Thanks so much for your information! I have spent hours reviewing it and am almost ready to go shopping… Can you answer a few things first
What is ILD specifically besides foam density I read most of your articles and must have missed how to know exactly what you need besides trial and error. Some people on the forum talk like they know what all the numbers mean. I did not see a in depth article.
I have researched extensively and coils are bad for dust mite suffers/asthma/allergies (they live in there),… I should get a 100% natural latex mattress. If I get a natural top layer / comfort layer and then mix or poly for the lower layers will this effect me? Doesn’t polly off gass, Use VOC’s and isn’t as good for allergies even if used in lower layers?
What about the blended w/ other solid natural materials fibers/bamboo/etc… in the latex? Wouldn’t this cut down cost by filling the latex with something else (hopefully natural), kind of like how spring cut down on foam cost as less is needed… Is that a inferior product? I saw your posting stating that soy blended latex is really only a percentage with higher chemicals and not so natural.
I live in “Post #2 posting San Francisco Bay Area…” I am on the market for a second, return, used, or clearance mattress. I would rather buy something used than a mattress marketed for low budgets that just wont last. Out of your list on your posting #2 San Francisco Bay area which locations would have the best selection of natural latex queen size. Price wise is 100% natural tally or 100% natural dunlop cheaper (second/return/clearance). The only locations I could find with 100% natural tally or dunlop seconds were www.foamorder.com/ (no queen mattresses as above in stock), www.nosca.org/index.html (don’t have anything in stock right now like above). European Sleep works (too expensive), Natural Mattress Store (too expensive), www.selectsleepmattress.com (mainly box springs with foam), dax is online shopping.
Can you think of anything else with seconds/used/clearance? Maybe I should try the web any suggestions that would have something I could try locally (Brooklyn mattresses, matress 24/7, etc…) . I am thinking maybe online would be the way to go for these items but I would have to try them out first what brands or websites could I do this locally?
How do you feel about Chilipad to stay cool or a coolmax mattress protector (over latex) I can’t use the wool ticking as it harbors dust mites.
ILD is a measure of firmness of foam as measured by compressing the foam 25%. you need to be careful using ILD alone because it does not measure the ultimate ability of the foam to support weight, for which 65% compression test is much more useful. the ILD merely measures how firm the foam will feel, but not how much weight it will take to bottom it out. this is why you have high grade foams and low grade foams - high grade foams are hard to bottom out and hard to wear out and typically have high pounds per cubic foot density.
you always need to know the ILD of the foam that you are going to use - the only exception to this is memory foam used in the top layer, which pretty much always compresses far past 25% anyway so ILD measure for it is less relevant. for memory foam the pound density may be more important, but for all other types of foam ILD is the first thing you need to know, however if you know ONLY the ILD you will be able to make only an OK but not great mattress, and the mattress you make may fail in only a few months if you don’t use high enough grade foam.
a typical mattress may have something like 3" of 19-24 ild comfort layer on top of a 6" layer of 28-36 ILD - but the more you weigh the higher the ILD will need to be, plus it will depend obviously on layer thicknesses. however there is no good formula for adjusting ILD for thickness as both very thin and very thick mattresses will require higher ILD ( greater firmness ) foam than average ones. this is where field testing comes in.
The first place I would start is post #1 here and the information it links to. The first overview has some ILD information that may be useful for example.
ILD means “indentation load deflection” and as it is typically used it is a measure of the relative softness of a foam layer. It is most commonly used for latex and is very similar (but not exactly the same) as the newer IFD measurement that is usually used for polyfoam. You can read more details yet about ILD and IFD and some of the other foam statistics in post #2 here.
It is also important to note that ILD / IFD is not connected to foam quality in any way and is strictly a “comfort spec” … and can be very misleading if it is used by itself. Density is the most important “quality spec” in terms of the durability of polyfoam and memory foam and with latex the type and blend of the latex is the most important information you would need to know. With latex … density and ILD are very closely connected but any density of polyfoam can be made in a wide range of firmness levels and density and softness are only very loosely connected
It is also important to know (unlike what g1981c is suggesting) that knowing the ILD / IFD when you are testing mattresses locally is not important at all. Good objective testing will allow your body to tell you what you need to know about the feel and performance of a mattress much more than any “comfort specs” which will often do more to mislead than help since most people don’t have the extensive knowledge and experience to have a reference point for what any particular ILD combination feels like. With an online purchase … then ILD/ IFD can play a more important role … especially if you have tested some similar mattresses locally where you know the design details and the ILD’s of the layers which can be helpful as a reference point for an online purchase.
I would also keep in mind that softness/firmness is very subjective and that one person’s too firm can be another person’s “too soft” depending on body type, sleeping style, preferences, sensitivities, and physiology. Your own personal testing and the feedback from your body will almost always be more accurate than any kind of “theory” or “formula”.
In many cases dust mite concerns have been overblown or exaggerated (see here for one example) as a marketing strategy although it is true of course that dust mites (or more specifically their waste products) can be a significant factor in allergies for a minority of the population. Post #2 here has some links to good information about dust mites and methods of controlling them.
The previous link has information about latex and dust mites but there can also be a significant difference between the feel and performance of a latex/polyfoam hybrid mattress compared to an all latex mattress for example (see post #2 here for a comparison). Any different combination of materials and components can have a significant effect on how a mattress feels and performs in terms of PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences). In terms of dust mites … I’m not so sure that they would be significantly different from each other if every other factor that could involve dist mites was comparable.
The answer to the question of “how safe is safe enough for me” is also a very complex one and each person may have their own answer that they feel most comfortable with. Unfortunately there is no “one size fits all” answers to these types of questions and each person that is concerned with these issues would need to use their own best judgement. Post #2 here has more and links to more information about this very controversial subject but it may also take you down a rabbit hole of sometimes conflicting information.
You can read more about the different types of latex in post #6 here and post #6 here. The previous link has more information about other natural materials. Blended latex is a combination of natural latex and synthetic latex (Styrene Butadiene) not usually other materials like soy or bamboo.
I don’t keep records of specific mattresses, designs, or layering (it would be impossible to keep up to this in a changing market) so the lists I provide are a way to help you exclude the worst choices and focus on the better ones both in terms of quality and value. Your own research (on the phone and in person) and testing will be necessary to find a mattress that best meets your specific criteria and personal value equation. Connecting with retailers or manufactures that have higher levels of knowledge and experience can also be one of the most imporatant parts of shopping for a mattress because they already know what you would otherwise need to learn. My focus is on how to choose a mattress that meets your needs and preferences rather than suggesting what specific mattress to choose which is not possible for someone to do for someone else with any real certainty. I also don’t keep any records of stores that sell used mattresses and don’t recommend them anyway so for this you would be on your own to follow your best judgement.
