I'm going to put a latex mattress in a twin bed that was made for a traditional mattress. Since it currently only has 4 slats I'm thinking of putting 3/4" plywood on top of the existing slats to support the latex.

 

Is there any value in drilling 1" holes in the plywood to create some air flow to the latex?     I've read conflicting opinions on whether air flow is needed (like with the euro slat beds).

 

 

hello twalkman,

we just purchased a very expensive latex mattress and were told it is fine to put the mattress on a plywood flat foundation.. WRONG!  do not do this. Ours began to mold in less the a month. Latex needs to be on a slat foundation at least 2" in height to provide enough air. At least it did with ours I would highly recomend not going with a flat solid foundation. hope this helps. By the way went to homedepot purchased 3 80" 2x4 set them on the sides and middle, than purchased kilm dried 1x4 and made our own slat foundation for under $50.00. hope this helps

How much space did you keep between the slats?  I'm afraid the latex mattress will sink between the slats if it's more than an inch or so.

we went with 3" spacing and then went with bamboo cotton and put over the sides and middle to protect (if any) the mattress getting caught on anything when we rotate or flip.

chas0512 wrote:

When I talked with Shawn at SleepEZ, he stated that using plywood would be just fine?  I wonder if the wwod or the latex had moisture contained in it....?

As far as the issues of drilling holes, I read here where a person had what sounded like a good ides; to use peg board (the board with the holes in it to hang stuff on garage walls).

I'm going to have to use plywood or something, and this has me concerned...

 

i just know what happened to our pertically mattress and foundation, im not saying that it will happen to all latex, ect mattress im just stating that in fact ours started to mildew from the latex, but now im thinking it was because of the organic wool that the latex cover had on it. but in any case, still not worth taking a chance on a big investment such as your bed.. ( number 6 reason NOT to go with OMI )  im still counting the reasons i'll never go back. !

i think if you check your mattress from time to time you could use just about any foundation, as long as it doesnt affect your comfort lv.

 

thanks

I ended up putting it on a plywood base over wooden slats because this is for a kid twin bed and I expect there to be jumping on the mattress. I put the mattress inside a waterproof/breathable full mattress cover which I think will prevent any moisture problems.

 

I found a posting that said many of the big latex bedding manufacturers recommend solid platforms.