Weird latex mattress smell and zoning issues

Mattress Talk
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Hello. My husband and I ordered a Happsy mattress. Upon arrival and for weeks following (even airing out with open windows, no covers, etc.), the mattress has strongly smelled of latex paint, and sort of vaguely like glue. The odor is obvious throughout the room if we close the door. Nothing about that odor suggests tires or vanilla or a barnyard, as I have read from other reviewers. We have Avocado pillows with latex in them and the pillows have never had an odor. Oddly, just this morning, the mattress odor seems to be changing over to a vanilla-type odor. I suspect we may have been smelling something else the first 2 weeks and now that smell has finally dissipated, leaving the latex odor. I am curious what others think could be the cause of the chemical/paint/glue smell.

Also, the mattress is too hard for both of us. If that were the only issue, we would just try adding a topper. After ordering, I saw that the GOLS and MadeSafe certifications online are showing expired for Happsy.

We hate the idea of returning a mattress, but we are planning to do so at this point. The thing is, what if we have the same issue with our next mattress? This was our first bed in a box experience. Do others think we would likely do better with a different brand of hybrid organic latex?

Our personal needs/criteria: Social and environmental issues are important to both of us, so we have. been looking at organic hybrid and latex mattresses and we would prefer smaller companies. Also, we would like to avoid silica fire socks (and no stores less than 2 hours away sell non-silica fire sock mattresses). Both of our BMI are in the low 20s. He is a side sleeper; I am a combo sleeper. I have had issues once or twice with mattresses being so supportive in the middle that my hips were resting higher than my head and shoulders, so zoning makes me nervous. I noticed trying mattresses in stores this time around that most felt like they were pushing my hips up if I laid on my side. I think I covered PPP and other important facts, but we have not slept in our own bed in 2 months and my brain is getting foggy reading and re-reading about mattresses.

We called My Green Mattress this week. The person on the phone said that the support springs in the middle are only 5% stronger than elsewhere and that is less than another similar brand. What is typical difference in spring support when a mattress is zoned? Is less difference what could make the difference for us?

Top choices right now: My Green Mattress Natural Escape (absolute first choice right now) or Nolah Natural. Leaning MGM for the company size, customer service, focus on organic, up to date certifications. We did request a latex sample so we could stick our noses in it. Still, I heard different batches of latex smell differently.

My Green Mattress phone customer service was amazing!! We are still nervous about ordering another latex mattress because of the odor, though, and I wonder about the zoning. Thoughts and input would be greatly appreciated!

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The Nolah has the 3 zoned coils that have given you problems in the past, so I don’t know that I’d recommend that option. The MGM says it has 7 zones in its coils, not sure how that would work for you. I do like that there is only a 5% difference in the zones. The zoned coils that have given me issues in the past felt like there was a much bigger variance.

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That is a good point about the number of zones. I agree about the 5%, assuming it is a gradual shift with a max of 5% in the very center zone. Thank you for the input!

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Looking at the video on the product page it looks like the center portion zoning is wider than normal. I like the thought process behind that as it will fit more sleeping styles and might help with lumbar support. Also, they achieve the firmer section by nesting the same coils as the rest of the mattress rather than using firmer or different gauge coils. I like this idea in theory, but haven’t experienced it so can’t speak to it.

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Hi econerd.

Welcome to our Mattress Forum. :slight_smile:

Mattresses are a huge investment. It’s okay not to settle! When you’re spending that amount of money, it’s definitely worth making sure you buy something your absolutely love.

Oh, yikes. I wonder if (if you really wanted to) you could email and ask them to send your their most recent certs.

Ah yes. When you’re a lighter bodyweight, you (naturally) don’t sink as deeply into the comfort layers. Zoning is usually preferred in situations where you need a bit more support.

The percentage firmness of coils in a zoned mattress compared to non-zoned mattresses can vary depending on the manufacturer and the specific design of the mattress. Some manufacturers claim that the zoned areas can be up to 20-30% firmer in the targeted support regions (like the lumbar area) compared to non-zoned areas of the same mattress. I haven’t actually ever put that to the test though! :slight_smile:

These percentages are - of course - not standardized across the industry and can differ significantly based on factors like coil gauge, coil density, and surrounding materials in the mattress layers.

I had a latex pillow that was so strong smelling it would make my eyes water. Then I bought another (same brand) and it smelled like nothing. Weird, right?

Not surprised about the customer service :slight_smile: They’re fabulous and ethical people! Hopefully the sample you receive helps ease your worries.

As for the zoning, it’s so hard to tell. A 5% increase probably isn’t going to be as aggressive as the other mattresses you tried.

NikkiTMU

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Agreed. I think I need to research the coil quality of Happsy v My Green Mattress. We still are not sleeping on the Happsy because it still, after a month, has a lingering odor. The odor has become less offensive and sweeter in tone. We thought we might sleep on it tonight, but as soon as I glanced at it, I noticed there are impressions on each side already. We only slept on it for a week and that was weeks ago, and we are definitively not big people. The impressions are not deeper in the middle, so I am not sure zoning of any sort are the best for us, but possibly okay. Most mattresses have not kept me from sleeping because of zones (assuming most mattresses have zones). I hope I can find enough info online to compare the quality of the coils. Happsy does not disclose much to its customers, even going so far as to not let customers know ahead of time which certifications the mattress they receive will have. The received mattress may or may not meet the certifications posted on their website. Frustrating.

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Thank you, Nikki! I couldn’t figure out how to reply with quotes, so I will do my best to reply to your comments in order. I apologize for my delay in reply. I was burned out with the whole mattress process and needed a break badly.

It is a huge investment. To be honest, if it were a smaller item more easy to return, I would have told Happsy to take it back a long time ago because the customer service experience has been so awful with them for us. Thank you for the encouragement to find something we love.

After I posted here, Happsy finally replied to my email. They sent a copy of their updated/current GOLS certification, but nothing regarding MadeSafe. It does not help to see that for us because our particular mattress’ latex is not GOLS certified. Happsy uses latex which is GOLS or FSC certified, but not both, and the customer has no choice or up front knowledge which they will receive. When asked, Happsy insisted it is all the same. The certifications are not the same. Happsy did not answer where they source their latex, so I have to assume they buy the cheapest they can find at any given time which meets at least one of the certifications.

That is strange about your pillows. Latex does have some weirdness to it, lol. We received our sample from MGM. It has a faint version of a similar odor to our Happsy mattress. So if we return and buy MGM, we will likely need another lengthy airing out period. On the plus side, MGM has a longer exchange period which will better accommodate lengthy airing out.

Oddly, we decided to try sleeping on the Happsy again today. When I looked at it, I saw that it is sagging already. Neither of us is particularly heavy or curvy or compact, and we only slept on it for a week, and the mattress has had 2 weeks of additional airing out time since then with no one getting on it at all. Do you know where online I might find information comparing the quality of the springs in MGM v Happsy? I can re-read articles on it, but I am frankly getting overwhelmed. Even our old 17 year old mattress did not have body impressions. Something is wrong. (I know, we should return it. It would just be nice to confirm the issue before doing so.)

Thank you again for your assistnace and encouragement!

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You seem to have read through the newbie shopping guide but thought I’d ask to be on the safe side: what did you place the mattress on? Box springs, something solid throughout, something slatted - and if so, how far apart are the slats - etc.

ChatGPT claims* Happysy and MGM uses Leggett & Platt and that the coils in the former are 14 gauge and 7 turns and you can see MGM’s under specifications of the mattress you’re looking at. In the case of the Natural Escape Mattress that would be:

8″ tall coils; 10 turn – 16 gauge coils at the perimeter for a firmer seating edge, 6 turn – 15 gauge coils in the majority of the sleep surface and 6 turn – 14.5 gauge coils throughout the center third of the mattress for improved lumbar support.

If ChatGPT is accurate that could explain the firmness you found in the Happsy.

*Take ChatGPT with a grain of salt.

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Thank you! That is super helpful. I will take ChatGPT with a grain of salt. :slight_smile: But somewhere buried in the Happsy site, they say something about the gauge of the coils (but not the turns) and 14 sounds familiar. I do also recall Happsy has firmer gauge coils around the edge, too, so I am not sure how that fits with your ChatGPT result. Either way, it does sound like My Green Mattress might be a little softer overall in spite of the zoning.

We bought the Happsy foundation with the Happsy mattress. It is a good wooden foundation with slats 2.5" apart. It should not be the problem with the sagging.

We are very close to just purchasing a Sleep On Latex topper (because SOL offers several choices and the cover is removable if needed). We decided, now that the awful chemical odor is finally gone, we do not want to go through the return process just to possibly start fresh with off-gassing. I hope the sag is just the cover and we do not notice it with a topper. If not, the Happsy will have a reduced life span and we will probably get My Green Mattress later. I suppose we do still have some time to change our mind and return the Happsy in favor of better coils and true GOLS certified latex. We could likely use the topper with either mattress.

I hope our experience with Happsy combined with what we learned here is helpful to someone else.

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