Mattress Forum

So my wife and I did the research, read loads of threads on this excellent site, then plumped for the SleepEZ 10,000 all Dunlop.  We wanted latex for customisation and longevity.  We chose Dunlop because we tried a Savvy Rest all Dunlop combo at a local retailer and both really liked the bed but not the price so we tried to recreate it at SleepEZ prices.  We've got firm, medium and soft on each side so plenty of options.  We're two weeks in and my wife now hates the bed and wants to send it back.  I'm still willing to try and make it work but her will is stronger than mine...  I would like to share our experience and then ask for a bit of advice.  Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.  We're both side sleepers who toss and turn in our old, saggy, sprung mattress.

The first 3 nights we put the mattress on the floor before the foundation arrived.  We'd ordered the slatted foundation from SleepEZ because our old bed was a British queen size so we were starting from scratch.  We set it up firm, medium soft on both sides as that's what we'd liked on the Savvy Rest.  I lay on the latex before we put the cover on and it felt good.  As soon as the cover was on it stiffened up and became far more hard and rubbery, nothing like the Savvy Rest.  My first night was OK although I woke up with hip and lower back pain.  My wife was neither comfy or pain-free.  The next night we unzipped the top cover and laid a thin blanket over the latex and beneath the sheet.  I had a very comfortable night's sleep - I stayed on my side all night whereas I usually go side - back - elbow in the ribs for snoring - side again etc.  However, I still had a lot of hip and back pain in the morning.  My wife preferred it this way, but still didn't like it.  Spoke to Shaun who suggested unzipping the top cover but leaving it on the top.  This worked for me - it felt like the Savvy Rest and I had another good night but pain in the morning.  My wife - no change.  We also tried a few different combinations to soften her side up. 

The next night the foundation had arrived.  The mattress felt hard and rubbery again even with the cover unzipped.  I guessed that this was because the foundation is very firm whereas the floor is pretty bouncy and creaky.  I had a terrible night tossing and turning although no pain in the morning.  My wife's night was even worse.  The next few nights were all the same, whatever combinations we tried, until she snapped and got the old Ikea mattress we were replacing on to the floor and slept on that. 

Spoke to Shaun again.  I should say that the service from SleepEZ has been excellent and Shaun is a pleasure to deal with.  He suggested sending me a soft talalay topper and to explore 3 further options. 1 - use it as a topper ; 2 - swap it for the soft dunlop inside the cover; 3 - put it between the foundation and the mattress to soften the impact of the foundation.  The topper arrives tomorrow.  Meanwhile we've been exploring other options should we send the mattress back.  We've tried the Sealy Springfree latex range and we're quite impressed.  You get 9" of latex plus varying depths of cushy foam on top depending on your preference.  We like the plush model which only has 2 1/2" on top of the latex.  You can't customise it though.  It's pretty much the same as the Purembrace range they do for Macy's but much cheaper.  My wife says we'll wait for the topper before making a final decision but only to see if we like it as a topper, not because she thinks it will somehow redeem the mattress.  She is sleeping on the SleepEZ configured soft-medium-soft.  This is the only way to mitigate the effect of the foundation and she finds it slightly less uncomfortable than our old mattress.  The other side is a concrete slab masquerading as firm-firm-medium so I'm on the old mattress on the floor. 

Thanks for sticking with me this far.  I now turn to the questions that I am hoping you kind people will be able to help us with.  First, does anyone have any other suggestions or combinations for when the topper arrives?   Shaun's 3 options all make sense to me but I'll try anything.  Second - that foundation.  It makes the mattress feel so firm that I'm wondering whether we'll need to get a box spring to go on top of it even if we get a Springfree.  The alternative is to put a soft layer under the mattress to have the same effect.   I've seen posts on this site where it's suggested that a box spring is unnecessary for latex mattresses.  Ignoring the firmness for a moment, I'd like to know whether there's any other downside to putting a mattress directly on top of the firm slatted foundation?  For example, because it doesn't absorb any movement, does it shorten the life of the mattress?  Finally, does anyone have any experience of the Sealy Springfree mattresses?

Thanks for reading, and we'd be really grateful for any advice or suggestions.