Removing pillowtop and using a foam topper
Nov 5, 2009 2:53 PM
Joined: Nov 5, 2009
Points: 4
I have a king size Spring Air pillowtop that I bought from Overstock.com 3 years ago. I am unhappy with it because it has formed some serious grooves where my wife and I sleep. I've considered buying a new mattress with a topper but to save some money for now I have been thinking about removing the pillowtop and using the spring part of the mattress.

If I were to cut off the pillowtop, which type of topper should I use? I tend to like a cooler room when I sleep and I am worried about the excessive heat from a memory foam. I get hot easily. Should I be looking at a latex topper? What is the thickness I should get? Should I get both memory foam and latex toppers?

I've also heard about making your own mattress from scratch, getting a foam base and building from there. Do you think I could do this for under a grand?
Re: Removing pillowtop and using a foam topper
Reply #6 Nov 6, 2009 5:54 AM
Joined: Sep 7, 2007
Points: 476
If your mattress is only 3 years old the springs are probably in good shape. Go ahead and remove the pillowtop. You might find that much of the foam underneath is in good shape too and all you need to add is an inch or two of latex or memory foam to make it better than new.

I performed mattress surgery on a Spring Air -- mostly to remove the uncomfortable tufting on the top that was quilted with 2" of supersoft convoluted PU foam. Once I did that I discovered that the 3" piece of firm PU foam over the springs was useable too, and actually pretty hard. I added a 1" Talalay topper in the 24-26 ILD range and a 2" 4 lb memory foam topper over that--both of which I already had. The bed has never felt better!

Removing the pillowtop will allow you to assess the situation and decide whether to replace or refurbish. If you go with the later you might be able to do it for a few hundred dollars in foam.

P.S. Check your foundation. Most mattresses these days don't come with real box springs. They are just boxes covered in fabric without springs. You should be able to determine exactly what you have simply by looking and feeling. If there are springs in there you can feel them just by running your hand over the surface. A foundation will be smooth. All you're going to feel are the wooden slats under the surface material. If you decide to replace with any kind of foam mattress you're going to need a foundation NOT a boxspring.

Re: Removing pillowtop and using a foam topper
Reply #7 Nov 7, 2009 6:52 PM
Joined: Nov 5, 2009
Points: 4
I decided to get a mattress from FBM. I ordered the 6" firm latex core and a 2" medium latex topper. We'll see how it feels. I should get it maybe next week if I'm lucky.
Re: Removing pillowtop and using a foam topper
Reply #8 Nov 8, 2009 1:32 AM
Location: L.A. area
Joined: Jan 18, 2008
Points: 1161
spliff wrote:
I have a king size Spring Air pillowtop that I bought from Overstock.com 3 years ago. I am unhappy with it because it has formed some serious grooves where my wife and I sleep. I've considered buying a new mattress with a topper but to save some money for now I have been thinking about removing the pillowtop and using the spring part of the mattress.

If I were to cut off the pillowtop, which type of topper should I use? I tend to like a cooler room when I sleep and I am worried about the excessive heat from a memory foam. I get hot easily. Should I be looking at a latex topper? What is the thickness I should get? Should I get both memory foam and latex toppers?

I've also heard about making your own mattress from scratch, getting a foam base and building from there. Do you think I could do this for under a grand?

Use the springs and foundation of the current mattress. You can try just replacing the pillowtop but once you get inside it and see the crappy foam even UNDER the pillowtop you will most likely want to replace that, too. Once you replace all the foam with quality foam you'll be in good shape.
http://www.whatsthebest-mattress.com/forum/mattress-surgery-performing-foam-ectomy-my-englander-mattress-w-photos/6161-A-1.html

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