New topper or mattress decision

[system]

After months of my husband sleeping on the couch instead of our bed, because of lower back pain, I’ve decided its time. We need to get a topper or a new mattress. Because my husband has lower back pain, I think we need to get a new mattress, but for financial reasons, I am hoping it might make sense to get a topper now and get a new mattress later on.

Right now, we’ve got a 5 or 6 year old Sealy Posturpedic, that has been moved 4 times. I used to like it a lot, and now it’s just okay. It has two big dips where we sleep, which I find uncomfortable, and my husband hates. I am 5’5" and 110 (now I’m six months pregnant and more than that), mostly stomach and sometimes side sleeper, and my husband is 6’1" and 180, side and back sleeper.

Yesterday we went to the Healthy Back Store and tried several mattresses. Both my husband and I preferred the same ones. We liked their firmer memory foam mattress better than the softer one, we liked the softer technogel bed (Estasi) better than the firmer one (Armonia), and the latex mattresses came in third. The softer one (Essence) was better than the firm one, but we both didn’t find it as “comfy” as the other mattresses. They both seemed to be too firm to me, and I thought they were very bouncy. I was pretty disappointed, because I like the idea of a latex mattress (natural, fewer chemicals, biodegradeable, durable, etc.). We may try to get to Savvy Rest and try out their mattresses, to see if they feel different/better.

It looks like a good mattress will be $2 or $3k, and with a new baby on the way, I’d prefer to put that off if possible. Also, with a toddler and a new baby, I’m worried about getting a memory foam mattress (chemicals and smell, and future environmental impact). I still like the idea of latex, and maybe we would like it better if we put something else on top (wool, silk, featherbed, etc.).

Although a mattress topper won’t fix our old mattress, I wonder if it would make it sleepable for another few months or a year. I was thinking the Rejuvenite Talalate latex topper from mattresses.net, in plush or firm, might be enough to get some more life out of our current mattress, and since it is slow recovery it might feel a bit more like memory foam. The 3" latexco dunlop topper they have now is a bit cheaper, but I don’t know if we’d like it as much. Would either of these (or something else) be a good idea, or just a waste of money? I could look at other mattress toppers, such as wool, silk, etc. if they would also be a good consideration.

[phoenix]

Hi Sara Smile,

After months of my husband sleeping on the couch instead of our bed, because of lower back pain, I’ve decided its time. We need to get a topper or a new mattress. Because my husband has lower back pain, I think we need to get a new mattress, but for financial reasons, I am hoping it might make sense to get a topper now and get a new mattress later on.

In most cases … buying a topper to “fix” a mattress that has softened and developed dips would be throwing good money after bad. It may help to some smaller degree to even out the dips a little or for a while but for the most part the topper will just sink into them as well and if the topper was too soft could even make the problem worse (it would put you even further away from the support layers of the mattress).

If you did decide to experiment with toppers I would buy from a source that had a good refund policy so if it didn’t work for you that you could return it.

Generally though the symptoms you are describing mean that the mattresses has reached the end of its useful life.

Yesterday we went to the Healthy Back Store and tried several mattresses. Both my husband and I preferred the same ones. We liked their firmer memory foam mattress better than the softer one, we liked the softer technogel bed (Estasi) better than the firmer one (Armonia), and the latex mattresses came in third. The softer one (Essence) was better than the firm one, but we both didn’t find it as “comfy” as the other mattresses. They both seemed to be too firm to me, and I thought they were very bouncy. I was pretty disappointed, because I like the idea of a latex mattress (natural, fewer chemicals, biodegradeable, durable, etc.).

The Technogel mattresses are certainly very nice but they are also very expensive. They have an inch (or less) of the gel material and the rest of the materials are the same as other mattresses. For those where “nothing else would do” they could be a good choice but for most there would be other options that provided the PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences) they needed. Their memory foam mattresses seem to be good value (their own not the Tempurpedics they also carry) but they don’t list the density of the memory foam or the base foam so it’s not really possible to make meaningful comparisons or assessments. Most of the people I’ve talked with at various healthy Back stores have been very knowledgeable and helpful so their ability to help you make suitable choices would also be part of the “value” of any mattress purchase. It may also be worth trying their ultra soft latex toppers on top of the Bliss mattresses to see how you feel about the softest latex available.

[quote]We may try to get to Savvy Rest and try out their mattresses, to see if they feel different/better.
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These are also high quality mattresses … although they are much more costly than many other choices that use similar quality latex. They would be well worth testing although their softest latex (the soft all natural Talalay) are firmer than the comfort layers in the Pure Latex Bliss.

It looks like a good mattress will be $2 or $3k, and with a new baby on the way, I’d prefer to put that off if possible. Also, with a toddler and a new baby, I’m worried about getting a memory foam mattress (chemicals and smell, and future environmental impact). I still like the idea of latex, and maybe we would like it better if we put something else on top (wool, silk, featherbed, etc.).

I would also be cautious with memory foam with a new baby or very young children if they were either sleeping on or spending significant time on the mattress. There are many good quality/value mattresses well under $2000 though (depending to some degree on the size and type of materials you are looking for). I would tend to start by identifying some of the better manufacturers or retailers in your area. If you let me know the city you live I’d be happy to let you know of any I’m aware of.

Although a mattress topper won’t fix our old mattress, I wonder if it would make it sleepable for another few months or a year. I was thinking the Rejuvenite Talalate latex topper from mattresses.net, in plush or firm, might be enough to get some more life out of our current mattress, and since it is slow recovery it might feel a bit more like memory foam.

If you mean the rejuvenite mattress toppers here … these are Talalay latex which is a fast response material. They do sell slow response talalay GL as well on their other website here. It has some similarities to memory foam but is a little bit firmer.

The 3" latexco dunlop topper they have now is a bit cheaper, but I don’t know if we’d like it as much. Would either of these (or something else) be a good idea, or just a waste of money? I could look at other mattress toppers, such as wool, silk, etc. if they would also be a good consideration.

The latexco dunlop topper is a great value and would be a bit firmer than the softer Talalay (Dunlop gets firmer faster than Talalay as you sink into it). It’s also a fast response material though and would also be very different from memory foam.

Thicker wool and silk toppers could also help to some degree to even out the dips but overall all of these would still have the same problem which is the soft spots under the topper and in most cases I don’t think they would be as “partially” effective as a foam topper of some type. If I had to choose, I would probably choose a 3" topper in the choice of foam material that you preferred (latex, memory foam, or polyfoam). Given that your husband has back issues and prefers the couch (which tends to use firmer foams than mattresses) I would tend towards a little firmer than a little softer (for example the 28 ILD Rejuvenite over the 19 ILD rejuvenite) but this seems to be contrary to your preferences when you were testing mattresses (when you said that the soft latex in the Essence was too firm although this is not their softest latex mattress) but again I would keep in mind that all of these choices would be risky ones when the mattress underneath seems to be past its due date.

Generally the best use of a topper is to soften up a mattress that is too firm (it is more of a “comfort” product) not to “fix” a mattress that has become too soft and where the loss of support is the real issue.

Phoenix

PS: I’m curious how you managed to post to the forum as a visitor without being registered or logged in. The forum settings don’t allow this but somehow you seem to have managed it and I’d sure be curious how you managed to do it (which buttons you pressed).

[Sara_Smile]

Phoenix, thanks for answering my question and for helping me out with the registration problem. It seems to be fixed for now.

Basically, you recommend continued shopping for a new mattress, rather than trying to find a topper that might help out for the meantime. We’re in the Northern Virginia/Washington DC area, so we can stop by Savvy Rest and American Foam Company to try out more mattresses. I had hoped that mattress shopping would be quick and easy, but it’s going to be a bit more involved than that, it seems.

I do like the idea of a latex mattress that would be relatively chemical-free and somewhat biodegradeable at the end of its life. I’m uncomfortable with the idea of memory foam, although everyone I know who has a memory foam mattress loves theirs and my husband and I both liked the memory foam the best. So I’d like to try more latex mattresses to see how we like them. Another possibility would be an innerspring mattress with a latex comfort layer, although I don’t know where to try those out (and they may still have lots of chemicals). Other than the big dents where we sleep on our current innerspring mattress, it still seems nice to me. So I’m not ruling out innerspring mattresses entirely.

We’re out of town this week for the holidays–actually I left this weekend and my husband is meeting us midweek. He slept on my side of the bed last night (the side with a smaller dent), and he said his back feels fine. So we could just switch sides, but then I’d get the side with the very deep dent.

We’ll keep looking and we’ll try to find something that works for our backs, our pocketbook, and the environment.

[phoenix]

Hi Sara Smile,

Phoenix, thanks for answering my question and for helping me out with the registration problem. It seems to be fixed for now.

You’re welcome … even though it seems it was something that I caused

Basically, you recommend continued shopping for a new mattress, rather than trying to find a topper that might help out for the meantime. We’re in the Northern Virginia/Washington DC area, so we can stop by Savvy Rest and American Foam Company to try out more mattresses. I had hoped that mattress shopping would be quick and easy, but it’s going to be a bit more involved than that, it seems.

Unfortunately you are right. Mattresses can be one of the most important purchases we can make and will have a big impact on our overall wellbeing for the next decade or more (as your husbands couch sleeping confirms). If you know the better retailers or manufacturers in your area that are more knowledgeable and transparent … it’s a lot simpler but the DC area doesn’t have the same amount of good value choices as many other areas in the country which certainly make things more difficult. In areas like this … I would consider good online choices (such as the members listed in post #21 here) as one of your options and use them as a reference point for value (I usually consider a local purchase of a similar mattress that is about 20% or so more as being roughly equivalent value because of the lower risk involved in actually testing a mattress before you buy it).

The first step though is to get a good sense of the types of materials and combinations that you prefer and you are already on your way to doing that.

I’m uncomfortable with the idea of memory foam, although everyone I know who has a memory foam mattress loves theirs and my husband and I both liked the memory foam the best. So I’d like to try more latex mattresses to see how we like them.

This is a very good idea and it may be that latex is just not the material for you. If you do go in the direction of memory foam … then it becomes particularly important that the foam is good quality and that it is either American made or CertiPur certified so you have some assurance that the foams used are “safe” at least to the standards of the testing. I would also be very cautious about using memory foam if a baby or toddler will be sleeping on it.

Another possibility would be an innerspring mattress with a latex comfort layer, although I don’t know where to try those out (and they may still have lots of chemicals). Other than the big dents where we sleep on our current innerspring mattress, it still seems nice to me. So I’m not ruling out innerspring mattresses entirely.

There are actually quite a few options for this in the Washington list in post #2 here

I believe (not certain) that Winndom makes a mattress like this as well as RoomandBoard, Ikea, Savvy Rest, and possibly others on the list (I know Natura for example makes several innerspring hybrids as well). I would phone each of them and ask if they make or sell either all latex mattresses or innerspring/latex hybrids. The more preliminary work you do on the phone … the more effective your testing trips will be.

In the end though … no matter what the advantages of certain materials … I would always choose the materials that best match your own personal needs and preferences no matter what others may prefer because each of us is unique and different. “Wanting to like” something can be very different from actually liking it (and I have found myself in the same position many times).

We’re out of town this week for the holidays–actually I left this weekend and my husband is meeting us midweek. He slept on my side of the bed last night (the side with a smaller dent), and he said his back feels fine. So we could just switch sides, but then I’d get the side with the very deep dent.

We’ll keep looking and we’ll try to find something that works for our backs, our pocketbook, and the environment.

I’m looking forward to your ongoing feedback and of course if you have questions along the way feel free to post them here.

Phoenix

[Sara_Smile]

Here’s a quick update of where we are in our mattress search:

We’ve been to one new store to try out mattresses. I thought by this time we would have made it to several, but getting my husband and toddler to cooperate has been tough. We went to Bob’s Discount furniture and tried their memory foam, latex-over-polyfoam, and innerspring mattress. The “plush” latex one was definitely the best of the ones we tried there. However, it didn’t outshine our memories of the memory foam mattress at the Healthy Back Store. There are a few more stores on my list to try before we decide.

In the meantime, my husband and I have switched places and he is on the better half of the bed, while I am on the side with the deepest indentation. After a night of sleeping there, my shoulders were killing me. As an interim measure, I ordered the Seven Comforts shredded latex topper, and it’s wonderful! It has returned the “cushy” to the bed that it had initially, and I wake up with no pain in my shoulders or hips (amazing, since I am now 7 months pregnant). We now have more time to find the perfect mattress, and there’s no need to rush.

[phoenix]

Hi Sarah Smile,

As an interim measure, I ordered the Seven Comforts shredded latex topper, and it’s wonderful! It has returned the “cushy” to the bed that it had initially, and I wake up with no pain in my shoulders or hips (amazing, since I am now 7 months pregnant). We now have more time to find the perfect mattress, and there’s no need to rush.

That’s great news

As you probably know I also have the same topper and was impressed with it. It’s sure a lot better to do your mattress shopping when you aren’t “under pressure”.

Phoenix