Texas Mattress Makers

[NKHarris329]

Hi, we are going to be purchasing a mattress for our 4 year old and are leaning toward using Texas Mattress Makers as they are local to us.

In reading around here and other locations I found that for children we want a firm mattress, and I have seen you mention avoiding memory foam in case of sensitivities to off gassing.

Our budget is $500 maximum, and we are very concerned about the durability of the mattress. Ideally we would like to avoid purchasing another mattress until our child is moving out, but want a minimum of 10 years life. I’m not opposed to adding layers if that helps with longevity.

Our options at Texas Mattress Makers are -
[table]
[tr]
[td]Model[/td]
[td]Firmness[/td]
[td]Materials[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Manhattan Firm[/td]
[td]Firm[/td]
[td]Innerspring system, support foam, performance pads, Sereni Sleep® fire retardant fiber[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Bellevue Firm[/td]
[td]Medium Firm[/td]
[td]Comfort quilted foam top, comfort foam layers, performance support layer, innerspring system, Sereni-Sleep® fire retardant fiber[/td]
[/tr][tr]
[td]Madison Gel Firm Deluxe[/td]
[td]Medium to Medium Firm[/td]
[td]Comfort foam layers, cooling gel infused memory foam, innerspring System, stabilizing base foam, Sereni Sleep® fire retardant fiber[/td]
[/tr][tr]
[td]Santa Fe Memory Foam[/td]
[td]Medium[/td]
[td]1" comfort foam layer, ultra soft foam layer, visco memory foam layer, high density foam core, stabilizing base foam, Sereni Sleep® fire retardant fiber[/td]
[/tr][tr]
[td]Prague Ultra Firm Deluxe[/td]
[td]Firm[/td]
[td]High performance layers, high performance support layers, innerspring system, stabilizing base foam, Sereni Sleep® fire retardant fiber[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

The Manhattan model is listed as being ideal for children and young adults. At this moment that sounds perfect, but I have a little concern about the longevity of this model because of it. Do you have any first hand knowledge on this? I didn’t find any product reviews for this mattress, though to be honest I am feeling a little overwhelmed with everything else I’m learning on this site.

The Bellevue model is a little less firm, was not specifically suggested for children. It mentioned that it was foam encased to provide a firm edge, which I think is ideal for story time. I also think the extra mattress depth might make finding sheets that fit a little easier as many quality sheets are now being made to fit pillow top and other deep mattresses.

The Madison Gel model is the least firm of the options I am considering, and does contain gel infused memory foam. TMM specifically lists their memory foam as “Hypoallergenic, non-toxic, odorless, and free of byproducts” but I do have concerns with off gassing. Any personal experiences would be great. With the layer of memory foam really produce that much non-toxic off gassing? Will this layer of memory foam provide some of the benefits of memory foam?

The Santa Fe is the only Memory Foam option on our list and is Medium in Firmness. I do think in general quality memory foam is going to have a longer life than a quality innerspring, so there are some bonus points there. Another plus is the energy absorbing properties of the foam, which will be great for sleepovers. Again, even though the site lists their foam as non-toxic, some additional feedback would be helpful. This is also toward the top of our price range, and the ‘softest’ of the mattresses that made the list. How much value does memory foam really add?

Finally is the Prague… the cost of this one is also near top of our budget but it is also one that boasts support and durability. It is firm, has all the pros of the other innerspring mattresses, and repeats high performance a handful of times. That means it has to be good right?

Now that I’ve written my novel, any input would be appreciated. Anything I’m not taking into consideration? Anything you would take off this list without even trying?

[phoenix]

Hi NKHarris329,

Hi, we are going to be purchasing a mattress for our 4 year old and are leaning toward using Texas Mattress Makers as they are local to us.

As you probably know from your reading here Texas Mattress Makers is a member of this site which means that I think very highly of them and that I believe they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, and transparency.

There are also some guidelines for children’s mattresses in post #2 here and in post #2 here.

The Manhattan model is listed as being ideal for children and young adults. At this moment that sounds perfect, but I have a little concern about the longevity of this model because of it. Do you have any first hand knowledge on this? I didn’t find any product reviews for this mattress, though to be honest I am feeling a little overwhelmed with everything else I’m learning on this site.

I would be very cautious about using other people’s reviews or experiences on a mattress (either positive or negative) as a reliable source of information or guidance about how suitable a mattress may be for you or the durability of a mattress and in many cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (see post #13 here).

While there is no way to quantify exactly how long any mattress will last for any particular person (or child) … if a mattress is well inside the comfort/support range that is suitable for someone and isn’t close to the edge of the range that is too soft for them when it is new and meets the minimum quality specs that are suggested in the guidelines here then it would be reasonable to expect a useful lifetime in the range of 7 - 10 years and with higher quality and more durable materials like latex or higher density memory foam or polyfoam (in the comfort layers especially) it would likely be in the higher end of the range or even longer.

Texas Mattress Makers is transparent about the materials in all their mattresses so once you know the specifics of the materials in the mattress (see this article) then you can compare them to the guidelines I linked or if you post them on the forum I’d also be happy to make some comments about the quality/durability of the materials inside it.

I would also keep in mind that with a younger child that will be doing some significant growing over the next 10 years or so that even though the mattress uses durable materials … they may need some additional softness and pressure relief as they gain weight and their body develops so you may need to add a topper down the road if it becomes necessary (and it may not if they are still sleeping well on the mattress).

[quote]The Madison Gel model is the least firm of the options I am considering, and does contain gel infused memory foam. TMM specifically lists their memory foam as “Hypoallergenic, non-toxic, odorless, and free of byproducts” but I do have concerns with off gassing. Any personal experiences would be great. With the layer of memory foam really produce that much non-toxic off gassing? Will this layer of memory foam provide some of the benefits of memory foam?

The Santa Fe is the only Memory Foam option on our list and is Medium in Firmness. I do think in general quality memory foam is going to have a longer life than a quality innerspring, so there are some bonus points there. Another plus is the energy absorbing properties of the foam, which will be great for sleepovers. Again, even though the site lists their foam as non-toxic, some additional feedback would be helpful. This is also toward the top of our price range, and the ‘softest’ of the mattresses that made the list. How much value does memory foam really add?[/quote]

There is no specific definition or meaning for “hypoallergenic” (see here) and when it comes to mattresses this is more of a marketing term than anything else. In most cases allergens that are connected to mattresses are more about dust mite allergens than about the type of materials in the mattress (see post #2 here) although it’s certainly possible that some people can be sensitive to some of the materials that are used in mattresses as well.

If the memory foam is either CertiPur certified or made in North America there wouldn’t normally be an issue with harmful VOC’s or offgassing but some people or children can be sensitive to some types of memory foam even if it is certified and I would generally tend to avoid memory foam in a child’s mattress even if it didn’t have any harmful VOC’s because it’s not really a suitable material for a child (see post #2 here).

The most important factor and the weakest link in the useful life of a mattress is generally in the comfort layers of the mattress and not the support core of a mattress (such as an innerspring) and they are the most likely to soften or break down prematurely if a mattress uses lower quality and less durable comfort layers (such as lower density polyfoam or memory foam).

Finally is the Prague… the cost of this one is also near top of our budget but it is also one that boasts support and durability. It is firm, has all the pros of the other innerspring mattresses, and repeats high performance a handful of times. That means it has to be good right?

There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses but I would keep in mind that a higher priced mattress may not be more suitable or even more durable than a lower priced mattress and it always depends on the type and quality of the materials in the mattress and on how suitable the mattress is for a particular person (or child) in terms of PPP.

Phoenix

[NKHarris329]

Thanks Phoenix… this gives me lots of good information and helps me stop going in circles.

I think I will take out both mattresses that include memory foam, and focus on the Manhattan, Bellevue, and Prague models. As I have time over the next few days I’ll try to track down the information about the specific materials used in each of these models.