|
I'm up to my ears in research and found this site. I keep seeing reference that is almost a warning to the 'S' brands = I know this means the big name brands and I have studied them and all others to a faretheewell. We had a Simmons BeautyRest for many years, it is on it's second life at our son's house and he still loves it. From the BeautyRest we went to a memory foam based on medical advice, even though it stunk like mad for a few weeks we slept pain free and it was great for two and half years before something happened and it started being really hot and making me sick. We pulled a Serta from the guest room and are making do, we had immediate relief from whatever the memory foam was doing to us, it was astounding, but the springs are beating me up nightly despite a topper and I can't stand the motion transfer. We had a Sealy Posturpedic for a daybed, not the best choice. I've considered latex, but have MCS and am really wary of the smell. I sleep on wool pillows and wool fleece topper, but know that a wool mattress is going to be too firm for me. I get dizzy with all the information and don't see any way I can not try out a new mattress. I'm fortunate to have many locations nearby to find organic mattresses and all those big brands - but it's exhausting and I'm shortening my shopping list. (The tips are fabulous here). Bottom line of this post is basically, "what is so terrible about the 'S' brands?" Aside from mass production and corporate retailers.... I have found a local company who will make a latex bed and if we don't like it they will change the core - but if that's not good it's too bad. They will make me an innerspring with a good layer or natural material, but not coil springs which means motion transfer. I found another where I tried various combinations of latex or wool mattresses with toppers, this is why I think the wool may be too firm. The majority of natural mattress companies do not have guarantees for satisfaction and at 2 to 3 thousand dollars that's a bit scairy. My research shows that Stearns & Foster as well as Simmons make a line that sort of crosses over the natural and the coils thinking and they have total satisfaction guarantee. I'm a curvy gal at 5'2" 130lbs and have many health issues (arthritis and fibromyalgia for starters) - hubby is six foot 155 and not nearly as picky as I am, but this old Serta is messing up his back also. Help!?! |
|
SallySmiles wrote: Interesting information, thank you all. Success or successful advertising - whatever, they are still around for a reason. I understand profit is the nature of business and I don't even blame them for inventing the no-turn mattresses. I haven't the energy or strength to turn a mattress regularly so I bougt into that. My personal take is that in order to get a mattress without all the chemicals and cheap filler I have to go to the top tier of Stearns and Foster. The chemicals have darn near killed me as it is. Why would I do that? Well I for one would really like to try the bed before purchasing, although in all honesty the odds are 50/50 even then. I'd prefer to not have to drive around for days on end to find a mattress, but I live outside a major metro area and I have health issues - by the time I've gone so far then I'm too darn tired to do the hours of up and down. What I have nearby is easy access to the S brands, Costco, and some brands you could not pay me to sleep on because they are toxic. I'd rather buy from the little guy who sells top notch handmade mattresses made out of things that are natural and not chemical based. I'd rather have my bed delivered and set up. I'd rather have my old bed hauled off (no charity does pick up where I live), but that I can work around. Now here I am considering building my own mattress... Internet is a wonderful thing, but why wouldn't I be terrified of spending thousands of dollars on something I can't feel? If I drive for an hour and a half we can get to a store that carries OMI, Englander, and so on - they don't carry anything that can't be flipped or gotten into for adjustment and I like that. They are going to want body parts for payment and I will happily leave them whichever aching joint or burning muscle they would like in exchange for a good nights' sleep. I don't care who makes it - I don't care if it has a twenty five year warranty - I don't care if it has a pretty cover - and I truly don't care if it's six, seven, or fifteen inches thick. I will however care very much if I wke up one night and have a migraine from rubber fumes, the samples have a slight odor that I don't find unpleasant at all - and I'm not aiming for Dunlop so the smell of Talalay is less noticeable. I'm not looking forward to having to spend hours in a store filled with chemically treated beds in order to find my natural one, have aspirin will travel. I do not want vinyl coated springs, I don't want poly fill or poly foam. We turned this mattress/hammock we have and that reduced the rocks that were translating - but a hammock is a hammock and not reccomended for any time longer than it takes to drink a mai tai. Unfortunately it's not wise to start and end every single day of your life with a mai tai in hand. Thank you all The other thing is the good ole days of non toxic mattress sets is gone. Almost all mattresses including the healthy all natural mattress use toxic chemicals for fire retardantcy laws. Becuase it isnt cost effective to use non toxic solutions. All mattresses have to meet the new fire retardant laws and regulations and currrently the only cost effective way to do that is with toxic chemicals. Now the regualtion board say that only a small amount of the toxic checmicals can be absorb through the skin and inhaled and it isnt enough to be harmful, but it also states that some of the chemicals long term affects are unknown. The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has concluded the level of exposure safe, whereas the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) disagrees. According to the EPA, the percentage of Antimony present in most FRs is 27.5 times higher than the recommended percentage. http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/0006.htm Here is a complete list of chemicals used for Fire retardancy: http://www.peopleforcleanbeds.org/material_safety_data_sheets.htm I actually didnt know all of these chemicals were being used, but the manufature doesnt have to label the chemicals they use even if they are hazardous. They do have to tell, which ones they use, but you must ask for it. The only one I know off the top of my head is Serta uses Boric Acid. This is actually why most people get sick with a new mattress. It isnt the foams inside it is the quilting. |
|
DaveStro wrote: The other thing is the good ole days of non toxic mattress sets is gone. Almost all mattresses including the healthy all natural mattress use toxic chemicals for fire retardantcy laws. Becuase it isnt cost effective to use non toxic solutions. All mattresses have to meet the new fire retardant laws and regulations and currrently the only cost effective way to do that is with toxic chemicals. Now the regualtion board say that only a small amount of the toxic checmicals can be absorb through the skin and inhaled and it isnt enough to be harmful, but it also states that some of the chemicals long term affects are unknown. The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has concluded the level of exposure safe, whereas the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) disagrees. According to the EPA, the percentage of Antimony present in most FRs is 27.5 times higher than the recommended percentage. http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/0006.htm Here is a complete list of chemicals used for Fire retardancy: http://www.peopleforcleanbeds.org/material_safety_data_sheets.htm I actually didnt know all of these chemicals were being used, but the manufature doesnt have to label the chemicals they use even if they are hazardous. They do have to tell, which ones they use, but you must ask for it. The only one I know off the top of my head is Serta uses Boric Acid. This is actually why most people get sick with a new mattress. It isnt the foams inside it is the quilting. I'm glad you said almost. Read here: http://www.flobeds.com/burntest.htm and here: http://www.flobeds.com/PleinAirWool.htm "FloBeds was the first mattress company to use wool (and no chemicals) to pass the new Federal Fire Resistance standards. We have wool on all six sides of the mattress." |
|
megalops wrote: I'm glad you said almost. Read here: http://www.flobeds.com/burntest.htm and here: http://www.flobeds.com/PleinAirWool.htm "FloBeds was the first mattress company to use wool (and no chemicals) to pass the new Federal Fire Resistance standards. We have wool on all six sides of the mattress." Megalops, Yes I said almost, becuase I know someone has done it with out chemicals, but I also know they only ones done without checmical treatments were priced well over $5k for queen sets. If they are using wool then it is chemically treated and most likely with boric acid.. One of the few materials used in mattress that met the new fedearl regulations test was kevlar and it is very expensive. Many mattresses who claim to be "Organic" say they use wool as the flame barrier. While wool would pass the old cigarette test for mattresses, it will not pass the new open flame test. These mattresses either use chemically treaded wool, another chemical system, or rely on chemically treated cotton batting (Boric Acid and Antimony) to pass the open flame test. http://www.strobel.com/wool_burns.htm |
|
Well, either flobeds figured out a way to do so for under $5K, or they're flat out lying to us. They do post these: http://www.flobeds.com/Oeko-Tex.htm for their wool and LI's Latex, so if Strobel is correct, they must be adding something to their organic cotton. I do have a sample of their cover, and I do work at a place with a metals lab. I can ask the lab manager if he can test it for me. I have no idea if they can or not, but I'll definitely ask. This message was modified Jan 19, 2012 by megalops
|
|
Dave, thanks for the civil reply. I thought my original reply was perhaps a bit too harsh but I really do dislike the S brands - I have seen so much pure deception going on with them, I could write a short book about it. I feel your idea that it is because of their success that they are disliked is off the mark but you are entitled to your opinion, of course! And 99% of the time I am very courteous here, but I got a little hot under the collar re your "because of their success" comment, as if there are not thousands of other reasons why people don't like them and why this forum in particular has an anti-S Co bias, or at least used to when I was around here a lot... That said, I would probably buy an S brand such as Simmons or S&F just for their springs, then add my own foams on top. ;-D So let's agree to disagree on your statement that the S Co's are disliked "because of their success" - and no doubt others. But I appreciate your not being offended by my response and I will try not to be too antagonistic. It's good to have someone from the mattress industry here, though you have to have a thick skin because we've seen others come and go and some other posters here will no doubt be even less diplomatic than I was. Many here have been ripped off or feel ripped off by the S Co's and have been through one S Co bed after another to try to find a well made one. So you have to understand that's where many of us are coming from. When I first cut open my Sealy years ago I was appalled at the inches and inches of cheap crappy pu foam in it. Since then I have seen many others cut open with the same results: full of cheap crappy foam that too-soon causes back aches in many people. I understand that in today's world of expensive advertising and rent and salaries and etc that S Co's have to make reasonably priced mattresses and that to keep the price point down they have to put cheap materials in it. But I can't help but feel they are still over-charging for those mattresses and that the mattresses - at any price - are not worth taking home in many cases. I personally tried about 5 middle-priced S Co mattresses before resorting to building my own from foams from a local foam warehouse and from latex from the internet. My advice for anyone who does want an S Co mattress - aside from buying the "firmer" models - is to buy the higher end models, never the cheap ones. (Unless you're just buying it for the springs and plan to do mattress surgery! ;-D In some cases you can get the same springs in lower priced models.) Anyway, again I apologize if I was harsh in my response to your "because of their success" comment. ;-D It's fun to "mix it up" a bit as long as no one resorts to name calling etc.! As to the pillow tops, maybe the main difference is indeed in the quilting, but also you are usually getting MORE foam with the pillow top and since the foam you're getting is mostly cheap PU foam, that is the problem - it will break down quicker and 6" of cheap foam on top of your mattress is worse than 2" of it. Pillow tops, no matter how good they may feel when you first lay on them, will indeed break down and render your mattress useless. That's why I and others here have been recommending for years that people not get pillow tops and put their own latex (and/or good quality visco) on top instead. Sounds like you still work as a mattress salesman, no? Do you mind saying who you work for, that is, which company or store? I'm not sure what the Forum rule is on full disclosure. I think all that is required is to say you work in the industry, you don't have to be specific. Budgy also works in the industry and I know many of us are quite appreciative of the posts he contributes here! - Jim DaveStro wrote:
Absolutely! Bonnell coil is the most widely used coil system in the industry and not just by the S Brands, but just about every manufacture. The bonnell coil isnt really looked down upon, it is just a less expensive design and works great for inexpensive mattresses. For an adult it really wouldnt hold up and provide good back support for very long, but in guest rooms or anyone under 100lbs it will work just fine. You may not like pillow tops personally, but in all actuallity there is no difference in the foam in a pillow top versus the foam in a non-pillow top. If you buy the less expensive models the pillow top and none pillow top will have the cheap foams in them, when you get to the upper end they both use the same higher density foams. You would be very hard pressed to find any mattress from the S-Companies or the majority of any other manufacture that have any latex, besides synthetic latex. And they use any where from 5/8" to 3" in pillow tops and non pillow tops. The only difference between the pillow top and non pillow top is the way the quilting is attatched to the mattress and has nothing to do with the material inside. The material inside is based on the level of mattresses. Your idea of buying a little firmer mattress and adding toppers is a great idea and I recommend that solution quite frequently. It is also true Latex will outlast any Poly Foams including Visco/Memory Foams. (Personally I dont liek the memory foam feel either, but many people do and that is a personal prefrence with comfort) Yes I have been in the mattress industry for about 15yrs now. Started out in 1yr in transportation then 4ys manufaturing and have been in sales 10yrs all in the mattress industry. I have experaince with many manufatures anywhere from Small local manufatures all the way up to the S-Brands. I am not really for against the S-Brands over others. There are many commpanies that make beds that are just as well built and will last just as long. Englander is another great manufacture that build beds that will compete with any S-Brand made and are typically more cost effective for the same quality level. I say typically, because I have seen compaines take a lower end Englander and jack the price up and compare it to high end Sealy. When they could have still beat the price of a sealy using a more comparable Englander. ::Chuckles:: I agree there is a tremendous amount of marketing and misleading information in this industry, but it isnt just the S-Brands. The manufactures make different color covers and different model names for each store in a specific region and this increases sales for that manufacture. This is so more stores from one area will buy from the same mattress manufacture and can advertise exclusive products and guarantee the best price on identical products. The company I work for does post the specs of each mattress in detial at the foot of each bed and I will provide a copy for my customers so that they can make sure they are comparing apples to apples. Its not just the manufactures that are misleading thier customers it is the retailers that push out most of the misleading information and not so much the manufacture. The manufacture does its share, but the retailers are the biggest pushers of misleading information. I still say it is becuase of their success that the S-Brands catch all the flack and it is becuase they are more widely known, becuase most every manufacture twist their advertising words to make their product sound so much better and the retailers carrying their products put their own spin on it as well. It isnt just the S-Brands it is an idustry wide issue. Some of the biggest marketing gemics out there (I know these are being pushed by the S-Brands too) Cooler Memory Foam, Gel blended memory foam, Coconut oil, Bamboo fabric, and there are many more Latex - Many compaines are using 1" or less latex and calling it a latex mattress and most likey it is synthetic latex and has no natural latex in the mattress yet they are calling it a latex mattress. Slow recovery Latex foam (Used in Serta) Contians 0% Latex. Titanium Coils in Sealy - truth Titanium Steel Alloy contains roughly .0001% Titanium I tell all of my customers the truth about whats in each mattress so they are not mislead. I do show each one the specs and contents of each mattress and explain the differences. I do explain the differences and show the samples of each coil system. I even show explain marketing gimmicks and used for each component in the mattress. I truly try to educate all of my customers. I left one company after working there a short time, becuase they didnt like the fact I went into so much detail about the products. I was told that was a very bad idea. Jim I think you response is well written and I dont take it as offensive. I look at it as we are having an educated discussion and I will try to explain my point of view. The same as you are explaining your point of view. Please dont be offended by any of my response's. They are not meant that way. I am not a great writer, but I do my best to explain the things I know and I will also let you know when things are just my opinion as well. Thank you, Dave |
|
megalops wrote:
Well, either flobeds figured out a way to do so for under $5K, or they're flat out lying to us. They do post these: http://www.flobeds.com/Oeko-Tex.htm for their wool and LI's Latex, so if Strobel is correct, they must be adding something to their organic cotton. I do have a sample of their cover, and I do work at a place with a metals lab. I can ask the lab manager if he can test it for me. I have no idea if they can or not, but I'll definitely ask. "Now, about that link, note that the photos show a single strand of wool burning. A single strand with a lot of air around it. Fire requires air to burn. I learned that building fires in my wood stove. A single match burns fine, but pile up pieces of wood with no air between them and they won't burn. So I'm not surprised that a single strand of wool yarn would burn like a candle wick. But in a mattress it is a layer of wool--complete different conditions." And this one: http://www.surroundewe.com/WoolvsOther.asp#faq22 Though natural, untreated wool is scratchier than synthetic fabrics, wool is less susceptible to burning. The US Military, through extensive studies, use wool for uniforms and protective gear due to its natural resistant to fire. "Wool burns with a self-extinguishing flame and produces a soft ash that dissipates and will not lodge in open wounds," says Jeanette M. Cardamone, a chemist at the ARS Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania. “Synthetic materials, on the other hand, form hot, molten beads that can drip into a wound and cause trauma.” (ERRC) I'm not saying Strobel is incorrect, but I really have a hard time believing that they are correct, and that every mattress company who claims wool with no chemicals as their fire barrier is lying. Especially since a simple lab test could put each and every one of the businesses under, and expose them to massive lawsuits. This message was modified Jan 20, 2012 by megalops
|
|
Without taking up space with too much copying - I'm thrilled to have this much information and get this going megalops, I agree with you and having been researching this for months I totally agree. I still like the FloBeds, but when I go testing mattresses I can take my list and hopefully get some idea of price comparison for what is inside. A few on my short list are similar.
This is why I am looking at latex mattresses - - NOT the S brands and this is why I was surprosed when i discovered that S&F had a latex that has cashmere in the cover etc/ I'm apparently more tired than I thought. Yes I am aware that S&F is owned by Sealy - hard not too if searching on the web, but at least they give you a content list. I have nothing against them all - have been happy with Simmons for many years, but the times are changing and I would like to sleep. I refuse polyfoam, period and have been appalled that manufacturers are allowed to say a latex bed even if ionly an inch. That's what's wrong with the S brands. I am looking at several manufactureres who do not use boric acid and the wool is the flame barrier. Horray! OMI, Englander, Natura, Southhard just to name a few. Some do use boric acid, frankly I would prefer that to the unknown whatever it is and a fabric doused in formaldehyde. So I am going natural - one way or another. If the weather works out we are going to test Englander, Natura, and OMI this weekend (yes OMI is short for 'Oh my - it's expensive') and I've tried Southard which uses wool. I do know the difference between latex and plyfoam. The difference between organic cotton and just cotton, the difference between organic wool and just wool - - I won't have synthetic latex either. I've got a discussion going with the retailer and covered exchange, returns, delivery - so far so good - they carry good products. My biggest concern at this point is whether I can stand the latex smell, there is a big difference in a small sample vs a bed. |
|
megalops wrote: Here's a couple more links on wool: http://greenlivingqa.com/content/flame-retardants-mattesses-whi .........And this one: http://www.surroundewe.com/WoolvsOther.asp#faq22 Thanks for those links. I've spent the past couple of evenings reading a bunch of stuff about the fire retardants in mattresses but hadn't read either of those pages. I did find a different site that countered some of Strobel's claims but lost track of it. There is a whole lotta stuff out there on the 'Net, and I'm finding it difficult to find independent science -- that I can understand without a degree in chemistry -- and separate that out from various marketing claims and from the perhaps overly alarmist sites that equate the word "chemical" with "toxin." I think I am more confused now than I was before. I'm now wondering, for instance:
Meanwhile, I do all this research while sitting at my 20-year-old desk, made of particle board covered with some sort of laminate, wondering how much formeldahyde I've breathed in over the years....
* Short video of small piece of natural latex igniting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbqm_5E6auM This message was modified Jan 20, 2012 by Catherine
|
|
Jim You suggest that we buy a simmons non pillow top mattress and then add latex toppers . It seems to me that if the underlying structure of the mattresses is collapsable because it is composed of polyeurethane , then won't the mattress soon sag even with the latex toppers ? You can put lipstick on a pig.... |
|
SallySmiles wrote: Without taking up space with too much copying - I'm thrilled to have this much information and get this going
megalops, I agree with you and having been researching this for months I totally agree. I still like the FloBeds, but when I go testing mattresses I can take my list and hopefully get some idea of price comparison for what is inside. A few on my short list are similar.
This is why I am looking at latex mattresses - - NOT the S brands and this is why I was surprosed when i discovered that S&F had a latex that has cashmere in the cover etc/ I'm apparently more tired than I thought. Yes I am aware that S&F is owned by Sealy - hard not too if searching on the web, but at least they give you a content list. I have nothing against them all - have been happy with Simmons for many years, but the times are changing and I would like to sleep. I refuse polyfoam, period and have been appalled that manufacturers are allowed to say a latex bed even if ionly an inch. That's what's wrong with the S brands. I am looking at several manufactureres who do not use boric acid and the wool is the flame barrier. Horray! OMI, Englander, Natura, Southhard just to name a few. Some do use boric acid, frankly I would prefer that to the unknown whatever it is and a fabric doused in formaldehyde. So I am going natural - one way or another. If the weather works out we are going to test Englander, Natura, and OMI this weekend (yes OMI is short for 'Oh my - it's expensive') and I've tried Southard which uses wool. I do know the difference between latex and plyfoam. The difference between organic cotton and just cotton, the difference between organic wool and just wool - - I won't have synthetic latex either. I've got a discussion going with the retailer and covered exchange, returns, delivery - so far so good - they carry good products. My biggest concern at this point is whether I can stand the latex smell, there is a big difference in a small sample vs a bed. I agree natural is the best way to go. Not all will use boric acid, but they will use one of the other toxic chemicals and there is no way around it currently. Formaldehyde is also used in poly foams as well. Englander is a great brand as well and get their latex from Sri Lanka. Again it will be either a blended latex or Latex of top of a poly core, but they have been around for a very long time and have a very good reputation. I would have to say Englander is the better of the ones mentioned above from my experiance. Southards is also a blended synthetic latex. I couldnt believe on their innspring mattress prices usign an intro level 460 coil offset innerspring unit on queen sets from $2200 too $4400. I would say they are at the bottom of the list with the ones mentioned above. 100% natural latex really doesnt have much of any smell. The smell will come from the blended latex or the synthetic. |