I had a heck of a time finding an all natural mattress pad some years back. If I remember correctly, I found 100% cotton on lands end and it was pricey. I would nab that one on O before it's gone. Cotton and wool would seem to be a rarity especially in a full size. It's what your looking for; grab it!

I just bought an all cotton mattress pad for my new organic latex bed from Vermont Country Store. For a king, I paid $99 with free shipping. It seems to be high quality and would fit a deep mattress. So far, so good. Check it out online.
As far as wool goes, it would be quite expensive.

Check for pure down pads. The down is very cool in winter or summer. I use a light down filled blanket on our bed all Summer and then heavier ones in the Winter and we have down mattress covers. They breath and are wonderful. c

May I suggest that instead of going for a wool filled mattress pad that you instead use a thick wool blanket?

Wool has excellent avantages to keep you cool. It really does work!

But it has special cleaning requirements not shared with the cotton components in the mattress pad.This makes laundering it tricky.

A wool filled pad, being a somewhat atypical item, is also very expensive, but a thick wool blanket is not.

In addition,if one bed partner for some reason feels they don't want wool underneath them, then a single wool bed blanket on one side works well.

My own assembly goes like this:

I have a natural latex mattress. Almost all the covering components are home-sewn.

The mattress itself is quite old and has long since had its original cover replaced by an all-cotton cover that has thickly quilted sides, corded edges and a thick double-knit cotton, lightly- quilted, top and bottom. This is rarely removed, think of it as the thing that you would usually see when looking at a "bare" mattress. I had someone else make the first iteration of it, but the last one I made myself, so I actually have a spare

On top of that I have a muslin dust cover . This is just to keep the mattress clean. It's a vestige from before I had a removable mattress cover. It is removed and washed about quarterly.

On top of this is a thick wool blanket. I have experimented with adding more than one (for extra cushiness and air exchange) but didn't find that made much of a difference and the extra layers made bed-making more complicated. The blanket is ideally just slightly smaller than the top surface of your bed, and not hanging over. Though for a test of how it feels, a larger blanket can be used. Having it just cover the top surface keeps it in place nicely. The ones I prefer are the really old fashioned, double-sided wool which is very thick, but something as thick as a Hudson's Bay Blanket is what I'd recommend as they are easier to find. EBay is a terrific source for vintage wool blankets. (Usual caveats about bedbugs apply, in spades, with vintage blankets. I don't even open the packages indoors when they arrive.)

The wool blanket is washed twice per year. I wash it in my machine (Euro FL) and line dry it. I actually have two of these blankets per bed because the washing and drying and subsequent resting period takes a couple of weeks due to the special properties of wool fibers. It can only be washed in very cool water, and only agitated for a very short time in the washer. Over very long use (10-20 years) these blankets tend to get a little felting, but that doesn't dimminish their utility as under-padding.

Above that I have an all-cotton, quilted mattress pad. This has cotton batting as well as cotton coverings. This is washed about every 1-2 months. I like all cotton because it can take very hot water, which is what I want the closer a fabric gets to me. I am getting to the point here with the commercially available mattress pads (even from high-end sources). are becoming so flimsily-made and unsatisfactory that I will have to start making them for myself. I would machine quilt them, but that's still a lot of work. The last one I bought (from a good mail order source) scarcely lasted a year.

(I experimented with having the wool layer on top of the cotton matress pad, I thought it might leverage the cooling properties but I din't find that true. In addtion, it added to the laundry complications because the wool had to be washed so often since it was just under the sheet. Having highly washable cotton above it improved it, with no loss of the unique properties of a wool layer.)

Next come all-cotton sheets above, with linen ones during the hottest months. I have no A/C and even here in northern NY August can sometimes be a bear, especially in an old house without any insulation.

In really hot weather the sheets are fresh every day. Otherwise the bed is aired every day. By aired I mean the bed coverings are folded open and left that way for several hours before being remade. This allows any body mositure to evaporate.

For coverings above the sheets, it varies: I can't sleep without a little weight. That is rarely just a heavy cotton blanket. But more commonly, even during the warm months it's a thin down blanket., or two. I generally sleep under down year-round just varying the weights and numbers of them. For extra warmth in the winter a wool blanket is somewhere in the stack as well.

We have no heat in the second floor where the bedrooms are and in January and February these rooms are usually into the 40's at night (that's as cold as your fridge is!). Those nights need at least two, sometimes even three down comforters. I have small cotton covered electric matress pad that I stick in the bed hen I make it up in the morning. An hour or so before bed I turn it on, then I pull it out as I climb in. It's warmed up the surface of the sheets and the down keeps my body heat in all night after that. I am warm as a bug, but it is so cold to get up in the morning! But I sleep like a log in such a cold room.

When I was having night hot flashes, I still slept under down but made sure the sides of the bedding was completely open so I could quickly get out to air. I also kept a small fan going all night right by my bedside so i could cool my head off.

And believe it or not, you can still get hot flashes, even in a 40F degree room. So don;t think that even cranlking down the A/C will make much difference. It's the most maddening thing. I know before I had them I thought women were making much ado about nothing. Boy, was I WRONG!

Thankfully they do stop, at least they did for me. I remember asking my GYN about that and she said that for some women, they don't. I was shocked, and horrified, by that prospect.

HTH

L.

Look at FairyDown which is a NZ product. I have one and they are luxurious to sleep on. Definitely a "pure" lamb's wool. My down blanket has lasted 15 years too, with washing. Have never found a similar product of value. You may have to dig through a google search to find one in the US. But some in NZ have free shipping.

I use an all-cotton quilted mattress pad with cotton fill under my bottom sheet. Like Liriodendron, I switch to linen sheets in the summer and I have a linen blanket, too. Nothing seems to stop nighttime hot flashes, but the more porous bedding allows the moisture to evaporate more quickly. On the very hottest nights, I've found that I'm more comfortable using a cotton throw across my shoulders, leaving my feet and legs uncovered.

I use a ceiling fan year-round and add a floor fan in the summer. Air conditioning is rare where I live.

Ok this is what I did for the move (overloaded mind funk). As stated husband and I are moving in with son temporarily till house is found. We are giving him a full size captains bed (no longer need for downsize) with dresser underneath so that will stay when we leave. Son will then get bedding, mattress and a few other things passed on to rent his spare room out furnished and for more money. I had to buy a mattress. Another mind funk! Nervous about my bad sleeping/ heat problems next to husband on small bed! I was worried about heat problems with foam mattress and or coils on a cheap mattress so I bought a mattress in a box (see below) it’s a bit of both and was cheap and had outstanding reviews. Plus, that particular mattress will be one thing that’s easy to move being that it’s in a box lol.It pops out into a mattress ,how cool is that? I bought the cotton mattress cover with wool filling. Really liked the idea of just a wool cover over mattress but am worried about bunching. I am going to get a down cover in the future for my king bed after the move and am looking forward to that. However, I will try a real down pillow first as I have allergies. I don’t remember having a problem with grandma’s down pillows though. I’ve ordered all cotton bedding too. I hope it all works out ok. Sheesh I'm exhausted aleady and it's not even noon.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sleep Master 13-Inch Deluxe Euro Box Top Pocketed Spring Mattress, Full (MATTRESS IN A BOX)

Fun2BHere, that's exactly what I do to...use a cotton throw across my shoulders, leaving my feet and legs uncovered.

I have a 100% wool mattress pad which I LOVE and cannot live without. I got it at Overstock, but DreamSoft Bedware also has them. Mine was about $200 for a King size.

It's soft and cushy, and just makes the bed feel luxurious. A regular sheet over it works fine -- it's not scratchy at all. The 1" pile allows for air circulation which makes it cool in summer/warm in winter.

As for cleaning, I vacuum it periodically, and seasonally put it out in the sun to air out and kill mites. I bought the washable kind, too, but I haven't needed to wash it yet.

jt..DS! needs a new bed and that link looks perfect !! can it be refolded to move it ? Important point for them if they move. TIA c

Hi Trail, I have no idea but I imagine it could be folded. Son will not have to worry about that, he will probably be in his townhouse for a while until he sells to move up. I’m not expecting a very long life span on mattress but hoping it will last him five to 8. Husband and I are hoping we like it too because we spent several grand on our last mattress and after five years it’s sagging in both our rest spots by a lot. The first few years were glorious sleep nights but it’s been downhill since. If that’s how long todays mattresses last I would rather get something like the one we are buying for son because it’s cheap if we have to replace it often. Remember when mattresses lasted 20 years or more?

I forgot to ask you all what linen fitted sheets you use.

liriodendron do you have a particular brand you buy?

I was lucky enough to find two fitted Ralph Lauren linen sheets on eBay. Of course, you can always buy a flat sheet and tuck it in. It's a little bit of a pain when making the bed, but since you have a full, it will be a little easier to lift the mattress to tuck the sheet underneath. I look forward to seeing what brand Liriodendron buys.

Oh liriodendron wherefore art thou with the linen sheets info? Times a running out for me to order!
Would anyone else have a preferred brand of linen sheets???

Edited for update: I should have started a seperate post on the linen sheet thing. ! I ordered a 100 % linen fitted sheet from Linoto. I don’t know what I’m doing! They seem nice as far as reviews go. Why I picked this company… I could just buy the one fitted sheet to try instead of a whole set, they have nice color choices to match already purchased bedding and they have deep pockets, *made in the U.S.A, and I don’t have time to look anymore. So, done! I so hope this will help, along with the other purchases on the night time hot flashes. I hope my husband doesn’t get the urge to beat me with the bedside lamp if I start tossing and turning, pulling covers on, pulling covers off…and all in a little full size bed lol.

This post was edited by jterrilynn on Tue, Jun 18, 13 at 22:48

jt: If you read liriodendron's post on the June 16 thread about bulk/hotel sheets, she says she inherited her linen sheets and they are over 75 yrs.old!

I, too, would like to know a recommended brand for linen sheets. Maybe someone else will help us out?

Lizbeth, it's all so confusing!
Plus, it seems that with most sites you have to order a whole set or if you don’t the fitted sheets are not deep enough, or there are not many colors. I will post an update down the road on the Linoto fitted linen sheet.

jt: We were posting at the same time.

Do you have a good recliner or a good couch if the bed sharing doesn't work so well? We share a king and we have trouble when we visit children and have to share a queen! (YMMV)

Am anxious to hear how you like all your bedding, especially the linen sheets. Hope your adventure works out well!

Lizbeth, funny you should ask. Husband and I just had this conversation. If I have to I’ll get a good twin blowup bed. I hope it will not come to that. Can you imagine me sleeping on a blow up bed after all the preparation? The worst part is that that bedding will all come from Wally Land because this temporary stay is adding up.

FWIW we purposefully bought our blow up beds from Wally World, because we have a daughter who had slept on both WM and A*ro and actually prefers the WM brand. They have held up well and seem to be comfortable (for a blow up bed).

The bedding might be another matter. You might want to go back and read liriodendron's epistle on the other post as she gives recommendations and brands for older sheets she buys on e-bay for smaller beds (if it comes to that).

I love my linen sheets from RH, although they are not as sturdy as their ads make them seem. Will possibly buy another set from Linoto next time.