Toppers: memory foam v. latex v. featherbed

13 years ago

I know I should probably post over in Home Decorating, and I've read some threads there, but thought I'd ask here first.

We recently bought a new firm mattress - an old-fashioned no-frills innerspring that's made locally. I like the firmness, but would like to put some kind of a topper on it to give a little bit of cushion.

I'm pretty sensitive to smells and am concerned about out-gassing from memory foam, so am hesitant to go that route, although I understand they're very comfortable. Curious if anyone here uses a memory foam, latex or a featherbed topper? Any recommendations?

Sue

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Comments (13)

BeverlyAL
13 years ago
My mattress has a built-in memory foam topper which is about two or three inches deep. I wouldn't change it for anything. I've had it about six or seven years I believe.

I put a separate memory foan topper on the guest bed mattress and it improved it drastically.

Beverly
vacuumfreak
13 years ago
I whole-heartedly recommend the memory foam toppers. I have the Canopy brand that is 1.5 inches thick.... though if I had to do it again, I'd go for the 4 inch one. They were out of in in my size (queen) when I bought mine. It did not have any weird smells at all, and I was shocked... I was worried about that.! I've had it for about a year now. I bought a new mattress a few weeks ago that has memory foam and latex foam toppers built on top (no springs at all), but it was still too firm, so I put the old memory foam on it and it is perfect now. I think latex foam is too new to know much about, but I think they are firmer than memory foam. If you visit Wal-mart.com, you can read reviews of the Canopy brand, most of them are really good.
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I know this is an old thread but I thought I'd add my 2 cents' worth anyway! I've done a lot of upholstery, both for myself and professionally. I've redone a lot of furniture from the 50s and 60s when foam became a popular replacement in the furniture industry for innerspring cushions. Since then, urethane foam has taken over because it's much less expensive to produce. HOWEVER...the two are not even comparable as far as comfort OR durability, as others have stated here. Urethane feels great at first but even the best quality urethane foam will develop permanent hollows over time. And even when new, it compresses in totally different way than does latex. If you push your finger into it, the compression has a wide diameter. It's like a wide angle cone. But when you push your finger into latex foam, the cone of depression is quite narrow. This matters to the human body because latex allows your wide points to sink in while still giving your narrower points the same support. Urethane foam gives preferential treatment to your wide points with not much left over for the rest of you. Also, the longer you sit on a urethane cushion, the longer it takes for it to rebound, and the more it gets compressed. Latex foam is much more resilient and it will retain the same resiliency for years and years. It has a bouncier feel, but not like an air mattress--it's hard to describe! Most upholsterers will claim that urethane foam is equally comfortable, and it IS comfortable at first, but that won't last. Upholsterers use it because it's inexpensive and doesn't eat into their profit margins. In an industry where it's becoming the norm to just buy a new sofa rather than get the old one reupholstered, this is a very real and very important factor for upholsterers who want to stay in business! But still...I think most people would go for latex in a blind sit test. I am just now ordering foam replacement cushions for a sofa, totaling 82" in length, and my total comes to around $450 with shipping across the country. (I wish there was a supplier on the east coast but so far I haven't found one.) This is from Foamorder dot com. And yes, it's still WAY more money than urethane foam would be, but I'm sick and tired of the discomfort of the old cushions and I know that new urethane cushions would only be a temporary fix. I've gotton other latex foam from this place, including my mattress, and have been pretty happy overall. Last time I checked, the few other places that sell latex foam cushions online were way higher in prices than this place for pretty much the same thing. Always shop around!
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Originally, it was the sleep number bed that I was interested in. My daughter and I stopped by their show room to check them out. I love shopping for big ticket items with her because she's great at seeing things that I don't. We both agreed that laying on it was ok, but it's basically an air mattress and at the end of the day, it felt like an air mattress. They aren't cheap and neither of us felt the price justified the means. Also a lot of the reviews I read were complaints about air leaking from the individual cylinders. I think we finally bought our mattress sight unseen out of desperation, understandably, it's not something everyone is willing to do. I would like to clarify that if you and your DH have the same sleep preferences and buy 3 or 4 layers without the cut down the middle, you will never be the wiser that there are layers. They're enclosed in a really wonderful zip up cover. When I strip the bed, it looks like any other non-pillow top mattress, you can't even see the zipper. On the other hand, if you buy one that has the layers cut down the middle (for individual customizing) it does slip a bit down the center. It doesn't happen all the time and we don't feel it when it does. Occasionally, when the bed is stripped, we'll unzip the cover and fix it. It's takes all of about 3 minutes to do and is not a big deal. Also, as people age, our bodies and needs change. I like having a variety of firmnesses for that reason. Just this morning, my DH was saying he thinks the configuration he has now is too firm, so we're going to switch the layers around tonight so it's less firm for him. Takes 10 minutes tops to do (including remaking the bed)...problem solved. Lastly, and it's just a thought, if you have a place that sells foam, you may want to call and see if they carry latex. If they do, they may have a sample out that you could try laying on. Our local foam store does because a lot of people in our area like to make their own latex beds, they even sell (cheap) covers for them. Here is the link to the store by us Foam Factory. They have 6 inch layers which is good. At the very least, they may be able to answer some general questions for you about the different foams and latex.
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@nannygoat18, we received our mattress shipment on Saturday and "installed" (for lack of a better term) on Sunday. I have experienced no off-gassing. I am very familiar with off-gassing, because my workplace moved into a newly constructed building in 2011 and I coughed for an entire year. The mattress layers arrived in three separate boxes and are nearly "vacuum packed" in plastic. One of the three had a "latexy" smell when I opened it, but the rest had no smell at all. The latexy smell dissipated almost immediately and I haven't smelled it on the bed since. DH, after doing no research whatsoever and telling me to do whatever I wanted, has loved the mattress and slept like a baby since day 1. I think my body is still adjusting and will give it the full two weeks to make a call. I remember the same thing happening way back when we bought a memory foam mattress - I feared I was developing rheumatoid arthritis and I was much younger then! But it was my bones/spine adjusting to the new mattress. All in all, this is much better than our former innerspring mattress (Jamison Marriott purchased because DH traveled 200+ days per year then and his company put him up in Marriott hotels). I hope this helps. GA
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Hi Enduring, Give us a look as well :-). PlushBeds has multiple 3rd party certifications, and we can configure a mattress to your sleeping preferences/build as well. Let us know if you have any questions! You'll find our most popular latex mattress, the Botanical Bliss, located here. Also, our Memorial Day sale has been extended through the rest of today. Happy Monday!
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obxgina
13 years ago
Sue, I may be in the minority, but I hate foam! It doesn't breathe at all, no matter if its' a blanket or mattress, it's hot and just doesn't work for my DH or me!
Gina
User
13 years ago
We have a featherbed on top of our king size mattress. Have had it for about 12 yers. Fell in love with featherbeds the first time I slept on one. Immediately went out and bought ours.
annie1992
13 years ago
I still have my old waterbed and I'm not giving it up, I even bought a new mattress for it. Ashley's bed, though, has a featherbed topper and she loves it. The only problem is that occasionally some feathers make their way out...

Annie
User
13 years ago
I have an older mattress and my 3" memory foam makes it wonderfully comfy. I got it when I had sciatica and it made it possible for me to sleep. I don't have any problem with it being too hot, though I've heard others complain.

I can't sleep with feathers, they make my nose bleed, and I've tried latex foam, and while I like it as a pillow, it doesn't work as a mattress topper for me - it's too soft and doesn't "push back" like memory foam.

Good luck.
mtnester
13 years ago
Speaking of "pushing back," that's exactly what I like about my mattress with built-in memory foam. I have a back problem, and the foam fills in the space under my spine when I lie on my back, giving me excellent support. It's very comfortable when I lie in other positions, too. There's no odor at all. However, I do agree that it can get a bit warm; I sometimes need to kick off a blanket during the night.

Sue
Virginia7074
13 years ago
I have to ask 2 dumb questions about featherbed toppers. Do you sleep on top of the featherbed, or do you put it under the fitted bottom sheet? Also, do you wash yours, or dry clean it? It seems as though you'd need to clean it frequently if you sleep directly on top of it. I used to use one that was alternative down - and I chose alternative down because it's machine washable - but it got lumpy after I washed. I still used it, but the lumpiness just bugged me.
riverrat1
13 years ago
We love our off brand Temperpeutic mattress. I was worried about the heat but so far so good and we've had it about 3 years. On occasion I throw the covers off of me but I don't think it has anything to do with the mattress :-)
We were at a B&B last month and they had a feather topper on the bed! I loved it! It's a different kind of feel but nice!!!
dedtired
13 years ago
Do the featherbeds get very warm? It sounds tempting in our nippy fall weather, but sleeping on or under down in the summer sounds too hot.
goldgirl
Original Author
13 years ago
Heat is something I forgot to ask about, so I'm glad some of you mentioned! DH tends to sleep warm, as do I.
annie1992
13 years ago
Virginia, I put the sheet over the featherbed topper, it helps hold it in place and keep it from sliding too.

I have Ashley's cleaned, and between cleanings I sometimes remove it, give it a good shake and turn it over.

Annie
goldgirl
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks everyone. I decided to try a latex topper (which I found fairly cheap online) because it's supposedly cooler than the other options. But, I'm sure it's a personal preference thing. If I don't like it, I'll cut it up for dog beds :) and try one of the other two options. Bobby - thanks for the brand recommendation; I've bookmarked the site.

Sue

Toppers: memory foam v. latex v. featherbed

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Toppers: memory foam v. latex v. featherbed

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