New Mattress or Topper? Uneven floors and mattress is too firm

[phoenix]

Hi gracemarie,

I think we’re experiencing an alignment issue, since we both wake up with sore backs. I often feel discomfort in my shoulders when sleeping on my side, but I think this is due to the firmness of the mattress…perhaps it’s a combination of both.

It sounds to me like it’s a combination of both. The back issues (if they are in the lower back) are typically alignment and the shoulder issues are typically pressure.

These guys say that 25 ILD is considered soft, but I read on sleeplikethedead.com that 19-22 ILD is considered soft…so maybe this one is good spot between soft and medium? Having slept on an overly firm mattress, I don’t want to end up on the other end of the spectrum and since there’s no returns on this particular topper maybe it’s not our best bet. I’m not clear on the different between the rejuvenite (Latex Mattresses On Sale - Latex Mattress Toppers - Phoenix, AZ) and this “All Natural Talalay” topper (Latex Mattresses On Sale - Latex Mattress Toppers - Phoenix, AZ).

Softness and firmness are subjective and what is “soft” for one person may feel medium or even firm to another depending on body type, sleeping positions, and personal sensitivities. All of these though would typically be considered to be in the soft range and there wouldn’t be a huge difference between them. 19 would be “more soft” than 24 - 25. Medium usually starts around 28 ILD although ILD by itself can be misleading.

Talalay latex comes in two versions (and several softness levels in each). These are blended Talalay (which uses 30% natural rubber and 70% synthetic ribber) and 100% natural Talalay (which has no synthetic rubber in the foam). Talalay latex is either one or the other (a blend or 100% natural rubber) regardless of the name. Both of these are very similar in terms of "feel"and performance and you can read about the difference between them in post #2 here. Rejuvenite is just a tradename for toppers that use blended talalay latex and have a cover. I’m not clear from the description if the second one you linked is blended Talalay (in which case it would be the same type of material as the Rejuvenite) or 100% natural talalay (which is very similar but a little bit more costly than the blend). Rejuvenite is usually sold in either a soft version of 19 ILD or a medium version of 28 ILD while raw latex (without the cover) can come in any ILD that the supplier has available.

As for the support system, we have a platform bed, it’s wooden with four legs and has slats every two or three inches. When I bought the I read some information online, maybe on Overstock, I’m not sure, that advised two pieces of plywood on top of the slats to create an even surface.

If you have slats that have 3" or less between them and they are firm and unflexing and have a center rail with good support to the floor in the middle of the span then you wouldn’t need the plywood. The plywood will also reduce the ventilation through the lower layers of the mattress (see post #10 here).

Does your bed have a center rail to support the slats in the middle with legs underneath it to the floor (to prevent the middle of the bed from sagging in the middle of the span) or does it only have 4 legs (one on each corner) and no supported center rail?

Pictures may be helpful

Phoenix