Original Mattress Factory-are these better quality than National Name Brand matresses?

[phoenix]

Hi jodebg,

Many of your questions are answered in the tutorial post … have you read it yet?

Looks as if I have several mattress makers in my area. Have you spoken to Columbia Mattress in Hamden, Ct? Wondering what you thoughts were regarding quality of materials, workmanship, etc.?

I haven’t had any detailed discussions with them but based on the information here they have some good quality materials available (although it would depend on the specific mattress you were considering because like all manufacturers they have a wide range of quality available).

Are sagging and impressions a problem (more so than a traditional inner spring mattress), continued off gassing and odors an issue, and do they last as long as a well constructed innerspring mattress?

An innerspring is only one type of support system in a mattress (others include polyfoam, latex, air, and water). All of these (except water in some cases) use some type of cushioning material on top of the support system (usually some type of foam or fiber) as the comfort layers. In most cases it’s the quality of the comfort materials in the mattress that is the weak link of the mattress and is the cause of softening, sagging, or impressions regardless of what type of support system the mattress contains. This is why it’s so important to make sure you know the quality of the materials and components inside a mattress so you can identify any weak links. There is more about the factors that can affect the durability and the useful life of a mattress relative to different types of people in post #4 here and the posts it links to.

Each type of foam has some smell when it is new and in most cases it goes away fairly quickly. If the foam has been CertiPur certified (in the case of polyfoam or memory foam) then you have some assurance that the smell isn’t harmful. All the latex you are likely to come across will have been tested to a little more stringent standards (usually Oeko-Tex but sometimes Eco-Institut) which are independent testing organizations as opposed to CertiPur which is an industry sponsored certification. Some people are still sensitive to some foam materials even when they have been certified though and there can be differences between different batches of the same foam. As a general rule (which may not apply to any specific foam or individual) latex is the least likely to cause any issues followed by polyfoam followed by memory foam.

Phoenix