Foam mattresses. Thoughts?

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

Have you ever slept on a foam mattress or purchased one?

Tell us your favorite foam mattress brands and share your experiences. Photos encouraged!

Enhance Queen 2-Inch Memory Foam Mattress Topper · More Info

Featured Answer

jillwk

10 years ago

I bought a latex foam mattress several months ago and love it. I didn't not consider memory foam partly because it's known to sleep warm (while latex sleeps cool) and I get hot at night. Yes, in general, mattresses were made better "back then".. These days mattresses tend to have lots of cheap poly foam that breaks down quickly, companies do not stand behind their product, and warranties can be voided as easily as a small stain on the cover. Good quality talalay (the process in which the foam was formed) latex can last decades, especially whose with a high ILD rating. Recommended brands for latex mattresses are Flobeds and Sleep Ez.

I strongly suggest anyone considering buying a new mattress, foam or otherwise, to spend some time online doing research to learn what to look out for. The Mattress Underground is a good place to start. Don't just pick out a mattress based on feel. It might be nice for 15 minutes, or even a year, but most mattresses do not hold up over years like they used to.

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Comments (172)

Pat K
10 years ago
Bought a Tempurpedic 3 yrs. ago and the verdict is still out. Lower back hurts in the morning. My arms do go numb occasionally. My husband now has hip problems that he didn't have before. I am frustrated.... Is it the mattress causing this?? It makes me sick to think of all that money spent on it and we don't like it. Just don't know what I should do. :- (
Pat K
10 years ago
Oh and yes...it is HOT. Also hard to turn over in.
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Lori
10 years ago
Yes and I love my foam mattress! It's so comfy, sometimes it's too comfortable lol
downlo
10 years ago
We had one - never again and never a mattress with foam in it. It smelled awful, but the worst part was the hot flashes! The "power surges", as my husband and I called them, should have easily put the lights out in Green Bay!
Lori
10 years ago
I have not experienced the mattress being too hot but then again I am always cold lol
Lori
10 years ago
It is heavy to move though
uberv
10 years ago
I bought a very expensive one several years ago. My husband hates it and I wake in the middle of the night with back pain. It was a huge waste of money.
ndlptmom54
10 years ago
We have an I Comfort now and we love it. I used to wake every morning with a sore and stiff back and hips…no more, and that changed almost immediately so it has to be the bed. We are getting ready to move and will probably buy the king Cloud Temperpedic because of all of the good reviews I have seen here, and friends recommendations. I agree that foam is warmer, and that isn't always a good thing, but I use that as an excuse to turn the temperature down lower. I sleep better that way anyway.
annesherwood
10 years ago
Have only slept on one as a guest, and I was so warm I was uncomfortable... It might
be okay in the winter, but terrible the rest of the year.
PRO
roboshopper
10 years ago
Perhaps it's the bedding??Further to my comment about my Novaform experience. I use only good 100 %cotton sheets(they happen to be Kirkland Brand from Costco) during the summer and the Fleece Sheets((Life Comfort also from Costco) during the winter as it is cold where I live . Perhaps some are using microfibre or polyester sheets which definitely keep you hot! No body heat escapes at all ....
ker9
10 years ago
We are seriously considering latex mattress and would love more info on it.
ginnym42
10 years ago
We bought a tempurpedic adjustable bed[2 XL twins] several years ago before they had the choice they have now. My side was two firm.Still liked it because of the adjustable bed and the way it shapes to my body. I bought a Gel form topper that makes it cooler and very heavenly., like a cloud. They have been the best beds that we have owned for the way they hold up.
dayna57
10 years ago
Polyurathane foam is made from petroleum and other chemicals and is considered toxic. Many people have actual symptoms from sleeping on mattresses and pillows made from this foam. If you think about how many hours you spend breathing and in contact with a foam matress or pillow, you may want to consider an organic mattress. Even conventional spring mattresses have chemicals and off gassing. Do your research. (I am not affiliated with any mattress or organic product, just want to stay healthy.)
lizengland
10 years ago
I ordered a 10 inch memory foam mattress from overstock.com and have been sleeping on it for 5 years now- love it, and it rolls up for easy moving
PRO
Total Craftsmen, Inc.
10 years ago
We bought a 14" memory foam mattress from Sam's Club for about $600.00. It came rolled up like a tube. We put it on top of our box spring, cut it open, and unrolled it. It took about 8hrs. to get to its full puffiness, but you could have slept on it right away. I love it. We've had it for about 2yrs. now, and it's still like new. I'm a person who's naturally on the hot side, but I don't have any issues with this bed feeling hot at all. It feels quite firm, but it really conforms to my back so that I can lie on my back for hours.
elyj
10 years ago
I have had one for several years. Whist I agree they are hot, the benefit to my back has outweighed that. I just use lighter to bedclothes, and most of the time that if ok.
jgray795
10 years ago
On my 2nd TempurPedic. First one lasted over 20 yrs. Cold when you first get in bed, but it only takes a few minutes for your body heat to move thru the foam & then it's toasty. Never needs turned because there are no coils to get compressed of sag. It's the best! They have different densities to choose from. So if you want firm or soft or med. it's your choice. I ordered mine directly from the factory. We took an electric carving knife & cut the old king size one in half to make twin mattresses for my daybed & gave the other half to a young man who had just moved back home so he could have a bed. A piece of 3/4 in plywood for a base & 4 milk crates for legs & he was good to go. The lady from the company recommended do that...her son had done the same thing.
lazidazi
10 years ago
I'm currently in the market for a new mattress and after much research, have decided on natural latex foam. [Have no interest in synthetic foam - of any kind.] Whether Talalay or Dunlop, I expect they're equally good. Wish those who had posted that they have a Natural latex mattress would have said what ILD # their mattress is, how many layers, overall thickness, etc. I sure don't want to have to return a mattress, but am having trouble deciding on the softness versus firmness decision. I've tried them at the store, but that's not the same as sleeping on it.
PRO
Studio NOO Design
10 years ago
We used to sleep on a Tempur Pedic, very comfortable but we had to get rid of it because it was way too hot in summer, like we used to wake up totally wet....now, we have a latex mattress and because it is a natural material it breathes and is sooooo comfortable.
ginnym42
10 years ago
Must tell a funny story about my 15 yr. old Grandson. His parents bought him a Tempurpedic CLOUD mattress. When he's not home the rest of the family fight over who will sleep on it. My Grandson actually left a sleep over in the middle of the night to come home and sleep in his own bed. The clould is a wonderful mattress.He missed his Cloud.
Lynne Biziewski
10 years ago
All foam mattresses - whether they sport the often deception label "natural" or not - are petroleum based. Add to that the increasingly toxic fire resistant chemicals that all mattresses have to have in the U.S. - well, do some searches & see how sick some people are getting from these chemicals (I don't smoke, no one in my house does, so it infuriates me that I'd be exposed to these, especially since I have an autoimmune condition).

Anyway, in the past, I've slept (or not slept, depending on my pain level) on a variety of foam and non-foam mattresses - bought from several different places, Costco & Walmart - I'm on a fixed income, so I've never spent thousands of dollars for a mattress. One thing I particularly hated about the foam ones was the fact that it would get a depression rather quickly, and the lack of support would add to my pain.

I've been sleeping on a very inexpensive, but decent camping air mattress for a few months - Ozark Trail. This one, unlike others, hasn't flattened out or even lose very much air at all, even though I keep it filled to a very firm level. This is far from perfect (I hate the dips on the surface - a mattress pad would have helped, but this was supposed to be temporary.

Anyway, I finally decided to make my own organic mattress: Open Your Eyes Bedding has the kits. I went to my local gardening store & bought bags of organic buckwheat hulls for much cheaper than any online price (no shipping) after I made a test neck pillow first, to make sure I would love it as much I did the one I owned yrs ago.

Next, I'll order the fabric from the site - next month (I can afford only a little each month) I'm going to make my own (simple) wool topper, too, with the sewing machine I own but never turned on. Need is overcoming my basic fear of sewing!
mousemaker
10 years ago
Futon!!!
bnmnelson
10 years ago
The Temperpedic I slept on was too hot--and I'm usually a cold person. Give me my old-fashioned Stearns and Foster any day, please.
beesknees2260
10 years ago
We have Stearns and Foster pillow top king but I prefer our old super firm Sealy that is in the same shape it was years ago. We flip both each month. How about pillows. I cannot find a good pillow. I bought memory pillows the last time and they are a mess.
kroze
10 years ago
Temperpedic makes excellent pillows..... with cool gel..... which I really like.
coleenh
10 years ago
Just bought a Temperpedic Cloud w about four months ago. Husband doesn't feel my movements anymore. I felt a little warm but adjust the covers accordingly. We splurged and got the adjustable frame - heaven! We agree to sleep flat at night and adjust during day. I try to simulate recommended recliner position from Relax the Back store and it is wonderful for reading and watching TV in bed.
sandy505
10 years ago
I have sold my Temperpedic mattress. Two issues: it was so heavy for my arthritic hands that changing the sheets was very painful. Also, I like to sleep in a cool room: about 60 in the winter. At that temp, the Temperpedic was hard as a rock.
dlc1234567
10 years ago
I have to agree with sandy505. The temperpedic was too hard and too hot; too uncomfortable to get past the "break-In" period.

After much research we decided on a talaylay natural latex mini-stack system. LOVE IT even after many years. Expenseive yes, but we don't plan on needing to replace it for many more years.

http://www.foamsweetfoam.com/our-mini-stack-system.html
mousemaker
10 years ago
no one else sleeps on a futon? I hvent' slept on a "real" mattress for years and years.
we did concede that putting the futon on top of a box spring would probably help :) but other than that...we are still sleeping on our wonderful futon!
feeny
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
I'm fond of futon mattresses too, mousemaker (at least well made ones). They are both firm and comfortable and many people find them good for back problems. We have a futon mattress in our guest bedroom (which also serves as our insomnia bedroom) and on our son's antique bed because a standard full mattress doesn't fit inside the foot and sideboards.
lazidazi
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Over 25 yrs ago I bought a 100% cotton 8" futon, hand-tufted. It was heavenly. After 15 yrs it was too compressed and I went back to a regular spring mattress. I now deserve a new mattress and have been looking at latex, but probably ought to check out futons again, too. It was very comfortable, but it was horribly heavy and hard to move.
mousemaker
10 years ago
they're much different than the one we had a hundred years ago :) when we were students :)
lazidazi
10 years ago
Does "much different" mean much better?
feeny
10 years ago
Definitely! There are many different styles and qualities of futon mattresses these days.
bent7anona
10 years ago
I am happy to know your websites
bent7anona
10 years ago
I love decorated so much
f1230n
10 years ago
Tempurpedic is fine... if you're comfortable or able to pay double to triple what an identical memory foam mattress costs. A few hours of research reveals that memory foam is all about thickness and density of the foam - many of the Tempur models have published layering and foam density layouts that other companies have copied / modified / improved upon. So, you can proceed to your nearest big-box store, lay on all the mattresses to find what you like, write down the model, and start searching for an alternative. I wanted a Tempurpedic Allura in king sizing ($5500+), found how much and what type of foam, found a local mattress shop that sells direct, and bought a Restonic model that felt 95% similar for much less than half of that amount. Been sleeping on it for over a year and there's nary a back-ache. The beds do take some getting used to, but generally offer far-superior support to their spring-laden ancestors, and once you're used to it, oh boy.

Also, to those that think these mattresses sleep 'hot': In the past few years, the memory foam mattress companies have developed a breathable gel foam that is, to my touch, 90% as cool as a spring-mattress with a pillowtop. I'm in central Texas and quite the hot sleeper myself, but some good cotton sheets and a breathable mattress cover are all that keep you from cool, sweet dreams.
ldkmoore
10 years ago
I tried a memory foam from Costco and it's the only time I woke up with a back ache. I returned it post haste. We now have a Kenko Naturest Mattress Topper and sleep like a babies. We need a new mattress though...we bought a cheapie $400 Big Lot Special and after a year, it sags in the middle. Even with our saggy mattress, we still sleep like babies with our Kenko topper.
carafoam
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Find the best mattress you can, get some great mattress, add to that a bit of late night pampering and hopefully you are on your way to sweet dreams!

Carafoam.co.uk
Darrel Austin
10 years ago
So much idiotic spam on this site.
PRO
JudyG Designs
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Just bought two Talalay latex mattresses and we could not be more pleased.
I did some research and decided this was the best product. You can choose the firmness and there actually is a guy named Chuck who can help you make that decision. I purchased them on Amazon about a month ago. I give 5 stars for quality and service. Read up on Talalay and you will see what I mean.

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Dreams-Eurotop-Latex-Mattress/dp/B008KQ8YZO/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_2
ducks43
10 years ago
Three letters: H O T! Who can sleep comfortably on them? No one in our house. Junked them when it was time for hard waste pick-up.
brickln
10 years ago
Got a cotton mattress pad for mine- heat problem solved!
Radlie Hunter
9 years ago
I loved them, but like the earlier comment was joking, I did actually live in Alaska. I was doing an internship with a chiropractor and we even had them installed onto our work beds. No hurt in trying it out.. http://www.irelandclinic.com/services/
Bonnie Carroll
9 years ago
Bought a foam mattress with adjustable frame at Costco - white glove service had it set up and working In Just 20 minutes. Have slept on it for two nights now - best sleep I've had in a long time! If I don't like it for whatever reason, Costco will take it back - can't get that kind of guarantee with any other mattress.
Matt
9 years ago
I just got a real wool matress pad for my memory foam bed topper. It's excellent. It's warm but not sweaty. Love it.
olldroo
9 years ago
And you will find it cool in summer, Matt.
myfanwyb
9 years ago
We have a Costco Novaform and use a wool mattress pad and cotton sheets with a silk duvet and cotton cover. I thought for the price of the mattress it was well worth a try.

It has been three years and I travel a lot and sleep in lots of different hotel beds. I still come home and really appreciate my bed.

I find it is less pressure on the joints, neither is us move around as much and when we do, we don't disturb the other person. I did find it was too warm with a down duvet or other kind of mattress cover. My husband likes it warm and he is a portable furnace all on his own.

We did have to air it out for almost a week before we could sleep on it after setting it up. It was a reminder that these mattresses are not Eco friendly. Good to set up before you go on a holiday!

I use a Talay foam pillow with a wool cover which I love. This had to be pillow number nineteen in the quest for the "right" one.
PRO
Urban Futons - Dr. Futonberg
7 years ago
Foam mattresses are great and can be even more comfortable than cheap innerspring mattresses. To understand this a little better, innerspring coil mattresses have to have a certain amount of foam layering over the coils. The problem is that this foam layering can flatten fairly fast on cheaper mattresses. When this occurs, you start to feel the springs sticking up into your back. High quality foam mattresses, especially the ones made by Otis Bed, are made from 2.0 density high pressurized foam slabs of 14 to 16" thick, compressed down to 8 to 9" thick. What this means is that you get a little bit of a rebound or bounce like you will find in a spring mattress. Foam futon mattresses by Otis Bed are very comfortable and will last for 10 plus years with frequent use and will not bottom out.

http://www.urbanfutonbeds.com/Best-Futon-RV-Mattresses-s/158.htm

If you are looking for something more simple, natural and organic. Check out the cotton based organic futons.

http://www.urbanfutonbeds.com/Organic-Futons-s/191.htm
suziis
6 years ago
I love my Casper mattress, I have an adjustable base and was told to not get an inner spring mattress.

The adjustable base + Casper = heaven for me...

Foam mattresses. Thoughts?

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