Mattress Forum

1) Fold the latex layer in three (like you fold a piece of paper) and put it in the large plastic bag.

2) Put the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner into the plastic bag, so the tip is just barely at the latex. 

3) Wrap the plastic bag around the vacuum hose so that air doesn't flow into the bag.

4) Turn on the vacuum cleaner.  It sucks all the air right out and the latex compresses quite rapidly.

5) Extract the nozzle and tape the bag shut.

6) Put the plastic bag with the compressed latex into the second plastic bag, and tape that shut.

7) Put the bag in a box, seal it, address it, mail it.

For me this is not the case at all. I am finding it excrutiatingly difficult to accomplish this task.  I've already wasted several hours trying to get it done, and have made no progress. I have no idea how I'm going to solve this problem.

The problem is trying to keep the new air out of the bag after the vacuum has sucked the air out.

I have tried this dozens of times, and every time I extract the nozzle and immediately twist the bag so no new air flows in, it fails to prevent new air from flowing in.

As a result, the latex ends up UNcompressing in the bag, making it impossible to pack for shipping.

Sometimes I can twist it the bag so tightly that the new air flows in slowly and I hear a hissing sound that indicates the flow of new air into the bag and the uncompressing latex.  But even then, the end result is the same (it just takes a bit longer to occur):  the compressed latex uncompresses in the bag, and remains unpackable.

Right now I'm thinking it would have been a lot easier on the customers if FloBeds shipped the beds in airtight bags that are easily closeable and designed with a hole for a vacuum nozzle. IMO the bags FloBeds ships the latex in are not designed for doing what FloBeds tells you to do to compress the latex.

Having said that, I realize that some people can accomplish this task even though I cannot.  Nonetheless, I don't think I am particularly incompetent at following the directions.  That is to say, surely the problem I have will be a big problem for many others in addition to myself.

IMO based on my personal experience with this issue, the most important 'appliance' you need to vacuum pack latex is a natural talent for being able to keep air 100% out of non-airtight bags. 

Unfortunately, IMO that talent is either something you have or you don't have, and if you don't have it, you are up the creek without a paddle when you need to get this done. 

Yes I thought so too. It sounded to easy to be true!

Oh man, life is so unfair, God gives talent to some only and some people are lucky to be born rich while others are born in poor families. Life is not fair.

Yet ANOTHER roy1 reposted topic!

"Does a former Drill Sergeant make a terrible therapist?"

I think you're making a mountain out of a very simple process, Roy.

That's not hard.

The hard part is trying to prevent new air from flowing into the bag/latex and hence making it expand again, after the vacuum is removed from the bag.

Right now I'm stuck on day 2 of that problem after already having wasted 4-5 hours on it on day 1.

How is it not hard to try to prevent air from re-flowing into a non-airtight bag?

I could sure use any advice that will get this done. When I called FloBeds all they said was 'follow the instructions,' which is what I already had been doing.  The instructions do not even bother to mention this problem, much less how to overcome it.