12 year latex veteran with a question
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Hello All. Let me first say that this is a wonderful site and I'm really impressed with not only the wonderful information being shared here but also the civility in which it is being communicated. <BR>I bought my first (and only) latex mattress 12 1/2 years ago and it is still the mattress that I use to this day. When I bought it at Mattress Giant back in 1997, latex mattresses were just starting<BR>to come onto the market. It was the only latex model that they had and when I laid down on it, I knew that I needed to purchase it. It is a 6 inch natural latex mattress made by Associated Sleep Industries.<BR><BR>I've been so pleased with this mattress for so long, that I've been out of the loop of what's out there, as far as latex mattresses go. Coming to this site has been quite an eye opener as far as all the options that now<BR>exist, it's quite dizzying. The reason for my post is that my current mattress is starting to get a bit of a dip in its center and I think it may be time for a new latex mattress. Ideally, I'd like to get the same mattress<BR>that I have but it's no longer available. I don't know what firmness my mattress is or if it is dunlop or talalay. About all I know is that it is very heavy and there are no other materials interwoven (i.e. cotton, wool,<BR>synthetic latex, PU foam, memory foam) into the mattress. It's just a 6 inch slab of natural latex with a mattress cover sewn around it. <BR><BR>I've read quite a few posts on this forum about folks building their own latex mattresses with different layers of latex of varying firmness. I'd like to keep my next purchase simple and just replace what I already<BR>have with it's present day equivalent. For those in the know, would the Foam By Mail 6 inch latex mattress fit the bill? Is their mattress 100 % natural latex with nothing added? I'm open to any comments or <BR>suggestions about FBM or any other manufacturers. Thank you so much for your help.<BR><BR>Jay This message was modified Sep 16, 2009 by enlighten
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Re: 12 year latex veteran with a question
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jimsocal wrote: <BR><BR>I just re-read your 1st post and I am confused: Can't you just turn it over and use the other side, as is? If you've been using one side the whole time, the other side probably does not have a dip and would be just fine.<BR><BR>What would prevent you from doing that?<BR><BR>If you can't do that for some reason, or if both sides have a dip then the thing you'd need to do would be to haul the whole thing into a foam store where they cut their own foam and have them take it out of the cover and cut off the top 1" or so, to get rid of the dip. I wish you were here in L.A.. I know a couple places that I THINK could do that for you for probably under $50. Then you'd just put the cover back on, or buy a new cover for it (many places sell covers for foam cores).<BR><BR>The thing is, if I had the perfect ILD and type of latex and only needed to fix the dip, I'd try to do that instead of buying a new one. Not JUST for the money, but for the comfort. See if you can find a foam cutting place - foam store or foam distributor for the furniture industry. Then call them and explain that you just want to cut off about an inch of latex off the top, completely level to sleep on.<BR><BR>Otherwise, again, just cut into it as best you can ; I'd say start at the bottom corner with an exacto knife or sharp scissors and pull back a piece of the cloth and see what's going on in there, then proceed. If it's just a cover, it should come off real easily. It might just be "stuck" to the latex from years of use. Pull it off, and you can buy a new one if need be, for $100 or less, or just use a fitted sheet over it and leave the bottom uncovered, no big deal since it's old anyway. You MAY indeed NEED a new piece of latex, but I'd try a) turning it over and b) cutting off an inch or so off the top, first, before investing $500-1000 on a new one.<BR><BR>Then, if need be you can cut a 6" square off and send it to someone like foambymail to tell you what type and ILD it is.<br type="_moz"/> Hi Jim. I've actually been treating my latex mattress like a regular spring coil mattress since I bought it, I've been flipping and rotating it every six months. I love you advice about replacing the compromised latex in my mattress, I had no idea that you could do that. There is a foam store here in Boston that I know of but I'm not sure how good they are. I've called a few times inquiring about having them build me a mattress. I've spoken to an older woman who runs the place and she didn't seem too friendly. Thank you again for all the sage advice. |