Hi boruto.
Welcome to the Mattress Underground! 
My experience on the Morgedal for 18 of the last 20 months were fantastic (and I am someone with chronic low back pain, so I’m very peculiar when it comes to mattresses). However, during the last 2 months I’ve had terrible low back, hip, and side abdominal pain every single night; I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since this started. I’ve isolated the culprit to my mattress----the right side of the mattress sags more than the left, so when I sleep on it, my body becomes more misaligned. I’m desperate to find a comparable mattress (that won’t sag or deform after 18 months) so I can finally get a decent night’s sleep
Sorry to hear your current IKEA is failing after 18 months and that your chronic low back and hip pains resurfaced in the last two months. It is encouraging to learn that experiments helped you determine that the pains you experience are mattress-related due to foam softening and breakdown. You did not mention the size of the bed you are looking at but a queen or smaller should fit your criteria budget-wise for a suitable and gopod quality mattress and you have many options available.
The (7") IKEA Mordegal mattress has weak points in terms of design and durability so it’s not surprising that it is failing only after 18 months of use. Ikea does not list on their site the thickness of the two polyfoam layers but from the picture they provide it looks like the convoluted support polyfoam layer is around 2 inches thick and the sculpted comfort layer above is around 4" or so. At 2.2 lbs/cuft density the support layer would be a durable material should it be a solid slab instead of convoluted. A benefit of convoluted foam is that it is less costly but it also alters the feel and performance of the foam (it can act softer on top of the layer and firmer in the deeper parts of the layer). The tradeoff is durability when compared to a solid layer of the same type, density, and firmness level of the foam (Mattress manufacturing in Europe often has special fabrication of various layers with surface modifications and various shapes and cutouts and convolutions to modify the feel and response of the foams used)
The 4" sculpted polyform comfort layer is another weak link in this mattress. Any foam of less than 1.8lbs/cuft for an average BMI sleeper will start to break down sooner rather than later. As you can see from Ikea’s website the Morgengal’s comfort layer density is 1.7;bs/cuft and it’s surface modifications are further reducing its density and durability.
Understanding the failure points and the “lessons learned” of your current IKEA mattress will certainly increase the likelihood of you moving at a faster pace and narrowing down your mattress choices to something that is suitable for you but also durable. I would eliminate right off the bat any mattress for which you cannot find out the mattress specifications you need to know so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the mattress durability guidelines here
I don’t know how much you read since finding our website and forum but I’d start with a few mattress basics. The mattress shopping tutorial here has the basic information, steps, and guidelines including suggestions about how to test a mattress for what is called PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) that can simplify your search and help you make the best possible choices.
To sum up a few important points…
- inexpensive memory and poly foams in lower densities are prone to prematurely softening and breaking down.
- Warranties only cover manufacturing defects and don’t cover foam softening or “virtual impressions” and the gradual loss of comfort and support under the heavier parts of the body over time which is the most likely reason that you would need to replace a mattress. If a mattress uses good quality materials then foam softening and the loss of comfort and support would be much more likely than visible impressions that are deeper than the warranty exclusion.
- We suggest any foam in a potential mattress has no more than an inch or so of lower grade foams (for memory foam no lower than 4 lbs/cuft for normal range weights, and 5lbs/cuft for higher range weights) and if polyfoam is used, with at least 1.8 lbs/cuft density,
In the meantime, I have ordered a mattress topper to see if it would provide temporary relief while I continue to search for a suitable mattress
It’s important to remember that the best use of a topper is with a mattress where the comfort layers of the mattress are too thin or too firm but are still flat and even and don’t have significant dips or soft spots that have developed over time. While it’s fairly simple to add some surface softness and pressure relief to a mattress that is too firm but otherwise still in good condition …In your case with a mattress that developed soft spots (virtual impressions) things are not so straight forward. It’s not really effective to use a topper to change the primary support for a mattress (which comes from the deeper layers, not the upper layers) or to “fix” a mattress where the comfort layers have developed dips or soft spots because the topper will just tend to sink into or “follow” the dips or soft spots and could cause other issues such as advanced alignment problems and back issues as well because you could end up with top layers that in combination with what is already in your mattress don’t allow you to sink in evenly or are too far away from the support layers or components of the mattress. Trying to make a mattress firmer or “more supportive” with a topper is not particularly effective and will usually have either partial or temporary success or in the worst case cause more issues than it solves.
Any recommendations would be greatly, truly appreciated. In general I prefer mattresses on the firmer side. I’m currently researching the Loom & Leaf mattress, the Bed In A Box Tranquillium, the Nest Quail, and the Tempur-Pedic LuxeAdapt firm but other suggestions would be very helpful.
The problem with big retail stores as well as the bed-in-a-box brands is that they offer little, if any, information or transparency about the materials and compnents within their products. Without knowing the thickness and densities of foams used, it’s impossible to assess how they would work for any given sleeper. As a lighter BMI sleeper, you do have many options both in store and online, but you still need to ensure you have proper support as well as comfort.
Of the mattresses you mention - the Saatva loom & leaf memory foam, the Bed In A Box Tranquillium and the Tempurpedic Adapt Luxe - neither are disclosing thicknesses, densities, and details of the foams used in their construction. This lack of transparency always rases ‘red flags’ as it discourages comparissons to simmilar but better quality/value mattressess manufactured by their smaller competitors.
Nest Bedding, on the other hand, as all of our Trusted Members, are vetted for quality, transparency, great customer service and excellent return and exchange policies. The Nest Quail is 9" all foam mattress with a 3" 2.8 lbs/cuft Energex PU comfort layer, 1" breathable smart flow transition layer and a 6" 1.8 lbs/cuft base polyfoam layer with edge support. NestBedding has the advantage of having retail locations nationwide and you may find one that is close by so that you can try and see if the firmness and comfort is suitable for you. This is the best way to ensure that the firmess you select is a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) based pm your stats (BMI/height&weight, sleeping postion(s) and any underlying health conditions tthat you may have)
Available in firm and medium firm which is a well-made mattress and with your low BMI should be durable enough to last many years.
Many of the other Trusted Members of the site also carry memory,polyfoam, and gel foam mattresses like Also, BioSleep Concept carries several foam and hybrid models, as does Custom Sleep Technology which has a 6" mattress which is similar to your current one except that it has a better design and that is using only quality foams. You can take a look also at Magic Sleeper, Mattress To Go, SleepEZ for example. All these fully disclose specifications you need to know and provide the information needed to help you make an informed product choice.
If you have any specific questions about any mattresses you come across, we’ll do our best to assist you.
Phoenix
