Morgedal Mattress with Sultan Torod Topper. Or something else entirely?

[phoenix]

Hi LindsayGenius,

We have not slept on the mattress and topper yet as we are still airing them out. Ikea has a generous return policy, but I feel weird about sleeping on these mattresses and then returning them, so I’ve been researching to see if there are better options.

Ikea doesn’t have a return policy but they do have a 90 day exchange policy.

Is buying an Ikea foam mattress with a higher quality topper, with the idea of replacing the foam every few years, even a good idea? A foam mattress with a topper built in can’t be flipped like a foam mattress with a separate topper, so my brain tells me a separate base would last longer. If this silly reasoning, can you explain to me why?

A mattress/topper combination can be a good idea if you have tested the combination in the store to make sure that it’s a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) so you don’t have the additional risk of trying to guess which topper would be a good match for you on a specific mattress (see post #2 here). The advantage of this strategy is that you can replace just one part of your sleeping system without replacing the other if your needs or preferences change over time of if one part of your sleeping system softens or breaks down before the other.

A mattress (or sleeping system) will tend to soften and break down from the top layers down because the upper layers compress the most and absorb most of the compression forces from sleeping which breaks down a material. A topper will also extend the useful life of the materials underneath it. The durability of a layer depends on the type of material as well as the position of a layer in a mattress so it’s possible that the base mattress under your topper will last longer than your topper.

A two sided mattress will be more durable than am equivalent one sided mattress if you rotate and flip it on a regular basis but as far as I know the Morgedal is one sided (see the pictures here) so it can’t be flipped anyway.

My husband has allergies, so the allergy-friendliness of the latex was a good selling point–does not being able to wash the non-latex cover make that point moot? After doing some research, it sounds like I can get a better quality 2" latex topper from mattresses.net or KTT with a separate washable cover for a comparable price.

Most people would use a mattress protector which can be removed and washed so it’s not really necessary to clean the cover of a topper or a mattress outside of spot cleaning. If you prefer a different type of latex or a different topper then both KTT and Mattresses.net have some great quality/value options available but there would also be some uncertainty involved because they would be a different type of latex and possibly a different firmness level and they may not be as good a match for you on your mattress in terms of PPP.

I plan to get a separate bed bug proof zippered cover for the Morgedal. I’ve never had bed bugs, but living in a major city, I feel like it’s probably inevitable. The latex is naturally bed-bug proof (right?), so it wouldn’t need a bed-bug proof cover, I figured. Might as well leave it as airy as possible. (bed bug covers don’t breathe that well.) Thoughts?

Latex isn’t bed bug proof no and bed bugs can live in any material (they usually hide in seams in the mattress or cracks in the walls or other hiding places in or near the bed). There is more about mattress and bed bug encasements in post #2 here.

I’m embarrassed to click “submit” because many of you are so much mattress-savvier than me. I’m sure I sound clueless. But I’m lost in a rabbit hole of endless conflicting research and I can’t seem to get out, so I’m hoping for some direction from some kind folks to help me narrow down my research. Anyone?

Almost everyone that comes here is in the middle of a steep learning curve so not to worry. The only silly questions are the ones that aren’t asked

Phoenix