Mattress Forum

As a general rule, a softer mattress (i.e. pillowtop) will sleep warmer because you sink in more and are more surrounded by the mattress material.   Memory foam and PU foam will also be warmer than traditional materials like cotton and wool.  Latex will generally be cooler than memory foam and PU foam, but if soft enough, it still can sleep warm.  Most people do not get overally hot on a firm latex mattress, but of course there are always some exceptions.

If you ask the salesman at the store you may or may not get an honest answer of what is really in it.  I shopped for mattresses at Macy's at one point, and the salesman there did give me fairly good information of what was in the mattress.  Enough to scare me away from buyin and S&F. 

If you want to sleep cooler a firm mattress with natural materials will probably help.  There are some upper end and local mattress makers than still make them that way.   It might be more expensive than you want though.  Here is an example of a Royal-Pedic coil + cotton mattess.   If you slept hot on this, then you probably would sleep hot on just about anythig.

Also, as others have said the bedding you use will also have an important impact.   Low thread count cotton or linen sheets.  No thick down comforters, etc.

Not only is that info not available on the S&F website, they don't even allow you to email a question to Customer Service...you have to phone or write a letter.  Not sure they welcome a lot of questions.

I am determined to get to the bottom -- or the innards -- of the pillowtop question.  But it may be a moot point.

I probably need to get a mattress along the lines of the one you described.  I am also going to look at our local, high-end mattress manufacturer (McCroskey).  Cost aside, the problem is, you can't return a mattress from those companies -- you just get one exchange.  So you're stuck.

"Stuck" is the operative word when it comes to mattress buying.  You don't know what you've got till you've got it home.

Buyer beware...

Yes, it is a very tough purchase.  It is large and bulky, and the value drops a lot once it has been used.  There are some places with good return options, but not necessarily in the type you want.  Like most things, you do get what you pay for.   I would not totally rule out having latex in it just because of your S&F experience.  Likely the latex was buried under a bunch of other things, but hard  to be sure.  It is hard to make a bed comfortable without some type of foam.  One option is a more old fashioned firm mattress with little or no foam.  If it is too firm, you can try adding some type of topper to make it softer, but of course that increases the risk of heat issues.  However, toppers in some cases can be returned and a much smaller risk if you end up not using it.

What area do you live?  Maybe someone can recommend a local company in your area.

 

Hard to know whether to condemn all latex in all mattresses.  I only know that my 20+ year old mattress was never too warm, and I kind of doubt it contained latex, but who knows.

I just get the feeling that these new, mile-high synthetic "luxury" mattresses are problematic.  And now I'm nervous about ALL of them.

And it's not just the over-heating issue...the mattress has a wierd feel to it, in general.

One of the posters here wrote about how the S&F latex mattress (or maybe any latex mattress?) creates a "pushback" sensation.  Bingo!  As I lay awake at 2AM last night, I was painfully conscious of the "pushback" -- it's an odd kind of resistant firmness -- nothing like my old, traditional mattress.    

I realize I may be a bit "High Maintenance", but after reading all these posts, I don't think I'm the only one who is suffering from Mattress Malaise.

Honestly, I feel completely defeated.  I now own a big, expensive mattress that I dislike a lot.  And I only have one more chance to get it right next time.  It's a huge and expensive dilemma.  Not to mention time-consuming.

Mattress Firms of America:  Wake up!  We HATE your mattresses!!

Latex (atleast here  in America) is difficult because we Americans like softer, more plush, etc (think about how big the idea of a pillow top was for so many years) or we onlythink about "firmer is better for your back" which is inherently incorrect.

If your retailer will allow the exchange, spend the time finding the one that feels the best after being in it for about 15 minutes. If you start to get warm in that time, you may still be ok but keep looking. Remember, the more layers you have (clothing, bed linens, etc) the more dramatic effect on your overall temperature. If the top of the bed is not flat and also has "tufting" throughout, you can be assured that there are other materials between you and the latex... poly foams, etc. which are supposed to be there for breathability.

This has not directly answered the question you posted, and since I have not worked with this particular product, I can not properly inform you of its content. If you look at the law label (usually somehwere near the head of the bed on the end or just underneath) you should see some information including: Manufacturing date, location, basic materials and WHO manufactures it... that might be a good place to start for the specific answer to your question.

Sleep Well "boopboopadoop"!

I posted earlier that I had not worked with this mattress (but I was thinking you said it was a latex bed and not just having some latex in it), but I want to make sure I am correct. I have worked with the Stearns & Foster beds with their newer (2 years old) intellicoil system. If this is what you have then you are only laying on 5/8" of "smart latex" which is supposed to get firmer the more it is compressed to provide a smart response to your body... for you this sounds like to much smartness for comfort, but there may be something else causing that sensation.

Depending on which pillow-top you have (I have worked with four of them and there are more than that called pillow-tops within the S&F line-up). If it truly has the smart latex, you are probably in one of their Estate Collection beds. If this is true, there are several options in the various pillow tops including:

• Cashmere infused ticking in the top
• smart latex
• memory foam
• VRT (variable response technology) which is a series of holes in a layer of foam much like latex has creating softer and firmer feels in the same piece of foam
• Marvelux foam, a very high ILD foam, in their Estate Collection it is used as a base foam (you would not be able to feel it), in the Core Line Collection, it is used to make the firm pillow top feel firm)
• Omalux foam, a very high density foam creating a luxurious, not too soft pillow top
• the fire retardant material layer and the rest of the quilting layer as well...

As you can see, depending on which pillow top you have, there could variations all the way up to all of the above materials in your bed... bottom line is the deeper you sink, the hotter you feel. With these Estate Collection beds, some of the higher density materials can be too firm for comfort...

Not sure if that helps, but I go to reading your post again and realized I may have been mistaken the first time! Sleep Well BoopBoopaDoop!

Um....Kirkland is a Costco branding that is added to an S&F mattress....NOT the S&F name added to a Kirkland mattress. At least in California, where my store is at...the Costco S&F matts are produced at the Sealy factory in Southgate. The date, location, materials, and manufacturer's name and address are all included on the law label located at the end of the mattress...The intial statement is 100% in error. (Sorry...but it is)

A mattress sold by Costco, manufactured by Stearns and Foster, and labeled with the Costco Kirkland Name...(along with the S&F name I might add...)

The other part of the post is dead on. It's going to be incredibly difficult for you to find out what's inside tyour pillowtop. Even the law label is going to be of no real use. Even if ALL the materials used are listed, to which my experience says they will NOT be, it wouldn't break it down as to which of those materials are actually IN the pillowtop portion of your mattress. The only real way isn't going to happen for you which would be to tour the local Sealy factory while they actually produced one of thoe beds!

From the S&F website.

The Tradtional model filling is listed as High-density, prestressed, furniture-grade upholstery foams  to ensure durability. (Whatever that means).

The Estate model filling is listed as memory foam or rich latex foam that conforms to your shape while resisting compression. Sounds like a higher grade of foam.

For the most part S&F mattresses are not supposed to be discounted.

Good luck..