should I reuse my polyfoam base or start fresh?

Hi, we had a DIY memory foam mattress made by a small mom and pop (I think literally) factory in boston about 7 years ago. The mattress is several layers, one of which appears to be a stiff 4" polyfoam encased in a cover. We want to switch to latex but are not sure if we should chuck out the polyfoam layer, or use it as the third - firm- layer in a new latex bed. The factory has closed down (the owners retired) so I donā€™t know exactly what kind of foam it is, but it is rather firm).

We are pretty sure we are going to buy a latex from sleeper and donā€™t know what size (7", 8" or 9") as it depends on whether or not we are keeping our 4" base or not.
My husband is 5ā€™9" 145lb back and stomach sleeper and Iā€™m 5ā€™3", 120 stomach sleeper, so we are not large people. We have tried a few latex locally and like medium feel.

Phoenix, what do you think? My husband is inclinded to just start fresh and get it right from the beginning, while Iā€™m not so sure we need to throw it all way if we are not going to feel the difference betweeen a firm latex bottom layer and a firm polyfoam bottom layer. I should add we have a platform bed with slats.

The problem is that if we go with the 7" then we probably wouldnā€™t want 3" of soft, that might be too much, but Iā€™m not sure Iā€™d like to sleep directly on the medium, which is why Iā€™m leaning towards the 9". But if we go with 9" then having two firm layers (one latex, one poly) seems like overkill.

What do you suggest?

Thanks,

Hi Myjanda,

Iā€™m assuming you meant SleepEz (rather than sleeper?)

If this is the case you could always talk with Shawn and order the thicker cover and then only two layers of latex. This way you could test it to see how it feels and your options would still be open.

While itā€™s true that the bottom layer will have the least effect on the more obvious ā€œfeelā€ of your mattress ā€¦ it can still be an important part of good support (which is what you feel in the morning) and if you are using an ā€œunknownā€ layer in terms of quality or ILD then you wonā€™t have as clear a reference point for any changes you may need to make because you wonā€™t know how much the lowest layer is contributing to any issues you may have. You are both lighter though so this would increase the odds that it may be OK. It certainly canā€™t do any harm to try it and then see what happens with two latex layers over it.

It seems to me that since neither of you sleep on your side and you are both lighter that you would be good ā€œcandidatesā€ for the 9000 (which has 8" of latex) in a soft/medium/firm configuration. Their mattresses use either 6", 8" or 9" of latex (there is no version with 7") but an extra inch of material (your polyfoam is 4" instead of 3") should still fit inside the cover. I would talk with Shawn about your options both in terms of firmness choices and to see if itā€™s possible to buy 9000 (or whatever you decide is best) without the firm bottom layer and keep your options open about adding a latex layer if itā€™s necessary.

Phoenix

Thanks Phoenix, you are right, I meant SleepEZ - darn autocorrect!!
I had spoken to Shaun and his advice was to start from fresh but he didnā€™t really try to talk me out of reusing the polyfoam base we have, so your advice is helpful - weā€™ll try ā€˜withā€™ and then ā€˜withoutā€™ the polyfoam and let you know how it goes.

Thanks!

Hi Myjanda,

My tendency personally would also be to start fresh because I usually try to remove as many unknown variables as possible and the polyfoam is likely not the highest quality material and worth saving by itself but it does allow you to reduce your costs by choosing one less latex layer with the ā€œtradeoffā€ of adding some unknowns and possible confusion or uncertainty about what may be your ā€œbestā€ next step if you need to make any exchanges or additions.

Phoenix