topper to fix 4-year-old latex/inner spring mattress

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

I bought a new mattress four years ago from a local company in California (https://selectsleepmattress.com). It’s got 4 inches of “medium density” latex foam on top of a inner spring mattress (enclosed separately). After four years, the mattress is not terribly comfortable – there’s a noticeable indent where I regularly sleep, even though I’ve rotated the mattress regularly, and it doesn’t provide enough pressure relief for my shoulders and hips. It still provides a decent night’s sleep, but I recently slept at friend’s house on bet with a pillowtop topper, and I slept much better.

I’d like to get a topper for the mattress, rather than buying a new one. I’m hoping to spend under $200, and under $100 would be great. My two top priorities, equally important:

  1. getting pressure relief – not necessarily softer, but I love the pillowtop feel
  2. keeping the bed cool – I’m a very hot sleeper, and I love that this latex bed doesn’t build heat. I bought a down alternative topper at Costco (https://www.costco.com/SleepBetter-Beyond-Down®-Fiber-Bed.product.100227357.html) and it was way too hot – I had to take it off with ten minutes of trying to sleep on it.

Also, when I bought the bed, it initially had 2 inches of soft latex on 2 inches of medium, but that didn’t work for me – I sunk into the bed even further without getting pressure relief, so I exchanged it for the four inch medium I have now. Even from the beginning, it was a little hard, but I toss and turn a lot during the night and so the dents that the soft latex left were very uncomfortable.

I’ve looked a great deal at this site and other sites, but still don’t know what to try. Memory foam seems to provide the comfort I’d want, but not the coolness. The variety of choices with latex are confusing, since the first bed I had with 2 inch soft latex, didn’t work. And other alternatives, like wool and silk, are more expensive than I’d like.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, especially specific product recommendations.

2

Out of curiosity, I pulled my old receipt for my current mattress – the 4 inch topper is listed as “High Density Foam,” not latex, which could be part of the problem. I’m not sure which density or type it is.

3

Hi jctam,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum! :slight_smile:

I’m sorry you’re not sleeping as comfortably as you desire. Assuming you have proper support under your mattress (bed frame and foundation that are not sagging), it sounds as if some of the foam in your mattress has taken a bit of a “set”, and that you desire a bit more surface comfort (as evidenced by your testing at your friend’s house).

Adding a topper to a firmer mattress certainly can be a good alternative to acquiring extra comfort without having to purchase an entirely new sleep set. My concern would be the “dip” of your current mattress, as adding a soft topper on top of an indent will not “cure” that indent, but only result in a slightly softer version of the indent, if that makes sense. There is more information about choosing a topper in post #2 here and the topper guidelines to which it links, including information about plushness and temperature regulation.

I see from your follow-up post that you discovered that you do not have latex in your mattress, but instead 4" of unknown density polyfoam. All foams will soften slightly over time, with lower-density foams generally being less durable than their higher density counterparts. There is more information about this in the durability guidelines here.

Regarding temperature regulation, as you do tend to sleep warmer, in very general terms, the materials, layers, and components of a sleeping system that are closer to your skin will have a bigger effect on airflow, moisture transport, and temperature regulation than materials, layers, and components that are further away from your skin and softer mattresses or foam toppers will tend to be more “insulating” and for some people can sleep warmer than firmer versions of the same material. There is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here that can help you choose the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range.

All foams are insulators to a degree, and the more you sink “in” to a mattress (versus sleeping “on” it), the more potential you have for sleeping warmer and the less of your body’s surface area is exposed for heat exchange. You are correct that memory foam in general does tend to be the least breathable foam, followed generally by polyfoam and then latex. Latex will also tend to be the most durable foam, so it may be worth considering for a good plush topper – but you can read more about some good options in the topper post I linked to earlier in my reply.

If after reading everything you have more specific questions, please feel free to reply back and I’ll do my best to be assistive.

Phoenix

4

Thanks so much for your quick and helpful response. I had read many of these posts before, but they were even more helpful with your specific comments.

I really do want to keep costs down, but it sounds like I might be best off getting rid of my 4" high density foam layer and putting something else on top of the base layer, which is labeled “posture pocket” by the store.

What do you think would be necessary thickness I would need over this base? 3"? 4"? I’m going to try to find a local store that sells latex so I can check it out, but it will be hard to test, since I’ll be keeping my own base, so I want to have some good ideas first.

Thanks again.

5

FWIW - I am a hot sleeper too and spend several weekends at my in-laws on a bed that is, I’m not sure how old, but if it is less than 20 years, I’d be surprised. They also like to put plywood between the mattress and box spring (I don’t know why) and anything below 76 F to them is cold. Sleeping hot is almost a given and that is before I even get into bed.

With that set up, I needed a bit of pressure relief too but didn’t want to spend a fortune on for a bed I don’t own but sleep in often enough I wanted some relief. I went with the Alexander Signature Cooling Topper from Nest Bedding. It was a gamble. I happen to have their easy breather natural pillow and have been very happy with it so I gave it a shot.

It did provide the pressure relief I needed. It did not sleep hot and it did remind me of memory foam (which it may actually be, I’m not exactly sure what type of foam it is). That said my only complaint of it is it was enough like memory foam I found it a bit difficult to do my normal tossing and turning (I’m a pretty active sleeper and being stuck in one or two positions is not comfortable for me!)

Of course my experience is unique to me (PPP and all that good stuff!) but thought I’d share in case it helps / you want to investigate Nest Bedding in your search. Good luck!

6

Thanks so much for your suggestion. I actually live a couple of miles from a Nest showroom, so I’m going to go check out that topper soon. It’s a little thinner than I might need if I ditch my foam topper entirely, but I may try flipping it – it’s got a rough, plasticy fabric cover on the bottom, but I shouldn’t be able to feel it with a topper.

7

Hi jctam,

I’m happy that the information was helpful and my commentary assisted with making things a bit clearer for you.

My guess is that it would be some sort of a pocketed spring unit, which you could probably determine by unzipping your cover and removing your exchangeable foam layer and feeling the spring unit under the fabric encasement to see if it contours and travels like a common pocketed spring.

If the zippered chamber for your mattress is meant to accommodate 4" of material, I would recommend to consider 4" of replacement material so that the cover isn’t too loose and moving about on your completed mattress.

If considering latex, you may wish to think about two 2" layers, where you could choose two different types of comfort (a “medium” and a “plush”, for example) and have the ability to customize over time. If you find a store locally, see if they have a pocketed spring unit upon which you could place any combination that you might be considering in order to best approximate what you have at home.

Phoenix

8

Hi photocat,

Thanks for your informative contribution!

The Nest Bedding Alexander Signature Cooling Topper uses 2" of 1.8 lb polyfoam called SmartFlow, with holes punched through it to assist with breathability.

Phoenix

9

I actually don’t need the topper to fit in my mattress enclosure – the 4" foam section of my mattress is separately encased, so any thickness would work, I just need it in an encased cover.

Some of the places you suggest in your best vendors list seem to make thick latex toppers with cases that would work, although it seems like my price would be more like $300-$400 than the $200 I had hoped for.

I checked out the Nest topper that was suggested here, and it seems a bit too soft for my needs – I probably would be better off with a medium firm topper if it’s going to be placed directly on my coil bed, or 2" medium topper with 1-2" of softer on top. If anyone has an affordable suggestion for 3"-4" enclosed latex toppers, maybe with two different layers with different levels of firmness, I would greatly appreciate it.

10

Hi jctam,

I was just reading through your thread and I can’t seem to find what size mattress you have. Can you provide that information?

Phoenix

11

It’s a full, thanks for asking.

12

Hi jctam,

Your least expensive option will probably be purchasing raw latex layers without a covering (hopefully being able to use your existing covering instead). If going with latex, I think you will be out of luck with the budget that you have set. A true high resiliency poly foam (2.5 lb density and minimum 2.4 compression modulus) should be more affordable, followed by 2 lb and 1.8 lb polyfoam.

Phoenix

13

You could buy 3 " Dunlop latex topper from Foam Factory for $233, or 2" for $162. No case. But it’s a firm 29 ILD latex, so might not work for you. Find out exactly what foam you have in the current topper, and consider just buying a similar foam, especially if there are clear depressions in that topper. But make sure your coil mattress isn’t sagging, they often do. You could also consider 3 or 4 inches of a memory foam topper, which could soften the bed, but might be warm.

14

Hi androiddd,

Thanks for your reply to jctam!

Regarding your advice for Foam By Mail, I’m going to include a similar comment to what I made in your other thread…if considering Foam Factory (aka Foambymail or FBM and other names as well) you may want to read this post and this post and this topic (about their polyfoam and sources) and this post (presumably from a past employee)for some commentary and information about them, and sources of their foam products.

Phoenix