Poly vs. Wool mattress pad

[sheep123]

I seem to like an extra bit of “cush” on my mattresses near my upper body especially. In the past, I’ve always been using a polyfill mattress pad, somewhat overstuffed, but not a fiberbed (which I find uncomfortable).

I notice that those pads with a tightly woven cotton top that is “tightly” quilted, don’t have as much cush and softness as those pads that have a looser woven cotton top that is not pulled as tight before quilting. The looser woven top pads feels more “cushy”, compared to a higher fill pad that has a tightly woven and quilted top.

As always happens, the polyfill mattress pad that I currently have on my bed and love (with a loosely woven cotton top), isn’t made anymore. I’ve gone to my local shops that sell bedding (Bed, Bath and Beyond, Macys, Target, Kohls), and all of the mattress pads are made with the stiffer, tightly woven material, similar to those which I’ve tried before and don’t feel as “cushy” as my current pad. There is one pad similar to mine at Bed, Bath and Beyond, and I tried that, but it didn’t feel it was as cushy, even though I think the fill was higher.

I found a wool topper that has a knitted cotton top, and it seems like a knitted fabric might allow the fill material to feel softer than a woven cotton top. I love natural fibers, and wonder, in a mattress pad, how does wool compare to polyfill as far as compressing and going flat? My polyfill mattress pads go flat in less than a year, then I rotate the pad on the bed (so the foot area is near the head) and get another year or so out of them. Mostly it’s my upper body that most enjoys the cush feeling (I have fibromyalgia, and my muscles appreciate the cushy feel).

Here’s the pad I found on searching: http://www.wayfair.com/DownTown-Company-Down-Wool-Filled-Mattress-Pad-XQC1061.html (the company website says it is knit cotton fabric). In the FAQ it says the pad is 1" thick, but I don’t know how that compares to “fill” in polyfill mattress pads.

Anyone have any experience with wool mattress pads, and how they compare to polyfill, especially with respect to how long it takes to loose its loft?

[phoenix]

Hi sheep123,

I notice that those pads with a tightly woven cotton top that is “tightly” quilted, don’t have as much cush and softness as those pads that have a looser woven cotton top that is not pulled as tight before quilting. The looser woven top pads feels more “cushy”, compared to a higher fill pad that has a tightly woven and quilted top.

The tightness of the quilting (as you mentioned) along with the type of polyester fiber in the pad and the density of the fill along with the type of fabric used in the cover will all have an effect on the firmness and feel of a fiber mattress pad.

I found a wool topper that has a knitted cotton top, and it seems like a knitted fabric might allow the fill material to feel softer than a woven cotton top. I love natural fibers, and wonder, in a mattress pad, how does wool compare to polyfill as far as compressing and going flat? My polyfill mattress pads go flat in less than a year, then I rotate the pad on the bed (so the foot area is near the head) and get another year or so out of them. Mostly it’s my upper body that most enjoys the cush feeling (I have fibromyalgia, and my muscles appreciate the cushy feel).

A jersey knit fabric will have more stretch and tend to feel softer than a woven fabric.

There are different species of wool that have finer or courser fibers that are either more or less resilient (merino is a finer species) which can have an effect on how the wool feels and packs down and compresses over time and a mattress pad can also have different densities of wool batting and different quilting or tufting patterns which can also have an effect on its feel and firmness but in very general terms wool will usually compress by about 30% of its thickness over time and will become firmer as it compresses but it will maintain some resiliency even when it is fully compressed because of the curl in the wool fibers. Over the course of the first few months the parts that are under where you sleep most frequently or under the heavier parts of your body will compress faster than the parts where you don’t sleep or that are under the lighter parts of your body but this will even out over time if you rotate it and sleep on different parts of the mattress pad. You can see some additional comments about wool toppers in posts #3 and #6 here.

Wool is a very durable fiber that can last for many years without breaking down so it would be reasonable to expect it to last for at least 5 years for most people before they decide to replace it either because it’s uncomfortable or for hygienic reasons but depending on the person and on the specifics of the wool mattress pad or topper it can last much longer than that and some people will continue to use it and be quite happy with how their wool mattress pad or topper feels for 10 or even 15 years.

Phoenix