I have the original 8" tempurpedic mattress that’s about 17 years old (well it’s more like 7.9" now). It has a few small tears/rips in it that I plan on repairing with a spray adhesive (Clair Mist Adhesive). Afterwards I was thinking of buying either a 2"-3" 4lb gel infused memory topper or a 5lb memory topper from brooklynbedding to put on top. This will cost me probably $200 at most.
Either that or I would just go “all out” and probably get a DreamFoam 13" Ultimate Dreams mattress. I don’t really want to deal with buying knock offs under $500 every few years when they start to sag somewhere and I read good reviews about the DreamFoam.
To be honest, nothing is wrong with my current mattress other than the few rips in it that cause the sheets to go inside a little. Eventually it’ll rip all the way if I don’t repair it (I’ve been lazy enough as it is). The support is still there (in all honesty, I weigh 115lbs so that’s probably why it’s lasted so long). Any reason why I shouldn’t go this route and should spend an extra $500 on the dreamfoam? I realize my old bed is probably “dirty” maybe bedbug infested, but either I have really non-sensitive skin, or I don’t have a bed bug problem. Only “complaint” I have is the same one I’ve had since the beginning which is it sleeps a little hotter than a normal mattress (which is why I was considering a gel topper), but hey it’s been 17 years and I’ve been sleeping like a baby.
Or should I consider an even cheaper memory foam knockoff since I weigh so little and even cheap knockoffs might last me a long time?
Wow … that’s an old Tempurpedic and you don’t see many of them that have reached that age!
If you decide to go in this direction then the Dreamfoam 13" mattress certainly a great quality/value choice but it is also much softer than yours and would be similar to the current Tempurpedic Cloud Luxe so you could test this in the store to see if it’s a good match for you.
If you had bed bugs you would know it (they bite)!
If it was me I would be leaning towards replacing a 17 year old Tempurpedic and if the foam is ripping or cracking then it’s probably a sign that it’s breaking down but if you are still comfortable sleeping on it then why add a topper at all? The most effective use for a topper is to add additional softness and pressure relief to a mattress and if you are used to sleeping on a firmer mattress then the risk of adding a topper (or buying a softer mattress) is that you may end up with a sleeping system that is too soft for you and doesn’t keep you in good alignment.
I personally would be cautious with memory foam that was less than 4 lbs in terms of durability but with a topper then going as low as 3 lb density would be less risky than using it in a mattress both because of your lower weight and because you can replace it without having to replace the whole mattress. Having said that … lower density memory foams are often less “memory foam like” and faster responding than higher density memory foams so it would really depend on how you feel about the specific properties of the memory foam you are purchasing and on how suitable the mattress/topper combination is for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). There is more about the different properties of different types of memory foams in post #9 here and post #8 here.
I have decided to just repair the bed and put a high density topper on it. I had a question about thickness. And to answer the original question you had about why a topper at all, I want to put a topper to cool it a bit (gel) and I wanted a little more “memory” feeling like it use to be back when it was new.
If I remember correctly, the original tempur pedic uses 1-3" 5.4lb density foam/ILD 15-16 (I read that somewhere) on the top. I plan on putting a 5.3lb gel infused memory foam topper on the top. I just don’t know what thickness. Again, I’m only 115lbs or so, and I sleep on my side, back, and front whatever but mostly side/back. I would like to just get a 4" topper and be done with it, but will the 4" topper + the original 1-3" be too much or does it not really work that way?
I want to go with justad comfort which sells on ebay. I couldn’t find many reviews on this forum about them, have you heard of them? They claim 5.3lb measured in 1 cubic foot, 15 ILD, and is 4" gel infused like I wanted for about $330 shipped (cheaper with ebay promotions)
The Tempurpedic original bed used 2.8" of their original 5.3 lb memory foam with a 5" polyfoam support core (see here)
As you probably read in the previous posts I linked about the properties of different types of memory foam … the ILD of memory foam is not particularly meaningful spec.
If you are “repairing” your mattress by doing mattress surgery (see here) and removing the original memory foam layer and putting a new layer on top of it and if your original mattress was a good match for you in terms of PPP then I would tend to use a 3" layer of a similar density memory foam although as you can see in the previous posts I linked about different types of memory foam it may have different properties than the Tempurpedic memory foam in your mattress so it may not feel the same as your mattress did originally. I would also make sure that the polyfoam support core doesn’t have any soft spots or impressions (virtual or visible) because if it does (which is very likely after 17 years) then the memory foam will just “follow” the soft spots or impressions in your mattress.
If you are just adding a topper over your current mattress then I would use the information in post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to to use your sleeping experience as a reference point to help you choose the type and thickness of the topper that would have the best chance of success. Once again … I would make sure that your mattress doesn’t have any soft spots or impressions (virtual or visible) before adding a topper.
I’m not familiar with them and the only mention of them on the forum is in post #3 here.
You can see the guidelines I would use for memory foam in post #4 here and since they aren’t on the CertiPur list I would ask them about the source of their toppers and confirm that they are made in the US at a very minimum (which they appear to be). While some of their information is a little bit “over the top” … I agree with most of what they say on their site although they have a little bit of misinformation and they overemphasize the importance of ILD which is a personal preference IMO. I would also want to know the specifics of their return or exchange policy and the costs involved just in case your purchase doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for so you can take that into account as part of the “value” of your purchase.
There is also more information about gel memory foams in post #2 here.
Hello again, I read the thread on gel memory foam and it seems like if anything a gel visco memory foam should weigh more than a non-gel one right?
Basically, the shipping weight of justad’s 4" 5.3lb gel visco memory foam topper is only 46lbs. Doing the math, that only equals about 4.14lb density. When I called, they told me the gel version weighs less and that their non gel version is about 57lbs (this sounds more like a 5.3lb density).
I haven’t received it yet, but it’s already been shipped so nothing I can do until it gets here. They told me you can’t really figure out density for gel memory foam the same way you can for normal memory foam.
On a side note, I found a 3" TEMPUR-Topper Supreme for a good deal and was wondering if you know what the density of that topper is? I had the guy weigh the box and it came out to 47lbs (with the cover/box) which would be a 5.6lb density if the cover/box was negligible. I saw somewhere where it was only 39lbs (w/o the cover/box) which would make it 4.7lb density. Was just wondering if you knew the density like you did for my original Tempur-Pedic mattress.
This would depend on the polymer density of the memory foam and the gel and on the percentage of gel in each layer you were comparing (assuming they are both the same thickness and size). Either one could be lighter or heavier although if you have two memory foam layers and they are both the same polymer density then the one that has gel in it would likely have a higher density than the one without it because the gel would usually be denser than the memory foam.
The density of a layer would be quoted as its filled or final manufactured density so if a gel memory foam layer is described as being 5.3 lb density then it should weigh the same (within a normal spec tolerance) as a non gel 5.3 lb memory foam layer that was also described as being 5.3 lb density.
Density is calculated the same for any material and is just the weight per unit volume. It doesn’t matter what the material is.