Mattress Forum

SLAB has not had any other complaints about the 1" N3 foam or the natural latex in general. They opened another product from the same batch of N3 foam, and it was fine. They said the crumbling doesn't sound good but might be a "terminology issue." They then explained what happens when a solid latex core gets cut (the surface of a topper might or might not be smooth, depending on where in the core it was). And they say that as long as you don't actively try to crumble the latex, it will stay put. They also say that they sometimes see latex powder inside the bag that the foam was placed in, but that's normal. The foams are not left out or exposed to sunlight, so that is not the source of the problem.
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So... really nice to get a prompt response. But... I wasn't trying to crumble the topper. I just got covered with latex bits every time I touched or handled the topper.

SLAB and LI would like me to send a picture -- which makes sense, except that the latex bits are tiny, so they won't show up (I already tried). I tried photographing my T-shirt, which was covered in latex bits, and that didn't really show up well in the photo, either.  So I don't think a photo will help.

I'd like to experiment with the toppers (this new one and the ones I already have), but I'm tired (whine, whine), I'm really busy (aren't we all), and I'm not feeling like I have the time or energy to mess around with cleaning up latex crumbles every time I switch toppers around. Argh.

I'm tempted to just send the thing back and take the hit on the 25% restocking fee if SLAB/LI don't think the product is defective. Phooey.

Anyone out there who can give me some perspective on this? Please?

-Catherine

To be clear: it's not like big chunks of the thing are falling off. It's lots of little bitty crumbs, like vanilla cake crumbs. I suppose that people could reasonably disagree about the condition of the thing and about what constitutes acceptable quality. It isn't the quality level that I was expecting for almost $200 (it costs even more now). So, either the topper is older & more dried out than what should have been shipped, or SLAB did not do a good job of managing customer expectations for natural latex.

I'll report back on this issue here, and then go back to updating my "tweaking my toppers again" thread after I figure out what to do next. Thanks again for the responses. This forum is so helpful.

Who knows what happened to it in the past 1 1/2 years.

That's the kind of info I was looking for -- thanks so much, budgy. (I've been reading some of your other posts, and was hoping you'd pop in here.)

And thanks to everyone else who responded. I'm still corresponding with a customer service rep from LI; she's conferring with their quality department and will get back to me. I'm impressed to have gotten a response from someone at LI -- I wasn't expecting that, since I had emailed just SLAB -- and the responses from both SLAB and LI have been prompt, polite, and informative, so I think that speaks well of both companies. We'll see how things go.

Short version: Resolved, with SLAB & LI showing why they have a great reputation for customer service.

Longer version: Reps from both SleepLikeaBear and Latex International have been very helpful & communicative. I wasn't expecting direct involvement from LI, but SLAB notified LI of the problem, and the LI rep jumped right in and put in considerable time on the issue, even though she was on vacation and had limited access to email.

I did send a few photos, and based on those, the LI quality-control people thought the crumbles were normal -- not in the sense that latex would keep crumbling, but because when the latex cores are cut, even with very sharp knives, some amount of dust and some crumbs are inevitable, just as you'd see cake crumbs on a serving platter after you cut out a slice. With the topper, you take it out of the bag, shake off the crumbs, put the thing into whatever fabric casing you're using, and that should be it; no more crumbs, and performance should not be affected. This is all useful information. (Both reps -- SLAB & LI -- provided thorough explanations.)

Because the photos I sent can't show everything, and this is the first time that the issue of crumbling has been raised to SLAB, LI wants to examine the topper (to stay on top of quality control), so I shipped it off yesterday, directly to LI in CT.

Normally, a replacement topper would not be sent until after LI had examined the one in question and evaluated its quality. In this case, though (this was my 3rd SLAB purchase), they are sending a replacement topper anyway. It is coming directly from LI, and it should ship sometime next week. So, basically, LI is making a warranty exchange -- possibly at SLAB's request -- even if it turns out that they didn't have to, and SLAB is waiving any restocking fee that would normally be charged if the item is found to be of normal quality (i.e., the crumbs stop coming off).

So, I'm very pleased. Both companies are taking quality control and customer service pretty seriously.