Phoenix,
Thanks for sharing your knowledge on this forum. I have just began to research a new mattress purchase and this forum has been very helpful. Our current innerspring pillow top is about 9 yrs old and the sagging has become unbearable. My wife has daily back pain caused by minor scoliosis and I would like to find a mattress that would benefit her. Prior to finding this forum the marketing machine had me thinking Tempurpedic Cloud supreme or Serta icomfort would be the best fit. After reading the most recent 20 pages of posts here I would like to take advantage of the value provided by the local factories. I’m 210 and she is 120. Our prioritized requirements are 1) pain reduction/back friendly 2) plush or softer feel 3) low heat retention 4) durability 5) price. Currently we have no preconcieved preference wrt foam vs latex.
I live in the Orlando area. I plan to check out fox mattress, OMF and somewhere where I can compare these to a tempurpedic cloud. Based on our priorities and weights do you have any words of wisdom for us to take to the stores? I’ve read somewhere that electric blankets are not recommended to be used on memory foam, is this true? My wife is an avid electric blanket user.
Bes sure to check out OMF’s memory foam mattress. In my opinion it smokes every other memory foam mattress out there and the price is about half of a Tempurpedic. Only downside is that it is new within the last year so there is no long-term user data available.
When you go to Fox, be sure to check out their orthopedic mattress - the one with 3" of latex on top of a spring system. Awesome mattress.
I think the most effective method of buying a mattress is to test each one against your “ideal” PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences). Using another mattress as a “target” rather than your own personal needs and preferences can lead to some very confusing testing and limits your selection to a mattress that may not even be the best for your needs and preferences. The “feel” of a mattresses is very subjective and our memory of a subjective feel or even the specifics of how a mattress performs doesn’t last more than about an hour or so or at best a day. So I would test each mattress individually and “measure” or test each against it’s ability to relieve pressure, keep you in alignment, and for the various preferences that are important to you. There is more about “mattress matching” in post #2 here and a list of the various preferences that may be important in post #46 here that should help keep your mattress testing as “objective” as possible.
There are some guidelines on the site for weight and height here, for sleeping positions here, and about how these guidelines can be affected by different types of layering but these are only generic (and the whole subject of designing a mattress by specs can be very complex) and apply to “averages” not to any particular individual. Because there are so many variables involved in both mattress layering and individual differences in body types (even with similar height and weight), sleeping styles, and sensitivity to different elements of how a mattress feels and performs, I would put much more emphasis on your own testing than on the guidelines which are good as a starting point but not necessarily an “ending point”. You have some good factory direct outlets with some knowledgeable people in your area and their help and guidance can also be invaluable. Local manufacturers may be more knowledgeable than some of the regional manufacturers which have many outlets and may not always have staff with the same degree of knowledge at every outlet.
Electric blankets are not a good combination with memory foam which is a temperature sensitive material and it will soften the memory foam more than it’s design and can also shorten it’s life. While most manufacturers recommend against it and you would probably be risking any warranty coverage … if you absolutely have to I would use the electric blanket for only a short period of time (say 15 or 20 minutes) preferably before you go to bed and on less than maximum heat and then turn it off for the night. Memory foam is designed to respond to body heat and it will become much softer and not perform the way it is designed to with an external heating source.
Sonic has done lots of testing in the area so his suggestions are from experience … and in case you haven’t seen it … the Orlando list of manufacturers in in post #2 here. You have some very good quality and value choices near you.
Phoenix,
Well after pounding the pavement for a few days, we were torn between the latex and memory foam, preferred the softer feel of the memory foam but because of the electric blanket constraint we ended up going with the latex. We took a risk by ordering a custom combo that we were unable to try in the showroom based on a recommendation of the sales rep, in hopes that it would have been softer than the model we tried in the showroom. While it is apparent that the mattress they delivered is a very well made product composed of 100% USA materials and we felt the price was right; we have made a mistake by accepting the risk of the unknown. The mattress, while very supportive is just not soft enough. Fortunately the store has a 90 day comfort guarantee but I’m just not the type to put others through the hassle of returns. If this wasn’t such a huge investment on something that gets used 8 hrs every day for many years I’d live with it. I have no worries about the store taking care of us as one of the reasons we chose to buy here was based on their reputation for superior customer service. Haven’t called them yet as I’d like to get some independent recommendations on how to approach the fix, to make an educated decision and avoid a third time swap out.
So here is my dilemma. The mattress is a king size with 9" of polyfoam, + two separate 2" layers of talalay latex, I don’t recall the ILDs I think it may have been 25ish. Didn’t sleep good the first night and woke up with a sore upper and lower back in the morning. My conclusions wrt comfort were that it was significantly too firm and it felt like I was sleeping to much “on top”, like I was planking or something. I know it is the first night and I plan to give it a couple weeks in hopes I can adjust and that the latex softens up some with use. So after being so excited in anticipation of the arrival of our new bed here we are wondering what to do next to attain a softer more plush like feel that we hoped for. We are willing to sacrifice the electric blanket and long term durability if necessary, comfort is #1.
Here are my initial thoughts that I would love to hear your opinions on. This factory sells a bed similar to ours that we tried in the showroom that was 9" polyfoam + 2" of latex + 2" of memory foam on top, from what I recall it seemed ok and felt somewhat softer than what we ended up with but still felt on the firm side, maybe two - 2" layers of memory foam would soften it? Maybe a lower ILD of latex layers would be the way to go? Maybe keeping what we have and trying to find a memory foam topper to supplement the mattress? I’m just reluctant to have to take a bandaid approach with an expensive 1 day old brand new mattress. They also had some convoluted constructed mattresses with latex or foam, but we were told that design makes them feel firmer than a standard layered design. My gut says we are going to have to go with some kind of memory foam to get the feel we desire, but I’m second guessing everything at this point. Ugh, please help. Any recommendations you can provide would be tremendously appreciated.
If this is the policy of the store … then I would certainly take advantage of it if it became necessary. For most manufacturers … it’s a fairly simple matter to switch out a layer of the mattress and adjust it closer to your needs and preferences. This is part of the reason why making a purchase from a local manufacturer can be such a good idea because their service and your ability to make adjustments doesn’t end once you’ve purchased the mattress. Don’t forget that when you are buying a mattress … you are also purchasing the services they offer along with your mattress.
All of us that are coming from a mattress that needs to be replaced have a “sleeping memory” based on how we slept on the old mattress and it can take a few weeks before our body adjusts to a new sleeping surface … even if it is much better in the long term than the one we are replacing. Muscles, joints, and ligaments that have tightened in certain positions can take some time to stretch and loosen and get used to something new.
Having said that though … if this is still your experience after a few weeks or if nothing seems to be changing in the right direction … it seems to me that the comfort layers may be on the firm side (although if they are really in the range of 25 ILD then for you this would normally be on the soft side while for her it would often be too firm based on both your weights although I don’t know your sleeping positions which will also make a difference) so you may be “outside the averages” in which case the best thing you can do is continue to work with the local manufacturer or outlet where you purchased the mattress. With a specific set of symptoms over long enough that it has become a pattern, they will know what changes will provide the best odds of getting closer to your idea.
Of course the other option if the mattress is too firm is to add a topper which can improve pressure relief and the depth of your pressure relieving cradle. Don’t forget too that pressure relief, alignment, and “feel” (which is often about the surface feel of the mattress) are all different things and can all be adjusted. The key is to identify the source of any issues you are having (after the adjustment period) and then to make the most appropriate change or addition that will add what you want without compromising the parts of the mattress that are working well.
Since you already have a comfort layer (or layers) with soft latex … I would think that a single 2" memory foam topper would be much more appropriate and effective than adding 4" of memory foam (which would be more appropriate for an actual comfort layer of a mattress rather than an addition to an existing comfort layer). That much memory foam on top of soft latex would risk compromising the parts or your mattress that are working well IMO. Again though … since the outlet you purchased from is the "expert’ on their mattresses, every component in them, and on any changes that may work best for you … they are your best source of more specific guidance.
So my two “best” recommendations would be …
More time to make sure you are dealing with patterns and not “instances” of discomfort and that you have had time to go through what for some people is a longer adjustment period.
Put a list of specific symptoms together for each of you separately and as objectively as possible (and they may be quite different for each of you because of the difference in weights) and then without drawing any conclusions about the source of these symptoms … let the outlet know so that they can use their knowledge to identify the reasons and possible fixes or adjustments. Making changes without experience or knowledge in mattress layering or construction can be a counterintuitive process that can lead to a series of changes that may be fixing the wrong problem.
With the same set of symptoms (separately for both of you) … add a topper that has the best odds of bringing the mattress closer to your ideal …
The most important of these is #1 which is how you identify patterns which may need correcting rather than instances or mixing up the sometimes “normal” symptoms of adjusting to a new mattress with the need to make changes to the mattress itself. The difference between how you feel at first and how you may feel after a few weeks can be quite surprising … especially when the difference between what you bought and what you had is significant.
… and in case you haven’t seen it … the Orlando list of manufacturers in in