I’m trying to find a good value on a latex topper and it’s difficult to comparison shop for a variety of reasons, one of which is the covers. Some retailers include the cover in the price of the topper and others sell them separately. So I’ve been considering buying a topper from one retailer and a cover from another if it means better value. I don’t understand why they’re so expensive though. I’m talking about basic covers for the purpose of protecting the latex from degradation (mainly), not for providing additional comfort or other benefits via inclusion of wool or other materials.
Is there something that makes a cover for a 2-4" topper worth (in queen) $68, $77 (shipped to my zip code), $80, $95, or a whopping $186 when I can get an encasement that will cover the whole mattress including the topper for less than any of them (e.g. $49)?
The other thing is I’m not sure how thick my comfort layers will end up being. I might start with a 2" topper and need to build up to 3" or 4". If I get a cover that can only accomodate 2" or 3", and end up needing 3" or 4" in my comfort layer, I could have to buy another one of these expensive covers just to accomodate it. On the other hand, the whole mattress encasement may give me more leeway.
That last, most expensive of the examples at $186 was from Sleep Like a Bear. To be fair they also offer a 100% cotton cover that will accomodate up to 4 inches for $55 (by the way, I hate how their site doesn’t update the price when you choose a different option – it just shows +$XX), but that’s still more expensive than the whole mattress encasement.
Would 100% cotton even accomplish the goal of protecting latex from degradation? I don’t really see how that would be much more (if any more) effective than having the topper under a cotton fitted sheet (as long as you always have a sheet on the bed), and especially also under a fitted mattress protector under the sheet. But if it somehow is better, it seems to me that the whole mattress encasement would provide the necessary protection also.
If 100% cotton doesn’t protect the latex, what is it about the other materials, like bamboo, that makes them effective where cotton isn’t?