Latex mattress covers, additional questions

[wml52]

I am new to this site and very glad I found it, it’s a wealth of great information.
I am in the process of looking for a new mattress and decided to go with a latex mattress both for comfort and durability. However I do have a couple of questions.

With the various mattress covers. Most sites list a thick natural wool that is woven into the top layer of the mattress cover in order to meet fire barrier requirements. There are also many different types of material cotton, bamboo etc. I have read several reviews where people who slept on a latex mattress pre fire barrier days complained that their new latex mattress with the woven wool it did not have the same feel as their old mattress that did not have the wool.

My concern is that the woven wool will lessen the feel of the latex or its ability to contour due to the fact that it may not give or stretch enough. There are a few companies that will sell mattress that do not have the thick wool woven into the cover providing you provide a doctors script. Does anyone have any experience or opinions regarding how the woven wool effects the feel of the latex and what works best ie Cotton, Bamboo etc? I remember my grandfather having an all latex mattress years ago which did not have a woven wool layer (in the days when there were no fire barrier requirements) and remembering how soft and supportive it felt.
Should I bother to purchase a mattress that requires a doctors script and eliminate the woven wool layer does it really affect the feel significantly?

My second questions is while looking for latex mattresses I often see the terms 100% natural latex, 100% latex, Organic latex and blended latex. Now I understand the difference with a blended latex but what is the difference between “organic”, “100% natural latex” and “100% latex”? If latex is 100% natural latex isn’t that the same as Organic latex or 100% latex it all seems a bit confusing.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[Foam_Sweet_Foam]

Hi wml52,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum!

As a company that sells latex with a natural wool cover, we try to use as little wool as possible to allow the customer to feel the benefits of the latex. Our cover contains ½ inch of wool, with a knit organic cotton on top and an All-Natural cotton on the bottom, which makes up the encasement. We consider this to be minimal and allows us to pass government testing. When you are doing your mattress shopping, I would look into the cover details to see which company’s cover sounds like it would suit you best. In regards to the doctors script, hopefully someone else can comment with their experience as this is something that our company is unfamiliar with. We only sell our mattresses with the cover and it helps keep the layers together. When I’ve personally laid on latex by itself with no encasement, it makes it harder to get up and out of the bed since it tends to sink in more, the layers shift around, and you can feel more motion transfer. The ½ inch of wool is soft, stretches, and still allows contour to your body.

In response to people thinking their mattresses with the new covers feel different than what they purchased years ago, I do want to mention that regardless of the type of cover used, I would think a brand new latex mattress is going to absolutely feel different than something that was purchased many years ago. The latex could be of a different manufacturer, different density, not broken in, on a different kind of base, etc.

When differentiating between Organic Latex vs 100% Natural Latex, for latex to be certified organic, it needs to be grown, processed, and manufactured on a certified organic plantation and facility. 100% Natural latex is safe, completely natural, and has no added in chemicals or sprays – the only difference is the stringent requirements of the growing and manufacturing process when it comes to latex having an organic cert. Organic Latex and 100% Natural latex are both durable and high quality, it just depends if the customer wants to go one step further of having a product with an organic certification. Be aware, however, currently in the market there is no Organic Talalay. This type of latex can only be 100% Natural. Also, if you want to go the completely organic mattress route, be sure to view a company’s organic certifications for their wool, cotton, thread, etc. Some company’s advertise an “Organic Latex Mattress” but not all of the components, like what comprises the cover, are organic.

Lastly, if something is listed as “100% Latex” I would think this could indicate that it is a blend. I would ask the company directly to be sure.

Hope that helps! Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Foam Sweet Foam Support Team

[wml52]

Thank you for the quick response it was extremely helpful and very much appreciated.