Hi there, Can someone please help me with this? I’m going crazy sifting through information and I just want to narrow it down, make a decision and be done.
I am looking for a king size (or 2 twin size) innerspring mattress that is all natural. I do not want to have to worry about being slowly poisoned in my sleep by off-gassing so all natural materials is my top priority. My husband and i prefer firm sleep surfaces so this would be the next highest priority. Can anyone recommend the top few mattress makers to investigate? I’d rather not spend a fortune but quality and longevity are more important than price. I live in CT if that’s relevant.
“Best”, Katherine? That can only be determined by your body, but the best one we tried was a Vi-Spring. It’s VERY expensive, however (5 figures).
And by the way, ALL innerspring mattresses need comfort layers which are not inner springs. It’s about what is used, how it’s used and the build quality.
For a “natural” comfort layer, if you don’t want to consider some type of latex comfort layer, you’re talking wool, cotton and horsehair. These components are very expensive to use. Most companies, like Royal-Pedic, merely layer these elements. These do tend to be very firm and get firmer as they compress in time. Vi-Spring blends them all together and as a result, integrate better. Royal-Pedics go for around $5000 to start for a King. Vi-Spring ones will start in the vicinity of $12,000.
Ones with latex comfort layers will cost less, though still more than mattresses with the type of ingredients you don’t want.
The most reliable way to choose a mattress that is suitable for you is to follow the steps in the tutorial post here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines you will need to make the best possible choices … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
There are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone to recommend a specific mattress (or even a top 10) for someone else based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” out of all the many thousands of mattresses that are available in the industry so it’s really only possible to help with “how” to choose rather than “what” to choose (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
As AnalogJ mentioned there is no such thing as a “best” mattress … only a mattress that is “best for you” based on your individual criteria and the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you. There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here.
Most people that are looking for a “natural” innerspring mattress would likely be looking for either natural fibers (such as the VI Springs that AnalogJ mentioned) or natural latex in the comfort layers over the innersprings although there are also synthetic materials or foams that are more common in innerspring mattresses that most people would also consider to be “safe”. Post #4 here has a list of many innerspring/natural fiber mattresses and many of these also make innerspring/latex hybrid mattresses aw well. You could check their websites or call them to see if any of them have any retail stores in your area.
I’m not sure where you are in Connecticut but post #2 here also includes some of the better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Connecticut area as well and some of these carry mattresses that use natural materials that may fit your criteria.
I hear what you’re both saying, and you make good points. What I need, though, is to be pointed toward a few reputable quality-conscious manufacturers so that I can narrow down a mattress from there. i can’t deal with a larger investigation scope than that, although I will read the articles and posts you cited. Thanks for that! And I would value personal opinions about particular mattresses.
If someone seems to be describing the type of mattress that I’m looking for, then I would check it out.
Knowing who to deal with (and who to avoid) and working with knowledgeable and experienced manufacturers and/or retailers can be one of the most important parts of a successful mattress purchase (and is step 3 in the tutorial) and hopefully the links in my previous reply will be helpful.
I would keep in mind that even if a mattress that uses the highest quality materials and is “perfect” for someone else’s needs and preferences it may still be completely unsuitable for you to sleep on and may not be a good match for you in terms of PPP so your own careful and objective testing and personal experience is really the only way to know which types of mattresses you tend to prefer and whether any specific mattress is a good match for you.