Eleven YO Kingsdown 3 piece mattress set revivable??
Nov 8, 2011 9:33 AM
Location: North Carolina
Joined: Nov 8, 2011
Points: 4
We have a Kingsdown Sleeping Beauty Gala 3-piece mattress set we purchased a few months after my husband had back surgery (ruptured disc in lower back) almost 11 years ago.  The top mattress, called the Cloud, which IS a separate mattress, is about 5 inches thick. WE HAVE LOVED THIS MATTRESS SET!!! There is a boxspring, then a very firm innerspring mattress, then the cloud.  Problem is, we are starting to feel achy in the mornings.  I am tossing and turning at night, and my husband is taking Aleve every morning now instead of just when he has done strenuous yard work.  I have been poring over the reviews, the forums, and various manufacturers websites to learn what I can because we've been thinking we have to replace the set, and Kingsdown makes nothing like this any more.  But this morning, as I was making up the bed, I looked at the label on the Cloud and discovered it is 50% polyester and 50% latex rubber!  Perhaps it is the polyester (and I cannot find out what kind now that it is 11 years old) that has compressed to such an extent that the bed no longer feels quite as it did when we first bought it. I know, I know, it's 11 years old - what are we expecting?!  But, it has been so comfortable, and honestly, we can't go spend thousands of dollars to get something like McRoskey or Sovn or Tempuredic (which I don't know that we'd like as well anyway).

But .... since seeing that the Cloud is 50% latex, I'm wondering if it would be possible to "revive" the set with a topper - foam?  softer ILD latex??  Reading as I have, I'm not sure we can buy something we can afford that will be as comfortable as what we've known without doing something like mattress surgery and we don't have another bed in the house we can sleep on if we were trying to "make one right." We still have kids at home in their beds and no guest room/bed. 

I would love to hear the opinions of you all who know so much more than I - If a topper is worth trying, what kind (material, thickness, density) would you try? I've thought of throwing out the Cloud and using a very thick latex topper over the innerspring mattress with either a softer, thinner latex or foam topper on top of that - try to create my own "cloud" - yet, the Cloud part has been so great!  When we first bought the set and got in the bed, it "hugged" us.  Felt supported (perhaps the very firm innerspring mattress?), yet hugged.  Like memory foam users seem to experience, the bed sleeps warm which has been fine in winter.

Perhaps you can tell I still really like the bed though it may not be liking me quite so much as it used to. Or maybe I just don't like change ....

Anyone willing to share their thoughts?  I would be very grateful.  Hubby and I are going to go look today at mattress sets.  Don't plan to buy anything today, but want to "see" what's out there.

Thanks in advance for your time and opinion.

Re: Eleven YO Kingsdown 3 piece mattress set revivable??
Reply #1 Nov 8, 2011 12:13 PM
Joined: Oct 15, 2009
Points: 966
The most likely problem is that some of the foam or stuffing material in the cloud has gone bad.  Does it have a zipper cover that you can open to see what is inside?   Polyester is not a foam, but usually used to fill mattress pads and other things like that.   That can mat down over time, but hard to say if that is the problem.  Latex lasts pretty long, but it possible that is losing its support.

Have you checked the innserspring and box spring to see if those are in good shape?   Supportive with no sagging?   If they are in good shape, then you might want to try to create a new cloud.   Possibly some combination of latex, memory foam, polysester filled topper depending on what you like.  

They don't make innser spring mattresses like they use to (unless you are willing to go to a better brand than the "S" brands), so I would be hesistant to get rid of your current one unless there are structural problems.

Re: Eleven YO Kingsdown 3 piece mattress set revivable??
Reply #2 Nov 9, 2011 9:17 AM
Location: North Carolina
Joined: Nov 8, 2011
Points: 4
Thanks for your response, Sandman. The Cloud is like a mattress (at least what I think of when I think mattress) that is sewn, with the corded edges (don't know exactly what that may be called), not zippered, so I can't look inside unless I start taking it apart. I've thought about doing that to see what it looks like. Perhaps the polyester was like a batting that wrapped around the latex?

Do you just look at the innerspring and box spring to see if they look to be sagging? Our bed frame does have the middle (5th) leg. It's a queen-sized bed.

My husband and I went to Original Mattress Factory. We were impressed to see what everything looks like inside. We liked the Orthopedic Premier Super Pillowtop and the Latex Foam (both flippable mattresses, which I would prefer to get, thinking it would last longer!).  We also went to a store selling Englander and really liked a line called Rest and Restore. BUT, they aren't flippable.  We saw one that was a floor model being offered at a price that made my hubby smile only to find that that one had been "spoken for" a few minutes earlier. They were selling it "as is" with a reduced warranty of 5 years.  It was very like one we had tried and liked when we first walked in the door - has 936 coils, coils are foam-encased, something "quad" about the coils and I think the wire gauge was 14.  It had latex foam and memory foam, though I don't remember the exact specs on the description. Well, the guys at the store said they had another, very like the first, that was from Englander, that they would sell for the lower price.  They didn't have a description for it, but said it was like the first we saw and liked.  Well, I looked at the label on the mattress and it had .1 latex at the bottom and p/u foam, polysterene (?) and another thing or two.  Did this mean it's only 1/10th latex???  I wanted to compare to the mattress label on the first bed, but didn't (it would have been very awkward to get to).  We went to OMF, then the Healthy Back Store. 

Pondering what to do and thinking I am going to check our current boxspring and innerspring to see if we have sagging.  Then open a side seam of the Cloud to see what's there and get a topper, possibly foam or latex 1" and cover the latex in the Cloud and see if we can get a few more years from it.  I would really hate to get another bed, find it to not work well for long and think then, "why didn't I try to make the Kingsdown last a little longer?", if a few years is about all we can get from another mattress set.

Re: Eleven YO Kingsdown 3 piece mattress set revivable??
Reply #3 Nov 9, 2011 11:27 AM
Location: North Carolina
Joined: Nov 8, 2011
Points: 4
Have checked box spring and the innerspring mattress and neither are sagging! Innerspring still very firm. Now going to open up the Cloud and take a look. Will update with findings. I'm hoping/thinking we can make this last a little longer.
Re: Eleven YO Kingsdown 3 piece mattress set revivable??
Reply #4 Nov 9, 2011 12:23 PM
Joined: Oct 15, 2009
Points: 966
I would test the innerspring and boxspring by laying on them and maybe pushing down with your had in various spots to see if there are softs spots.  Sagging may not always be noticable by the eye.   Sounds like they may be in okay shape.

I would be careful to check the contents of what goes into the construction of the mattess, especially how much PU foam it is using.  More than 1-2" will probably cause problems eventually, even if it feels good in the store.  Your box spring and innerspring are probably better constructed than most things out there.  The key is to add some comfort layers to get the right feel without giving up support. 

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