Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
Jan 27, 2010 9:52 PM
Location: L.A. area
Joined: Jan 18, 2008
Points: 1161
I got my foam today. Haven't tried laying on it yet.

Took some photos which I will post tomorrow probably in this thread.

Not entirely thrilled with the firmness and quality of the latex. One of the pieces has a fair amount of imperfections and the other piece has a glued seam all along the vertical length of the twin, about 2 and 1/4" in from the edge. It's a very hard seam from the glue and I think if I were to lay on it I would feel it, even under, say, a wool topper. If it were a King size I could understand the need for a glued seam, but a twin? Seems a bit sketchy to me.

Also, this following problem is not at all SleepEZ's fault, unless what they are selling as a 32ILD is nowhere near that, but I already had a piece of  3/4"-1" latex that I estimated to be about a 24ILD. So I ordered a medium Talalay 1" thinking it would be better for support. But the one I got from SleepEZ seems to be just as soft as the one I have already; so either I estimated wrong (most likely) or they sent me something on the very low end of "Medium" (listed at their site as 32). So I would not have bought that piece had I known it was going to be pretty much exactly like the piece (actually I have 2 like this) that I already have. This is the piece with the seam as well.

The Dunlop piece seems a LITTLE more firm than that and is 1.5" so it may work for me. Also it is exactly 1 and 3/4 inches thick not 1½, so that is good in my case, I think. However, I do think they should be more exact on their site about the thickness. Could be that someone really wants exactly 1½ inch, not 1 and 3/4 inch... I mean, why not describe it on the site as it is?

I'll try sleeping on the Dunlop 1 and 3/4" natural "Medium" ILD tonight and see how it feels and report back with a "first night's impression" tomorrow probably. Also I'll post the photos of the imperfections and get you guys' and girls' opinions on whether or not it is within the realm of acceptable or not considering these are not discounted prices.

And just fyi, this is the first latex I ever bought that did not come compressed. It was just rolled and covered in plastic in a big box. Maybe they only compress the bigger pieces...?
This message was modified Jan 27, 2010 by jimsocal
Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
Reply #32 Feb 2, 2010 3:04 PM
Location: L.A. area
Joined: Jan 18, 2008
Points: 1161
Yesterday I had to do "back breaking" work again. I really wish I could afford to pay someone to do these things for me but someone has to do things like cleaning bathrooms, mopping floors, carrying water bottles, etc. and I can't afford to pay anyone. So I when I went to bed last night my back was SORE and hurting. I thought, "Man, I am going to toss and turn tonight and wake up sore tomorrow!" Negative thinking, yes, but my experience told me it was true.

6th NIGHT's SLEEP

I slept very well - felt no back pain during the night - and woke up with NO back pain! WOW!
This is fantastic. Better than I could have hoped for. I'm not touching my mattress configuration!
Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
Reply #33 Feb 2, 2010 6:35 PM
Joined: Oct 15, 2009
Points: 966
What exactly is your configuration now?

Sorry, think I just found it.  I assume it hasn't changed from below?

Funny how you are "afraid" of the dunlop.  Sounds like you have a crocodile in bed with you...

NOW: To my 2nd night's sleep:
I took off the Dunlop layer. I was afraid of it!   It liked to kill me the previous night! (not saying Dunlop is bad, just that this piece in this ILD did not work at all, for me)

So I kept the rest the same except I replaced the natural Dunlop layer, so now my mattress is layered like this:
1) springs (Englander 12.5 gauge)
2) 1/4" cheap memory foam to protect the foam above from the springs (this came with my original Sealy mattress)
3) super firm 1/2" HR foam
4) new natural 1" thick Talalay layer from SleepEZ (the one with the poorly glued seam)
5) my old Talalay 3/4" thick layer that is probably a 28ILD - now that I compare it to this one which is supposed to be 32ILD. (these 2 lines in italics replaced the Dunlop)
5) wool topper

This message was modified Feb 2, 2010 by sandman
Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
Reply #34 Feb 2, 2010 9:29 PM
Location: L.A. area
Joined: Jan 18, 2008
Points: 1161
sandman wrote:
What exactly is your configuration now?
On top of my old Sealy "box springs" which is really just a wooden box with a little bit of spring to the top of it:
1) springs (Englander 12.5 gauge) (Bonnell? I think...)(impossible to get a straight answer from dealer OR from the manufacturer as to exactly what they are!)
2) 1/4" cheap memory foam to protect the foam above from the springs (this came with my original Sealy mattress) I doubt it has much if any effect on the overall feel.
3) super firm 1/2" HR foam - I think it was a 40ILD or perhaps even 42-44. (I am guessing this may soon need replacing.)
4) natural 1" thick Talalay layer from SleepEZ
5) my old Talalay 3/4" thick layer that is probably a 28ILD (now that I compare it to this one which is supposed to be 32ILD.)
6) wool topper which is a very nice one FloBeds used to sell, cost around $250 for King (In the past I have said that although I liked it I could not use it because it was non-supportive; but with THIS configuration it seems to be working perfectly.)

NO MEMORY FOAM!* (except that layer that just sinks into the springs to protect the foam above it)

I think the reason the wool bothered my back before was because the 1" (sometimes I used 2") HR foam I replaced with the Talalay above, had given out to the point it was not giving me support. So the added non-support of the wool was just too much. The straw that broke the sleeper's back!

So basically all this is very close to the same configuration I have had on my Englander all along, from the day I cut 'er open and replaced the PU foam.
It's just that - I think it is clear now that this is true - the HR foam had run its course - it was maybe 2-3 years old (supposed to be rated for 10 years! Ha!).

So in my opinion now, I think any decent springs topped by 2-3" of latex will work for most people! That's the theory I am proposing, anyway!

*I am, however, now curious to try REAL Venus memory foam, now that it is clear that Overstock.com ripped me off by telling me it was VENUS I bought when in fact it was not. I would be willing to try 1" of true Venus or any 8lb memory foam if I could get it. I am going to contact Overstock about getting a refund or at least a credit for doing false advertising on the Venus. But actually I am not planning to make ANY changes to my current mattress any time soon!

IF IT AIN'T BROKE DON'T FIX IT!!!
This message was modified Feb 2, 2010 by jimsocal
Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
Reply #35 Feb 3, 2010 3:58 PM
Location: L.A. area
Joined: Jan 18, 2008
Points: 1161
Okay this is my last post in this thread unless someone happens to post something that warrants a response.

I just wanted to finish out a full week of updates.

7th NIGHT REPORT:

I had a very sore back last night before I went to bed. The bending over and reaching I've been doing to clean the apartment has really made my back and shoulders sore.

So I did have a little pain during the night but it obviously was caused by the work I did the previous days, not the mattress itself.

I woke up once again with none of that lower or mid-back pain that I was getting before I re-configured my mattress as above with the Talalay latex replacing the old HR foam.

So this configuration (as in my last post) is a keeper.

This teaches me a lesson:
If the mattress starts to hurt when it didn't before, one of the layers may have given out. In this case it was my 1" HR foam layer that was maybe 3 years old. I expected it to last years longer, and that's why I did not suspect it was the problem for quite a while. Someone here on the forum  suggested to me that this might be the problem and so I tried it and she was right!

So HR foam apparently does not last a long time like it's supposed to. By the way, this HR foam had not even been in the same place for a long time. That is, it was a layer that I often changed out for a different piece (different firmness) and I'm sure it got rotated and even flipped at times when I changed it, so really it had a very short life span.

I can no longer recommend HR foam unless it is for someone who just cannot afford latex and is willing to use something they know  won't last past a few years. It is however very cheap if you get it from a warehouse as I did, so the investment was minimal and I got my money's worth out of it.

Also, note that someone with no back or sleep issues might be able to use it for a longer time and not notice that it had "given out" as I did. My back is very sensitive to any lack of support so I noticed something was wrong whereas someone else might have not noticed it until a year or more later... maybe.
This message was modified Feb 3, 2010 by jimsocal