Hi topspinner,
Unfortunately … you are in the same position that many other people that have purchased an iComfort mattress are either already in as well or may be over time.
There are generally three stages of foam softening and breakdown. The first stage is over the first few weeks and is the initial more rapid softening or “breaking in” of the material. This is followed by a more gradual softening period over the life of the mattress. The final stage is when the foam starts to break down completely and starts to develop impressions. Warranties don’t cover foam softening which is the most common reason that a mattress becomes unsuitable for sleeping on and only covers the impressions if they are more than the warranty exclusion without any weight on the mattress (allowing the foam to weakly come back) which is usually not the case. This is why most warranty claims are denied and why warranties as a whole are mostly meaningless except for obvious manufacturing defects which tend to show up early in the life of a mattress. Warranties have nothing to do with how long a mattress will last in other words.
The iComfort uses a type of gel memory foam which adds particles to memory foam and any particulates or fillers which are added to a foam will generally shorten the life of the foam. You can read a bit more about the different types of gel memory foam in post #26 here. In addition to this … the materials they use in their mattress are not the highest quality when you consider the prices and a mattress is only as good as it’s weakest link and most of the larger manufacturers won’t give you meaningful information about the quality of the materials they use in their mattresses… They also cater to a certain “subjective feel” in the highly managed environment of a typical mattress showroom where people are often encouraged to buy a mattress that “feels good” (and certain marketing techniques will make mattresses seem to be more comfortable than they are in long term use) without really understanding a lot about or knowing how to test for pressure relief and alignment which is a large part of the long term performance and suitability of a mattress for an individual.
It appears to me that your Genius may have been on the edge of being suitable for you in terms of support and that the initial and some more gradual foam softening may have put you “across the line”.
In general … there is not so much you can do for a mattress that has lost the appropriate level of support because any topper you put on top will still be subject to the further softening of the materials below it which can still lead to sleeping out of alignment over time.
Memory foam though responds to body heat and if you add a topper on top … it will isolate the softened gel memory foam from some of your heat which may firm it up in the short and maybe even medium term. How well or how long this works will depend on the type and quality of the memory foam topper you are using. It will also be subject to the typical softening of memory foam with longer term use (even though for the moment it has put you back to the other side of the line) and the problems with alignment are likely to re-appear as both your topper and the foam underneath it continue to soften most in the areas where there is more weight (hips/pelvis). As this happens the topper will start to “follow” and bend into the softened foam below it.
One “better” possible solution would be to use a topper that isn’t as subject to softening as memory foam and will isolate your body heat from the memory foam below it and help to keep it slightly firmer. Latex may help here (it won’t soften as much or as rapidly as memory foam). A thicker wool topper will also help prevent the compression of the memory foam below it with heat and likely won’t compromise your alignment nearly as much as an “extra” layer of memory foam. Even a topper with polyurethane foam may hep firm up the memory foam for a while although it will also soften over time.
In the end though … these may end up being imperfect or temporary solutions because the 2.75" of gel foam in the Genius and the 2" of polyurethane “support” foam below it will continue to soften over time and even a topper that helps to keep the memory foam firmer (or at least slow down it’s compression over the course of the night so you don’t sleep out of alignment as long) and help extend the life of the polyurethane foam below it may not be enough if you are “close to the edge”. At least it may extend the life of your mattress for a while though and with luck this may just keep you on the “better support” side of the line for long enough to make the investment in the extra materials worth it.
I wish I could give you better news but at least you know the “best” solutions … even if they are not completely satisfactory. It’s always easier to soften a mattress that is too firm than to improve the support of a mattress that has become too soft.
Phoenix