Hello,
I purchased an organic latex king mattress a year ago. The mattress is collapsing in the middle and it feel like you are sleeping in a hammock. The depression is 1 1/2" on my husband’s side and 1" on mine. I weight 125lbs and my husband is 170 lbs. The depression was immediate. There is no lumbar support and my lower back has been impacted by the lack of support. The only support is the edges of the mattress and the very middle. The mattress has three layers; firm base, soft middle layer and extra soft top. Two layers have the GOLS certification. One piece has no certification and has hand written “S and arrow” indicating up in magic marker. This piece is yellowed with hard edges. It appears some of this hard edge was trimmed. I asked the seller why the soft middle foam had no certification and has only magic marker and was told that depending on the supplier certification wasn’t always provided. That doesn’t make sense but that was the explanation. The mattress does not have the support experienced in store. The base was also purchased from the seller for warranty purposes and is not collapsing. I was told this was a 20-30 year mattress. Could you please give me some direction regarding the mattress?
Much thanks,
Can you tell if the problem is coming from one or multiple layers? I’m not an expert, but (if I remember correctly) a mattress mattress manufacturer told me that you can tell if there are fillers in the latex… I’m not sure if I remember this correctly, but if you rub it and you see particles (it think after it’s been exposed to sunlight/UV first), then it likely has a lot of fillers. I don’t recall the other tests. I suspect that would indicate that it’s not GOLS and if it was represented as GOLS, then perhaps this is a case to fight for a return. I suspect that you’d need some paper trail to prove that this was an issue, when you purchased it.
Perhaps the experts could comment on some simple tests for dunlop latex that is supposed to be GOLS certified, as I’m not an expert.
Thank you for your insight. When I questioned the owner and salesman I was told that not all organic latex comes certified. This was totally opposite of what I was told before purchasing.
I would really appreciate learning how I can verify the origin of the middle layer which just has the magic marker on it. It also did not arrive in any packaging… It had a a thread of plastic around the middle with packing tape on top of that. Without certification, the condition of the latex, the way it arrived and the sinking in the center I am not confident about the product.
I think that’s true, but if they claim that it’s “organic”, then they I would think that they should be able to tell you where they sourced it.
If the bed unzips then would pull the bed apart and look at each of the layers to try and identify which ones were actually failing (assuming this is not an issue with your base/box spring). I would lay each one flat on the floor and use a long straight edge (3-4 foot) to verify which ones have depressions and how deep they are. Good quality latex should not have depressions in a year, that’s just ridiculous. If you have a layer that does have depressions you can figure out how much it’s failing by using a 25lb free weight and measure how far it goes into the mattress. You can just use a piece of plywood on the top of the free weight and another on the bed then measure the distance between them (don’t forget to subtract the thickness of the plywood on the bed after to find total distance traveled by the weight). You should do it in several areas to get good results (make sure some are areas not well slept on so you get a baseline for what it was like new). There really shouldn’t be any appreciable difference across the layer so if you see any big differences then I’d say you have a case for a warranty on that layer. Let us know what you find.
Thank you for your response. The base was purchased from the vendor and was a condition for upholding the warranty. I have inspected the base and it is level and well built. The cover zipper broke and back getting fixed so I will test each layer easily. When using the weight to measure do I do that while the layers are stacked, individually or both? How much depression is considered normal between an area that is slept on and an area that is not?
I forgot to include photos. Maybe this could help me understand why top and base layer have certification, country of origin and company that makes the latex and the middle layer has magic marker to indicate which side is the softer of the two sides. I was told at length about certification as part of the sales pitch and when I asked, after receiving the bed layers, why not all layers had a certification label, I was told not all suppliers of certified latex actually provide certification. Not sure why so much is made about authenticity of latex if one does not any information to authenticate certification.
Thanks for taking the time to help and provide information. It is much appreciated.
Hi 123sleep.
Welcome to our Mattress Forum. 
Thank you for providing the visuals of the “depression” which clearly shows more than normal indentation for your 9" Dunlop mattress. It is true that softer latex (which is generally less dense) would be a little less durable than a firmer latex (which will be a higher density) especially in the uppermost layers of the mattress where it undergoes the most mechanical stress, but I would keep in mind that typically all latex is most durable compared to other types of foam. An extra soft latex layer will usually show signs of deterioration faster but certainly not in the first few months or years of use and not for normal rage BMI individuals. It looks to me that one or more of the layers may be defective, which can certainly happen from time to time, and this is when a warranty comes in place.
A GOLS-certified latex will always carry a certificate whereas natural latex is not often certified. I am not clear from the seller’s reply if this mid-layer is missing the certification label … or …if the supplier themselves did not provide the actual certification. Should this layer be in fact natural latex then it won’t carry an organic certification but if the mattress was advertised as all latex within being organic, then the manufacturer/seller should have a certification to back it up otherwise it can turn into a case of misleading representation. Generally, there is nothing wrong with natural latex, but it seems that you’ve been told that all layers are organic latex so you may want to clarify it.
GOLS is a certification for organic farming methods and/or sustainable production methods, as well as avoiding the use of harmful chemicals in agricultural practices. If interested, you can read more about certifications here.
These “hard edges” are referred to as “elephant skin” and it is quite normal. This “skin” is formed at the point of contact between the latex and the sides of the mold when the latex rubber is poured and baked into the mold. Shaving/Cutting or cutting off the entire side or just the top edges of the molded Dunlop. This is a common practice to remove the “hard skin” on the sides. The yellowish color can be indicative of the slab being sourced from a different company or even a different batch from the same company.
In some unfortunate circumstances where the latex has been excessively exposed to UV or oxidation for a longer period of time, this could result in the latex actually aging prematurely and could feel a bit harder. The S marking indicates the top or the softer side of this particular layer should be placed up. Also, some of the latex producers use fillers in their specialty products (such as TGs “Talalay mineral”) but I do not think this is the case here.
It is best to test each layer on the floor to rule out the base as being the cause of any sagging, as Mattrebuild suggested. A foundation that is not under load can look at first glance straight and sturdy when inspected, but it may start sagging under the weight of the mattress and the people sleeping on it especially if it is missing the center support.
I’d do them both as they can reveal different things. I’d be curious to see some pics of how deep the weight sinks in different areas of the layer(s) with the layers on the floor. While rare, latex failure does sometimes occur. We’ve already seen visible sagging of 1.5" or more. If your diagnostic testing reveals that this is localized to one layer alone you can certainly ask for a replacement layer. Either way, depending on what you find you’d be right to call upon the warranty for a layer replacement or even both uppermost layers if they are defective. Make sure to document well your findings and contact the seller.
The impression (depression depth) that warrants a return or warranty is different for different sellers; you’d have to read their policy to determine what the limit is. FYI large percentage of warranty claims are denied because the “unweighted” impressions in the mattress aren’t deep enough to qualify for warranty coverage even though the softening of the foam has resulted in the loss of comfort and support and the mattress is no longer suitable to sleep on. Also keep in mind that warranties are not guarantees of refunds, but either a replacement or repair of your current product, at the discretion of the company.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Phoenix
I totally agree with Phoenix. The layers absolutely need to be tested one at a time and on a hard flat surface (floor usually works best). More often than not there is just one layer that might be no good and this test will help you figure out which one is the problem so you can get it warrantied or replaced. Again very important to make sure the mattress base (box spring/platform/etc) is staying flat or that can absolutely cause issues with mattress depressions when all the layers are assembled in the finished mattress. When testing latex there should be no visible depressions on the material and when testing the values should be quite close (say within 10% of each other). If you start seeing big deviations in one of the layers between where it was slept on and where it wasn’t, then you’ll likely have found your issue. I’ll be interested to see what you find out.