Boy am I proud of myself. Last night I smoothly undid the taping around the top edge of my bed and removed it like SILK. I do wish I had video’d it for you. If your bed is like mine, there is no need to cut the cover!. Just find the diagonal cut on the taping at the head of the bed where the taping came together, cut the THREAD (oftentimes yellow) and pull that thread gently around the perimeter of the bed. The taping will simply fall off and the cover of the bed can be removed right off
Took out too-firm latex.
Took off gray padding on coils which was adding to the firmness.
Walked on pocket coils to soften them a little bit (not very effective - these are FIRM coils - but better than too soft).
Put on softer latex. Not the right material for me; I’ve tried everything but latex just isn’t giving me the feel I’m needing.
I decided to think try HD foam. How big a deal is the CertiPur certification? I’ve down a lot of research on it today. Does all HD foam made in N America fit its standards today (no phthalates “regulated by the CPSC”, no PBDEs, no formaldehyde, low VOCs, etc.)?
My mattress maker suggested about 1.5" of 1.8 lb 34 ILD or a 1.8 lb 23 ILD. I think it’ll give me the softness I need and crave on the pocket coils - and then I can put an inch of latex over it if I like. I forgot to ask him if it’s CertiPur. He says he will mail it to me (I am 2 hrs away).
Also does anyone have an opinion as to whether this topper from Jordan’s in MA might be good? (As low in toxins as
What the HD foam my guy is offering).
Jordan’s (and actually DreamFoam who sells many like this on Amazon.com) both said that CertiPur memory foam is no more toxic than CertiPur HD foam. That just doesn’t sound right to me and I’m wondering if I should just stick with regular HD for lower toxicity.
Thanks for the feedback on your “mattress surgery” and I hope that it works out well for you. You’ve probably read this already but there is more information about the mattress surgery process in post #2 here and the posts it links to.
Unfortunately I can’t make any specific suggestions or recommendations because you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) or how a mattress will “feel” to you based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own careful testing (using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
There is more about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief and the “roles” of different layers in a mattress in post #2 here and in post #4 here that may also be helpful in clarifying the difference between “support/alignment” and “pressure relief” and “feel” that may also be helpful in the trial and error process of choosing combinations of materials that will work best for you. You appear to already have a good support system (your pocket coils) so it will be a matter of experimenting with the foam layers that you use on top of the springs.
Since mattress surgery is similar to building a DIY mattress … I would also read read option 3 in post #15 here and the posts it links to (and option #1 and #2 as well) so that you have more realistic expectations and that you are comfortable with the learning curve, uncertainty, trial and error, or in some cases the higher costs that may be involved in the DIY process. While it can certainly be a rewarding project … the best approach to a DIY mattress is a “spirit of adventure” where what you learn and the satisfaction that comes from the process itself is more important than any cost savings you may realize (which may or may not happen).
I would also tend to use the specs (if they are available) of a mattress that you have tested and confirmed is a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) as a reference point and try and “match” them as closely as possible or use a “bottom up” approach (see post #2 here).
I would also keep in mind that a mattress that works perfectly for one person may be completely unsuitable for you to sleep on so I would prioritize your own experience on each combination of materials and components to help you decide on any additional changes to make in your design rather than using other people’s experience which may be very different from your own, Each person is unique.
Foam manufacturers don’t provide information about the specific combinations of chemicals they use in their foam formulations which are proprietary so the only way to assess whether a material may be “safe enough” for you would be based on the certification it has and the testing limits for each chemical they test for. There is more information about this in the previous posts I linked but I would always keep in mind that some people that are very sensitive to some materials may still be sensitive to a specific foam that would be “safe enough” for most people but you may not ever be able to find out the specific ingredient in the foam that you are sensitive to that is the cause of your sensitivity so it doesn’t necessarily follow that if you are sensitive to some memory foams that you will be sensitive to all memory foams (or any other foam material).
It may be helpful to ask for a sample of any foam you are considering using so that you can use it to get some idea of whether you would be sensitive to that particular type of foam.
Thanks so much for all of that wonderful information. While you were working at putting it together, i was editing my original post as I got somewhere with this today. I’m glad you saw my original post though as there are valuable DIY links for me to pursue.
I will do that tonight.
I will ask DreamFoam for memory foam samples. They offered, so…
I’m guessing some of those links you provided talk about from the bottom up ILDs etc, and this reminds me that what my mattress maker offered is probably right: not too soft an HD foam over very firm springs. The 34 ILd might be a good start. I can always put soft latex I’ve got here on top of that.
there is a bed I love. It’s a bed my parents have at their summer home (where I escape to when I’m exhausted!) I was there two nights ago and woke up as always, refreshed. It’s a rock-hard cotton/wool tufted mattress with about 1.5" of polyfoam (not sure what kind). I put 1.5" of latex on it and I’m in heaven. So I have that in mind as I build this bed.
Thanks so much for all of that wonderful information. While you were working at putting it together, i was editing my original post as I got somewhere with this today. I’m glad you saw my original post though as there are valuable DIY links for me to pursue.
I will do that tonight.
I will ask DreamFoam for memory foam samples. They offered, so…
I’m guessing some of those links you provided talk about from the bottom up ILDs etc, and this reminds me that what my mattress maker offered is probably right: not too soft an HD foam over very firm springs. The 34 ILd might be a good start. I can always put soft latex I’ve got here on top of that.
there is a bed I love. It’s a bed my parents have at their summer home (where I escape to when I’m exhausted!) I was there two nights ago and woke up as always, refreshed. It’s a rock-hard cotton/wool tufted mattress with about 1.5" of polyfoam (not sure what kind). I put 1.5" of latex on it and I’m in heaven. So I have that in mind as I build this bed.