Need advice for mattress topper ILD

Mattress Talk General Mattresses Questions
1

Hello,

My husband and I have been sleeping on a latex mattress for 7 or 8 years now and we LOVE it. A few years ago, we switched from queen to king due to medical issues - we needed the extra room. We’ve been on the all natural top of the line IKEA 7-Zone all latex mattress and with our deteriorating medical conditions, we need some extra softness to the mattress. I was going to go with Foam By Mail but after reading about Dreamform Bedding/Brooklyn Bedding and how helpful they are, we decided to go with them. Chuck has been great as was stated here and they are going to custom laminate two different ILD’s for us at no extra charge! It’s perfect. My husband is going with 28ILD (which is what the top layer of our original talalay latex mattress was) but I’m wanting something softer (always did wish the top of the original was a little softer for me) but I have no way of being able to decide which one to go with - 19ILD or 24ILD. I’m disabled with a genetic condition where I have overall joint and muscle problems, multiple dislocations per day, a life threatening breathing disorder where my airways close off completely and high pressure in my head/brain causing a mega bad headache 24/7…just to name some of the problems this genetic condition has caused. I’m 5’3" and weigh around 160lbs although that fluctuates during hospital visits, etc. I used to be smaller but the wheelchair has caused issues with some weight gain from not being able to be as mobile. We tried an eco memory foam topper but after a couple of months, we’ve come to completely HATE it! It sleeps hot even though its not supposed to, there is no pressure relief and with my issues and my husband having been diagnosed with both psoriatic arthritis and fibromyalgia, we have to make a change.

So, with my hubbie decided on his ILD, I’m still left unsure what to do because they don’t really do returns from the Amazon site as they are selling the toppers so inexpensively to compete with the lower quality imports. Anyone have experience with either the 19ILD or the 24ILD as their comfort layer or have any advice for me? Chuck said either should be fine in terms of me not bottoming out but I’m still not sure which way to go. I’d really appreciate any help you can offer in terms of advice and experience, etc.

Thanks so much in advance!!!
Rae

2

There’s no way to be certain but hypothetically… if 28 ild is comparative to you original mattress how “too” firm was it? did it need a bit of softening…ie 24 ild or lot more softening ie 19 ild!

my2cents!

3

Hi lifereinspired,

The best way to make a decision like this would be to test some mattresses with each ILD in a similar thickness. In many cases you may not find the same ILD or layering so you would have to do some “approximating” or translating. If you have a Pure Latex Bliss dealer near you then this could be helpful because their mattresses use either 19 or 21 ILD in the top layer in various thicknesses except for the Nutrition which uses either 27 or 28 ILD (depending on whether it has the white or blue cover). There may also be some other manufacturers or retailers that have latex available that also have similar ILD’s. If you do have the chance to do some personal testing keep in mind that the top layer is not all that you will feel and that the layers underneath this will also play a role in how the top layer feels so you would need to take that into account. The thinner the top layer the more the layers underneath it will affect what you feel.

Without personal testing there is really no way for someone else to know what you will feel on a mattress without a reference point from your own testing. Normally my suggestion would be to choose the firmer of two competing close choices but in your case the health issues and fibromyalgia may indicate that a little softer may be more comfortable for you.

In the end … without actual testing … you will need to trust your “gut feeling”.

Phoenix