HI,
Never posted before so please be patient with me. I am looking for a soft side waterbed; this is not the problem, they are all over, the problem is I can not find anyone who knows what there latex foam for the base, (the concave box) that holds the mattress (bladder) in. We had one 8 yrs ago that bowed out, it’s why I got rid of it. Now I see where they have come up with the concave and it should work. How do I go about trying to get the correct information from companies? Like I stated; no one seems to know what they are made of, or the IDL of the latex, I am trying to find a latex mattress, no luck so far. I have e-mailed all the big producing manufactures of the best, no answers. At a total loss here on what to do. My husband says to contact the manufacturing Tech, That doesn’t work either. There has to be a way to get this information!
Can anyone with a whole lot more experience than me know what or the steps to take to get the information I need to make a decision? I am highly allergic to most things, and off gassing is one of the worst! Don’t care to die in my sleep just yet. Not only off gassing but the product as well.
My dream bed would have the OEKO-TEX 100 cert, but no one does at the moment. So has anyone heard of a natural latex bladder, with the concave being of Dulap 4 at least for strength and denseness with a top layer of comfort material 3"to4", with a middle layer of latex, and the bottom support layer of higher quality materials for more firmness. (Talalay) I hope I made sense to someone out there. Like I stated I don’t do this ever, and I am not good with words, I apologize for bouncing all over the place.
Thank you to anyone willing to even read this, much less put in any effort for me.
Thank you to anyone who may have an idea I have not tried yet, or know the best and correct way to approach this!
BJ
I am having some difficulty understanding the specifics of some of your questions.
The only way I know to get reliable and correct information about a mattress or individual components or materials is to deal with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer and to ask them the questions that are important to you.
Could you clarify whether you are looking for a soft sided water bed or a latex mattress?
ILD/IFD is only one of several specs that makes one material feel softer or firmer than another (see post #4 here) and the ILD or IFD of different materials or even different types of the same material (such as different types and blends of latex) aren’t directly comparable to each other (see post #6 here). The ILD or IFD of a single layer or component also isn’t particularly meaningful because every layer and component in a mattress will have an effect on the feel and performance of every other layer and component and on the sleeping system as a whole and putting too much focus on ILD/IFD or thickness or any other single specification (especially if it’s only a single layer or component) will most often be more misleading than helpful.
In other words … it’s only possible to know whether the sum of all the parts will be a suitable “match” for you in terms of PPP based on your own careful testing or personal experience but it’s not possible to assess how much each of the many specifications of each layer or component (such as ILD, layer thickness, compression modulus, point elasticity etc) is responsible for what you feel.
While knowing the specs that can affect the quality and durability of the layers and components in a mattress is always important … unless you have a great deal of knowledge and experience with different types of mattress materials and components and their specs and different layering combinations and mattress designs and how they combine together and can translate them into your own “real life” experience that can be unique to you (which would generally be a very small percentage of people) … I would tend to avoid using complex specs to try and predict how a mattress will feel or perform for you. When you try and choose a mattress based on complex combinations of specs that you may not fully understand or only based on specs for a single layer or component that may not be as relevant or meaningful as you believe it is then the most common outcome is “information overload” and “paralysis by analysis”. Even the best mattress designers in the industry are often surprised at what a mattress they design “should have felt like” based on the specs when they design it and what it “actually feels like” when they test out their new design.
Outside of “comfort specs” such as ILD … a knowledgeable and experienced manufacturer or retailer should be able to tell you the type and quality/durability of the different materials and components in a mattress you are considering.
Latex is also a very flexible and elastic material and I’m not so sure it would be the best choice for a soft sided waterbed and I would probably consider polyfoam instead unless you know of some waterbed manufacturers that use latex and you have a particularly compelling reason to choose it vs polyfoam.
The best place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps most importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists (based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you).
There is more information in post #2 here and the more detailed posts and information it links to about safe, natural, organic, “chemical free”, and “green” mattresses and mattress materials and components that can help you sort through some of the marketing information and terminology that you will encounter in the industry and can help you differentiate between them and answer “how safe is safe enough for me” so you can decide on the types of materials you are most comfortable having in your mattress. These types of issues are complex and are generally specific to each person and their individual sensitivities, circumstances, criteria, beliefs, and lifestyle choices.
The only reliable way to to assess the “safety” of different materials in more general terms is based on lab tests and the certifications they have for harmful substances and VOC’s so that you have some assurance that any harmful substances or VOC’s are below the testing limits for the certification.
All the latex you are likely to encounter (either Dunlop or Talalay that is made with either natural or synthetic rubber or a blend of both) will have a reliable certification such as Oeko-Tex, Eco-Institut, or Greenguard Gold (see post #2 here) and based on actual testing I would consider any type or blend of latex to be a very “safe” material in terms of harmful substances and VOC’s.
Your comments are also somewhat confusing to me because when you are talking about a mattress having different latex layers you seem to be talking about a latex mattress rather than a soft sided waterbed which wouldn’t have separate latex layers.
If you can clarify whether you are looking for a latex mattress or a soft sided waterbed mattress it would be helpful.
