Any advice in choosing new Mattress?

[kumquat]

When I look at a new mattress the most important feature is how much cash can we stuff under it without causing lumps. Why hasn't anyone else mentioned this?

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Ours came from Costco. It was about $500ish for each in queen size during one of their semiannual coupon sales on memory foam mattresses. Novaform is the manufacturer.

The newer "coolwave" novaforms are supposed to reduce the memory foam heat problems.

[spncity]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tightasadrum Oh, and my side has developed an air leak! I have to pump it up each night before I go to bed.

BIL had the same problem - they sent him a replacement part - a little piece where the air line goes into the mattress.

[spncity]

Tried several mattress toppers. And the Tempurpedic reflected too much heat back.

Serta Blissful Dream II. Glad I waited for it.

[Achiever51]

Yeah, this looks REAL comfortable...instead of horsehair, are you sure the entire horse isn't inside??

[ladelfina]

He hasn't done his 'trapunto' thing yet! It's still all puffed up.



A few people who still do this kind of thing will even come to your house to refresh your old trad. mattresses. That way you can make sure they are re-filling it with YOUR wool and not inferior wool from who-knows-where!

In the old days you just didn't waste materials that could be re-utilized.

[W2R]

I am SERIOUSLY thinking of buying a memory foam topper to put on top of my slightly lumpy king-sized mattress. The memory foam will just help me sleep between now and 2009, when I ER to Missouri and buy a new bed.

(What, me, buy something? Stop the presses!)

I am thinking of getting one of the thinner memory foam toppers (1.5-2.0 inches?) since they are cheaper and will fit inside my fitted sheet. (Yes, singular "sheet", not "sheets" - - I just wash it and put it back on the bed rather than buying a second sheet, to save money). I might just go to Wally World today and see if memory foam toppers are on sale or something.

Sleep is a priority!

[happy2bretired]

I had a thinner foam topper and I had to give it to my daughter. It was hot and I couldn't take it any longer. My daughter loves it tho.

[DallasGuy]

I'm also in the market for a new mattress. After reading reviews on the internet I've sort of come to the conclusion that the thick mattress toppers built into the mattress is sort of a waste of money. Many of the reviews from consumers say that the topper portion of the mattress ends up getting an indentation within 6 months to 2 years and then the mattress companies won't honor their warranties to fix the problem. The indentation then becomes a new source for back pain because you sink in too much in one area. Is that the experience of any of you here? I'm sort of thinking of getting a name brand mattress (Simmons, Sealy, etc.) but getting the one with very little padding on top and then adding my own topper. In the long run I'm think the mattress will last longer and I can replace the topper if I need to. Any thoughts on that?

[happy2bretired]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DallasGuy I'm also in the market for a new mattress. After reading reviews on the internet I've sort of come to the conclusion that the thick mattress toppers built into the mattress is sort of a waste of money. Many of the reviews from consumers say that the topper portion of the mattress ends up getting an indentation within 6 months to 2 years and then the mattress companies won't honor their warranties to fix the problem. The indentation then becomes a new source for back pain because you sink in too much in one area. Is that the experience of any of you here? I'm sort of thinking of getting a name brand mattress (Simmons, Sealy, etc.) but getting the one with very little padding on top and then adding my own topper. In the long run I'm think the mattress will last longer and I can replace the topper if I need to. Any thoughts on that?

I just bought a new mattress last year (Serta) with a built in topper. Yes, I have an indentation problem, that's why I bought the foam topper that I couldn't use. Since I now sleep alone, I am just going to turn it more often since I can only indent one side at a time. Doing so, seems to fluff it up some. I'm not too sure may solution would work if there were 2 people using my mattress tho.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I bought a pretty decent and expensive pillowtop mattress about 10 years ago. It indented but since I turned and flipped it ever few months it wasnt that bad until the last year or so.

I put a memory foam topper on it. That was hotter but made it more comfortable. I went back and forth for a while trying to get the tradeoff between somewhat warmer than comfortable sleeping and somewhat less than comfortable sleeping surface. Decided the foam option was better. I see Costco now has a topper thats half memory foam and half wicking microfiber fill. I'd try one of those if I needed one right now.

[Martha]

I remember reading a Consumer Reports article on mattresses a while back. The said do not buy a pillowtop because of the reasons people here have cited. Also, they suggested trying out any mattress for at least 15 minutes/half hour. I can't recall if I read this in Consumer Reports or elsewhere, but most people are happiest with medium firmness mattresses. Not too firm. Not too soft.

My latest irritant is sheets. I have old cotton double bed sheets that probably came from the mid1900s. They are soft and in very nice shape. But we don't use a double bed. We have king size sheets I bought maybe 4 years ago. Supposedly good quality high thread count. They just wore right through. (No, it wasn't too many turns under the sheets ). Those super high thread count sheets seem to have finer threads and thus wear out too fast.

[happy2bretired]

I am interested in the bamboo sheets. I have no idea how long they would last but the idea of bamboo is interesting.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martha Those super high thread count sheets seem to have finer threads and thus wear out too fast.

It depends on how they count "threads". Some company's twist threads in a manner that lets them double the thread count. Counts over the mid 300's are pretty much BS.

And heres the other curveball. Much like higher octane gas doesnt give you any direct mileage or power benefit (in fact, the opposite), higher thread count sheets probably wear out faster because the threads are thinner.

Plus the quality and type of thread used is pretty critical. A 300 thread count sheet made with some crappy fabric weakly spun just wont last, which a nice 180 tc sheet made from high quality cotton threads might last a long time.

High thread count natural fabric sheets may also be quite a bit cooler to sleep on than low thread count synthetic fabric sheets.

High thread count usually produces softer sheets that tear more easily. Older low thread count sheets have sometimes been softened by years of wear and washing. Those may be the most comfortable and durable of all.

Top load washers with an agitator also beat the crap out of larger queen and king size sheets.

[Martha]

My thought is the best probably is 300 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets.

We are still using pillowcases from the early 1900s, belonging to my grandparents. All cotton, who knows the thread count, but as you say years of washing have made them super soft and nice.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Some killer deals on some sheets I bought last year, if you're a costco member.

Go to the web site, search for '500 tc pima' and you'll get taken to the page for a closeout on kirkland signature sheets. Nice, soft, taken laundering very well, my wife loves them.

$63 for a queen set, including shipping, $75 for king/cal king. Fits extra thick mattresses up to 17".

Interesting fatwallet thread
Emattress.com Memory foam mattress similar to Tempur-Pedic for a lot less

[TexasGal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa Hmm, let's see.. choosing a new mistress, eh? Well, first make sure the old one doesn't work well. Try it out. Sagging? Unfamiliar lumps? Time to replace. Try jumping on the new one. Can you feel the bounce? Soft, with pleasing feel and shape? Those are good signs. Finally, if you can't rotate and flip periodically, it may be more than you can handle. Choose a smaller and less challenging model. Hope that helps. Oh.. mattress. Sorry. Never mind.

Rich, it took me a while to notice . . . after 2nd cup of coffee for today I read your post again . . .

Thanks for the laugh!

[Bigritchie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smileydog I am looking for input on what type of mattress to purchase. I've been looking around at the memory foam types as well as other pillow top models. Costco has a pretty good deal on a memory foam model that is pretty inexpensive (compared to the Temperpedics and others). As one who experiences lower back problems from time-to-time I would like to make a careful choice. Opinions welcome. Thanks

Temper-pedic. period.

They are expensive, and being the cheap bastard that I am, I must say it is some of the better money I have ever spent in my life. The pillow is well worth it too.

[WM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CybrMike I've had great luck with Select Comfort (sleep number) beds. I had consistent back aches before purchasing this bed and after, they are gone. The nice thing is that since it fills up with air, it will never sag, you never have to flip it, and you can adjust it to the firmness at which you desire.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonnyM I was totally skeptical, ok downright negative about the Sleep Number Select Comfort thingy. I supported DW's choice to try one, and I tell you, I'll never go back. Combined with a nice feather bed topper, it is just glorious. They really do hold up and keep their pressure setting. I check it now and then, and it just doesn't change, a real suprise. She and I use totally different settings and are both very happy with the total effect. We sleep better with much more comfort. I add that we didn't find it particularly expensive purchased thru a mail order discount house. Some assembly required, but maybe 20 min. one time total effort.

We have a Select Comfort bed also, and I agree, I'd never go back. We've had it for about seven years and it is good as new. Rarely have to adjust the firmness. We got a knock-off air bed for our guest room and that's been fine as well, although it doesn't get used that often.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigritchie Temper-pedic. period. They are expensive, and being the cheap bastard that I am, I must say it is some of the better money I have ever spent in my life. The pillow is well worth it too.

BR, I'm curious if you ever compared the Temper-pedic with the more generic brands.

I ended up buying something for about 60% (IIRC) the cost of a the name brand stuff. I'm happy with it, but maybe I would have been happier with the name-brand, I don't really know? The reviews at the time were very positive on some of the off-brand foam mattresses, and the general feeling was you were paying extra for the name.

So, maybe no one would go wrong with a name-brand foam mattress, but are they worth the extra money?

-ERD50