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I have Fibromyalgia, and I finally got approved for SSI so I have some money with which to purchase a new bed. At the present moment, I'm sleeping on a decent "pillowtop" conventional mattress that my parents bought for my daughter, and my daughter is sleeping on a REALLY worn out mattress with the bottom half of a highriser for the frame. My son is on the top half of the highriser with a less worn-out, but still old, mattress. My other daughter is using the pillowtop mattress that was purchased for her initially (my parents bought the girls matching beds before my son was born.) I was thinking of getting a new bed for myself., giving my daughter back her bed, and getting some kind of topper for my son's bed. I think I want a latex bed. I remember sleeping on a foam mattress years ago when visiting relatives in Israel, and liking it. I'm also partial to foam pillows. However, with the FMS comes extreme chemical sensitivity. I don't know whether or not I'd be able to tolerate a mattress made with any synthetic materials. But then I read that Talalay latex is higher quality and just works better, but isn't 100% natural. I need BOTH "chemical free" and "supportive" in a bed. If I purchase a new latex mattress, would I need a new frame? Or would the "high riser bottom" be good enough? Would a slatted bed fram from Ikea be adequate, even if I purchase a mattress elsewhere? Could I put together a bunch of "mattress toppers" from eBay and create my own mattress? Maybe top that with a wool topper, put a mattress cover over the whole thing and call it a day? Or do I need to purchase an actual 'latex mattress"? |
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I am very chemically sensitive and can't sleep on a conventional mattress due to the Polyurethane outgasBing and the flame retardant chemicals they used. I can't have anything but solid wood in my home due to allergies to particle board that outgases formaldehyde. New carpet and new paint bother me for months and months so now I will only use NO Voc paint and even let that air out. I had no problems after airing out the latex cores for several days over my banister and zipping them up in the enclosed organic cotton cover (with wool in between) that Dave sent me from FloBeds.com. I liked the 90 day latex core exchange policy since I wanted to make my bed perfect for me and not be stuck with a configuration I was not happy with. I also liked the 90 return policy for my money back if a latex bed was not for me. My clients told me about FloBeds.com when I had cancelled their appointment due to my being up all night dying of allergies due to bed from a local store being delivered to me. I made the store take back the bed and I slept on a latex topper on the floor (that was recommended to me on a decorating site I belonged to) until I had time to do some research, get my major deadlines done and then order the Flobed to try it out.. I did have a little bit of a problem for the first few weeks with the pine smell of the slat box that I was not allergic to but since it was unfinished, the pine smell outgassed for several weeks which bothered me. Again, I did not get allergies from it but it just bothered me to have a smell while I was sleeping. The smell has gone away (used several air cleaners on it with windows open also during the day time for over a week) and now I just love my bed so much. I love how can move around the latex cores to get just the right comfort level. I love how I have firm support but my pressure points are not hurting. I love the 10" legs that make the bed high enough to store some blankets under my bed (which I will need now since winter will be here in another month or so). I wanted to stay with 100% natural Talalay Latex but I needed a 44 ILD latex core to be apart of my three latex core layers with my 1" topper due to liking a very firm bed due to my Scoliosis. The 44 ILD Super Firm latex only came in blended latex. I had no problems after airing out the latex core for a few days after I zipped it up in my mattress cover. I did have problems with a latex pillow I bought online that was 100% synthetic that bothered my allergies. I think Talalay latex really cleans the latex so well and at least I have no problems. I also sleep on Talalay Latex Pillows with no problems. Good luck in your search for the right bed. You can do a search and read prior posts and reviews to help you make a decision. |
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You can build your own mattress out of materials you can buy piecemeal online, but if it's a latex mattress you are after, you won't save any money and you won't get the luxury of swapping out a layer if you find the mattress too firm or too soft. I am a walking example. I was aware of FloBeds and SleepEZ and others, and I thought they were all charging too much. Now I wonder how they charge as little as they do. For what you are getting, the "kit beds" are a bargain. There is a "Natural Talalay" that is both all natural latex and manufactured with the talalay process. It's confusing, but there is natural latex and latex blend, and then there are two processes, dunlop and talalay. 4 possible combinations of latex content and manufacturing process. One U.S. company, Latex International, manufactures talalay latex, and they offer it in both 100% natural and a 70% synthetic / 30% natural blend. Both are very high quality products. Their "brand name" is Talatech. "Natural Talatech" is the 100% natural latex product. The talalay process uses some chemicals as part of the manufacturing process, but these are almost entirely washed away as the latex is thoroughly washed after being removed from the molds. Be careful buying foam from eBay. I won't get on my soapbox here as there are already two threads on the subject where I have beaten the subject to death, but since you have expressed a specific desire to avoid chemicals, the point must be made that much of what you will find on eBay is going to be "house brand" foam. You won't know who makes it, where it's made, how it's made, or what's in it. This message was modified Oct 17, 2007 by haysdb
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Hays makes some excellent points. Do your research. By reading this forum you get a good sense of which online merchants you can feel confident ordering from. Unfortunately we recently switched to a new forum and all the great info on the old forum seems to be lost in cyber limbo--unless anyone knows how to retrieve it? Basically what you would have discovered is that the two standouts here are SleepEz and Flobeds. SleepEz is going to be cheaper but the advantage to Flobeds is that if you do have to return the mattress you will get a full refund. SleepEz has a 15% restocking fee. Also with Flobeds you get 90 days and unlimited exchanges to try getting the configuration right. Since you have Fibromyalgia I would recommend Flobeds as you do have specialized needs. I see you live in Long Island, so another alternative is to check the phone book under mattresses and also foam. There may be shops in the NY City area that will actually make a latex mattress to order for you. That way you could try before you buy to see what feels the most comfortable. Also foam and upholstry supply shops sometimes sell latex too, if you just want to built your own. Latex is heavy and requires adequate support. Slat foundations from Ikea are actually designed for their foam mattresses and will definately work. Good luck with your search. I hope you find a comfortable solution. |
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OK, now that I have 2 reliable companies to compare and contrast, how do I figure out what firmness I want for each layer, or figure out how many layers I want? I generally sleep on my side. How hard is it to get the core back into the box and ship it back if it's not exactly right? One company may not charge a restocking fee, but what about return shipping costs? I'm just trying to figure out if it's realistic to be able to ship anything back- and if not, why not go with the less expensive company? What's the consensus on Ikea mattresses? Probably not as good as the ones you custom order the cores you want, right? |
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ruthla wrote: OK, now that I have 2 reliable companies to compare and contrast, how do I figure out what firmness I want for each layer, or figure out how many layers I want? I generally sleep on my side. How hard is it to get the core back into the box and ship it back if it's not exactly right? One company may not charge a restocking fee, but what about return shipping costs? I'm just trying to figure out if it's realistic to be able to ship anything back- and if not, why not go with the less expensive company? A good start is the Firmness Advisor at flobeds.com. It asks you a few questions and makes some recommendations. Most people are apparently happy with their configuration on the first try or flobeds would go broke shipping replacement layers. Flobeds has some kind of system for repacking layers. I even remember seeing a PDF document explaining the process. I believe it involves one big bag that you can get the rolled up latex into, which you then shrink with a hose attachment of a vacuum sweeper, then a second bag that prevents it from re-expanding. Shipping costs are reasonable because one flobeds "core" or "layer" weighs only about 20 or 25 lbs and shrinks down into a surprisingly small package. Trying to repack a full 5.6 core (which weighs over 80 lbs) would be a nightmare. It's tempting to believe you can get it right on the first try, and statistically speaking most people probably do. But if you end up buying more foam out of pocket, any savings you hoping to realize can disappear quickly. I know. I bought a latex core for $900. I felt it might not be quite firm enough so I bought a SuperFirm core from FloBeds for $288. I ordered a 2" topper from FoamByMail for $185 which I will be returning. Fortunately they do have a money back return policy. The big thing that caught me though is the mattress cover. I assumed I could pick one up in the depth I needed for $200 or so. In fact a good quality mattress cover starts at $400 and can run up to $600 for one made with all cotton and wool. Yes, you can buy one for $35 from eBay, and I have one of those. It holds the foam together but it's not a cover befitting $1400 of talalay latex. I think the least expensive one I found that I could have maybe lived with cost $350 and it was nothing special. It adds up fast when you use the same quality materials SleepEZ and FloBeds use. By the way, I would name some other companies if I knew any, but in my own research of over 50 companies, it came down to these two being the only complete mattresses I would buy. Call them. Talk to Dewey at FloBeds and Shawn and SleepEZ. These guys own their companies (or their families do). Both companies have been in business a long time as regular Brick and Morter stores and still have storefronts. They answer their own phones. When you call SleepEZ you will sometimes get an answering machine because Shawn is waiting on customers, but he will call you back. They are extremely knowledgeable. They answer straight questions with straight answers. Zero BS. They are very customer service oriented. They offer top quality products - Latex International talalay and cotton covers with wool quilted into the cover. To give a bit of background, Flobeds was one of the first "kit mattresses" on the Internet. SleepEZ came along sometime after. A large number of companies have come and gone since then, IMO because they just don't GET what it takes to do business on the Internet and STAY in business. These companies do. They really GET it. |
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cloud9 wrote: all the great info on the old forum seems to be lost in cyber limbo FAQ Sticky "Old Forum" link |
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I wonder if you might like a: Unilatex core with a softer talalay topper. Let us know what you end up with. |
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MequonJim wrote: I wonder if you might like a: Unilatex core with a softer talalay topper. Latex International Manufacturer FAQs In 1997, Latex International entered into an agreement with Sapsa Bedding to be the exclusive distributor of continuous process (Unilatex™) latex cores in North America. This ensured a comprehensive latex product portfolio. Today, Latex International remains the only Talalay latex foam manufacturer in the Americas. Sapsa’s Unilatex™, made to our specifications and high standards, is the highest quality, most consistent Dunlop process product in the world. The product is a firmer, denser latex and is ideally used as a base core. We recommend 2 to 4” of LI’s Talatech® latex on top of the Sapsa material to optimize comfort, support, and pressure relief. It's interesting that I never really came across this during my own mattress project. Zoned dunlop on the bottom seems like a super idea to me, but who uses it and where can it be purchased? I used Google and AlltheWeb and found...not much. Good luck trying to buy a Unilatex core. This message was modified Oct 17, 2007 by haysdb
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| Maybe you could ask one of the retailers of LI latex if they can order Unilatex. I wish they would go in to more detail about the three choices for Unilatex at Latex International's website. |
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Back to the subject of shipping costs, a Cal King ILD 44 "core" I bought from FloBeds arrived today. This is the biggest and heaviest possible Talatech core. It arrived in a box 26x21x8 and weighing 28 lbs. You can go to UPS.com to estimate how much it would cost to ship a box of this size and weight to 95437. For me to ship this UPS ground from St Louis would cost $29.31 Here are the instructions for shrinking the core to fit into the original bags and box for return to FloBeds. It's a clever and simple solution which requires nothing more high tech than a vacuum cleaner with a hose. If only FoamByMail were as clever, I would have a much easier time of returning a 2" topper. I suspect this is by design - it discourages returns. If I can find a bag big enough to fit the uncompressed topper in, perhaps a 55 gallon trash bag, I can accomplish the same thing, albeit less elegantly. |
| I am one of those people for whom latex does not work. I was willing to pay more ordering from FloBeds in order to get their great return policy and ended up having to return the whole king size kit. Packing it back up is definitely a two person project, frustrating at times but after you get the hang of it, it's doable. My experience is posted on the old forum. Back then, shipping within California was $99. They emailed return shipping labels. You just take it to UPS and FloBeds deducts the return shipping from your refund. |
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haysdb wrote: For me to ship this UPS ground from St Louis would cost $29.31 Frequent shippers get much better rates from UPS & FedEx than infrequent shippers. I don't know what type of deal you have with UPS. |
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MequonJim wrote: Frequent shippers get much better rates from UPS & FedEx than infrequent shippers. I don't know what type of deal you have with UPS. So true. I have no deal with UPS, so this is the "retail" rate. |