New member, basic question

Hi, we are in the search for a good mattress and appreciate all the info on your site. We’ve been reading all the articles and following the recommendations for testing mattresses. We’ve tried out several mattresses, including PureLatex Bliss, Easy Rest, and TempurPedic. We tried out the ComforPedic out of curiosity though there’s no way we will buy another Simmons. They do feel great in the showroom, though. We’ve also slept on a friend’s NovaForm when we stayed with them.

We currently have a Beautyrest, with a 3" 4lb memory foam topper we bought ourselves. We had decided to get a firm, non-pillowtop and add our own topper after our experience with the previous pillowtop we had. We figured we’d replace the topper as needed, thought we could depend on the springs to hold up and provide the support. This was like a dream to sleep on… for a couple years. It is now like wallowing in a sink hole, unbearable. I thought it was just me until my husband started complaining of the same thing. Removing the topper revealed that it is the mattress itself that wore out. My husband and I are not heavy, we don’t read or watch tv in bed, we have no kids that jump on the bed, we have a platform frame so the mattress is supported on solid plywood. If a mattress doesn’t last for us, I don’t see how it would last for anyone. I had expected at least the normal 7 years out of this mattress, it wasn’t cheap.

I’m discouraged to find in today’s market it’s $3000 to $4000 (and up) one is now expected to spend to get a good mattress. Who can afford to spend this much every few years? I don’t believe promises and hype. Mattresses are engineered to feel great in the showroom but that feel does not seem to last long under regular use. Warranties are meaningless. The upper materials in the mattress retain enough shape to hide the sags after all the support is gone. Quality Fade has been engineered into every product we buy these days, and mattresses are better than most products at hiding construction details.

I have connective tissue disease and both the support and comfort of a mattress are really important to me. When a mattress is new and soft and supportive, I feel like a new person. I don’t want to waste my time suffering because of something as simple as a bad mattress but it’s getting so complicated to figure out what is good, how much a person has to invest and how long you can expect it to hold up.

I’m starting to wonder if a person should just spend less and figure on replacing a mattress every year or two. I’ve read about lower quality foam not being as durable. Does that mean it will be uncomfortable? Or will it be just as comfortable but not last as long?

Anyway, again I appreciate the info on this site very much, and would like to hear your thoughts about this.

Best place to start:
https://forum.mattressunderground.com/t/how-to-look-for-and-find-the-best-mattress-for-you-read-first

Should answer alot of your questions and get you started on getting your new bed :slight_smile:

The link should help answer that question in more detail but generally no it doesn’t mean that it will be uncomfortable, in fact lower density foams can actually feel softer since they have more air in them, but they will not last as long as more dense foams for the most part.

Hi Tweed, thanks for the reply. Yes, I have read the page- it is a lot to digest, so I may have missed something or need further clarification.

So the cheaper foam can be as comfortable as the more dense, but is a lesser value because it will not last, is what I am understanding? My next question is, will the dense one be lasting months longer than the cheap one or years longer? How many years, does anyone know? And I wonder how the cost per year for the two averages out.

For the most part yes.

They only help I can give on that is that, in general, a 3lb foam is not gonna last as long or be as durable as 4lb or higher foam. Now where the point of diminishing returns comes in I am not sure, just gonna have to wait for Phoenix to chime in on that one.

Hi SleepDeprived,

Unfortunately this is because Simmons (like most major brands) uses lower quality/density foam in the upper layer of most of their mattresses … and worse yet they don’t disclose the quality of their foams.

As TweedSAFD mentioned … density and “comfort” and firmness are not closely related.

Any density foam can be made in a wide range of firmness levels from very soft to very firm and the main difference between them is that higher density foams are more durable and will maintain their original properties longer even though they can feel the same when they are new if they are the same firmness level. For example a 1.0 lb polyfoam may only last months or even less while a 2.5 lb polyfoam can last for many years (well over a decade). Lower densities are also much less costly.

You can’t “feel” the quality/density of a foam in a mattress but you will certainly feel it in a few years (or less) when the lower quality foams soften too quickly and there are “soft spots” in the mattress. Unfortunately foam softening and the loss of comfort and support that goes with it isn’t covered by warranty unless the foam also has impressions that are deeper than the warranty exclusion and this only happens in a small percentage of cases. This is why it’s so important to make sure you know the density/quality of all the materials in your mattress … especially in the upper layers … because a mattress softens and breaks down from the top down.

With polyfoam I would look for 1.8 lb density or higher unless you are in a lower budget or with a two sided mattress where 1.5 used with caution would be suitable. Higher density will be more durable yet.

With memory foam I would look for 4 lbs or higher. Once again higher density will be more durable as well (up to about 6 lbs where the benefits of higher density starts to lessen)

In both cases I would make sure that there is no more than “around an inch or so” of lower quality/density materials in the comfort layers of the mattress (usually in the quilting) because once you reach about 2" or more then this can become the weak link of the mattress and the risk of foam softening affecting your mattress becomes much higher. In your Simmons it’s very likely that there is too much lower quality/density foam in the upper layers which is most likely to be the cause of your problems. The innersprings are probably still fine.

Any latex foam will be more durable than both.

Density in memory foam and polyfoam is the single biggest factor in the durability of a foam but has little to do with “comfort” or what you “feel”. You can read more about the factors involved in durability in post #4 here.

Phoenix

Thanks, Phoenix, you are a wellspring of information and so helpful. Does anyone make a similar individual coil mattress that is quality?

Hi Sleepdeprived,

Yes … pocket coil mattress with polyfoam, memory foam, or latex or combinations of these different types of foam in either one or two sided versions are one of the most popular mattress types and there are dozens of smaller or mid size local or regional manufacturers around the country that make these types of mattresses that will disclose the quality of the materials (especially the foam) in their mattresses. Many of the top 15 (by size) manufacturers also make this type of mattress and will also disclose the quality of the materials they use.

Of course many of these are only available locally or regionally so what is available to you would depend on where you live and which retailer or manufacturer you deal with.

Phoenix