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New member here ... and I'm in a conundrum.
Perhaps 10 years ago I bought an Englander latex foam mattress. It's a latex slab with thin egg-crate glued to each side, and a cover. At some point I decided I didn't like the support - felt like it was giving me a backache - so I removed the egg crate on one side, and let that be the bottom side permanently. Was pretty happy with that for some years, but had pondered maybe removing the egg crate from the top too. Recently, girlfriend was diagnosed with dust-mite allergy, so I decided to go ahead and trash the cover and remove the top layer of eggcrate. So I now just have a slab of latex, about 6" thick, with a mattress cover on top. And it's too hard - I am a side sleeper, and it's pretty uncomfortable on my hips. I like a firm mattress, but it's just too much. The weird thing is, when you press on the latex with your hand, it feels kind of mushy. So I wonder what to do. I'm thinking maybe add back some sort of topper, of higher quality than the eggcrate, perhaps 2" of latex or memory foam bought from one of the mail-order places. But I seek advice. Please let me know if there's add'l info I should provide, and thanks. This message was modified Oct 23, 2011 by RustyShackleford
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| I'm no mattress expert, but when I tried putting memory foam on top of the latex, it actually made my bed feel harder! I think the foam distributed my weight too much, so the latex didn't give at all. Maybe some people had a different experience, but why not just put some softer latex on top? I've read a few places on this forum that you want as little as possible between you and the latex. Do you know what ILD your mattress is? |
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lefty2026 wrote: I'm no mattress expert, but when I tried putting memory foam on top of the latex, it actually made my bed feel harder! I think the foam distributed my weight too much, so the latex didn't give at all. Maybe some people had a different experience, but why not just put some softer latex on top? I've read a few places on this forum that you want as little as possible between you and the latex. Do you know what ILD your mattress is? Don't know the ILD; I guess I should research how to measure it. Yeah, I don't like some of the stuff I' reading about memory-foam (too warm in hot weather, hard to move around). Maybe I should look at a topper of something else, like a lower-ILD latex like you suggest. I'm still confused by the fact that my existing latex (from my dis-assembled mattress) feels so mushy to the touch, but too hard when sleeping on it. |
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Another factor is that I am prone to back pain from a mattress that isn't supportive enough. It felt like my latex with the 1" or so of crappy PU eggcrate was causing back pain. Which is one of the main reasons I removed it. And now it's too hard. Kinda the worst of both worlds. I definitely find there ARE mattresses with firm enough support to prevent back pain and yet very comfortable for side sleeping - like in a beach house we rent a lot (I think it's just a high-quality innerspring mattress).
I'm rambling, but that's how confused I am - please help !! P.S. I should add that I'm 5'10" and 170lb, and am a side sleeper. P.P.S. It seems like it'd be REALLY helpful if I could determine the ILD iof my current latex. Can someone point me to a thread that tells how to do a DIY measurement ? Is it as simple as cutting a 50 square-icnh piece of plywood and weighting it until it deflects a certain amount ? It was from an Englander "Latex Plus" mattress bought in 1998. This message was modified Oct 23, 2011 by RustyShackleford
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Yeah, pushing foam with your hand doesn't tell you much. I think that you'd want somewhere between one to two inches of a p/u foam to soften the latex. Layering foams seems to be the best way to reach optimum feel for sleeping. Kait |
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Kait wrote: Yeah, pushing foam with your hand doesn't tell you much. I think that you'd want somewhere between one to two inches of a p/u foam to soften the latex. Layering foams seems to be the best way to reach optimum feel for sleeping.
Kait
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My personal opinion would be to go with latex over p/u, because you were not happy with the p/u to begin with and the allergy resistance is important to you. I would go to some stores though and try to find latex mattresses that you like, then you can see what ILD they are made from and try to match it with what you have and what you would want to buy, plus you can make sure that there is a latex bed out there you do like. You can read about talaway vs dunlop online. Supposedly they have different feels, but talaway is more consistent. Most people say dunlop is firmer than Talaway. Talaway does come in softer ILDs than dunlop. |
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lefty2026 wrote: My personal opinion would be to go with latex over p/u, because you were not happy with the p/u to begin with and the allergy resistance is important to you. I would go to some stores though and try to find latex mattresses that you like, then you can see what ILD they are made from and try to match it with what you have and what you would want to buy, plus you can make sure that there is a latex bed out there you do like.
You can read about talaway vs dunlop online. Supposedly they have different feels, but talaway is more consistent. Most people say dunlop is firmer than Talaway. Talaway does come in softer ILDs than dunlop. I like the sound of the latex over p/u, but it seems a little silly to spend almost $600 (queen at FBM) when I already have a nice 6" slab of latex. Last night, I laid my summer down comforter (maybe 1-2" of loft uncompressed) plus a fleece blanket over the latex, and I found it pretty comfortable. I'm guessing that's probably equivalent to no more than 1" of a topper of some kind. So maybe I just try 1" of a soft latex topper and I'll be happy. Of course, if I'm right that I wasn't getting enough support when I still had the 1" eggcrate on my latex, I doubt if the same rig but with 1" latex would be much better in that regard. If that's true, then I guess it's just saying that my 6" latex slab is simply too soft to serve as a base layer for me, and I DO need to start over as you suggest.
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| I'm thinking the thing to do is to get a latex topper, probaby from FBM. Leaning towards 2" ILD 20 (I'm a 170lb side sleeper) but welcome suggestions to the contrary. If it doesn't do the job, then perhaps it can be the basis of a new creation using a firmer base. |
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Hi all, i've worked in the bedding manufacturing industry for 16yrs now. If you are purchasing a latex topper to create a plusher sleeping surface, make sure it is an ECO certified (100% natural rubber) latex topper. Generally 7.5cm thick will re-invigorate an existing mattress that is too firm, while a 5cm topper will adjust the feel slightly. The thicker option is best suited for individuals that side sleep, while the 5cm is suitable for "all-rounders" (ie, ppl that sleep in all posi's- side, back stomach, semi-stomach). Your existing latex block will last up to another 20yrs if it is 100% natural latex rubber (ECO certified), however beware- if your latex does not have an outer covering it will be prone to excessive UV exposure which will accelerate the oxidisation process (natural decomposition of the outer block- yellowing/flaking), at very least cover it with a fitted mattress protector (cotton or tencel) to minimise UV. Adding a topper is probably the only way to spark some life back into that mattress. In regards to Visco-elastic foam toppers (memory foam/ tempur etc.), beware- they are infamous as the hottest sleeping surface material in the industry, as it is a heat-sensitive foam type that restricts when in contact with the bodies natural heat, allowing for the fine contouring & slow release of the foam structure- inturn, for this material to be effective it has to have no buffer (airlayer) such as a fibre pillowtop as this neutralises the effectiveness of memory foam, & due to it's tight polymer structure, cannot breathe nor ventilate the sleeping surface to dissapate bodyheat. Good luck in searching out a topper, keep in mind- if it is latex, make sure it is both ECO certified & LGA tested latex, that way you will get a product that is 100% natural, extremely long lasting, pin-cored for maximised ventilation, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, dustmite free........ preferably covered in a breathable material (cotton, bamboo/cotton, tencel, ingeo)....stay away from rayon, dacron & polyester (too hot!). |
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re: Talalay or Dunlop.........Dunlop latex process utilises microwave techniques to cook the water content out of the polymerised latex sap creating a 100% natural latex rubber that retains the Hevea's natural properties of being anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, & dustmite free, it is also a much longer lasting material type. To make sure your mattress has had decent 3rd party testing, look for a LGA tested logo. LGA tests are a compression/durability test conducted on bedding materials (latex, foam, springs) to determine the longeveity of the material under regular duress. This LGA quality test & the ECO certification are the basic consumer tools you need to look out for when purchasing a 100% natural latex mattress. DO NOT simply take the salesmans word on it, very few manufacturers use 100% latex in their mattress construction, instead opting to reinforce the loft/thickness with inexpensive material types like Firm Foam base layering (P/U foam), & Soft Comfort layering with low grade plush P/U foam, instead of simply using firmer or softer latex layers. Talalay techniques utilise catalyst chemicals to convert the polymer, leaving behind trace chemicals of the catalyst components. Also talalay will incorporate anywhere from 30%-100% synthetic latex foam which is a derivitive of the petro-chemical industry. It will also have additives such as Ultra-fresh (organic tin compound) & Healthgard (sanitised treatment) to mimick the natural properties of natural latex. It's a minefield out there!!!! Where brandnames mean nothing & retail cost mean even less when sourcing true quality materials. Certifications & testing are the only buyers tools worth trusting, that & thorough research. |