Second Time Mattress Buyer - Where to look for longevity?

[phoenix]

Hi Epos7,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum!

Firstly, thank you for the wonderful resource! There is a lot of information here and I feel like I’ve only just scratched the surface.

You’re very welcome!

I am just realizing that I should be in the market for a new mattress. I bought my first mattress when I was in college, and it’s now 9.5 years old. The mattress is a Sealy Posturepedic Reserve BeeBee Ultra Plush. It wasn’t cheap, especially for a college student - I think I paid about $1000 for a full size. I believe it is a latex mattress.

The Reserve Series tended to be coil mattresses, but I don’t have complete records of all of the offerings from 10 years ago.

I loved that mattress for the first 3-4 years, and became somewhat ambivalent for the next 3-4. Over the last couple of years I’ve begun to notice an indent forming in the middle of the mattress, and for the last few months I’ve been dealing with a lot of back pain. I think it’s time for a new mattress.

Unfortunately, you’re describing a common timeframe of mattress life from many of the larger brands, even 10 years ago. You’re absolutely correct, you’ve needed a new mattress for some time now.

I put a 6’ straight edge over the mattress top, and the indent in the middle is in the range of 1.5" to 2" deep. This surprised me, as I’m not large person at 5’10" 165 pounds. I believe that due to the size of the indent, the mattress would likely qualify for warranty replacement.

Over 1.5" is deemed a warranty defect by Sealy.

The problem is that I bought the mattress when I lived in a different city, and returning the mattress to that city and that store isn’t very feasible.

Sealy doesn’t necessarily require you to return the product to the store where it was purchased. While transportation costs are the responsibility of the customer who has a warranty claim approved, brands will often work through an accommodating local dealer of their products to assist you with this process. It certainly would be worth investigating.

For this reason I’d prefer to make my next mattress purchase online. I don’t feel like I got very good value out of my store-bought mattress, as it really only provided good comfort for the first 4-5 years.

Yes, unfortunately the comfort life of 4-5 years is common when using lower-density foams.

They also sold me on a $100 Gore-Tex mattress cover which fell apart in the washing machine after several years. They told me I needed to buy it because if there were any stains on the mattress at all they wouldn’t be able to honor the warranty. Looking back the experience of buying a mattress in a store isn’t one I’d like to repeat.

While it is true that stains do void a mattress warranty, it doesn’t mean that you need to purchase a mattress protector that costs $100. You just need to make sure that you are using some sort of mattress pad or protector that assists in keeping your mattress clean, and promotes a healthier sleep environment.

I’d like my second mattress to provide better longevity than my current one. I realize that expecting a mattress to last over ten years is asking a lot, but I feel that my current mattress began to deteriorate after 4-5 years, and I’d like something that lasts longer than that.

An expectation of 10-years for a mattress using higher-quality materials is reasonable, with anything beyond that being what I consider “bonus time.” It certainly is achievable, but unlikely if you were to purchase something like you did in the past.

My budget is around $1000 or less for a queen sized mattress. Of the online options, which brands are likely to offer the best longevity? I’ve learned reading this site that I should look for higher densities, but this is somewhat confusing as not all brands tell you what density they are using, and others have recently increased the density of their products, making previous information outdated.

While I can certainly help with “how” to choose … It’s not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more reliable than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

I know you’ve been doing some reading already on the site, but just in case you haven’t read it yet … the first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well he will sleep), durability (how long he will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).

I would always make sure that you find out information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase. You are correct that finding out the quality of the materials is key in your mattress shopping process, and unfortunately many manufacturers are not completely forthcoming with that information. If you can’t find this information out, then I wouldn’t consider that particular mattress. Mattress construction is constantly evolving, and you should always defer to the information provided by the retailer or manufacturer, as some of the threads here are over five years old, and while I work very hard to update specifications of products, it’s not something that I’m able to keep track of on a daily basis. If there are any specifications that you’ve found that are conflicting or confusing, feel free to provide me specific links or examples and I’ll do my best to be helpful with those.

For online purchase, a good place to start is to use the experience and expertise of the members listed in post #21 here who are all very experienced and knowledgeable and specialize in providing the type of help and guidance on the phone that can help you make good choices. There are a wide range of latex and memory foam and other options included in the choices there and I believe that all of them compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, and transparency.

Their detailed knowledge of their mattresses and how they fit with different body types and sleeping positions along with your feedback from local testing, a customer base of many people that they can use as reference points, and any exchange, return, or any options they have available to customize a mattress after a purchase can help lower the risk of an online purchase. These online retailers or manufacturers can also be a good “value reference” for local purchases to make sure that if you are paying a “premium” for a local purchase (in exchange for the kind of “in person” guidance, service, and value that comes with dealing with a local retailer that can help you make more “accurate” choices that you have tested in person) is not too high.

Posts #1 and #2 in this topic also includes more information about the new "breed’ of “simplified choice” mattresses (aka “one choice fits all” or “universal comfort” or “bed in a box” or “disruptor” or “millennial” mattresses) that are available online as well that are typically in a budget range of between $600 and $1000 (queen size).

There is a bit of reading here, but I think this will help put you on the right track. I’ll be interested in learning about your progress!

Phoenix