My 9" Mattresses247 bed and Journey into Latex

[phoenix]

Hi MrM1,

Thanks for another great set of comments and pictures :).

Only after 2 days? Really? Is this typical for Latex Brake-In?

Yes … a break in and adjustment period is typical for any mattress (see post #2 here). You would also probably notice some small impressions with any natural fiber material and you would also likely also notice some unevenness across the surface if your foundation doesn’t have a flat and rigid surface because the latex will adapt to the contours of the surface.

The middle WAS though still noticeably firmer. Is this due to the seam?

If you mean the glue seam then no you wouldn’t feel it.

There were also some “rough” looking places where it almost looked like when you take a cake out of a pan and just a little of the cake sticks to the pan and there is some imperfections in the cake surface where it stuck - places like that in the latex. Is this common?

Yes … this is not only common but “normal” with latex (see here).

Does Mattresses247 sell factory seconds??? I thought I had read in a few other threads that they used to several years ago, but were no longer. Supposedly everything is new and in first run new condition.

As you mentioned they used to but haven’t for several years and as far as I know this hasn’t changed. Val is also “good people” and would tell you if she was.

After I did the 180* rotation of the layers … I woke up after the 3rd nite and the center of my back in my spine really hurt. I had not had this pain since I had slept on a bed 27 years ago down in Miami in a hotel. That was odd. First 2 nights fine, Nite 3 and rotation of the layers (not flip and no layer changes - still set up top to bottom: Soft / Medium / Firm). Kinda weird.

It is also perfectly normal for someone’s sleeping experience to change over the course of the first few days as the mattress breaks in and they adjust to a new sleeping surface but I would tend to avoid making any changes at first unless there was a specific reason for them because your body may not have enough time to adjust and “catch up” to the changes. For example many people have experienced testing different mattresses over the course of the day where the different sleeping surfaces they have tried caused their backs to complain even though any one of them may not have been an issue.

Well, this new pain continued each morning for the next 4 nights (we’ve now slept on the bed 6 nights), but got a touch better each day. The bed felt great getting into it (comfort), but I had this mid back in the spine pain each morning (support). I was sleeping really well and having no memory of waking in the night. Maybe i was sleeping so well I was not moving (unlike my other bed) and thus staying in the same position too long causing the mid back spine pain … ??? maybe.

If your experience becomes a pattern then would be the time to consider re-arranging or changing layers. The time you spend in a particular position that is “on the edge” in terms of alignment can certainly have an effect on your sleeping experience or any discomfort or pain you feel because spending only a little time out of alignment before you change positions may be fine but spending longer amounts of time may cause discomfort or pain.

My plan before I got the foundation was to modify it … so I though after day 6 … that is what I will do. Latex beds do not like flex, but rather firm foundations. Easy fix … head to the home center, and pick up enough 1x4 to remake the slats. I used zip ties to lash the slats to the bed frame. Worked out well, And I am still coming in much less cheaper than a typical slat latex bed foundation. Now I have about $200 in the foundation … and it is the height and look that I want … and it is a firm foundation now with NO flex.

Having flex in a foundation isn’t necessarily “bad” but it will change the feel and performance of the mattress because it would be a more “active” part of your sleeping system and if your mattress was already on the edge of being too soft then having flex in a foundation may be enough to put you over the edge. In most cases though … a firm non flexing surface is the “safest” choice unless your actual experience indicates otherwise.

[quote]Now after 7 nites, a redesigned foundation … AND … re-rotating all the layers back to their original position, I seem to have slept fine. I DID NOT wake with the mid back spine pain this morning.

• was it because I took a muscle relaxer before bed? (unrelated to morning bed back pain)
• was it because I moved the layers back to the original position?
• or was it because I re-designed the foundation into a 2" spaced, 1x4 slat, firm foundation?[/quote]

It could be from any one or all of them combined but more importantly than “why” is whether your experience becomes a “pattern” where you sleep well without pain or discomfort. If the time comes to change anything then it’s usually a more effective approach to make a single incremental change at a time so you can identify the effects of each change without too many variables involved.

I dunno. But I am thinking - Now that I have the bed and foundation where I wanted it to be from the beginning, I will sleep on it for a week or so and see how it goes.

I think that’s a good idea and I would use your actual experience to decide on what to change if that becomes necessary.

I also have confirmed that the cover in your mattress was an old version of a SleepEZ cover that they used to use and which were sold at a significant discount as an individual component when they changed their design and not as part of a complete mattress. The law tag was attached because the cover was designed to be used as part of a specific mattress with specific layers inside that had been prototyped and tested to pass the fire regulations but the testing and regulations don’t cover different layers that are inside the same cover. In other words … what you purchased wasn’t a complete mattress that has passed the fire regulations but individual components that came from different sources that you put together yourself and the law tag that indicates that the mattress has “passed” the fire regulations or that indicate specific materials doesn’t apply to the individual layers that are inside your mattress. It just happened to be attached to the covers that she purchased that were meant to be part of a different mattress.

Phoenix