Well, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with the Plushbeds.com customer service dept. Our latex mattress is less than 2 years old and developed a sag in one quadrant of the mattress. It was causing back pain. I contacted Plushbeds about the issue, and after sending them some pictures, they agreed to a few options:
Replace our existing latex layers with brand new ones.
Give us one of their new, 12" memory foam mattresses they have developed that has a 2" latex support core buit-in. We can keep our old latex mattress and move it to a guest room, donate it, etc.
Our choice.
No cost to us, regardless of our choice. Includes free shipping!
They could have easily have said “body conforming is natural with latex and memory foam mattresses, so there is no warranty issue” but they didn’t. They are proving that they truly care about their customers and making sure they get a good night’s sleep.
This raises some questions/concerns…
Their memory foam (MF) mattresses are 4 layers: 3" 4lb. open cell MF top layer, 2" latex support layer, 2" “high density” open cell air flow MF layer, and 5" “high density” open cell MF core/base (top to bottom). They do not list the density lb. for their “high density” layers. They say that the mattresses sleep cooler than traditional MF.
They also have a gel infused MF mattress option that is supposedly 30% cooler than “traditional memory foam.” It is the same design as above, only that the top layer is the gel infused.
I am not getting a pro-rated refund. Our latex mattress was $600 more than the new memory foam mattresses. I agreed to this (I keep the old latex and get a new MF…no brainer, as the LM can still be used).
The MF mattress would be a continuation of the original warranty and would not have a sleep trial (I agreed to this as well and figured as much…they didn’t have to do anything, technically).
Summary: I now have to research “open cell air flow memory foam” and compare it to “open cell gel infused memory foam,” and make a decision. We tend to like a medium-firm mattress, like the TP Rhapsody. This is a 1 shot, hit or miss b/c of a no sleep trial clause (we are 20 months into our latex mattress).
Thanks for the update and it’s great to see that Plushbeds is treating you well
I would need to know the density of the non latex layers to make any meaningful comments about their quality/durability but at your weight memory foam that was 4 lbs or higher would certainly make a suitable choice. Layers that are deeper in a mattress will also be more durable than layers that are closer to the top. The guidelines I generally suggest for the quality/durability of the layers are in post #4 here and there is more detailed information about the many factors that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress relative to each person in post #4 here and the posts it links to.
There is more about the different ways to “cool down” memory foam in post #6 here and there is more about the pros and cons and the different types of gel memory foam in post #2 here and the posts it links to. Gel can help with cooling to some degree when you first go to sleep until the temperatures equalize but some of the cooling benefits of gel are often exaggerated in the industry. Airflow and moisture wicking is generally the most effective cooling technology over the course of the night.
This would make sense to me since the core of your mattress is probably still in good condition and if that’s the case and it’s only the comfort layer that is causing the issues then this can easily be replaced and you would have a new mattress for the price of a topper.
Hybrid comfort layers that combine the “feel” of the slow response of memory foam with the “feel” of a more resilient material such as latex underneath it (or the other way around) are certainly a choice that some people like a lot (the Tempurpedic weightless line has a similar design except they use a higher density polyfoam under the memory foam) but I would also keep in mind that you won’t be able to exchange layers or the mattress itself so I would pay particular attention to making sure you don’t choose a mattress that is too soft for you because you can always soften up a mattress that is too firm with a topper but there are no great ways to make a mattress that is too soft any firmer because it would normally require replacing the layers that are too soft rather than adding to them.
We went with their 12" Posture Plush memory foam mattress. It has 4 lb. 3" foam as the top layer, a 2" latex layer beneath it, and then another 7" of high density foam as the core. It is supposed to be a similar feel as the Rhapsody Breeze as a medium-firm mattress.
The power of the internet came through for me! Because of my 1 star reviews (honest reviews at that), they agreed to give us the new memory foam mattress as a replacement for FREE, including no shipping costs. We also get to keep the old latex mattress that developed an issue, and since the top and bottom layers are removeable we could theoretically remove the bad layer, add in an aftermarket topper, zip it all back up and have a spare mattress!
I was glad to see a company that actually honored their warranties and worked with the customers, instead of against.
It’s great to see that things worked out well for you … and thanks for the update.
I think Plushbeds certainly went out of their way to accommodate you and offer you a resolution that was more than fair.
While I certainly don’t agree with your assessment of memory foam vs latex in your post and my reply here since it isn’t accurate (and is only based on one person’s experience may be completely different from someone else) … I’m happy that you were able to find a solution that worked out so well for you and that Plushbeds took care of you the way they did.
