Buyer's remorse from an "S" brand! I need a replacement! Suggestions?!?!
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I recently bought a Stearns & Foster Estate Eureka Springs luxury firm full mattress from Mattress Discounters and I think I may have made a mistake. Even though I came across this forum about a month ago, I still took a chance with an "S" brand. My back was in pain from the hammocking of the old mattress and I bought it due to desperation. For the first few days my back hurt but it gradually went away. The mattress salesman said that my back may hurt for the first week or so because my back muscles were returning back to their normal state after being stretched out due to my previous mattress. It has been 2 weeks now and my back pain has returned! In fact, it hurt so much this morning I had to get up early since I couldn't take it anymore. My girlfriend, whom I share the mattress with, says her back pain has disappeared and has no complaints. Now I am asking myself the following questions: -Should I just wait it out for a few more weeks to see if my back pain goes away? -Is the size of the bed contributing to my back pain? (Should I go for a larger size?)---> It is a full size mattress. I am 5'8", 150lbs. My girlfriend is 5'4", 100lbs. -Is the setup of the bed to blame?--->The mattress rests on a murphy bed platform. -Should I replace the foam inside? -New bed?--->Latex, maybe? -Topper? The comfort guarantee allows me to exchange the bed within 60 days. I prefer not to go that route since they will charge me for delivery and 10% of total costs and I could save that money toward other bed improvements. I am thinking about mattress surgery to replace the foam inside for more premium stuff but I'm not sure how to do that and am concerned with closing it up. I know a lot of people on this forum recommend latex beds, but that will have to be my second to last resort since it is not in my current budget due to the money already spent on the present mattress, but I may buy one down the road so I'm open to suggestions on that as well. That's all the gripes/concerns I can currently think of so please provide any suggestions you can. Thanks in advance! |
Re: Buyer's remorse from an "S" brand! I need a replacement! Suggestions?!?!
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That mattress is going to sleep "firmer" because it's on a platform instead of box spring. I think it's more likely that the mattress will soften a bit with use, not that your back will get back in alignment like the salesrep suggested. Size of the mattress is unlikely to have anything to do with it. Besides, if you have a murphy bed you can't change bed size can you? Or is it just a platform and you don't raise the bed during the day? Don't do surgery for a too firm mattress. You would normally just add a topper for a too firm mattress. It might be harder to add a topper if you are using a Murphy bed as it will want to slide when you raise the bed. Exchanging for a softer mattress might solve the problem. Just stay away from the pillow tops as they are prone to body impressions. |
Re: Buyer's remorse from an "S" brand! I need a replacement! Suggestions?!?!
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twalkman wrote: Don't do surgery for a too firm mattress. You would normally just add a topper for a too firm mattress. It might be harder to add a topper if you are using a Murphy bed as it will want to slide when you raise the bed. Exchanging for a softer mattress might solve the problem. Just stay away from the pillow tops as they are prone to body impressions. I disagree. I would not exchange for a softer mattress. A softer mattress will no doubt just have more cheap foam inside that will hurt your back due to lack of support. First I would try adding a good very low ild latex topper. See if that helps. I'd try no more than an inch or an inch and a half. Any more than that can give you back pain due to not enough support. No, latex that soft does not really provide much support. But it's better than memory foam or cheap crappy pu foam. So you may also try like one inch of soft or medium soft latex and one inch of Sensus memory foam (overstock.com has it). You can vary these. I prefer the memory foam UNDER the latex. IF the above does not work, no problem. You can just insert them inside the mattress after you do surgery on it. Even though it feels "too firm" it still has probably 2-3" of cheap PU foam in it. That foam just does not provide the right feel. See my Englander Mattress surgery thread. I had the exact same problem. It was very firm, but putting toppers on it did not solve the problem. Taking out the cheap pu foam and replacing it with about 3" of high quality foams did the trick. Good luck. p.s. Don't be afraid to do surgery on it once you have decided to keep it. I bet that mattress has very good springs and will be ideal for surgery. Here's 2 threads on 2 different surgeries. There are more in the 2nd thread below: < http://www.whatsthebest-mattress.com/forum/dissecting-my-sealy-fenway-mattress-bought-costco-4-years-ago-lousy-soft-foam-inside/1954-1-1.html > < http://www.whatsthebest-mattress.com/forum/mattress-surgery-performing-foam-ectomy-my-englander-mattress-w-photos/6161-A-1.html > This message was modified Oct 20, 2009 by jimsocal
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Re: Buyer's remorse from an "S" brand! I need a replacement! Suggestions?!?!
| OK. So after several more weeks my back pain still exists and I am trying to figure out if my mattress is too firm or too soft. I don't get any pain in my shoulders or hips so I'm guessing it is too soft. Would a latex topper help or is my only option mattress surgery? |
Re: Buyer's remorse from an "S" brand! I need a replacement! Suggestions?!?!
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It's almost certainly too soft even though it may feel too hard. Let me explain: I bought the firmest Englander they had, but it hurt my back. It felt hard to sleep on but when I opened it up it had 3" of unsupportive foam inside (see the thread I linked you to for visuals - make sure you click the link below the first post or so that says SEE ALL POSTS or something like that). So, once I opened it up, with a razor type knife, I saw the 3" of cheap crappy foam, took them out, replaced them with some higher quality foam and then it was great. I'd try getting 2 or4 3 1" layers of latex in various ILD's: maybe a super soft one for the top, and under that a 28ILD and a 32ILD. If you want you can keep the very bottom layer that is over the springs as long as it's less than 1". That will keep your foam from getting "eaten" by the springs. If your springs have a thin dacron layer or something over them, just keep that - anything that's not too thick but will keep your replacement foam from getting damaged by the springs. Just open it up, it's not hard and you really CAN'T go too far wrong. Look at the slide shows on the links I gave you to get the idea. If you feel you need something softer on top, buy a 1" Sensus foam from overstock.com. But I'm feeling more and more that memory foam of ANY type softens too much after a few weeks or so and becomes nearly worthless and can cause back pain. YMMV. But I'd start out with just latex if I were you, on top of the springs. 3" or so should be enough, maybe even 2" is enough. |
Re: Buyer's remorse from an "S" brand! I need a replacement! Suggestions?!?!
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jimsocal wrote: It's almost certainly too soft even though it may feel too hard.<BR>Let me explain:<BR>I bought the firmest Englander they had, but it hurt my back. It felt hard to sleep on but when I opened it up it had 3" of unsupportive foam inside (see the thread I linked you to for visuals - make sure you click the link below the first post or so that says SEE ALL POSTS or something like that).<BR>So, once I opened it up, with a razor type knife, I saw the 3" of cheap crappy foam, took them out, replaced them with some higher quality foam and then it was great.<BR><BR>I'd try getting 2 or4 3 1" layers of latex in various ILD's: maybe a super soft one for the top, and under that a 28ILD and a 32ILD. If you want you can keep the very bottom layer that is over the springs as long as it's less than 1". That will keep your foam from getting "eaten" by the springs. If your springs have a thin dacron layer or something over them, just keep that - anything that's not too thick but will keep your replacement foam from getting damaged by the springs.<BR><BR>Just open it up, it's not hard and you really CAN'T go too far wrong. Look at the slide shows on the links I gave you to get the idea.<BR><BR>If you feel you need something softer on top, buy a 1" Sensus foam from overstock.com. But I'm feeling more and more that memory foam of ANY type softens too much after a few weeks or so and becomes nearly worthless and can cause back pain. YMMV. But I'd start out with just latex if I were you, on top of the springs. 3" or so should be enough, maybe even 2" is enough. Well the "S" brand mattress that I have is the stearns and Foster estate eureka springs cushion firm. It is supposed to have some memory foam in it, but I don't know how much. Since the springs are pocketed coil-in-coil would I still have to worry about having a thin layer resting on them to protect the layers above? Plus where would I be able to buy 1" latex layers that i can exchange? I wanna make sure I get the right configuration before committing to anything. |
Re: Buyer's remorse from an "S" brand! I need a replacement! Suggestions?!?!
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I didn't know you had pocketed coil springs. That to my knowledge is a type that no one here has done surgery on, or am I mistaken? Anyway, I have had no experience with pocketed coils, so I can't really tell you that you can do a successful surgery on that mattress! As to latex, I don't think you can just outright buy any 1" latex and then return it if you don't like it. I don't know of any place like that. But it stands to reason that if you replace the cheap foam with latex, it will work for you. Sometimes I do buy foam that I think will work and it doesn't. That's part of the process. Maybe someone here can answer re doing surgery on pocket coils. I have never done that, so cannot advise you. |
Re: Buyer's remorse from an "S" brand! I need a replacement! Suggestions?!?!
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Sleeplikeabear.com has a 30 day return (not exchange) policy on their latex. There might be a small handling cost and shipping fee you would lose on a return.<BR><BR>1,2,3" of Talatech or Celsion. Various ILDs. Not sure if they have any other types of latex, but you can check their website.<BR><BR>I talked to them and they do not resell returned items. Which is good if you are worried about buying something used, but try to figure out what you want carefully. I would feel a bit guilty returning something knowing that it cannot be resold, unless it was defective or did not perform as expected. One another thing to try is buying 1" and folding it in half to see what 2" will feel like. That gives you a chance to test both 1 and 2 inches, and you can buy the second inch later if you like 2" is better. This message was modified Nov 16, 2009 by sandman
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Re: Buyer's remorse from an "S" brand! I need a replacement! Suggestions?!?!
| I believe Foamsource has a 10 day exchange (no return?) on toppers ordered online. They have Talatech and 100% natural (dunlop??) in 2" and 3". |
Re: Buyer's remorse from an "S" brand! I need a replacement! Suggestions?!?!
| Well, from looking at Sleep EZ's website I noticed they sold a bed with a combination pocketed innerspring and latex layer called the Luxianna. From this I am assuming that it is possible to have latex layers over individually pocketed springs. I am still wondering how much foam do I need to fill the mattress back to the original height if I do surgery on it and how would I keep it closed and not let any debris, etc from getting inside it? This ends up with me wondering if it takes me replacing the foam in my bed with 2 layers of 2" latex wouldn't I have been better off in just buying a 2 layered latex bed? And one more thing, does anyone know the return policy for Sleep EZ? I am thinking about getting my latex cores from them since Flobeds doesn't seem to sell individual core layers, but I don't understand the wording of their return policy. Is it like Flobeds with the unlimited comfort exchange during the 90 day period? Thanks in advance for any feedback. |
Re: Buyer's remorse from an "S" brand! I need a replacement! Suggestions?!?!
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I called SleepEz about the exact bed you mentioned. This was about 6 months ago. It seemed the perfect solution to our problems. I was told they they do not ship the innerspring beds outside of their location (AZ.?). If you are located close by, great. They said these types of beds would cost too much to ship. I enjoyed speaking wiht them and found them informative and professional and I wish I could have done business with them. One thing I wanted to ask after reading your thread. Are you sure the mattress is your only problem? Do you have underlying back issues? In other words, are there disc issues, injuries etc... that cause your discomfort, or does the pain go away when you are up after an hour or so and only return after sleeping on the mattress? I learned from my own struggles that a pocketed coil mattress was not a good thing for some back issues. It is great for arthritis and fibromyalgia, but not disc issues. My poor husband suffered for my sake for years on the pocketed coils. His MD very recently suggested a continuos coil mattress with good padding. This helped considerably. He has disc issues caused by a severe car accident 20 years ago. He likes sleeping on granite, but softens it up for my sake. I hope you can get this figured out. A good nights sleep is such a blessing and so necessary. |