Anyone a mattress expert?

[barlowc]

In January 2000, my wife and I purchased a queen-sized Serta Perfect Sleeper pillow top mattress set from a local retailer. At this retailer it was called the Baywatch. I remember the price tag being $1100 but we only paid $725 which included a frame and delivery. The mattress was heavenly for many, many years and we loved it. But after about 7 years, despite regular rotating and flipping, it had large deep depressions where we slept.

In February 2008, working with the local retailer, Serta replaced the mattress at no cost to us. The replacement was another Serta Perfect Sleeper, a Euro Top called the Italiano Moon. Serta said that the foundation did not need to be replaced. Now, after less than 3 years, the mattress has depressions where we sleep with a ridge in the middle of the bed and we both wake up with aching backs and/or stiff necks.

Part of me thinks no, we can't need a new mattress, this one is only 3 years old. But the other part of me thinks, there are depression and you wake up with a sore back, it's definitely time to get a new mattress.

Could this mattress really be shot after only 3 years!?

 

[PandaBear]

It could be, the newer mattress aren't made to the same standard as the old when they put on fancy padding instead of quality springs. Also replacement aren't really the best. For a purchase made 10 years ago, you can't really complain too much.

I had the same problem with my mattress I bought 5 years ago but later on after trying out some new mattresses in stores, I come to the conclusion that both my wife and I are aging, and the mattress is now too hard for us. So we end up putting on a couple comforter on the bottom and all is good again.

You might want to try your own padding on top or a couple plank of plywood on the bottom to increase support or prop up the center. I've tried that and it seems to work well.

 

[Corvette Owner]

When you say Euro Top, does it have a pillow top? If so they settle out with time. I just replaced a pillow top bed after 4+ years.

After studying and talking to others, I went with a Tempur-Pedic Cloud Supreme. Their warranty is half (3/4 inches) sag of most others (1 1/2 inches). We like our new bed. I was concerned about heat, but it is okay. Kinda pricey at $3200 though.

Those memory foam toppers do work and are worth a try. We used one on our cheap mattress at our beach house and it made it better.

 

[Scienceman]

It could be bad ...... but your the one that knows for sure! You got alot of years out of them to for the price of one!

 

[JustinH]

I have a very similar mattress. Serta perfect sleep with pillowtop. Mine is a queen, I remember the setup being around 500 on sale.

Mine is about 4 years old, and it is sagging in the middle. Its so bad that I sometimes roll into the middle of the mattress during sleep.

The only thing I can think of is maybe two people sleeping on it every night wears it out faster than a single? The extra weight..

My next mattress is going to be a firm mattress from sams club. No silly pillow top stuff..

 

[SHOZ]

I bought a Sealy last year. Already threw it out.

 

[dishdude]

I bought a Temperpedic last year at RC Willey that was on sale for $599, it has been great! I will never go back to an innerspring mattress again. It does really retain the heat though!!!

 

[heathenbrewing]

Another vote for Temperpedic - pricey, but considering you spend a third of your life in bed, I say its a good investment. I love mine and I too would never go back to an inner spring again.

Umm..err..."intimate encounters" are different though. Memory foam is temperature responsive and additional heat causes it to soften a bit. Some are sensitive to this. On the plus side, there is no bounce - all your efforts are put to good use and the mattress tends to engulf and keep your partner in place.

Maybe I said too much...

Hope I dont offend - just food for thought. I think they are well worth it, but beds are so individual that you will have to try them out for yourself.

 

[Patman]

For my new place I just got a new Queen size mattress and box spring from a local place for only $188! At that price even if I have to replace it every couple of years I'm still far ahead! They wanted $50 for delivery but now it is going to end up being free because they were supposed to deliver it yesterday and then they didn't show up.

The reason why this store was so cheap is because they also make the mattresses on site. And they even admitted that they don't make very much money on the lower priced mattresses, they hope to get return business from people in the future on their other furniture (which is also very nice and very reasonably priced too, so I will definitely shop there again)

I still can't believe the price on the King size mattress that my mom bought for me and my wife about 7 or 8 ago. It was $2000! Yikes! It is very durable though, after all this time it's still in perfect shape and has no indents in it. (and we've never flipped it or turned it) Once you go King Size nothing else will ever be the same, I'm really going to miss that bed!

 

[mechanicx]

I don't think mastresses are made like they use to be. I've always had Sealy Posteurpedics and this last one doesn't seem to be as good as previous. I've heard Stearns & Foster iis suppose to be the best quality but they cost more.

 

[NJC]

Mattresses are priced according to what the market will bear - which is apparently a heap. Really, should steel springs (and lousy spring steel so it seems) and fabric really net $900? These are common materials, and the economies of scale are great.

According to a local retailer, it's NOT the spring steel that wears/fatigues but the fabric/foam. I could only verify his claim by performing a post-mortem analysis on the steel coils on the inside part of the bed.

We have a pillow-top with "pocket" coils, as per the Serta design - except made locally in Vancouver. Thus far it's been excellent, but only 2yrs mileage. I'll be pleased with a min of 10yrs.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

That's one of many reasons why I purchased a sleep number bed. It's almost 10 years old and is still as comfortable as it was on day one.

And I never need to flip a mattress.

 

[Al]

Not saying ours were not overpriced...

We have two Beauty Rests. We bought one almost 20 years ago (only used it 10 years and then put it in out spare bedroom. The one we now use, we have for 10 years. Can't say enough good about them.

 

[ddrumman2004]

Best sleep I ever got was on a old "waveless" water bed back in the 80s. I sure missed that bed when the wife and I parted ways back then.
It was nice to get in a warm bed in the winter and cool bed in the summer.

For the record, my ex-wife still uses that bed to this day.

My wife and I now sleep on a Sealy pillow top and I rarely get a good night's sleep but I attribute that to my age. My wife, however, sleeps like a log!

 

[barlowc]

Thanks guys for all the responses! It's good to know I'm not alone with this issue.

Based on the responses and the other information I've dug up in my research, it simply seems like inner-spring mattresses these days are not constructed like they used to be (especially the foam padding that is used) and are breaking down much sooner. Given my experience with two Serta mattresses, I'm certainly not going to spend money on that brand again.

But it doesn't sound like Serta is alone; Sealy and Simmons are just the same. So I'm leaning away from inner-spring mattresses entirely. The only think I might consider is getting a relatively inexpensive and very firm mattress, using my existing Serta box-spring/foundation, and then putting a quality memory foam topper on it. That way when the topper breaks down, I can always replace it. It's the foam that seems to be the problem these days anyway.

I've been hearing a lot of good stuff about Tempur-Pedic, both here and elsewhere. The high price is a turn-off though. Unless someone can absolutely guarantee me that it would last 15+ years and provide great comfort the entire time, I'm going to have a hard time dropping $2500+ on a set.

While I am a little skeptical because of the low price, Sleep Innovations' NovaForm mattresses seem to get a lot of positive feedback. They've been compared to Tempur-Pedic but cost a small fraction of the price. A queen-size mattress is available at Costco for $580 (tax and shipping included). I can use my existing box-spring/foundation. And given Costco's very generous return policy and excellent customer service in general, it seems like it might be a good bet. I'd be able to return it years from now if it turned out to be flop.

The other mattresses that I've heard a lot of good things about are the Sleep Number beds that Pop_Rivit mentioned. They're still relatively expensive but not nearly as expensive as Tempur-Pedic. There's a Sleep Number store about 3 miles down the road so I may check them out.

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: SHOZ
I bought a Sealy last year. Already threw it out.


Same here. You can search for the thread I made about that pile of [censored] Sealy Posturpedic I had.

I've gone threw a few mattresses recently and have found them to be all the same. Unless you spring (no pun intended) for a known expensive high quality built like a brick [censored] house inner spring mattress, they're all the same. Heck, I think many brands are built in the same local factories.

I've found that plush is the best level of padding and a major key to mattress longevity is to use the best quality bed frame you can get - one that absolutely has the center beam but also has a post in the center of the frame.

The plush mattress I have now from a local company is starting to sag even with my top quality frame. I just relax, don't worry about it any more and live with it.

Try sleeping in the fetal position, it really helps me sleep without back pain, especially with a pillow between my legs.

 

[Dave Hess]

Quote:
Try sleeping in the fetal position, it really helps me sleep without back pain, especially with a pillow between my legs.

Same for me and my wife. I can't sleep with a pillow as it hurts my neck.

 

[barlowc]

After spending most of yesterday afternoon researching and visiting some stores, I think I've narrowed my choices down to a) the Sleep Innovations NovaForm Pure Comfort Deluxe at Costco, and b) a Select Confort Sleep Number bed.

Right now I can get a queen-size NovaForm mattress for only $583. That includes tax and delivery. And according to the manufacturer (Sleep Innovations) I can put the mattress on our existing box-spring.

I've studied/analyzed the reviews on the Costco web site very carefully and they are generally very, very good. Looking at the Pure Comfort, Pure Comfort Deluxe, and Pure Comfort Grand products in all sizes, there are a total of 158 reviews. 58% are 5-star, 13% are 4-star, 8% are 3-star, 9% are 2-star, and 12% are 1-star. The overall rating across all those products and their reviews are 4 stars, which really is very good.

Given what I've read, I'm fairly confident that the mattress will be great initially. My concern is the durability and how long the greatness will last. There were some reviews where people reported sagging and "holes" appearing after a few years, but there was not enough such data for me to see a trend in that. In general, as is often the case with product reviews, there was a lack of long-term data. But given Costco's awesome, open-ended return policy, it seems like a pretty low risk. If it doesn't work out, I just have to borrow a truck and return it at the store that's 3 miles away from my house.

After visiting a Sleep Number store, I think they have a great product. But I'd be looking at about $1400 to get into one of their Classic Series models. But IMO, that'd be money well spent if it lasts me 15+ years and provides comfort that entire time. One cool thing about Sleep Number beds is that they're made so that parts (e.g. computer/pump, foam) that go bad can be replaced without having to replace the entire bed.

I know Pop_Rivit gives the thumbs-up to the Sleep Number beds. Anyone else recommend the Sleep Number based on their experience? Anyone have thoughts about the NovaForm at Costco?

 

[Tdbo]

I don't know that I'm an expert, but here goes...

When my wife and I got married 15 years ago, we went out and bought a king size mattress. Only one that we could agree on was a $1200 Serta. After 6 months, if I laid flat on the bed, I could feel myself start to slide out of the bed (seriously.) Went to the store we bought it from and complained and they sent a Serta rep to the house. He noticed the problem and said that it was a defective mattress. I demanded a new box spring as well, but the best that I could get was try the mattress and if it started to wear the same way, he would approve a new box spring. So after I went back to the store and raised expletive deleted, they took the Sealy back and gave me full store credit on another mattress. This time, the only one we could agree on was a Sealy Posturepedic that was the same price. This lasted five years until it lost all firmness and it got to the point where I had constant back problems. After 2 more years of putting up with it, got rid of it.
After that, we went to the Select Number bed and love it. No more arguments about mattress firmness. She likes her side soft, I like mine hard, and we each can have what we want. Going on eight years and good as new. A tip on buying if you decide to go this way: send for the brochure and CD out of the magazine ads that they run. The reason for this is that they put you on a mailing list for sales and closeouts. I purchased mine as a year end model (only difference was change in cover on the mattress) and saved over $500 vs. buying in the store.

I'd say go sleep number(if you can swing it financially) and never look back. In the long run it is actually cheaper and a better quality product. We will never own anything but again.

 

[RTexasF]

The mattress game is quite the racket, I base that statement on having sold bedding for some years, both Tempur-Pedic and conventional. Most of the warranties are useless, read the fine print. Markup on standard mattresses is in the 400-500% range. I never got to see cost on Tempur-Pedic as it was closely guarded. How do stores offer "best price or free"? It is because no two stores have a mattress with the same name so you cannot compare. To be clear the mattress at Store A may be exactly the same at Store B but it has a different color cover and a different name even though the brand is the same.

With some (very expensive) exceptions, expecting a bed/mattress to last beyond 5-7 years is not realistic. I paid $400 (our cost at the time) for a $1700+ name brand Queen set. In five years it was time to replace it due to sagging, lumps, etc. Now that I pay retail I buy an inexpensive mattress only, old frame & foundation still good, and plan to pitch it in 5 years or less.
Coil count and edge construction figure heavily. Were the Tempur-Pedic not so "hot" to sleep on for me I would have had one years ago. They are one of the few with an actual/realistic warranty.

Current one is a King Koil firm Eurotop Queen.......$299 on closeout with an 800 coil count and extra firm reinforced foam on all edges.......still solid @ 4 years old. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ