Lesson 1: Introduction – Mattresses 101 Welcome to our informational series: How to Shop for a Mattress! The purpose of this series is to take what should be a simple subject, mattresses, and make it clear for shoppers. There is so much information (and misinformation!) out there, and it can be difficult to discern who […]
Author Archives: Matt Davis
The Shopping Process: Lesson 2 The shopping process for a new mattress may seem complicated, but we’re here to simplify it for you. It’s a process about trust, and it’s very difficult to trust someone who might have different motivations than you. It’s important while you’re shopping to communicate what you’ve been sleeping on to […]
Tips Before You Buy Your Next Bed: Part 3 Putting yourself in a position to be successful starts with a simple approach; the more extreme the change you make, the less likely you are to be happy with your choice. Here are some easy tips to start with: You are likely in the market for […]
How Did We Get Here? Lesson 4 The mattress industry is designed around taking relatively low cost materials, and marketing them in such a way as to confuse the consumer. Making them think that it is worthwhile to pay a bunch of money for something that should really be quite affordable. Additionally, they have designed […]
Coils & Innersprings: Lesson 5 So what are mattresses made of? It’s a pretty short list of materials actually. There are only two types of foam used in beds: plastic foam, or rubber foam, about a half dozen really commonly used coil systems, air or water bladders, and batting materials. That’s all there is. Once […]
Air & Waterbeds: Lesson 6 Though waterbeds have faded away to the history books for many, it was and is a wonderful support system. The human body is mostly water, and you are a similar density to a waterbed mattress. This makes for very few pressure points, even contouring support, on a bed that (shy […]
the Foams & Latex: Lesson 7 A key factor is knowing what your bed is made of and how it’ll will wear, while developing a reasonable expectation of how long the bed will be comfortable, and what you need to do to maintain it as long as possible. Foam is a critical component of your […]
Fibers & Batting: Lesson 8 Fibers are in a lot of beds. It used to be that beds were made of whatever was regionally available. It could be horsetail, it could be straw, it could be cotton. It doesn’t matter cause it fell out of fashion. And the reason it fell out of fashion is […]
Benefits of Tufting: Lesson 9 If your mattress has large amounts of batting, it will sag quickly; that is unless it is tufted all the way through, and there are coils inside that are under compression from the tuft and the batting. This style of construction allows for the coils to expand to fill the […]
Flammability Requirements: Lesson 10 Back in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, the requirement for mattresses was a cigarette burn test. The hope being, a chemically treated fabric could prevent the cigarette from igniting the foam inside of a mattress. However, as mattresses became thicker and softer, the fuel load within grew, and the cigarette test […]