What can replace 14 ILD Talalay Latex?

I am in love with my Uber soft Talalay layer mattress like no other bed I’ve ever had, however we’ve discovered that my husband is allergic. (aaahhhh!!!)
I started researching and trying out other mattresses but haven’t found anything that comes close to being as soft and squishy and cloud like.
Do you have any recommendations?
Tuft & Needle, Leesa, and BB Soft are all too hard. In fact I don’t know what BB was thinking saying their soft is soft - I’d call it medium at best, maybe even medium-firm.
I tried just memory foam and it feels so dead inside - it has no bounce whatsoever.
I’m guessing the bounce I enjoy will have to come from springs, which is fine with me, but still what can go on top of the springs that will be as comfy as my beloved X-soft Talalay?
I need ideas as my trial period is nearing an end quickly.
Thanks!

Hi latexintheatx,

I’m sorry to hear about your husband’s issues. My first question would be if your husband has had an actual diagnosis of what you’ve described, as a true latex allergy is extremely rare (and can be quite dangerous). There’s more information in this thread about this. There is a good brief overview here about the three types of reactions that can be connected to latex.

Your comment is a perfect illustration of how there can be no “standard” definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently than others so a mattress that one manufacturer rates as being a specific firmness could be rated very differently by another manufacturer. Different people can also have very different perceptions of softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around, just as your opinion of what is “soft” can differ from what a manufacturer considers “soft”.

Some of the newer generation of high performance polyfoams, like the TitanFlex in the Brooklyn Bedding, are being made with more resilience but can still be made in quite plush ILDs. Of course, the overall comfort will be determined by the rest of the materials within the mattress. These softer HP polyfoams will hold shape better and be more resilient than lower density soft polyfoams. As you don’t like the feel of memory foam, something using, at least in the upper comfort layers, some of these newer softer HP polyfoams might be a good route to investigate.

Phoenix

Thanks, Phoenix! I will take a look at the HP foams and see what I can find that has those. I’m also not completely opposed to a memory foam top, I just don’t like the clay-like super slow sinking feel and the deadness of the all memory foam mattresses like Temperpedic. I prefer some bounciness - some life! Maybe a faster-responding gel memory foam or somethig might work.
We haven’t had a latex allergy diagnosis, however my husband began having a choking feeling right away when we received our latex mattresses, so much so that it woke him up several times. At first we though it was the pillow not matching the new bed so we started trying new pillows. After a bit, he developed a persistent sore throat that wouldn’t go away for weeks, despite not feeling sick in any other way. He went to the doctor and they said it was probably allergies and told him to take Benedryl. At the same time, he started snoring which he has never done.
Now, he has gone to stay at his father’s house (who is needing 24 hour hospice care as he is dying) and the sore throat is magically gone. I had removed his mattress from our room (we have a split king) and added an allergy cover to my mattress to see if that helped, but that’s right when he ‘moved out’ so now we can’t test to see if the allergy re-appears before we have to decide whether to return. :frowning:
I’m guessing I’ll end up with some sort of basic spring unit, and try out different toppers - that will be easier than swapping out mattresses. We’ve already gone through a few and the process is starting to wear on me.
I appreciate your help!

Hi latexintheatx,

There are faster responding memory foams available (foam chemists are always coming up with new versions), but if you’re expecting bounciness, then you generally wouldn’t be looking at memory foam, unless it was a small amount and combined with other more resilient materials in the mattress. Obviously this would be something you could feel if you test items locally, but if you shop online you’d want to speak with an informed consultant and ask them if they have any information on how the recovery rate of their memory foam compares to older Tempurpedic models to assist you with your selection.

If there are small particles or latex dust in the latex from cutting that are connected to the rhinitis then a cover could possibly help, and I’ve also seen a number of instances where a dust mite cover with small micron sized pores solved similar issues as well. There is a little more about allergy encasements and pore sizes in post #2 here.

The membranes wouldn’t protect against any offgassing (they are vapor permeable) and to protect against this you would need a clear polyethylene plastic cover in the range of 5 mil or thicker (clear polyethylene is non toxic) but in your case it’s the particles that are probably most important and the polyethylene would not be breathable at all and would likely cause temperature regulation issues as well as trapping any moisture in the mattress.

Regardless of the cause (whether from latex or some other component within the mattress) it still might be a good idea for your husband to be tested by a health care professional, whether or not you keep the mattress.

I’m also sorry to hear about your father-in-law. :frowning:

Phoenix