Mattress Set

[benjamming]

So, we are looking at purchasing 2 new mattress sets (mattress & box spring), king & queen size. We saw some Serta Perfect Day Euro Top sets that we liked ok. We didn't like the Pillow Top as well. Is there any correlation between the amount & material of fill vs. wear, durability, comfort, price, etc.? I got the following data from the "do not remove under penalty of law" tag.

Set A:
26.5# of fill material
58% polyurethan foam
23% blended cotton batting
20% latex

Set B:
30# of fill material
80% polyurethan foam
20% blended cotton batting

Set C:
29 # 13 oz. of fill material
43% polyurethane foam
37% polyester fiber batting
20% blended cotton batting

Set D:
40# 9 oz. of fill material
58% polyurethane foam
28% polyester fiber batting
15% blended cotton batting

Anyone have any other advice for buying mattresses? You can't really compare mattresses from store to store as they are all renamed.

Serta is the only we have found that meets California's flammability tests. Is that significant?

 

[michaelc80]

About 3 years ago we searched mattresses extensively when we decided it was time to get rid of our current bed. I spent about a month trying to decide which one would be the best for both of us, since it all boils down to comfort and a good nights sleep. I couldn't find a mattress that both my wife and I were comfortable on.

I finally decided on a Sleep Number bed and it's been one of the best investments I've ever made. We have a California King since I'm tall and don't fit well into other beds.

My wife prefers a firm mattress, while I tend to adjust mine frequently. Last night I decided I was more comfortable at 55, last week I had it set at 40.

I'm sure this sounds like the commercial, but both my wife and I have found that we sleep much better than ever before and don't have any back pain. One added benefit-about a month after we started sleeping on the sleep number bed my wife was able to stop using her mouth guard-she has TMJ and hasn't awakened with the pain from it since we changed beds.

I travel a lot and sleep in hotels. While they all claim to have comfortable beds (even the very upscale hotels) I've never found one as comfortable as the Sleep Number bed we own.

 

[JHZR2]

the one piece of advice that I have is if youre getting a king/queen mattress, get a frame that has center supports.

After college, i bought a queen size bed (Im tall and like the space), and got it with the free frame. It was only me - 200 lbs or so on the mattress, in the center. Within a year, you could feel a noticable sag in the center.

They replaced it with another mattress/boxspring combo, and replaced the frame with one with three crossmembers, because they attributed the sag to the 'free' bedframe that didnt support correctly in the center.

JMH

 

[Papa Bear]

Get 2 twins and slide them together .... or not.

 

[74 Laguna]

I am also looking for a new bed. I am thinking about the Sleep Better bed which is like the Sleep Number but I was just wondering if anyone has a soft sided water bed and if so do you like it?

 

[H2GURU]

Yeah,
Check to see if ticking (fine finish )is on BOTH sides of top mattress so you'll be able to flip it over ( sort of like tire rotation ). Some cheap ba$tards are now only putting it on one side thus reducing life expectancy!!

 

[bluemax1]

Beds are such individual things. Soft or firm, memory foam or not etc.

Personally, I finally found the bed I'd been looking for for about 20 years.

Back in my teens while still living with my parents I had a mettress made completely of foam that was luxuriously soft (and weighed a ton when we had to try moving it). It was, as the saying goes, like sleeping on a cloud. The most comfortable mattress I'd ever slept in.

Ever since, I haven't found anything else as comfortable. I tried the Tempur-Pedic mattresses at a local mattress store and it just wasn't the same. To get the same level of softness I remember, I had to go to their most expensive Rhapsody bed ($3400 mattress only?). The problem was, after lying on the mattress for about 15 minutes (I'm a side sleeper), I discovered that I was now in my own personal crater that was difficult to roll out of. This was something I didn't recall that old mattress doing.

I finally remembered the tag that was on that mattress from 20 years ago. It said 'Dunlopillo'. As it turns out, it was a mattress company that is an offshoot of the Dunlop company and they specialize in latex foam mattresses.

The Talalay latex foam conforms to the body and reforms instantly (not the slow reforming like memory foam) so it doesn't cause the memory foam 'cratering' effect. It's also supportive. If you research memory foam, you'll discover that one of it's chief attributes of conformability is that it isn't very supportive. The soft memory foam layer will eventually crush down to the base so the mattress must be made with a denser, more supportive base material to prevent the sleeper from squashing the foam all the way to the bottom. Talalay foam doesn't do that.

After searching online, I found a company in FL that made mattresses using Dunlopillo Talalay latex foam. since they are mattresses builders I found out from contacting them that they will make a bed to custom sizes for you if you wish (if you're 7' tall or whatever). I got a Cal-King mattress with base/boxsprings from them for $1399 + shipping (a little over $200 to MI?). Then they took off $100 because there was an error in the shipping.

The bed is everything I remember from 20 years ago. Soft and luxurious, yet supportive. When I lie on my side in the bed, I don't feel pressure points and yet, my body is aligned properly, with my hips and shoulders sinking in and keeping my spine pretty straight. The lowee back stiffness I occasionally woke up with on the other mattresses is now gone.

The company in FL is called Clearwater Mattress. There are 2 major companies producing Talalay latex foam. Latex International (which is US company) and Dunlopillo. either one produce great latex foam. There are many companies making latex mattresses using the latex foam from either of these mattresses. If you google 'talalay latex' or 'latex foam' you'll pull up some of these companies, some of which will even customize the softness/firmness of each side of the bed for you.

There is one company that offers the ability to customize the firmness of the bed by adjusting the layers of different density foams and if you find the bed too frm, you call them and they send you a different density layer, you unzip the outer liner, replace the layer and try it out, and continue adjusting till you're satisfied (and you can adjust each side indepenedently). This of course costs more.

BTW, latex foam mattresses have been medically recommended for patients needing a mattress without pressure points for quite a long time.


Max

 

[Master ACiD]

interesting. being 6'6, i find most beds to be too short. my current bed is part of a complete bedroom set from the 1920's. it is from my grandmothers house. about a month ago i pulled out the old mattress to flip it and i glanced at the tag. it showed a production date of 1922!
my mattress and box spring is incredibly comfortable. everyone who comes over and sleeps in my bed loves it. you sink in like latex foam, but with the big squishy box spring that has 7 inches of spring travel, its like riding in a car with worn out shocks. ust a big old plush ride. the box spring is literally a steel box with automotive looking coil springs. i dont know what the mattress is made out of but being 87 years old i bet theres more than a fair share of asbestos and dust mite carcasses in it. funny it doesnt smell or have any rotten parts.
my problem is the bed isnt long enough. like i said im 6'6 and i have to nearly sleep diagonal to have enough head and foot room. this doesnt play well with sleeping buddie who are use to conventional sleeping angles.

my problem is that the headboard and footboard match my beedroom set. so i cant just go out and buy a cali king bed because id have to split up the set. but if you say this dunlopillo makes custom mattresses i might have to give them a call and see if i can have a really long bed made. id like something thats way exadurated. like 9 feet in length. how sweet would that be!

 

[refaller]

My wife and I have a sleep number bed as well. I always feel like I'm giving commercials about it. We both love it. I love it soft, but my back feels great the next morning when it set high. I love that it adjusts and of all our big purchases, my wife and I agree it has been the best.

ref

 

[JohnBrowning]

I had a Natulis now Sleep Number and did not like it. It would be fine if you are single and can controll both sides but if you share your bed with a women it suck's. I like my side firm she liked her side soft as could be. So what would happen is I would migrate from my firm side onto her soft side and in a sleep state could not get back up to the firm side. So i would wake up on her side sore as could be.

 

[Merkava_4]

Wow! That mattress that Max is talking about sounds fantastic.

 

[Brett Miller]

Just remember, there is never a day mattresses are not on sale.

 

[refaller]

Maybe I would have that problem if the wife gave me more than one foot. Never have worried about falling onto her side. I worry about falling out.

ref

 

[mcrn]

I have a sleep number bed and I love it. Could not recommend it more. It was recommended to me by two different chiropractors. You can buy them remanufactured for a lot less. It is not a bad deal because only the air pump and the bladder is rebuilt. Everything your body touches is new and you get the same warranty as a new one.

 

[kkreit01]

My only advice is: do not buy Simmons Beautyrest. Sure, the individual coils are nice at first -- you can't feel/hear your spouse getting out of bed. However, after about 2 years, all the individual coils will compact -- leaving you with a small pocket to sleep in. I wake to backaches every morning -- and it's from the bed.

 

[flynavydiesel]

I second that the bed Max is talking about sounds like something I would love to get my hands on. I have looked at that memory foam mattresses and they definitely worry me. I do not like sinking into a mold and can not move, because I too sleep on my side. I will have to check that company out.

 

[Al]

Quote:

---

My only advice is: do not buy Simmons Beautyrest.

---

I'd strongly disagree. We have one 10+ years. The other is 15+ years old. They are just wonderful.

 

[bluemax1]

Oh, BTW, a litle more info for folks considering getting in touch with Clearwater Mattress Co. about getting a Dunlopillo Talalay Latex foam mattress.

The mattress isolates movement very well so if that's important to you (light sleeper with a partner who moves a lot) don't worry. And since there are no springs at all (and all latex foam mattresses are recommended to be paired with a a solid base), there's no sound from movement in bed as long as your frame doesn't squeak.

Also, they have the best warranty I've heard of. 20 years non-prorated. Most companies (eg Tempur-Pedic) have a 10 year full + 5 year prorated. According to Clearwater, if the mattress material breaks down/degrades/fails etc. within 20 years (not from liquid spills or fire etc.). They will replace it. You have to pay for shipping though.

In addition, if you google more info on Talalay latex, you'll find that it actually tends to hold up longer than most other bedding material. The old mattress that I had been looking for a replacement for these past 20 years was itself 20 years old or older when I took it over way back then and it didn't have any craters, sunken spots etc. If this new mattress holds up that well, I'll be more than happy. With Clearwater offering a 20-year non-prorated warranty, I have little reason to believe I'll have any problems.

Oh, and the mattress doesn't ever need to be flipped (in fact, it's designed not to be flipped) which is a good thing, because it is as heavy as I remember.

I just checked my contact emails again and it was $1349 for the Cal-King mattress only and $1699 if I wanted the mattress and foundation (which comes in 2 pieces to make it easier to move).

I don't find the mattress to sleep warmer than normal either. I did purchase a waterproof mattress cover for it though, to protect it from any inadvertent fluids. The mattress protector is from Tempur-pedic and was made for foam mattresses. It doesn't rustle or crinkle and conforms along with the mattress.

If anyone's interested, they can try contacting the same people I did.

Ray Frey
Customer Service/Commercial Sales Manager
Clearwater Mattress
P- (727) 479-1600
F- (727) 479-1618
[email protected]

Hope that helps someone get a better night's sleep. The downside to this bed is that sleeping in a hotel bed while travelling is a much bigger difference now. Must be getting old, I finally understand what my dad meant when he used to say that he couldn't wait to get home back to his own bed.


Max

 

[Merkava_4]

Quote:

---

Ray Frey
Customer Service/Commercial Sales Manager
Clearwater Mattress
P- (727) 479-1600
F- (727) 479-1618

---

That's a very smooth name; kind of like "Heather Grey."