Wool mattress pad or topper

[phoenix]

Hi 12345,

Heat is an issue because of the fact that the Select Comfort is the least breathable mattress made, if I am not mistaken - you are basically lying on a plastic bag.

The air bladder is the support core of an airbed and is deeper in the mattress and you would be sleeping on the foam or fiber layers above the air chambers not directly on the air bladder itself. The layers that are closer to you will have a much bigger effect on the sleeping temperature of a mattress than the deeper layers. Most people wouldn’t have temperature regulation issues with most airbeds (unless they are using memory foam in the comfort layers) but this also depends on the specifics of the mattress and on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range. There are many mattresses that would sleep warmer for most people than your mattress (particularly memory foam mattresses).

I want natural materials in anything I buy even to the point of not wanting Super Wash process used on the wool if I end up buying wool. And as I said, I have a preference for a fleece type wool pad but I don’t know of any that are not processed with Super Wash or similar. Do you?

Mattress pads with wool batting will likely be cooler than fleece pads because they will pack down and compress less than fleece. Wool will also tend to be more temperature regulating than cotton.

Many if not most of the mattress pads or toppers that are in the wool topper list here don’t use super wash wool and most of them use natural or in some cases even organic wool and cotton.

Barring a fleece pad, are there any other wool pads or toppers that are not going to be subject to compression to the degree that it is noticeable but that would do a good job of mitigating the plastic bag effect?

Thicker wool toppers will compress more than thinner wool mattress pads or toppers so it may be worthwhile considering a thinner mattress pad in the range of about 1/2" to 1" or so vs a thicker wool topper which can still have a significant effect on temperature regulation but are thinner and will compress less. The compression of wool over time in the areas you sleep on it the most is normal and unlike foam materials that get softer over time … the impressions won’t have a significant affect the feel and performance of even a thicker wool topper because they get firmer as they compress (the wool doesn’t return to its full loft but will feel very similar under weight) unlike foam materials which become softer as they develop impressions which will have a bigger effect on comfort and support. If you sleep on different areas of the topper on occasion the impressions will also tend to even out to some degree over time.

Phoenix