My girlfriend and I recently bought a Latex Mattress. The mattress was considered medium firm and had an ILD rating of 32. Which we were told was in the middle of the spectrum. ILD24 being their most plush and ILD44 being the most firm they sell. In the research I have done since I see there are ILD ratings as low 14 or 19. I am trying to wrap my head around ILD. Is there a standard or does it vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
I have had a bad lower back for years and wake up in pain most mornings. Since the Latex switch ( 2 days ago ) my lower back is not bothering me so much as the bed is incredible uncomfortable. Both my hands have fallen asleep and my upper back neck are not comfortable. No pain just uncomfortable. It sort of feels like Im being pushed up and out of the bed. Like I don’t sink into the mattress deep enough.
As I mentioned we have only had the mattress 2 nights but it has been two horrible nights of sleep for myself. My girl friend seems comfortable on the mattress and sleeping fine. I am trying to come up with a solution that could help. I am tall and skinny (6’3"- 175lbs) and she is short and slender( 5’3" - 120lbs). I do not believe that she is sinking into the mattress more than I am.
All mattress are custom and not returnable. However we had ordered the mattress 11" thick and it was delivered at 13" thick. So they are going to pick it up and make it the correct height. I am hoping to have the top tweaked for comfort while it is in the warehouse. I don’t want to lose the support but need to make the top more comfortable. I can’t really afford to keep making adjustments so I was hoping to get a little advice prior to sending it back.
Any thoughts or insights you have would be greatly appreciated.
If your mattress is either 11" or 13" thick then it would have more than one layer and probably a combination of ILD’s in its construction. There could also be other materials in the mattress (the law label will tell you which materials are in your mattress but not the layers or the type of each material).
The whole topic of ILD can also be very complex because ILD itself is only one of many factors that determines the softness and feel of a mattress and is only really meaningful if you are comparing the same type of latex or material (either Talalay or Dunlop) in the same layer thickness. Post #6 here talks about the difficulties involved in using just ILD to compare materials and post #2 here outlines some of the specs besides just ILD that can affect how foam performs and how layers interact.
Because every layer interacts with every other layer in many ways … it would be helpful to know the details of the layers in your mattress because this can make a difference in what direction you choose to go but it sounds to me like you may need a little bit more thickness/softness in the top layer of your mattress to improve your pressure relief. Lighter weights generally need a little softer foam than people who are heavier (or who have their weight more concentrated in certain areas) because they will sink in a little less and foam will feel firmer than it would for someone who was heavier.
Post #2 here also has some insights into which types of changes may have an effect on different “symptoms” you are experiencing on a mattress.
Even if you don’t know the specifics of the layers though (or can’t find them out) then if you are looking at pressure issues (which your symptoms certainly seem to indicate) then adding a topper may be very helpful and post #2 here (and especially the posts it links to as well) will provide some good guidelines for choosing a topper that can improve your “symptoms”.
With pressure relief … it’s usually best to have “just enough” in terms of thickness and softness in your most pressure prone position (for most people on their side) so that the thicker layers of soft foam have less effect on your support / alignment on the mattress in your less pressure prone sleeping positions (back and especially stomach).
I would also keep in mind that there is a break in period where your mattress will go through some initial softening as foams lose their “false loft” and cover materials stretch to different degrees and there is also an adjustment period to any new sleeping surface with different properties than you are used to and your body “unlearns” it’s old sleeping habits and becomes more accustomed to the new sleeping surface. Both of these can take up to 90 days or so but in most cases it’s less than 30. Making changes too quickly before either of these processes has happened can lead to the need to make further changes when the mattress has completed it’s initial break in period or your body has become more accustomed to a new sleeping surface.
Pheonix,
Thank you so much for the quick response. Your perspective and insights are greatly appreciated. There was no information I could gleam from the mattress tag. Perhaps to a more educated eye it makes more sense.
I have a phone call into the company ( Sleep n Aire ) to get the specific layer information. There are 2 layers and they are all natural Latex. I will post that information as soon as I have it.
I have pics of the mattress tag and mattress. The add file link would not allow me to up load them. Ill try again tomorrow.
There is apparently a glitch in the forum template code for the add file button which shows up in some browsers and not in others that i haven’t been able to track down. It’s probably connected to the template I use for the site. Sometimes if you click in the window where the file name shows up (beside the “1.”) then the file upload window will pop up.
If this doesn’t work then if you email me the files (at the contact link at the top of the page) then I can add them to your post.
Pheonix,
I have spoken with both the salesman and the factory. Both seem to have vague answers regarding the actual Latex and how the comfort layer is constructed. I have been told that their expert is calling me tomorrow to provide more details. From what I gathered It sounded like they have three types of latex. Firm, plush and super plush. He said I could switch to the super plush but that does not answer my questions nor do I think it is the right next step. I do not want to change anything until I know what I currently have.
It is my understanding that the comfort layer is typically made up of multiple ILD’s and the order and amount of each effects the comfort layer. So it doesn’t make sense to me that it would be one or the other. A combination should be able to be adjusted multiple ways.
They mentioned company called Lit-com that makes the latex. A google search showed no results. They also mentioned HR4. Again a google search yielded no results. I am not sure if either of these mean anything to you. if so please let me know.
The company is reputable and got great reviews online. So I am still holding out hope that someone over there knows what they are doing and can provide info. In hind sight I wish I had done much more research prior to purchase but i cant go back. Here are the two pictures I had mentioned.
I was able to attach them by clicking on the actual word “attachments” in case others have similar issues. ( i am using Safari as a browser)
[quote] From what I gathered It sounded like they have three types of latex. Firm, plush and super plush. He said I could switch to the super plush but that does not answer my questions nor do I think it is the right next step. I do not want to change anything until I know what I currently have.
It is my understanding that the comfort layer is typically made up of multiple ILD’s and the order and amount of each effects the comfort layer. So it doesn’t make sense to me that it would be one or the other. A combination should be able to be adjusted multiple ways.[/quote]
Comfort layers can be a single layer or multiple layers depending on the design of the mattress.
Many manufacturers use “word” ratings because they mean more to most consumers than ILD numbers (which can be confusing or even misleading at the best of times) but as you mentioned this doesn’t say anything about the type of latex they are using.
The only name that seems to come close that I know of would be Latex International and if this was the case it would be either blended or 100% natural Talalay but their blended talalay comes in number ratings ranging from 14 to 44 and their 100% natural ratings go from N1 - N5.
The HR 4 sounds like some kind of firmness rating but I’m not familiar with it.
I’m also not familiar with F & W Mattress and a google search didn’t turn up any information outside of various listings but no reviews or website that I saw. Do they have a website or do you have a link?
