quote]

Low ILD means softer, right?

Yes … Indentation Load Deflection (ILD) and Indentation Force Deflection (IFD) are both a measurement of softness/firmess. Density is the measurement of the foams mass and is directly related to its durability.

Good quality poly foam low to high 1.8lb - 2.5lb
Good quality visco (memory) foam 4lb - 7lb

i.e. You can have a 7lb foam that “feels” as soft as a 4lb foam

(hopefully I am no overstepping here, just exercising my newly acquired knowledge, please Phoenix correct if I am wrong)