Refining topper choice for a hard mattress

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

Hi – I wish I had found this site before purchasing my new mattress. Anyway, I am looking for some guidance on making a too hard mattress softer. I am 6ft 2 in tall, weigh about 165, and am a hybrid stomach and side sleeper. I never sleep on my back.

I purchased an extra firm queen mattress from the Original Mattress Factory in Richmond, VA. I was convinced that since my old Simmons Pillowtop (Valley Cottage Plush, ~650 from Groupon), which only lasted one year before the upper layers collapsed and gave me horrible back pain, that I would buy the hardest bed available and add a topper if needed. Well, I went from one extreme to the other…

The following picture shows a cross section of the new mattress:
ADMIN NOTE:Removed 404 page link | Archived Footprint: originalmattress.com/images/popup-box/cut-away-popups/Orthopedic-Extra-Firm.jpg

As can be seen there is hardly any polyfoam, and the synthetic cotton batting is pretty much incompressible. Also the springs are rather hard and don’t give much. I have to push pretty hard to get it to deflect a few inches. Anyway, I slept on it the first night and woke up with awful shoulder pain. I immediately did some research to order a topper. I bought a 2 inch Dunlop Latex topper (20 ILD) from SleeepOnLatex.com. I like the reduced chemical smell, the fact that it is somewhat “green,” and will supposedly last for years. I was nervous that 3 inches would be too thick, so I bought the 2 inch version. This allowed me to at least sleep on the new mattress. While I slept well the first night, I have developed rather severe shoulder and neck pain over the past couple weeks, and have an overall restless night of sleep that’s getting progressively worse it seems. I’ve tried different pillows but that doesn’t seem to help the neck pain much, and the shoulder pain remains consistently bad. Thankfully I have very little if any back pain.

My conclusion is that the bed is too hard. I like the 2 inch topper, but I don’t feel it cushions quite enough. When I’m on my side, my shoulders ache when I wake up, suggesting 2 inches isn’t enough… I did try folding the topper in half to make it 4 inches of 20ILD and sleeping on it like a twin bed. After about 30 minutes I felt that was actually a little too soft for my back and I unfolded it and slept like normal. Perhaps I need to give that a longer try. Anyway, to make the bed softer, here are the options I am considering:

  1.   SleepOnLatex has a good return policy, and I could return and exchange the topper for a 3 inch (20 ILD) topper.   That may provide the extra cushioning I need. 

  2.   I am considering buying a 2 inch 30ILD topper to go under the 2 inch one.  Then I would have 2 inches of 10 ILD, 2 inches of 30 ILD, then the mattress underneath. That seems to resemble the layering of some commercial "build your own" latex mattresses. 

  3.   Buy one inch of 30 ILD latex to go underneath the upper 2 inch topper.  That would be 2 inches of 20ILD, 1 inch of 30LD, then the mattress.

  4.   Buy 2 inches of 5lb density memory foam to go under the 2 inch latex topper. That would be 2 inches 20ILD latex, 2 inches memory foam then the mattress. I was considering this memory foam:

https://www.rakuten.com/prod/227404324.html

I realize no one can say which option will work for me, but what I want is some kind of transition between the relatively soft 2 inch latex topper and the rock hard mattress – something that operates as a buffering support layer. Currently, it’s not far off from laying the two inch topper directly on a wood floor. I am leaning towards the 2 inches of 30 ild latex to go under the current soft topper I have.

I would welcome any suggestions or advice from others that may have tried a similar combination, and how it worked out for you. Thanks -

2

Hi Aunins,

If the only issue with a mattress is that it is too firm and there are no soft spots or sagging in the mattress then a good quality topper can certainly be an effective way to add some additional softness, “comfort” and pressure relief to your sleeping system but the only way to know for certain whether a specific mattress/topper(s) combination is a good “match” for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) is based on your own careful testing or personal experience on the combination. If you can’t test the combination in person then there will always be always some risk and uncertainty involved in adding a topper because the specifics of the mattress itself along with your own body type, sleeping position, and preferences can affect which specific topper would be a suitable choice on any specific mattress.

There is more information about choosing a topper in post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to which along with a conversation with a reliable and knowledgeable supplier (that can provide you with good information about how their toppers compare to each other or to other toppers they are familiar with that are available on the market) can help you use your sleeping experience as a reference point and guideline to help you choose the type, thickness, and firmness for a topper that has the least possible risk and the best chance for success. It also includes a link to a list of some of the better online sources for toppers I’m aware of and a link to the online suppliers that have good exchange/return policies as well

As you mentioned … a good exchange/return policy can reduce the risk of an online topper purchase so I if you aren’t certain that a topper will work well for you I would always make sure you are comfortable with the options you have available after a purchase just in case the topper you choose doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for.

[quote]My conclusion is that the bed is too hard. I like the 2 inch topper, but I don’t feel it cushions quite enough. When I’m on my side, my shoulders ache when I wake up, suggesting 2 inches isn’t enough… I did try folding the topper in half to make it 4 inches of 20ILD and sleeping on it like a twin bed. After about 30 minutes I felt that was actually a little too soft for my back and I unfolded it and slept like normal. Perhaps I need to give that a longer try. Anyway, to make the bed softer, here are the options I am considering:

  1. SleepOnLatex has a good return policy, and I could return and exchange the topper for a 3 inch (20 ILD) topper. That may provide the extra cushioning I need.[/quote]

Based on your testing where 2" wasn’t thick/soft enough and 4" seemed to be too thick/soft it would make logical sense to try a 3" topper and this would probably be the next option I would try. It’s also much simpler than trying to use more complex layering combinations…

I’m guessing you meant to say 2" of 20 ILD? Every layer and component in a mattress (including the cover) will have an effect on every other layer and component in the mattress both above and below it and the mattress “as a whole” so this wouldn’t be the same as most DIY mattresses because the mattress underneath the toppers would have a different combination of materials and components than most DIY mattresses that used latex or a polyfoam layer underneath the two latex layers. There are also too many unknowns and variables involved to be able to predict whether any DIY design will be a good “match” in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP based on specs (either yours or the mattress).

Having said that … this would probably also be softer than your current mattress/topper combination and could also work well and would also be well worth considering as an option IMO. It would probably be my second choice only because I tend to keep things as simple as possible but I would guess (and it would be strictly a guess) that the odds of success would be similar to the 3" single topper but once again the only way to know for sure would be to try it.

This may be a little bit less risky than using 2" of 30 ILD under the 2" of 20 ILD in terms of stomach sleeping but it still may not be soft enough to provide enough pressure relief when you are sleeping on your side. I personally would lean towards one of the first two options unless you tried the 2" of 20 ILD and the 2"" of 30 ILD and it was too soft for you.

[quote]4. Buy 2 inches of 5lb density memory foam to go under the 2 inch latex topper. That would be 2 inches 20ILD latex, 2 inches memory foam then the mattress. I was considering this memory foam:
https://www.rakuten.com/prod/227404324.html[/quote]

If you think you would prefer the “feel” of slower response of memory foam under the latex this may be worth considering but this would be a preference choice rather than a “better/worse” choice. I have no idea whether you would like it or whether it would work for you and I would treat this as an experiment to see how it feels to you and I would only consider this if you had the option to return the memory foam for a refund in case you didn’t like it.

I would also be skeptical about whether the density they are listing is correct and I would confirm the shipping weight to make sure that the weight of the topper works out to be 5 lb density. You can calculate what it “should” weigh by multiplying the thickness times the width times the length in inches and dividing by 1728 to calculate the cubic feet and then multiplying by 5 to get the weight that it should be. If you do a forum search on PurGreen (you can click the link) you will find other examples of memory foam toppers that are probably the same memory foam that use numbers as part of the product name that “look like” density numbers but don’t relate to the density of the memory foam. If this is one of these toppers you certainly wouldn’t be the first one that was misled.

I also don’t consider PurGreen to be a reliable certification for harmful substances and VOCs (offgassing).

I would keep in mind that while your mattress may be firm … it’s certainly not rock hard and it already has some softer comfort layers on top of the spring. They would feel firm because they are relatively thin but they would function as a transition layer with a topper or toppers on top of them and any of your topper combinations on your mattress would feel softer than they did on the floor.

Phoenix

3

Thanks for the reply Phoenix. I am leaning towards the 2 inch 3o ild Dunlop to go under my current two inch one, or exchanging this topper for a 3 inch one. Also thanks for the additional links you provided, which are helping me come to a final decision that should hopefully work for me. In the meantime, I’ll keep researching.

Thanks -

4

Hi Aunins,

I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding and of course how it works for you as well.

Phoenix