Mattress help

[zachsmomie]

We (and by that I mean my hubby has finally seen the light) need to replace our 10 yr old mattress. I know that Memorial Day sales are going on now and it is probably a good time. But I have no idea how to buy a mattress and the prices vary widely.

1. How do you buy a mattress? I know you lay on it but can a few minutes really tell you anything?

2. Recommendations? THere are so many out there!! What's the sleep number/temperpedic benefits?

3. Can you bargain price the mattress? Is it appropriate to ask for discounts if you are paying for it in full? How much do you ask for..10%, 5%?

I am clueless.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I've always liked the Beautyrest mattresses. Next time though I will buy a pillowtop. These old bones just can't take anything firm. I broke down and bought a memory foam mattress cover for now.

Here is something I've learned about mattress shopping that just ticks me off. They make it so hard to compare prices at different stores. Let's say I go to one store and I like the Beautyrest 'Alexandria' mattress. If I look for it at another store, they don't have the same names for them. Maybe at the other place they'll call it the 'Monticello'. It's so annoying.

It does feel weird to roll around in the store.

good luck!

I don't know anything about sleep # or Temperpedic. Is the sleep # adjustable?

 

[Psychodisney]

I just bought a sleep number bed last week. Go try it out. It hasn't been delivered yet so I can't give personal testimony, but my sister loves hers. I got a great discount(health care provider). The science behind it makes sense-by allowing the bed to fill in all the negative space, your spine gets the support it needs to allow you to relax.

 

[crusoe2]

I don't really have much advice to offer - we're having the same dilemma. We really need a new mattress but are gun-shy about buying one. We currently have a pillowtop that has proven to be very uncomfortable. No matter how often we turn it, it quickly develops big craters where we lay and the lack of support causes all kinds of aches and pains. I know others have had better luck with pillowtops so it could just be the brand we bought. I would say it could be because we're Pooh-sized and maybe pillowtops just aren't a good choice for heavy folks. But my DSis and her DH have one that they love and they're both Pooh-sized, too.

 

[hildarumpole]

We've had a Select Comfort Sleep Number bed for 10 yrs. and absolutely LOVE it. It's still in great shape. DH likes a firm mattress and I like a softer one, so we're both happy. I used to get neck and shoulder pains, but have not since we got the sleep number.

 

[MrsBanks]

We just caved and bought a new mattress at Sears about 2 weeks ago - it is a Sears-o-pedic made my Serta, I think it's called the Somerset. It is a firm mattress with an extra plush pillow top. I LOVE IT. did you hear me? LOVE IT It was originally $2700 on sale for 1/2 price and we also got refunded for delivery and haul away of the old mattress ($75 total).

The only way I know to choose a new one is to go and lay on it. We went to the store and I thought I wanted the Euro top Sealy until I lay down on it and it felt like it was swallowing me up.

The only advice I can give is - if you get a pillow top, depending on what height you want the final bed to be you need to figure out if you want a full size box spring or a smaller one. For example, my DD is 5 - her mattress is pillow top with a smaller box spring (5" box) making the final bed a "normal" height (27" bed height, since she is small). My pillow-top and box spring are regular size (9"box)making my bed super high (final bed, about 32"high), I practically need a step stool to get into it (I'm only 5"2"). I cannot sit on the edge of the bed and have my feet touch the floor neither can my DH who is 5'9".

Sorry for the long post.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

We (and by that I mean my hubby has finally seen the light) need to replace our 10 yr old mattress. I know that Memorial Day sales are going on now and it is probably a good time. But I have no idea how to buy a mattress and the prices vary widely.

1. How do you buy a mattress? I know you lay on it but can a few minutes really tell you anything?

2. Recommendations? THere are so many out there!! What's the sleep number/temperpedic benefits?

3. Can you bargain price the mattress? Is it appropriate to ask for discounts if you are paying for it in full? How much do you ask for..10%, 5%?

I am clueless.

www.originalmattressfactory.com

It's a local manufacturer, the beds are built in Atlanta and they ship all over the place. A lot of mattresses are made in china and then shipped over here; they're put in holds of ships for months and gassed with very poisonous fungicides, which continue to leach out of the mattress for years afterwards.

NOT something you want to be sleeping on!

We love our mattress, we got the orthopedic pillow top which has pillows on both sides. It's a wonderful company to deal with and five years later the bed is still amazing. The prices are right in line with all the other guys, too.

 

[ceecee]

We had the Select Comfort Sleep Number and I did not like it at all. We bought a TempurPedic 2 years ago and I LOVE it. The best money I ever spent. DH can come in late and I don't feel any movement on the bed. Even when the two labs jump up you can feel it. Best of all, my chronic neck pain is gone.

 

[disneymcgraw]

We have a Tempurpedic too and it's worth every cent!!

 

[dopeynme]

I am another devotee of the Select Comfort Sleep Number.....have had it for 5 years and absolutely love it. We have a queen size and the 2 sides are controlled separately, so DH can make his firmer and I can make mine softer.....and sometimes in the winter, I make it softer so I sink in a little more.....If there is a store near you, you can go in and try them out. I have not tried the tempurpedic, but I have tried several of the memory foam pilows and I don't like those.......

Good luck with your shopping!

 

[minniebeth]

www.originalmattressfactory.com

It's a local manufacturer, the beds are built in Atlanta and they ship all over the place. A lot of mattresses are made in china and then shipped over here; they're put in holds of ships for months and gassed with very poisonous fungicides, which continue to leach out of the mattress for years afterwards.

NOT something you want to be sleeping on!

We love our mattress, we got the orthopedic pillow top which has pillows on both sides. It's a wonderful company to deal with and five years later the bed is still amazing. The prices are right in line with all the other guys, too.

We just bought DS14 full sized mattress since he is growing way beyond a twin and it is a store brand and didn't even think where it was coming from...now I'm anxious about it! Any more info. on this?

 

[cruisnfamily]

We just bought a new one too!

Went from a queen waterbed to a king regular bed. You'd think it would be a huge adjustment for us but it's been fine. I feel like a princess in my new bed(that I can actually get in and out of)...I feel like I'm finally a grown up and not a teenager.

Anyway, we got a Simmons World Class "plush firm" mattress. It has a soft layer on top kinda like a pillow top but not a separate piece, it's part of the regular mattress just a little more plush on top. But underneath it's quite firm and gives good support. It's not the firmest one but not the softest either...I guess somewhere in between. IT was $1500.

I must have tried out 30 or more mattresses and the differences were enormous! I knew for sure I didn't want one that "squished" on the side when you sat on it. This one holds it's shape. I wanted quality and one that would last.

I heard that the actual pillow tops were a junky gimick and wear out quickly leaving you with a useless mattress in just a few years.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

We just bought DS14 full sized mattress since he is growing way beyond a twin and it is a store brand and didn't even think where it was coming from...now I'm anxious about it! Any more info. on this?

http://reallyworried.blogspot.com/2009/05/chinese-sofa-death.html

The fungicide used is called DMF. If you google it, you'll find it, along with many other fungicides, is routinely used in shipments of products from China.

Buy American. Especially if you're going to be eating out of it, sitting on it, or sleeping on it.

 

[mrsstats]

We had the same problem with a pillow top and the craters. We finally had them take it back and credit us. We bought a Chatam & wells and while it is the most comfortable bed the cost was crazy. I think we spent $3000. and that was a few years ago.

 

[sharonmickey]

I agree with PP's. I have a pillowtop and it has craters on both sides of the bed - it is only seven years old and has had the craters for at least six of them. When I bought DD a new mattress a year ago I refused to get a pillowtop. (I'm 5' 2" and not that big.) Find a mattress you are comfortable on, then if you want it to be a little softer get a pillowtop mattress pad. Good luck.

 

[mel63]

I just saw(or read) something about buying a mattress. I can't remember everything, but it did say not to buy a pillow top. Because it is attached, you can't flip your mattress over. If it becomes "lumpy" or worn you are stuck with it. They did say that if you want a "pillow top" to buy a regular top and then buy a mattress topper/pad.

 

[angwill]

Just bought a new mattress myself and did lots of research before I bought it. I went with talalay latex. There are no springs to give pressure points in either latex or memory foam matresses. Talalay is the longest lasting and best type of latex and to DH and I is extremely comfortable. I have no more back problems which I love. Memory foam was just way too hard to turn on and tends to make you sweat. These two options are higher priced than inner spring matresses though.

I read bad about both pillow tops and the adjustable beds which are essentially air matresses with a matress covering. I heard complaints that they seperate in the middle etc. Pillow tops I read get lumpy and uncomfortable quickly. Euro top is supposed to be better. Research a bit and go lay on them and you will get a good idea of what is best for you.

Nowadays you no longer flip mattresses but you should turn them putting the head at the foot once a month for the first 6 months and then every 6 months after that.

I bought my matress from a matress factory where they make them there. They make them for a lot of the stores in the area and are made minus chemicals but are flame retardant since it is the law. The prices were actually less than the retail stores here.

As someone mentioned it is impossible to price match because all the stores have the factories put different names on the matresses. If you find one you like you can write the details down and get a pretty good idea to compair to other stores though.

Good luck.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

I just saw(or read) something about buying a mattress. I can't remember everything, but it did say not to buy a pillow top. Because it is attached, you can't flip your mattress over. If it becomes "lumpy" or worn you are stuck with it. They did say that if you want a "pillow top" to buy a regular top and then buy a mattress topper/pad.

We flip ours regularly, although it is a two person job because the mattress is INCREDIBLY heavy. It has the pillowtops on both sides. The sides haven't broken down (in 5 years) and we don't have craters.

I remember the salesguy saying that if I didn't like the pillowtops on the mattress they'd come get the mattress, take it back to the factory, remove the pillowtops, and bring it back. For free! As it turns out the pillowtops are fine for us. I do turn the mattress when I flip it because DH is a tall, big guy and I want the mattress to wear evenly.