stores with larger assortment of latex beds

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

Hello,

We’ve had a latex bed for 10 years and have pretty much loved it, until it started to show the body compressions a few years into it. Basically I have to lay almost in the middle of the bed to fit in the compression (not sure how that happened). Since we knew nothing about beds when we went shopping 10 years ago, I’m assuming the bed was made of cheaper latex and it was the weak link in the bed and therefore started to sag. We bought it at Wickes Furniture - I think it was manufactured by American Bedding - a Stephanie Latex Sleep Set.

I still love the feel of latex, though, and I know a bit more about latex now, although I still get a bit confused and overwhelmed by all the info. Can you recommend stores in the Minneapolis area that carry a larger assortment of latex beds to try out? Looks like Original Mattress Factory only has one model and it’s almost $2000 for a king size. I’m a bit hesitant to buy online, although it looks like SleepEZ is pretty reputable. I’m just not sure I want to have to swap out layers on the bed to get the feel I’m looking for.

Thank you. Your website is awesome and a little bit addicting! I keep returning to it on my lunch break each day to learn a bit more about mattresses.

2

Hi Minnesota,

My guess would be that there are probably other materials in the mix besides just latex that could be the weak link in the mattress. If you still have the law tag it may tell you if there is anything else in your mattress besides latex. I would always make sure that you know the specifics of all the layers and components in any mattress you are considering (see this article) so that you can identify any weak links in the mattress and make more meaningful comparisons with other mattresses. There are many mattresses in the market that “contain” some latex but there are other materials inside that are the weakest link in the mattress.

The better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Minneapolis area are listed in post #2 here.

Thanks for the kind comments … and I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding and of course any comments or questions you may have along the way :slight_smile:

Phoenix

3

Thanks for the info Phoenix!

I checked out the law tag that you suggested and now I’m confused. It reads “All new material consisting of Poly Urethane Foam 100%”. So does that mean there is no latex whatsoever in the bed, even though the model name is “Stephanie Latex Sleep Set”?

The funny thing is I really like how cushy the bed feels, it’s just that the body compressions have made it uncomfortable now. Have we just been sleeping on foam (no latex) for the last 10 years?

Also, could you provide the link again for the layers/components of mattresses below? The link is not showing up for me.

Thank you!
Minnesota

4

Hi Minnesota,

That’s confusing to me as well. It’s not unusual for a mattress to be called a “latex mattress” that only has relatively thin layers of latex inside it (in which case any lower density polyfoam can be a weak link in the mattress depending on the density, thickness, and position of the polyfoam) but I’ve never seen a mattress called a “latex mattress” that has no latex at all. There’s a possibility that the law tag is wrong but based on what it says then there there would be no latex in your mattress at all.

It may be worth calling American Bedding to see if they can solve the mystery for you.

Oops … I typed the words but forgot to link them to the article (now corrected) … sorry. the link is here.

Phoenix

5

Hi Minnesota,

That’s confusing to me as well. It’s not unusual for a mattress to be called a “latex mattress” that only has relatively thin layers of latex inside it (in which case any lower density polyfoam can be a weak link in the mattress depending on the density, thickness, and position of the polyfoam) but I’ve never seen a mattress called a “latex mattress” that has no latex at all. There’s a possibility that the law tag is wrong but based on what it says then there there would be no latex in your mattress at all.

It may be worth calling American Bedding to see if they can solve the mystery for you.

Oops … I typed the words but forgot to link them to the article (now corrected) … sorry. the link is here.

Phoenix

6

Thanks Phoenix. I contacted American Bedding per your link, but they are American Bedding Company, not to be confused with American Bedding Industries in Columbus, OH, which manufactured my bed. I left out the “Industries” in my message to you. I didn’t realize there was more than one manufacturer with such a similar name. Doing a quick search came up with no results for American Bedding Industries, so perhaps they are out of business. Anyway, that’s in the past. I’m planning on heading to the store on Friday to lay on some beds and try out latex to see if it’s similar to what I’ve been used to.

I do have a couple questions. Among many recommendations for the Minneapolis area, you suggested visiting the following:

www.thefurnituremart.com/locations Medford, Shakopee, and others in MN. Restonic (typically carries gel and latex).

Does this store carry factory direct mattresses? I thought it was more of a furniture store. Also, I like a softer comfort layer. So if foam goes above 1" on the comfort layer, it had better be a higher density foam in order to not break down so quickly, correct? Does higher density foam have a firmer feel to it? How do I get a softer feeling without sacrificing durability in the long run?

More questions to come from me, I’m sure. Thank you so much for your help Phoenix!!

7

Hi Minnesota,

There are quite a number of companies with “American Bedding” in their name but if the name on your law tag is “American Bedding Industries” and they were in Columbus, OH then it sounds like one of the Spring Air licensees before their bankruptcy. You can see the Wikipedia article here which says …

[quote]Merger with Consolidated Bedding

In 2007 The Spring Air Company merged with Consolidated Bedding, Inc. of Tampa, FL, Spring Air’s largest licensee and simultaneously acquired six other Spring Air licensees operating eight mattress manufacturing facilities in the United States. The unified Company will employ 1,150 employees in 14 locations,including its headquarters facility that will remain in the Chicago area. The merger will solidify Spring Air’s position as the leading value “S” brand on every retail floor. The acquired manufacturing facilities are in: Atlanta, GA; Birmingham, AL; Chelsea, MA (Boston); Denver, CO; Phoenix, AZ; St. Louis, MO; Salt Lake City, UT; and Lacey, WA (Seattle). They will join Consolidated Bedding’s existing facilities in: Columbus, OH; Carrollton, TX (Dallas); City of Industry, CA (Los Angeles); New Brunswick, NJ; and Tampa, FL.

H.I.G. Capital LLC, a leading global private equity investment firm with more than $4 billion of equity capital under management, provided the equity funding for the transaction. H.I.G. began a relationship with Spring Air in 2005 when it funded the merger of American Bedding Industries and Spring Air Partners, the two largest Spring Air licensees.

In May 2009 the company that owned the Spring Air name - Consolidated Bedding - went bankrupt.

The Spring Air Name was then purchased by E&E Bedding and turned into Spring Air International.[1][/quote]

… so you may not be able to solve the mystery of what is inside your mattress.

They are a retailer that carries Restonic mattresses … not a manufacturer that sells factory direct to the public. In other words they don’t make their own mattresses.

Almost all mattresses will have more than an inch of foam or other comfort materials above the support core and yes I would want to make sure that out of all the layers that no more than “about an inch or so” of them were either unknown quality or low quality materials (see post #4 here). It doesn’t matter how much higher quality materials there are because they wouldn’t be the weak link.

This would be a matter of testing a mattress that felt softer to you and still didn’t have more than an inch of lower quality or unknown materials in the upper layers of the mattress. It may have softer comfort layers or thicker comfort layers (both of which would feel softer for most people) than another mattress that was too firm for you but the way to know whether it feels softer for you is to test it. Once you have confirmed that it’s softer and is a good match for you in terms of PPP then you can check the materials to make sure they are good quality/density and that it doesn’t have any weak links. In most cases the salesperson at the store would know which mattresses they carry would feel softer or firmer than another one you have tested.

In other words … a mattress that is softer or a mattress that is firmer can both use good quality materials because any type of material comes in softer or firmer versions and thicker layers of material will also feel softer for most people than thinner layers of the same material.

Phoenix

8

Thanks Phoenix! As always, you bring up such good things to consider and think about before making the big decision on a mattress.

So, I went to Original Mattress Factory today with my two little guys and laid on almost every single bed. Our salesperson was very knowledgeable and was able to answer almost all my questions. I laid on their latex model and wow, I can tell you the supposedly “latex” bed we bought 10 years ago with the “100% polyfoam” label on it definitely had to have been a scam by the mattress company. The latex bed I laid on today feels so different than what I’ve laid on the past 10 years. It was very comfy, but a bit too springy for me, and I actually liked their innerspring mattresses better. Go figure! All this time I thought I wanted latex, but at least with what I tried today, I really prefer an innerspring.

We are looking for a bed for my 5 year old son, too, so I was asking about the fire retardent in the mattresses and the salesperson told me they don’t use any chemicals in the making of their mattrresses. Then he showed me the layer of material they include for the fire barrier,although he didn’t know what it was made of. I did receive the following email message (I pasted a portion of it) from them regarding it - maybe you can make sense of this, whether the fire barrier has chemicals in it or not - otherwise I will call their cleveland factory which they recommend to do if I have further questions.

"…In order to meet the requirements of these federal standards, The Original Mattress Factory incorporates a Flame Retardant barrier just below the ticking on all of our products. We have purposefully selected barriers that utilize inherent FR fibers to use in the sleeping surfaces of all of our products. Inherent FR fibers are fibers in which the flame retardant (FR) properties are part of the fibers themselves - the fiber is not coated or treated after it is produced. The Original Mattress Factory does not spray or treat the sleep surfaces of our products with any chemicals or coatings to meet flammability regulations. Furthermore, The Original Mattress Factory does not use any internal components that are treated with FR chemicals or coatings of any kind.

We cannot make a mattress that does not meet FR regulations. Some manufacturer’s will do so with a doctor’s prescription, but to be quite honest I don’t know which ones. "

I also asked if their polyurethane foam was Certi-Pur certified and the salesperson did not know what I was talking about. The density of the foam, though, was 1.5, so at least that is good. But I do recall you stating somewhere that kids should not have foam on their beds, right, or at least very little foam? Does that have more to do with keeping the bed firm, or keeping away potential toxins that may be in the foam?

I’m a bit torn as to how green I want to be with my son’s mattress. Up until now, I haven’t been concerned, but then again ignorance is bliss. The OMF has great prices and if their fire barrier isn’t too terrible and the foam is certified, then maybe I can live with that without having too much mommy guilt. Otherwise, I guess we look into the Pure Echo from mygreenmattress.com. It seems to be the most economical “green” mattress available.

Also, we went to Furniture Mart to try out some Restonic mattresses. They carried a huge selection - I think I counted 12-15 models. I really wanted to try out the latex one, but I could only find two that showed “latex” on the info sheet on the bed and it was combined with other materials, so I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. The salesperson, of course, knew very little and couldn’t tell me about the density of the foam, or anything about the fire retardent, etc. I figured I would have to get all that info from Restonic, and then go back to the store to check it out. It was such a different experience than what we had at OMF. OMF had cutouts of all of their beds so you could see everything that was in each bed. They also had entire mattresses from Sealy, Serta and Simmons with the mattress cut away to show the components inside their mattresses. It was very interesting to see how much different they looked from the OMF mattresses.

Anyway, I’m not so concerned about having the greenest mattress in town for my husband and myself, (we’ve lived this long with whatever has been in our mattresses and neither of us has had a green mattress), but am thinking more for my son and to feel good about a mattress for him. I truly need to figure out how green of a mattress he needs.

Lastly, the OMF salesperson who was not pushy whatsoever, asked where else we planned to look. I told him possibly Restwell Mattress Factory. He told me they are a “kit bit”, and that they don’t make their own mattresses, but assemble them from kits they receive from mattress factories. Does that sound correct? If so, does that really make a difference in terms of getting a good value? Do they then become the “middle man”?

Thanks for your time once again. Don’t you ever get tired of talking about mattresses all day, and answering the same questions over and over? :slight_smile:

9

Hi Minneasota,

I would keep in mind that different types of latex have a different “feel” and some (like Talalay) are more resilient than others (there is more about the difference between Dunlop and Talalay in post #7 here for example) and that different latex designs can also have a very different feel as well depending on the type of support core, the design and firmness of the latex comfort layers, and the type of cover and quilting in the mattress. In general though latex is a more resilient or “springy” material than other types of foam that are used in comfort layers. There are also latex/innerspring hybrids that have some of the “feel” of an innerspring (which is generally a support layer and much of what you feel on an innerspring mattress will be in the comfort layer materials not necessarily the innerspring) and use latex comfort layers so I wouldn’t necessarily make a decision about a whole category of mattresses based on testing only one of them.

The bottom line though is that I would choose a mattress that is a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) and used the type of support components and comfort layers that you tend to prefer because all materials will have lower quality and less durable versions and higher quality and more durable versions.

I would also make sure that no matter where you are buying a mattress that you know the specifics of all the materials inside it so that you can make sure there are no “weak links” and can make more meaningful comparisons with other mattresses. I would never buy any mattress where you didn’t have all the information you need to make an informed choice and meaningful comparisons regardless of which manufacturer or retailer you were dealing with.

You can read a little more about fire barriers in this article and in post #2 here but I wouldn’t have any “safety” issues with an inherent rayon/silica fire barrier.

I’m surprised that they weren’t familiar with CertiPur but this may have just been the salesperson you were dealing with.

I think you may have already seen this already based on your comment about My Green Mattress but just in case you haven’t post #2 here has links to most of the better posts and topics about children and mattresses that may be helpful when you are buying a mattress for a child. They also include more information and some links to good sources for children’s mattresses.

There are three different types of foam which are polyfoam, memory foam, and latex foam. Out of these, most people wouldn’t have any any issues with using polyfoam in a childs mattress as long as it was either CertiPur certified or was made in North America (see the guidelines in this post). I also wouldn’t have any issues with using any type of latex foam. I would however tend to avoid memory foam for children (especially younger children) both because the odds are higher that some people may be more sensitive to memory foam than polyfoam or latex and also because it is a softer material that may not be firm enough or “motion friendly” enough to be the best choice for younger children so this may be what you are referring to. Any polyfoam can be made in softer or firmer versions regardless of its density so with polyfoam density is only about quality and durability not about firmness or toxicity. Latex is also available in a wide range of firmness levels.

Finding out the foam densities “should be” the job of the retailer you are dealing with and if they don’t know they should be the ones calling their factory. In some cases factories will only provide this information to their retailers becasue they aren’t set up to deal with customer enquiries. Unless there is a very compelling reason that you are interested in a particular mattress that would justify the efforts involved to find out for yourself what a retailer should be finding out for you … I would tend to avoid it. If it was me I would make it clear that if they couldn’t find out the information I needed to make an informed choice (even if they had to pass the request up the “chain of command”) that there was no chance that I would be buying a mattress from them.

There is more about the most important parts of the value of a mattress purchase in post #13 here but as long as I knew the quality of the materials inside any mattress I was considering so I could identify any weak links and make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses this wouldn’t matter as much to me. To some degree this would be true of most manufacturers because they would rarely make every component in their mattresses and would order them from other suppliers and then put the mattress together in their own factory. To me the “bottom line” about how the mattresses compare is more important than the steps that went in to making the mattress.

As you know I have many reference posts that I link for most questions so I don’t have to retype the answers to each one but I certainly don’t get tired of answering questions as long as I know they are helping people to make better choices :slight_smile:

Phoenix

10

Hi Phoenix,

I realize the string here is going off the original subject of looking for latex beds, so feel free to start a new thread if you think that would be better.

I went to another mattress store today and was told by the salesperson that the 3" foam edge supports used on his beds (Spring Air, Restonic) are better compared to Original Mattress Factory, which uses coils to the edges of all their beds. He said coils are less expensive than foam, which is why OMF does that, just to save on cost. However, OMF will include a foam cylinder in the edge coils on their upperline mattresses to provide a firmer edge support. for customers that want them. What is your opinion on edge supports? Since the coil is in the support layer, am I correct to assume this would not be considered a weak link anyway? More of a preference whether I go with a foam edge support or a coil support?

Thanks so much again.

11

Hi Minnesota,

Since it’s your topic … you can take it in any direction you would like to go :slight_smile:

You can see my thoughts about edge support for innersprings in post #2 here and for polyfoam and memory foam mattresses in post #33 here and for latex mattresses in post #3 here.

While it would depend on the specifics … it’s usually the other way around. Foam is less costly than steel. With an innerspring mattess where there is a foam surround and you are likely to sit on the edge of the mattress I would want to know that the foam was good quality/density (1.8 lbs or higher) so it was less likely to sag with the more concentrated weight of sitting.

Phoenix

12

Thank you, thank you Phoenix!

One more question - can you provide a link to any posts about king-size bed frames for innerspring mattresses? Our current headboard/footboard and frame are made out of wood. All three were purchased together by my husband as a set. There is a board running along the center of the frame to help support the two twin box springs, but there is nothing underneath that center board to support it on the floor. So basically the only parts that touch the floor are the two ends of the headboard and two ends of the footboard, nothing through the middle of the bed. Does that make sense? I’m thinking we don’t have enough support?

13

Hi Minnesota,

There is more information about the different types of support systems that are generally suitable for different types of mattresses in the foundation post here and the two posts it links to in the second paragraph.

For queen size sleeping systems or larger (or even with full size with heavier weights) it would be important to make sure that the support system under your mattress has good center support to the floor with at least one leg under any midbeam in the mattress and preferably two (with king size especially) to help prevent sagging over time. If your current bedframe doesn’t have good center support to the floor then post #5 here has some suggestions that may be helpful.

Phoenix

Phoenix

14

Hi Phoenix,

It’s been awhile, but I think we’ve finally decided to purchase an innerspring from OMF. Their polyfoam comfort layers are made of 1.8 lb. foam, and I know you think that’s acceptable for a comfort layer and shouldn’t break down prematurely. I can’t decide between getting an orthopedic pillowtop or eurotop (what is the difference anyway?) or just the regular orthopedic ultra plush. I see there is a post from someone yesterday who loved the ultra plush mattress. Good to hear that! I know body impressions will occur sooner or later and I’m wondering if it’s possible to put a mattress topper on a pillowtop if it develops the impressions. I don’t know if there are sheets that would be deep enough to cover a pillow top and a mattress topper combined. I loved the softness of the pillowtop, but after what happened with our last bed sagging and developing impressions so quickly, I am a bit gun shy on getting a pillowtop/eurotop just because it seems those aren’t so easy to fix with a topper, but perhaps I’m wrong.

Just curious what your thoughts are.

I did fall in love with a latex bed at Restwell which had a polyfoam comfort layer on it, but the polyfoam was only 1.5 lb. I don’t want to spend $2000 for a latex king bed that may have polyfoam break down early on. It was so comfy, though, as they all seem to be in the showroom.

OMF has a latex bed where the support layer is polyfoam and the comfort layer is latex. But it felt a little too much like jello to me - just a bit wiggly. Again, over my budget and I prefer the polyfoam top, but not a cheap layer of polyfoam!

Decisions, decisions. Can you help me?

Thanks!

15

Hi Minnesota,

If the mattress looks something like this (like a separate pillow with recessed edges sewed to the mattress) then it’s a pillow top. If the mattress has flush edges like this with a “box” on top … then it’s a Eurotop or a box top. Post #2 here has more about the differences between them. They are different designs with different combinations of layers. The “best” choice is the one that your careful testing indicates is the best match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). If two mattresses are very close and it’s difficult to decide between them I would choose the one that is a little firmer rather than a little softer because it’s easier to “fix” a mattress that is too firm (with a topper) than a mattress that is too soft.

A topper can be a suitable choice for a mattress that is too firm and needs some additional comfort and pressure relief but it’s not a good way to “fix” for a mattress that has developed soft spots or impressions (see post #4 here).

Whether the 1.5 lb polyfoam was a “weak link” in the mattress would depend on how thick it was (see the guidelines here)

That’s a very general question so the best guidance I would have would be to follow the steps and information in the tutorial post but two of the more important links that it includes are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress and how to minimize the risks involved in each of them and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses.

Phoenix

16

Thank you so much again Phoenix! We are getting closer to making our decision. I so appreciate your website and the mattress education I have received. This buying experience will be so much different than our last one, where we did not do our homework and just bought the mattress that felt the most comfy in the store. Who knew there was so much to learn!!

Thanks again!