Need hypoallergenic latex mattress to replace beloved memory foam

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

My daughter “inherited” her older brother’s memory foam mattress and loved it. It let her sink in, but still have support - it is a Serta midlevel memory foam mattress. Now it looks like she has developed an allergy to it (we already put on two mattress covers to stop this) and we have to replace it with something hypoallergenic. I am looking at my green mattress among others. I am assuming that we will want a softer latex mattress so that it is more like memory foam?? Should we avoid coils? It looks like all of the mygreenmattress offerings have coils?

We are looking at the nirvana 6 inch talalay latex at shovlin factory in New Jersey.

We will also visit Long’s and look at latex core like Therapedic, Long’s Latex & OMI.

I know that in other posts, people refuse to compare memory foam to latex - but what kind of latex mattress is most like memory foam? Any recommendations for suppliers or opinions on Nirvana at Shovlin, Everlast, OMI (Organicpedic) etc… Thanks in advance

2

Hi dpastor,

Post #2 here and the more detailed posts and information it links to have 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 answer “how safe is safe enough for me” so you can decide on the types of materials you are most comfortable having in your mattress. These types of issues are complex and are generally specific to each person and their individual sensitivities, circumstances, criteria, and lifestyle choices.

[quote]I am looking at my green mattress among others. I am assuming that we will want a softer latex mattress so that it is more like memory foam??

I know that in other posts, people refuse to compare memory foam to latex - but what kind of latex mattress is most like memory foam?[/quote]

Latex and memory foam are very different materials and will feel very different from each other so there really isn’t an “equivalent” between them. There is more about the differences between them and the pros and cons of each of them in post #2 here.

The choice between different types of materials and components or different types of mattresses is a preference choice not a “better worse” choice and there would be no reason to avoid innerspring mattresses or any other type of mattress that is a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). My Green Mattress sells a range of mattresses that use different types of innersprings and they have an all latex mattress as well. None of their mattresses use any lower quality components or have any weak links in their design.

[quote]We are looking at the nirvana 6 inch talalay latex at shovlin factory in New Jersey.

We will also visit Long’s and look at latex core like Therapedic, Long’s Latex & OMI.

Any recommendations for suppliers or opinions on Nirvana at Shovlin, Everlast, OMI (Organicpedic) etc… Thanks in advance [/quote]

I don’t make specific recommendations for mattresses or different manufacturers because there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved in choosing a mattress (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here) but there is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between matttresses.

Post #2 here also has more about the different ways to choose a mattress (either locally or online) that can help you identify and minimize the risks involved in each of them.

You are certainly looking at some good options.

Phoenix

3

Thanks for the links - tried to keep it all straight. We went to Long’s and tried the OMI (Organicpedic) mattresses - 5 in all. No go - my daughter felt like her head and shoulders were sinking in deeper than her torso. She didn’t like the Therapedic either.

Then she tried the Aireloom Aspire extra firm (which is actually softer than the others) and liked it. Of course, the salesperson didn’t really know what was in it - there was a lot of coil info, but as for the top layers - about 2 inches in total with polyfoam and a gel foam that sounded like memory foam, but I am not sure. Also a soybean foam and finally some foam called Aireloom foam. So - I am not buying this but I have two questions. From what I have read on your site, 2-3 inches of total foam on top of coils does not sound like enough - especially because none of it was latex. Is that right? That I would need more like 3-4 inches of a high density or firm foam/latex and then another 1-2 inches of softer foam. I know that some of this is dependent on PPP, but I thought that some of it was to prevent compression later in the life of the mattress. Can you help me with this?

Also, any chance that you can recommend another NYC supplier that has hypoallergenic brands? She definitely is going for softer mattresses - any advice is greatly appreciated.

4

Hi dpastor,

It’s always a good idea to avoid any mattress where there is more than “about an inch or so” of unknown or lower quality materials in the mattress (in the comfort layers especially … see the guidelines here) because the unknown materials can be (and often are) a weak link in the mattress. Making a blind purchase where you don’t know the quality/density and durability of the materials inside it can be a very risky choice. As you can see here … I would tend to avoid Aireloom unless you are able to find out the information you need to make an informed choice.

So called “soy foam” is just polyfoam that has replaced a relatively small percentage of one of the two main chemicals used to make the polyfoam (the polyol) with a polyol that is derived from soy oil (see post #2 here). It would be closely comparable to other types of polyfoam that are the same density.

This would depend entirely on the type and quality of foam and on whether the mattress “as a whole” was a good match for you in terms of PPP. Some types of innersprings (particulary some pocket coils) are contouring enough that they only need 2-3" of high quality foam (latex foam, polyfoam, or memory foam) on top of the innerspring to make a very suitable choice for some people while other people or other types of innersprings or mattress designs may need more foam on top of the innerspring or need multiple layers of foam to be a suitable choice for others. It all depends on the specifics and these are “comfort” choices rather than “quality” choices. The most important factor in the durability of the mattress would depend on the type and quality of the foam layers … not on the thickness.

There is no specific definition or meaning for “hypoallergenic” and this is more of a marketing term than anything else. In most cases allergens that are connected to mattresses are more about dust mite allergens than about the type of materials in the mattress (see post #2 here) although it’s certainly possible that some people can be sensitive some of the materials that are used in mattresses as well. The brand of a mattress is also relatively unimportant because outside of PPP … the most important part of the “value” of a mattress is the quality and durability of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label.

The better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the NYC area (subject to the “value” guidelines that I linked in my previous reply) are listed in post #2 here.

Phoenix

5

As always, Phoenix, I am so grateful for your incredible help. I will start on the NYC list today. I hear what you are saying about the dust mites - though we had extensive allergen testing in her room and have special covers for that. In any case, after 10 years, I don’t mind changing mattresses and our allergist said that for people with hyper sensitivities, it is better just to avoid memory foam.

Do you remember my mattress search? I ended up at Selectabed (Tempflow division) with a Harmonia, which is biogreen memory foam made in the USA with no VOC? (Thanks for your help with that, BTW) That is my daughter’s favorite bed in the apartment and it is the only “green” memory foam of all the beds. So, I do think that there are some makes that are more hypoallergenic than others. It makes me want to check out mygreenmattress but since we can’t do a PPP test because they are in the Mid-West I am holding off on that.

I appreciate your help with durability - because I am always worried that something will feel great in the store but a year later feel terrible because of compression. But your explanation about matching the type of foam with the necessary thickness made sense. BTW, my almost 2 year old Harmonia is as awesome as ever. It is still very firm so - no more aches and pains.

I will post again when we have visited some more places!

6

Hi dpastor,

I didn’t remember when I replied but I went back to some of your earlier posts just to refresh my memory. I’m not so sure I would call the Biogreen memory foam “green” (there isn’t any memory foam that I would consider to be “green”) but it is Greenguard certified to have low VOC’s so for most people it would certainly be “safe”. Sensitivities to different types of materials are very individual so it’s never really possible to know for sure how any particular person that is more sensitive (or that has certain medical issues such as multiple chemical sensitivities) will react to any particular material.

Thanks for the feedback on your Harmonia … it’s great to hear that it worked out so well for you :slight_smile:

Phoenix