This is probably one of the more unusual problems presented here.
Ten years ago I made the mistake of buying a mattress from Sleepy’s - A Nature’s Rest (King, for $1900, mattress only) made by Consolidated Bedding, the one that went bankrupt in 2009 because of so many claims. I didn’t know much about mattresses then, and thought it was all latex. Wrong. Eight years later (2013) it sagged so badly that the ‘independent inspector’ showed a 2.5" sag (though I’m only 5’4" and weigh 132); more than enough to qualify for a warranty replacement.
And it did, but the ‘manager’ there said I’d have to pay for delivery, set up, more taxes, etc. By this time I was a senior living on S.S., so that was out. Instead I purchased a 3" Talalay topper, got a friend to help me flip the mattress to the bottom ‘board’ side, put on the topper and slept comfortably for the last two years - till about a month ago. Started getting back aches, and knew it was time to do something. Figured I’d get a couple more latex layers (dunlop and talalay) and with the topper, create a new mattress.
But, one of the sellers asked about the Nature’s Rest and said there was probably a good, useable latex core in it, that I should strip out and use. I called Sleepy’s to find out what was in the mattress, and this time got a supervisor who apologized for the way I’d been treated, said they’d changed their policy, and that she would give me full credit for anything I wanted, and include not only free delivery and set-up, but removal of the old mattress. Not having anything to lose at this point – and wanting to reclaim my $1900, even if only for a few years - I went to a few showrooms nearby. No real latex mattresses, of course – they last so long how would Sleepy’s keep upselling you new mattresses every few years?
And every mattress now has memory foam, which means proving a 1.5" sag will be near impossible, even if the coils totally break down and your body sinks in 3 inches. The memory foam at the top will always bounce back. What a racket.
Still, I’ve narrowed it down to three, from least to most favorite:
– Beautyrest Phenom Firm – 10 yr NP 1.5" warranty
– Broyhill 13" gel foam Firm – 10 yr NP 3/4 inch warranty, plus 10 yr PR
– G.S. Stearns Ultra Firm # 9220 (which S&F says is actually their Signature Poplar Falls model),
which is the standard 10 yr NP 1.5 " warranty.
I really liked the Ultra Firm (I’ve happily been basically sleeping on a board and topper for the last 2 years), and of course plan on putting my 3" Talalay topper (still good as new) on top of whatever I get. If I can get 6 years of comfortable sleep out of one of those (after which I expect it will sag and I’ll need to start the warranty fiasco all over again), I’ll be happy.
I currently have 2 twin XL box springs in excellent condition (so the inspector said), but I believe I might be able to get the Stearns LTD low profile foundation thrown in. Should I try for it, or doesn’t it matter?
Anyone here familiar to any (or all) of these three who can give me some advice of which is the least worst to get – or who can suggest another model for me to try) – would be very appreciated.
Your problem is actually very common in the industry for those that purchase a major brand mattress that use lower quality and less durable materials although you are more fortunate than many others if you have had your mattress for ten years compared to many others who have the same issues after only a few years.
Some of the Nature’s Rest mattresses used latex support cores and some didn’t. If your mattress has a latex core then it may be worth considering “mattress surgery” as an alternative to disposing of the mattress because the latex support core would likely still be in good condition. There is more about “mattress surgery” in post #2 here and the posts it links to.
Like many of the members that have come here with a similar situation you are in a somewhat unfortunate position where you need to exchange a mattress and are “locked in” to a store that sells lower quality/value mattresses that I would normally suggest avoiding in the first place (see the guidelines here) and where there may not be any particularly good quality/value options available to you. There are some suggestions and ideas in post #2 here about the two main strategies that you can use that can help you make the best of a difficult situation.
I completely agree with this. A mattress will tend to soften or break down from the top layers down and the deeper support core (whether it is an innerspring, latex, or polyfoam) usually isn’t the weakest link in a mattress. The problem is that foam softening and breakdown and the loss of comfort and support and that goes with it is the main reason that you will need to replace a mattress and soft spots or “virtual” impressions that lead to the heavier parts of your body sagging too deeply into the mattress and are related to the more rapid softening of lower quality/density and less durable foam materials (whether they are memory foam or polyfoam) can often happen without any “visible impressions” that are visible when there is nobody on the mattress that are deeper than the warranty exclusions (see post #174 here).
[quote]Still, I’ve narrowed it down to three, from least to most favorite:
– Beautyrest Phenom Firm – 10 yr NP 1.5" warranty
– Broyhill 13" gel foam Firm – 10 yr NP 3/4 inch warranty, plus 10 yr PR
– G.S. Stearns Ultra Firm # 9220 (which S&F says is actually their Signature Poplar Falls model),
which is the standard 10 yr NP 1.5 " warranty.
I really liked the Ultra Firm (I’ve happily been basically sleeping on a board and topper for the last 2 years), and of course plan on putting my 3" Talalay topper (still good as new) on top of whatever I get. If I can get 6 years of comfortable sleep out of one of those (after which I expect it will sag and I’ll need to start the warranty fiasco all over again), I’ll be happy.
I currently have 2 twin XL box springs in excellent condition (so the inspector said), but I believe I might be able to get the Stearns LTD low profile foundation thrown in. Should I try for it, or doesn’t it matter?
Anyone here familiar to any (or all) of these three who can give me some advice of which is the least worst to get – or who can suggest another model for me to try) – would be very appreciated.[/quote]
There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists (based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you).
While you are the only one that can decide whether a mattress is “comfortable” or is a good “match” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) based on careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) or personal experience … outside of PPP the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability and the durability and useful life of a mattress depends on its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it (particularly in the upper layers of the mattress) regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label. If two mattresses use equally durable materials then the mattress will also be just as durable).
If you can find out the specifics of all the layers and components in the mattress and post them on the forum (see this article) then I’d certainly be happy to make some comments about the quality and durability of the layers inside it and the mattress “as a whole” and help you compare them to the quality/durability guidelines here so you can make sure there are no lower quality or less durable materials that would be a “weak link” in the mattress.
Unfortunately it’s not likely that you will be able to find out the information you need to know to make an informed choice about durability and without this information there is no way to make any meaningful comments about the quality and durability of any mattress. If you are considering a mattress where you aren’t able to find out the quality or density of the materials inside it then it’s usually safe to assume that they are low quality materials and your best strategy would be to choose a mattress that has the least amount of lower quality or “unknown materials” (which would usually be a firmer mattress) and then add a higher quality and more durable topper to provide any additional softness, pressure relief, and “comfort” that you need.
One of the challenges of buying a firm mattress and then adding a topper when you can’t test the mattress/topper combination in person is that choosing a suitable topper that is a good match for both your mattress and for you (different mattresses will affect the choice of topper that works best for a particular person) can be almost as challenging as choosing a mattress that doesn’t need a topper in the first place because the only way to know whether the combination will be a good “match” for you will be based on your own personal experience (see post #2 here). It can also be more costly than just buying a mattress which includes the same materials as the topper inside the mattress cover without the additional materials that would be in your base mattress that you may not need or that may be lower quality foam or that may be softer than what would be ideal for a transition layer. At the very least I would make sure that the topper has a good exchange return policy so there would be less risk of buying a topper that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for.
Having said that … if you do choose a suitable topper and the mattress/topper combination turns out to be a good “match” for you in terms of PPP then it does have the advantage of being able to replace just the topper without replacing the entire mattress if it softens or breaks down before the upper foam layers in the mattress or if your needs or preferences change over time and a topper can also help extend the useful life of a mattress underneath it as well.
In other words … the “least worst” mattress would be the one that contained the least amount of lower quality or unknown materials inside it.
This would depend on whether you have a box spring that has actual springs inside it that flex or you have a foundation that doesn’t have any flex and provides a firm non flexing and evenly supportive surface under your mattress. The one sided mattresses made today are designed to work best with a foundation that has little to no flex under the mattress.
If you have a box spring I would replace it with a foundation. If you have a foundation and there are no additional costs involved in replacing it (hidden or otherwise) then after 10 years I would probably replace it as well. If there are any additional costs involved and if there is no soft spots or sagging in your foundation then it would probably be OK to keep it as long as there are no weak or soft spots (and you can test this by pressing down firmly in all areas of it with either your hands or your knees). It also shouldn’t have any areas that are sagging and you can check this by putting a straight edge or using a tight string across the surface.
Thank you for the lengthy reply. I read all the tutorials here, and had a good floor person measure PPP while I tried several mattresses. The G.S. Stearns Ultra Firm fit everything best. And now for the happy ending of the story.
Once I decided on the mattress, I turned to the Sleepy’s website for prices, since my original purchase price was $1800 - and I was really hoping to get the foundation somehow as well.
The site showed $1800 for the mattress alone for several weeks, and came with sheet set, duvet and comforter. I thought the Labor Day sale would lower the price. WRONG - and Sleepy’s buyers beware! When the “sale” started last Friday, the price did change. The freebies were gone, and the mattress price went UP - by $200!!! The set price however, did not change. It remained at $2400.
I went comparison shopping on the net, and the Labor Day sale for Macy’s and Raymour and Flanigan showed $1850 – for the entire king set. Quite a difference.
Yesterday I called the Sleepy’s supervisor who said she would ‘work with me’ once I found a mattress. I told her the model I wanted - and told her about the “sale” price raise - and the price offered by the competitors. I was prepared for a fight, but none came. She apologized for the price raise (and said she couldn’t explain it) – and then offered me the entire set for free (as my warranty exchange), and threw in their top breathable waterproof mattress protector, along with free delivery, set up, and removable of old mattress and box springs. I couldn’t argue with that.
Everything will be delivered mid-September, when it should be cool enough here to open the windows and let the mattress degas for a few days. Any recommendation for how long?
You may not have read the tutorial as closely as you could have since I would normally suggest avoiding major brands such as Stears & Foster and the larger chain stores that focus on them (see the guidelines here).
The tutorial also links to some good information about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists (based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you).
At the very least I would make sure that you found out all the information listed in this article so you can compare the quality and durability of the materials to the quality/durability guidelines here to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress that could have a significant effect on the durability and useful life of the mattress.
It may be worthwhile reconsidering your purchase if that’s still possible.
Oops. Looks like you forgot my original post and perhaps did not read my last completely. Off course I read the tutorial. Closely. But in my case it did not apply, since I already gave Sleepy’s my money ten years ago when I foolishly purchased a mattress from them.
My options were either to write off the nearly $2000 I gave them then and start all over again (which I cannot afford to do) - or to accept $2400 worth of a new mattress set. For absolutely not one penny now on my part. Best option? Of course not - hence the subject header of my original post: Please help me choose the LEAST WORST mattress. Best I can do now? Absolutely.
Will this mattress last a long time? Nope. But with my 3" talalay topper, it should go for a decent time and, as I’ve said - will not cost me a penny now.
You’re right and my apologies. I only read your last post and didn’t read the previous posts in the topic which of course puts your choice in a completely different context and makes my reply somewhat idiotic!
I’ll leave up my last reply just to show the “danger” of taking a single post out of context and so that your last reply also makes sense but what I should have said was …
It’s good to see that you made the best possible choice in your circumstances … and congratulations on your new mattress
Again … my apologies for skipping over the previous posts in the topic.
Not at all! You handle a lot of posts and requests, and many of them very similar. And your help is critical. True, I had to go with Sleepy’s under my circumstances, but your tutorials helped me find the best one there for me, for which I’m very appreciative.
Thanks for the congrats, too. With my 3-inch Talalay topper on it, and the new foundation, I hope to get some good sleep for a few years, anyway.
This model only has about 4 inches of foam above the coils. How long do you think I should air it out before trying to sleep on it?
You would only need to air it out for as long as there is any initial odor that you find objectionable. If there isn’t any objectionable odor then you can sleep on it right away.
