I have to buy a mattress


 
Lynn Dollar

Lynn Dollar

TVWBB Emerald Member
And its more complicated than I thought. Memory foam ? Hybrid Memory foam ? Innerspring ? Do I need box spring ? Do I need a new frame ? I've Googled it. I've joined Consumer Reports for one month to look at their ratings. I'm seeing brand names I've never seen before. I see the option to buy on line ? I see " mattress in a box " ?

Don't know where to start . Seems the more info I gather, the more confused I become .
 
Firm is more expensive to manufacture - higher density foam, more springs, etc. You didn't even mention the depth of the mattress and/or box spring as a variable. I think some of the confusion is a deliberate attempt by the different manufacturers to baffle you into buying theirs.

The range of prices between IKEA grade and highest end is pretty huge, too.
 
I bought a memory foam a few years ago, it was cheap, I needed it and I love it. Sadly the price has gone up 2x since then.

It was a "mattress in a box" showed up in a box like 2x2x4 feet for a Cal King. Opened it, cut the bands and put it in a spare room for a couple of days as the reviews said it had a chemical smell for a day or so.

I'm happy with it, but yeah there are a zillion mattresses out there, and just because one person likes one, doesn't mean its the right one for another.

good luck,
 
If you want memory foam pointers, lmk. I know nothing of the other types you’ve listed as we switched to memory foam 11 years ago now, bought on Amazon, and just replaced that 10 year old one with a new one.

I will add that we bought a 4” low profile box spring for our current 14” memory foam mattress and it’s been a massive improvement versus no box spring.

Both box spring and mattress were from Amazon and were very happy with both.
 
My wife has serious spinal problems due to childhood polio. She has 5 fused lumbar discs and 2 more recently fused in her neck, so it's always been hard to find a sleeping solution for her, even more so with age. We ended up with a Sleep by Number bed about 20 years ago.
 
I bought this one in 2019 for the Master Bedroom kept the box spring its not gone up that much since I bought it. I took the old mattress bought one of those slat metal frames stuck it in a guest bedroom which I have gotten many compliments how comfortable it was even though its probably 15 years old but it was a firm mattress not so much anymore.

I really like the one I posted I would say its medium hate them to soft its just about right. I would also add a few friends looking for one let them lay down on the bed to see if they liked it and both ended up buying the same product.

 
The big problem we've had with memory foam is it's too hot even in the winter. Admittedly I didn't go for the top of the line but it wasn't the cheapest either.
Looking at all the products available to combat this tells me it's a fairly common complaint.
 
I have worked for sleep country before and bought a few mattresses.
There are a lot of variables, my first thing to say is you get what you pay for.
Our last one was close to 2000 but and I don’t regret spending a cent of that.
 
We also have an Endy $800 mattress in the spare room.
I would choose traditional over that any day of the week.
Lots of springs....foam around the edges and we picked level 3 out of 4 on the pillow top.
Best mattress I have ever slept on.
 
Phil S said:
The big problem we've had with memory foam is it's too hot even in the winter. Admittedly I didn't go for the top of the line but it wasn't the cheapest either.
Looking at all the products available to combat this tells me it's a fairly common complaint.
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Phil, I have heard that complaint before I bought mine and I can tell you the one I posted is not too hot in the summer and certainly not the winter for what its worth. Really IMO no difference from the $900 mattress I ended up sticking in the guest room.
 
Good luck. The mattress business is a snake oil industry. I’m not kidding when I say that the last time we were mattress shopping, they were advertising diamond dust encrusted memory foam layers, which ‘help with heat dispersion’. I s#it you not. There is also no apples to apples comparison because within the same brand, each different retailer has a different line name. Also, many retailers threaten you that if you don’t buy their overpriced mattress cover, they will not honor their own warranty. What a scam this is….. As for Consumer Reports? I have been a subscriber for decades, but have found that they value products made by socially conscious companies rather than quality Products. Just my two cents, and sorry, but you hit nerve with me regarding this topic.
 
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Jason Godard said:
And this is a snake oil industry. I’m not kidding when I say that the last time we were mattress shopping, they were advertising ‘Diamond encrusted memory foam layers, which ‘help with heat dispersion’. I s#it you not. There is also no apples to apples comparison because within the same brand each different retailer has a different named line. Sorry for the nightmare of mattress shopping. Consumer reports? I have found that they value products made by socially conscious companies rather than quality. Just my two cents, Im a cynic.
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We refer to them as Socialist Reports. Before the internet they held some value. Today you have more data readily available to make smart decisions.
 
Jason I agree the mattress business is snake oil I am perfectly happy as well as my wife with the one I bought from Amazon. There is no way I was going to spend a grand for a mattress already did that before but it did have a box spring which is still in use. I used to subscribe to consumer reports have not done so in years as Brett said there are plenty of other data on the internet to make informed decisions.
 
Brian B Atlanta said:
Jason I agree the mattress business is snake oil I am perfectly happy as well as my wife with the one I bought from Amazon. There is no way I was going to spend a grand for a mattress already did that before but it did have a box spring which is still in use. I used to subscribe to consumer reports have not done so in years as Brett said there are plenty of other data on the internet to make informed decisions.
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’A’ grand? Those salespeople were directing us towards 4 and 5k setups, telling us that, ‘sure you could go cheaper, but you’ll be back in no time to buy another because they wear out so fast‘. And, ‘ If you don’t buy our box spring, you void the warranty.’

Honestly, I think we would have been better of getting the Costco special for 4-5 hundred, and if we didn’t like it, just donate it and try again. It would still be cheaper. Also, Costco’s generous return policy includes mattresses. I would avoid the mattress dealers at all costs.
 
I think we have 3 memory foam, mail order matresses in our house. Tuft and Needle brand I think. We like them quite a bit. I could see upgrading to a sleep number with the angle/incline feature someday, but probably not until we move out of our "family sized" house and into our empty nester house.
 
Lynn Dollar said:
And its more complicated than I thought. Memory foam ? Hybrid Memory foam ? Innerspring ? Do I need box spring ? Do I need a new frame ? I've Googled it. I've joined Consumer Reports for one month to look at their ratings. I'm seeing brand names I've never seen before. I see the option to buy on line ? I see " mattress in a box " ?

Don't know where to start . Seems the more info I gather, the more confused I become .
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Forgot to mention that when I was researching mattresses, I read that box springs are the root cause of a lot of mattress problems. It really clicked with me because my son's bunk bed is designed for matress only use (no space for a box spring) and I always thought his bunk was the best bed in our house. So we went to similar bed designs that don't require box springs, and we've been very happy. There are some really inexpensive frames out there. I also like that the top of our bed isn't way up in the air. I'm only about 5' 8" and I like having my bed at regular height, sorta like a couch.

 
John K BBQ said:
I think we have 3 memory foam, mail order matresses in our house. Tuft and Needle brand I think. We like them quite a bit. I could see upgrading to a sleep number with the angle/incline feature someday, but probably not until we move out of our "family sized" house and into our empty nester house.
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I get the family sized house into the empty nester but with my first grandchild here never going to happen we have a pool and what I paid for this house in 1996 if you look at new construction downsizing might cost more than I paid for this house which of course it would. I could sell it for a big number but not really gonna gain that much I can't give up my walk out basement where my media room is got a projector shooting a 110" screen.

My brother in law builds houses building a ranch for himself downsizing but no basement he said the cost of the basement has gone out of site to the point he won't even do one.
 
Brian - I really like my "family house" and would stay in it long term, but it's a 1926 dutch colonial, takes a fair amount of maintenance and is sitting on an uneven lot/hillside which makes mowing hard on the knees and ankles (I'm actually going to hire out the mowing in 2022 because my knee was bothering me after mowing). Also, we have a garage basement and some 1926 edition "non-code" stairs that we are up and down quite a bit. As we age, I don't really want to deal with that hazard either.

There are some pretty nice 1960s edition brick ranch homes in my zip code, on flatter lots, that would really suit me just fine. 3 BR, 2 bath, BIG Kitchen & BIG *SS paito in the back for about a half dozen or so grills/cookers.... that's what I need! ;)
 
John K BBQ said:
Brian - I really like my "family house" and would stay in it long term, but it's a 1926 dutch colonial, takes a fair amount of maintenance and is sitting on an uneven lot/hillside which makes mowing hard on the knees and ankles (I'm actually going to hire out the mowing in 2022 because my knee was bothering me after mowing). Also, we have a garage basement and some 1926 edition "non-code" stairs that we are up and down quite a bit. As we age, I don't really want to deal with that hazard either.

There are some pretty nice 1960s edition brick ranch homes in my zip code, on flatter lots, that would really suit me just fine. 3 BR, 2 bath, BIG Kitchen & BIG *SS paito in the back for about a half dozen or so grills/cookers.... that's what I need! ;)
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I totally understand, I moved from Boston to Atlanta in 1996 wife got a transfer wanted to head to FL but this was close enough so I bought my house new in 96. I would never have anywhere near the size of the house in the Boston area that I have hear for 1/3 the money. My mom's house was probably built around the same time as yours when my dad passed we sold that and she moved into my sisters house the stairs down to the basement where the washer dryer resided was a hazard my dad fell twice did not tell us for a long time it was out of the question for my mom at 88 to stay there. Good luck and hope you find something that suits your needs better, I am retired 68 gave up mowing the front lawn 5 years ago when I was still working I still mow the back but its not much with the pool.
 
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