We are in Montreal looking for the “healthiest” mattress we could find for ourselves and our child. VOCs wise and healthy back. And of course durability…
We have visited Matelas Selections- great service…and I’ve also called several others on your list. Who knew we had so many…
Right now, despite having leaned toward a natural Latex mattress, we are leaning toward an open cell foam with latex layer on top covered in wool bamboo. I prefer the idea or inhaling latex to foam but at heart I love foam best (was leaning toward Magniflex before I found these guys) and am not a fan of coils. I’ve never slept on them happily:)
What does the open cell foam really mean ? It had no odour when I smelled it.
I’m half stomach have side sleeper so I know the drill…pelvis must be supported while pressure points need to be alleviated.
Back problems are sadly not new to me:)
I’ve called Literie Laurier, Matelas Personnel and Literie Provinciale. I simply cannot visit them all so calls were made instead.
selections seemed very good I just needed to check for other places and prices.
Now I am confused! They seem very similar! We have been mattress hunting over a year!
Post #2 here and the posts it links to has more information about safe, natural, organic, “chemical free”, and green mattresses and mattress materials that can help you sort through some of the marketing information and terminology that you will encounter in the industry and can help you differentiate between them and decide on the types of materials you are most comfortable having in your mattress and help you answer “how safe is safe enough for me”. These types of issues are complex and are generally specific to each person and their individual sensitivities, circumstances, criteria, and lifestyle choices.
There are three types of foam (either polyfoam, memory foam, and latex foam) so I don’t know which type of foam they are referring to but “open cell” foam means that the foam will typically have a higher airflow which improves its ability to regulate temperature although it’s usually used more in a marketing sense than a technical sense because they will rarely provide any specific information that compares the airflow of the foam they are referring to with other types or brands of similar foam.
It sounds like you are at step 3 of the mattress shopping tutorial which means that the next step will be deciding on the type of mattresses and materials you are most interested in testing and then visiting the ones that carry mattresses that meet your criteria and that you are most interested in testing.
There is more about the different ways to choose a mattress (either locally or online) in post #2 here that can help you identify and minimize the risks involved in each of them and there is also more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses.
Post #13 here also has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses.
Post #2 here includes links to most of the better forum posts and topics about mattresses and children and includes some guidelines and suggestions that should be helpful.
Thank you for your reply.
We have done extensive research on your site and all over for that matter. Tried every type of
mattress… For ourselves we prefer foam foam (not latex or memory) even if memory has
great pressure point pluses, I have yet to find one whose odor I can tolerate.
What I should have mentioned (and I apologize bad mattress = bad sleep= fatigue) is that
the poly foam which seems to come from the same place from most of these distributors i.e Belgium’s
Eupen is what I find confusing. Open cells - less odor- breathable in that water doesn’t
sit on the mattress but sinks in like any other breathable material.
None of the places seem to be greenwashing, moreover
they are trying to assure the customers that it is a less smelly, VOC emanating foam.
My main concern right now is putting a child on foam. As I mentioned the current most probable consideration,
given how expensive latex is, is that we would put a base of 4 or 6 inches of 2 lbs + viscose foam
From foam supplier Eupen where they get their foam from) and then 2 inches of latex. Natural and
mixed latex have been offered to me at several of these different suppliers. Only Talalay was suggested.
My main confusion about the latex is that some of them are saying pure latex doesn’t exist, others
are saying it’s not worth it and then another has said it is possible. Many of the salespeople
or owners have said why not just put a child on foam rather than kick in the latex…
So who is right?
I was wondering if you had any opinions on the distributors themselves so I could get a grasp on
who to deal with insofar as transparency. We’ve already been duped buying an Essentia
(now caved in) crib mattress…
Almost all the “foam” you will find in any mattress is open cell polyurethane and closed cell foam isn’t typically used in mattresses. It’s really just a matter of degree and “how open” they are.
The only way to validate this would be based on the actual certifications they have or on testing results.
These are all personal choices that each person needs to make about the types of materials they are comfortable using in their mattress. I would keep in mind that “viscose” foam is memory foam.
This would depend on what they mean by “pure latex”. If they are talking about mattresses that only use latex and no other types of foam in the mattress then they certainly do exist. If they are talking about latex that is only made from rubber (either natural or synthetic) and don’t use any other substances to manufacture the latex then they are correct and there will always be a small amount of other substances used to foam and manufacture the latex (see post #8 here). The reason that people would use latex vs polyfoam is because they prefer it but if you are comfortable with polyfoam then in higher densities it can certainly be a high quality and durable material. There is more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here.
There is no right or wrong here and you won’t find any consensus on these types of choices … only different preferences and different opinions. What’s important is to decide which type of material you prefer regardless of what anyone else (including a mattress manufacturer) may prefer. Their preferences or opinions may be very different from your own or from other manufacturers (see post #8 here).
I would assess the quality/durability of a mattress based on the type and density of the foams inside it regardless of the manufacturer that makes the mattress or the foam (see this article).
