We bought a Healthy Back Backtex P1 about five years ago (latex mattress made by Sealy but branded by Healthy Back). Back then, I was able to price match by finding the Sealy equivalent so we paid approx $1700 for it though I recall the original price was much higher and the earlier negotiated price was in the 2K range. We have a supported foundations with slats about 1.5-2" apart.
Much to our dismay, in the past year it has developed enough sagging to make the bed very uncomfortable. When we lay in it, there is at least 4-5 inches of sag. We went through the Healthy Back warranty process and were approved. After following up (with many phone calls), I found out that they had discontinued their relationship with Sealy, so in order for me to get a replacement mattress, I’d have to go through Sealy. HB was willing to give me a credit of my purchase price for a mattress in their store. I went through Sealy’s warranty process but was denied.
I am now considering going through HB and just getting another mattress there so I can at least use my credit, though I’m slightly worried (and annoyed) -first, going through the warranty process was not very smooth, and second, I don’t want to be in this same situation 5 years from now.
I quickly walked into a HB store and laid on what the salesman said was the “firmer” of the Bliss line - the SERENITY. It did feel very comfortable. I’m a side/stomach (and somewhere in between) sleeper and so is my husband. I think I tend towards liking firmer rather than plush.
If they don’t cut me a deal, we’d still be out of pocket btwn 900-1000 for a king Serenity. I have a few questions for you if you don’t mind:
1 - do you know why HB and Sealy split? Did it have something to do with this mattress line? The HB salesman I just talked to said he wasn’t a fan of the Backtex in the first place.
2 - Do I have any other options I’m not thinking of? Perhaps I should just take my $$ and go elsewhere as this has been such a hassle? Or try to work out a deal w/ HB.
3- How is Serenity and have people liked it ? Do I have risk of sagging again? We specifically bought latex bc I heard there was minimal sagging.
I was replying to your post and was going to mention that I noticed that you used an email address for your username which can result in internet spambots “harvesting” your email address and adding you to their spam lists but then I also noticed the email you sent so I’ve changed your username to KLW as you requested.
Unfortunately this is all too common with mattresses that use thicker layers of lower quality materials in the comfort layers and in many cases it can happen much more quickly than the 5 years you experienced. It’s also not unusual (and is more of the rule than the exception) that warranty claims are denied by a manufacturer because of the warranty exclusions and because warranties don’t cover the loss of comfort and support that can come from foam softening (or “virtual” impressions that are only apparent when you lie on the mattress). There is more about mattress warranties in post #174 here.
It’s also good to see that Healthy Back is willing to give you a credit in spite of the fact that your mattress doesn’t qualify for warranty coverage since they sell some mattresses that use higher quality and more durable materials than most of the Sealy mattresses you would otherwise need to choose from. Most people in your situation would be “out of luck” and would need to start all over again.
I would make sure you’ve read the mattress shopping tutorial here which has most of the basic information, steps, and guidelines you will need to make a good choice either for a new mattress or for a replacement. There is also more in post #13 here about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase. The most important part of “value” is always how suitable a mattress is for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) but outside of this the next most important part of “value” is to make sure you know the type and quality of the materials inside a mattress so that you can make sure that the mattress uses good quality and durable materials (in the upper layers especially) and that that there are no weak links in the mattress. This is also one of the reasons I would avoid major brands or any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the quality of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here) so you can avoid having a similar issue with your next mattress.
You would need to ask them directly but many “better” retailers don’t carry major brands (or “sell against them” if they do to draw traffic from consumers that don’t know to avoid them) because issues like yours are not uncommon and because of the quality/durability of the materials that many of them use. There are many better mattress options that provide better quality and value than the major brands that are most heavily advertised.
I would choose a finalist at Health Back and then do some additional research following the steps in the tutorial post as well at other local stores or online (if you are comfortable with an online purchase) and then you can compare your final choices and decide between them based on based on the parts of your personal value equation are most important to you (including the final price for each of them).
Your own careful and objective testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) is the only way to know whether a mattress is a suitable choice for you in terms of PPP and I certainly wouldn’t use online reviews or other people’s experiences to decide whether a mattress is suitable for you (see post #13 here about mattress reviews). A mattress that is “perfect” for one person or even a large group of people may still be completely unsuitable for you to sleep on.
Other than suitability though and in terms of durability … the Serenity uses all high quality materials (blended Talalay latex) and unlike your Sealy … there are no weak links in the mattress in terms of the durability of the materials and latex is the most durable of all the different foam materials. I would be a little cautious though because the Serenity is relatively firm (which can be good for alignment for stomach sleepers) and I would make sure you test carefully for pressure relief when you are sleeping on your side (side sleepers will usually need thicker/softer comfort layers than stomach sleepers). You can see some comments about Healthy Back and the PLB latex mattresses they sell in post #2 here.
Thanks so much Phoenix for your timely and complete reply.
Ok - so I think you are right, after more testing I think I like the Healthy Back Bliss Essence better than the Serenity. They are running a 20% off until Aug 14th, plus I have a credit from my defective mattress. Is this a good buy? (I know I’m simplifying things here but I can only absorb so many mattress details at one time!)
It’s good to hear that you tested them again because in “theory” the Essense would seem to be a more suitable choice for most people who spend time sleeping on their sides.
It certainly uses high quality materials that are more durable than the materials in your Sealy and it doesn’t have any “weak links” in its design so from that perspective it would be a much better choice yes.
Other than that … there is more in post #13 here about the “value” of a mattress purchase and value is always relative to how a mattress compares to other mattresses that are available to you that you are also considering but it seems to me that with the discount it’s certainly a “fair” price and if you add in your ability to use your credit that wouldn’t be available somewhere else it would be better “value” yet so it seems to me that it would make a good choice.