talalay too hard, any advice how to soften?

[hellbed]

I put 2" of fairly soft talalay on top of our hard innerspring bed, and after a week of sleeping on it my wife says its too hard, and I find myself having backaches the next day even though I am very comfortable all night in the bed.
I went looking for an eggcrate just to see how softening it a bit would work, but can find only really crappy thin PU eggcrates, or fairly expensive memory foam ones.
Any suggestions on the best way to soften it a bit? I'd be tempted to try another inch of really soft latex, don't really want to buy more expensive latex after my results with the first piece. But I also don't see the point in covering the expensive latex we have now with a cheaper foam, and loosing the premium latex "feel". I can also recall hearing some theories here about using a thin layer of memory foam over latex but don't recall the details.

 

[markbnh1]

I found that my "medium" talalay latex was still a bit too firm for my liking. I ended up buying 1 inch of Sensus memory foam from Overstock.com to soften it up just a bit and provide more pressure relief. I can't tell you how much this has improved the feeling of the mattress for me! Although the Sensus sleeps a bit warmer than being right on the latex surface, here in cold New Hamphire that's not a big issue. I wanted to preserve the feel of the latex but just soften it up a little. The 1 inch Sensus does the trick and only cost $69. at Overstock. It may not work for everyone, but it works for me.

 

[sandman]

What ILD and brand do you have? Did you have backaches without the latex topper? I would also suggest your try 1" of Sensus or maybe 14ILD blended talalay. However, if your back issues are being caused by it being too soft with the latex, then these suggestions would probably make it worse.

 

[hellbed]

It's from Overstock, who says its 18 or 20, but they haven't a clue. I identified it by comparing it to some latex samples I had . but they were only labeled as being soft or medium and talalay or dunlap, no ILD.
I don't think the problem is the bed being too soft. I feels pretty firm to me - about as firm as I can sleep on.
Sensus sounds like a reasonable next step,. but if I can find a decent egg crate I'll try that first,. Another layer of 14 ILD latex would be nice, but a lot more pricey as none of the cheap latex suppliers have it.
I have a $220 2" Perfect Luxury memory foam topper I picked up for $70 on black friday I am tempted to try, but I think it would be too much so I'll probably return it unless I can figure out a way to cut it into two 1" layers with my swiss army knife.
Oh, I am also in "cold" new hampshire.

 

[jasmine]

Latex gives me a backache too.
I have 3 suggestions to soften a too firm innersping.
1) I bought a Sealy fiberbed which I absolutely love, it will take away a too hard surface feel of a bed and is very comfortable.
2) A wool topper, have tried briefly in showroom but not slept on all night, some love them.
3) Some cheap pu egg crate, I found some at Ross for $18, or you can order off the internet.
Sometimes innersprings do relax over time with use, some people suggest walking on them, but that can also break it down as well as in, maybe it will feel better eventually on its own. Memory foam might counteract the pushback of the latex, and make it more comfortable.

 

[Phoenix]

Jasmine,
Do you believe that it was the latex itself (as in the actual material) that caused issues for you or the ILD of the latex you used that was not good for you. I have a hard time imagining that say a 19 or even a 14 ILD would give you too much pushback.
That's not to say that memory foam wouldn't be preferable in feel to some as it clearly is (and there are certain layering schemes with it that I also really like) but somehow I can't help but think it was an ILD (and perhaps construction) issue rather than a latex issue.
I would love to hear your feedback on this.
Phoenix
PS: I read through some of your old posts to try to get a sense of what you had tried. Did you ever use a combination of really soft over very firm or any layers less or more than 3"?

 

[ZZZZ]

Jasmine, is this the Fiber Bed you have?
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garde...-2-inch-Gusset-Fiber-Bed/5267683/product.html

 

[jasmine]

zzz,
Mine was from costco.com. I tried to post the link for you and it didn't work, but if you google "costco sealy fiber bed" it should come up. Official name is Sealy Posturepedic Channel Down Alternative bed. It's basically a polyester topper. The one on overstock looks very similar, they all probably have much the same feel. They are great for softening a hard surface, and give a cloud like feeling. They do start out super puffy and then deflate after awhile.
It is probably better to use a natural material in bedding, but this is what I'm using for now while I continue to search for a healthy, comfortable bed.
In fact, i have been sleeping on only the fiber bed over a cheap piece of foam on a slat platform until I can find a new mattress. It's hard, but feels better on my back than the latex kit.
phoenix,
i don't know......just didn't work for me and mine even though I hoped it would. We only had 3 inch pieces to work with of 21-34 ild. For now, I'm pretty much done with latex, I think I prefer a more stable surface. Maybe in the future I might try it again, but it was a long and arduous ordeal to try to get it to work. It may not work for everyone, but that's not to say that latex isn't great for many.

 

[Phoenix]

I know that this has no relevance to your own situation any longer ... and I'm kinda sad for you that anything that took so long and involved so much effort didn't work out in the end ... but my guess is that what you had to play with was too firm on the top and too soft on the bottom. From reading what you've previously posted about your search, my guess is that a softer and/or thinner top layer over a firmer and or thicker core layer may have resulted in both a softer more "stable" feel and better support. Even what you are sleeping on now seems to confirm that.
This "overall construction" and how it seems to "fit" for you may still prove helpful in looking for whatever is next in your ongoing journey regardless of the actual materials you may use.
I hope that you just "come across" something perfect. It's so much more fun to play at everything else when you have found something "perfect" to sleep on
Phoenix

 

[jasmine]

phoenix,
i agree. i just don't have the motivation at this point to start all over again with another vendor. moving, packing and shipping those heavy, unwieldly pieces of latex is a pain. and who is to say that even a different config would work for us? i'm at this point exploring other possibilities.

 

[hellbed]

Just was cutting through Bon Ton (dept store) and noticed they had a bunch of half price deals on mem foam topper, but still all in the $60-$200 range. I asked the girl if they had any cheap PU foam toppers and she said they had closed them all out but might have a few orphans in the back. Came back with a king size for $29. On examination it turned out to be 1-1/2" convoluted, made-in-USA, memfoam, with an original sticker price of $110!
Maybe not Sensus but probably close enough to be worth trying, especially considering the price.