I am a new member to the forum but a two month reader. I have been looking for a bed for a little over two months. My criteria is chemical free (wife has allergies and maybe sensitivity), comfort, and not paying more than a mattress is worth: I have come down to two possibilities:
Oyasumi from The Clean Bedroom (King): This from Naturally Organic (a Sleeptek bed).The latex is all natural Dunlop. The bottom core is two 6" medium cores (32-35 ILD) with one 2" top layer of (22-24 ILD). Each layer is individually wrapped in organic cotton tricot. The latex is from Arpico. The cover is organic cotton jersey knit and is quilted to 2lbs/square yard of pure wool. The price with two shredded pillows and a mattress cover will come to about $3350.
Arizona Premium Mattress Company: I called and Greg told me they could make a similar mattress by using the dunlop and same ILDs. The Latex is from Latex Green. The cover would not be the same but would still be organic. Possibly the with the bamboo quilted cover which has 1.5 inches of pure natural Joma Wool. Or an organic cover.
Out of these two I have tried the Oyasumi out but not the Arizona because I don’t live near there. I am just wondering, what some of your thoughts are. I am willing to bite bullet and pay. Although hard it is a long term commitment. But I want to know if these two mattresses are comparing apples to apples or apples to oranges.
I didn’t see a 6" + 2" latex mattress on the Clean Bedroom site (the closest I saw was this one which is also 8" but has a different design).
They both use the same amount and quality of materials (100% natural Dunlop) and if they both used the same density of latex in both layers (assuming the specs you have are correct), and neither one is zoned, then the main difference would be that the interior layers of the Oyasumi are covered with a separate cover and in the type of mattress cover they use and the amount and type of wool they use in the quilting. The covers and quilting can make a difference in how each mattress feels and performs and in the cost of the mattress but assuming that the density or ILD’s are similar they would likely be reasonable “apples to apples” approximations of each other.
Thank you so much for the reply. Here is the mattress on the Clean Bedroom website. The website does not describe it but the dimensions are as I mentioned:
It is actually pretty much the same bed as this one from Sleeptek, the sueno seurte:
The staff in the Clean Bedroom were friendly and patient. I would love to do business with them but hard earned money is just that, and I want to spend wisely. Therefore, if all else is close to equal I would rather save money then pay for a name.
If possible, can you entertain these questions so I can figure out how equal things are?
Do facilities matter? I read that Arpico is excellent at producing quality all 100% latex. Facilities are clean, etc. Would Latex Green be in this category?
Even if both are the same latex, would the manufacturer make a great difference in terms of quality. I am looking for chemical free. Although I understand chemicals are needed for the process, Arpico uses only one. I forget which one it is.
I would consider them to be close equivalents yes along with other high quality 100% natural Dunlop latex manufacturers. Latex Green is also highly regarded by many mattress manufacturers that use them.
While each manufacturer may use slightly different compounding formulas (which are proprietary) … I would consider both of them to be equivalent quality. Arpico would use more than one “chemical” to make their latex just like other Dunlop latex manufacturers. Making latex requires a combination of substances besides just the raw latex milk that can include foaming agents, antidegradants, gelling agents, vulcanizing agents, accelerators, mold release agents, and others.
So in your opinion, do you feel both offer the personal security for one who has chemical sensitivity and concerns about off gassing, etc? If so, I may give APMC a try and at least if I don’t like it, it can be returned
This I don’t quite get though. How can their mattresses be so much less AND they have a great return policy. While on the other hand some dealers have a no return policy and are double the price?
Thanks in advance and I will post back once I make a choice and get the product.
All the latex you are likely to encounter has been tested for harmful substances or VOC’s through testing organizations such as Oeko-Tex or Eco-Institut whether it uses synthetic rubber, natural rubber, or a blend of both. In my experience and the experience of most manufacturers … latex is the best tolerated of all the foam materials (memory foam, polyfoam, and latex foam) for people with MCS (multiple chemical sensitivities) although there may be some who have a latex allergy (type I) or a latex contact sensitivity (type IV which is to the chemicals used in the latex formulation … usually the accelerators). There is more about latex allergies and sensitivities in post #2 here.
Beyond the specific certification there is really no way to know whether someone may be sensitive to a specific latex product but the odds are high that you will be fine with either one.
In some cases a manufacturer or retailer will send you a sample that you can use to test for any sensitivity.
Beyond the fact that one is a manufacturer and one is a retailer and the effect of multiple margins and that the material cost (the latex and the other materials such as the wool, the cover material, the inner covers etc) may be different and can have an effect on the price of the mattress, post #10 here has some of the other variables that can lead to different prices for similar products. I would always keep in mind that price is not the only factor that may be important in each person’s personal value equation although of course it usually plays a significant role in an “apples to apples” comparison.