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How to Buy A Mattress

Buying a mattress should be a very enjoyable experience, you are after all buying something that involves sleeping. Lately though, your sleeping sucks, and unfortunately buying a mattress kinda sucks too.

We’ve learned more than the experts on shopping and buying a mattress and will demonstrate what is what in the world of mattresses. By understanding what it is you need, you’ll have a better understanding about this important purchase and more importantly how to get a great sleep for a great price. (and if you still can’t sleep, it won’t be because of what you are sleeping on!)

There are some questions to ask yourself before you even start shopping for a mattress.

How long do you expect to have a mattress for?
Are you a back sleeper, a side sleeper or a stomach sleeper?
Are you fat or skinny?
How much do you want to spend?
Do you care about the person you are sleeping with? (No, not if you love them, but does their moving bug you, let’s just assume that you love them.)
Do you sleep alone? (I was just curious).
Do you always sleep in the middle / same spot?
Do you have space for this? Do you really need a box spring? Do you really need a frame?
What the heck is Latex, Natural Latex, Memory Foam and why is all that SO confusing?
Why does your mattress sink?
Why does your mattress stink?

If you have not asked yourself any of the above questions, then ask them, answer them and continue reading.

Straight up, here are the answers to the above questions and why they are important.

1. A good mattress should last you 10 years easy, so expect to buy a mattress that will last you this long.

2. Depending upon how you sleep will tell you what type of mattress you should be looking for.

3. If you are overweight you will probably want a different bed than someone that is thin.

4. You should expect to spend between 1000-1300 for a top end highest quality mattress.

5. Any good mattress will limit the movement of the bed from your partner.

6. If you do sleep in the same spot each night you should also get in the habit of rotating your mattress weekly.

7. If you do buy a box spring, you are permitted to request a split box. (A two-piece box spring for stronger support and easy to fit into smaller apartments).

8. Depending upon what type of bed you have, you might not even need a frame or a box spring.

9. If your mattress sinks you are probably sleeping on a spring mattress, or, you’ve slept on a foam or latex bed in the same spot continually without rotating it. If its spring, replace it, if its latex, give it a break!

10. If your mattress smells, don’t bother cleaning it, THROW IT AWAY. Time to buy a new mattress.

The Low Down

When I first went shopping for a mattress, I did the stupid thing – I went to a store and tried them out, found one I liked and then let a sales person talk my ear off through this whole process. I almost bought it. I was basically sold. He didn’t even try to show me anything else. In fact, he even steered me away from the “more expensive” mattresses. I was somewhat offended, did I look cheap?

This is not the way to start, you should really know what you are about to look at before you even leave your house.

After knowing what I know now, I walk by the windows of people in a mattress store, walking around laying on several different beds and I shake my head knowing just how silly that is. Most of them are pretty much the same. Most people also go shopping without having a clue. Here’s why:

Lets start with some facts.

Did you know that spring mattresses are old technology? If you are sleeping on a mattress that is older than 5 years old, you are most likely reading this because you want a new bed, but why would you buy another spring mattress? And why the heck would you flip a bed? If its compressed under you, is flipping it upside down really going to do anything but hide the sink hole? No, not really.

A spring mattress loses 16% of its support in the first year alone. It makes sense, these are coil systems, they are made to compress. These springs cost the consumer upwards of 800% more than what it costs to make, which works out to about 13 dollars a mattress.
If you just questioned why they still bother selling spring mattresses, your answer is in the profit they make. Who wouldn’t still want people to buy a spring mattress, the mark-up is incredible.

So how can they still benefit?
They simply confuse consumers by changing the names of mattresses, change the fabrics, change the “ingredients” and never let them compare it at all. Mattress companies work to help their distributors, both cash in big time.
But they can be compared..and here’s how:

A spring mattress, no matter what the brand name is essentially made two different ways and then has added bells and whistles to fool the consumers.

Whether a spring mattress is coiled head to toe, continuously coiled, pocket coiled, side to side coiled, thicker gauge wire, more coils, less coils, injected with foam, or injected with latex, your mattress will still end up feeling uncomfortable and sinking and need replacing in 5 years or less. So if you honestly want a spring mattress, you shouldn’t pay very much for it. So don’t.

Because of the above points, I won’t say more about a spring mattress than simply state that a spring mattress is old technology. As humans, we went from sleeping on rocks, to hay, to spring mattresses. Lets move on.

(if you do want something cheap, I will give you an alternative to a spring mattress that has latex in it as I best recommend avoiding spring mattresses all together).

Some basic rules is in the way you sleep.

Back Sleepers. There are some general rules of thumb depending upon how you sleep. If you are a back sleeper you can sleep on anything, the type of pillow you get is the most important, and, you need a mattress that gives you the support but lets your butt sink in. It’s almost like laying on the floor and lifting your knees to your tummy but generally this is what a soft bed can do for you.

Side Sleepers. If you are a side sleeper you need something medium. In most cases, every mattress should be strong enough to support you and the topper is what you really sleep on anyways. The topper always depicts the “comfort” we feel when we lie on a bed. Side sleepers need to make sure they choose a pillow that helps align the spine. Get someone to look at you from behind while you lie down and make sure your spin is aligned correctly.

Stomach Sleepers. If you are a stomach sleeper, you need something really firm and supportive, but this doesn’t mean you need a hard bed. You can still get a softer feeling bed – you just don’t want something that sinks and will feel like you are in a hammock. And pillow? Stomach sleeper? Do you even need one? If so, a soft polyester pillow or flatter latex pillow will suffice. I myself am a stomach sleeper, the smaller the pillow the better (it sure beats using my arm).

Generally? What should you go by / buy?

The statistics say that more overweight people love sleeping on memory foam mattresses, or supportive mattresses with memory foam toppers. I can agree with this, my sister sleeps on a memory foam mattress and loves it. I don’t. I’m rather thin. She, well let’s just say she’s complains about her jeans shrinking a lot.

Why is this? Well larger people have more cushioning but need the support. Memory foam mattresses are made to cradle you while you sleep, and will feel supportive to a sleeper that tends to move less during the night. The truth is that memory foam cradles more than supports. If you are smaller, you do need something pushing back against you rather than spacing out around you. The average healthy sleeper on average adjusts and moves 60 times a night. If you have a mattress that does not allow you to move comfortably, you won’t get a good nights sleep.

Latex beds are the newest hype and really do make sense. Latex, combined with anything gives it more support, and unlike memory foam, adds that springy feel without springs, so most people are comfortable as it feels familiar.

If you are the type of sleeper that just automatically assumes you need a firm bed, latex comes in different qualities which effect their firmness and can be soft, medium or firm. Again, the comfort of a mattress is really dependent on the TOP, topper, or basically the part of the mattress that touches your body. Latex also lasts up to 25 years and can be 100% natural or 100% synthetic or a mix of both (sort of). If you are allergic to latex, talk to your doctor about synthetic latex. Latex naturally is hypo-allergenic, immune to dust mites, resistant to mildew and all that gross stuff that actually absorbs into a bed after time. Trust me, it’s really gross if you really knew the amount of dead skin and bacteria that stays in a regular mattress after just one year.

What’s Next? And Types are there?

Okay, so you know all this stuff, whats the point of even trying a mattress? Well its good to round yourself down to what type of mattress you want, latex or memory foam and how firm do you want it? Every mattress either has a topper, pillow topper which is stuffing, latex topper which is latex, and memory foam topper which is memory foam. These usually come in different sizes from 1.5” to 4”. The thickest is generally the softest and most effective.

So that’s why you try it out. Is this soft enough? And is this mattress strong enough to support you and how you sleep.

If you are curious to know more, there are some interesting details below:

Latex. Latex can either be organic or synthetic. Organic tends to be better quality and has it’s advantages as it can be processed to be firmer. This process is called the dunlop process. Dunlop is just like the rubber tires. Dunlop rubber. Dunlop means it is very firm. This is normally the part of the mattress that gives you the support.
If latex is processed twice, it’s done that way to remove the proteins and make it softer. This process is NOT natural and thus becomes synethic through the Tallalay process. It’s not petroluem made like petroluem synthetic latex, but still should never be called natural once it has gone through the Tallalay process. Since it has been processed twice as much, it becomes more air filled and softer (which is good).

When latex is made it is basically poured into a giant waffle iron, and depending upon the size of these holes (which help it breathe) the latex will be stronger or softer.

You can find cheap latex mattresses all made with a variety of processes at IKEA for example. If you buy a thinner latex mattress they are firmer because they are thin. This is only because it is thinner. But that might also be all you need, and if you add a topper you add your comfort, which ultimately is a viable alternative. IKEA mattress covers are washable and the latex has a 25 year warranty, but is made in Mexico. Some other latex is made in the USA, or Canada, or Belgium, get what you prefer (if you care).

Organic mattresses sometimes have inconsistencies and are known to have a rubbery smell for the first few months. These are minor and fade fairly fast. All Latex mattresses need rotating every 2 weeks for the first few months. I recommend turning it every week for a year, and then whenever you remember to for the life of your mattress. This is simply to give it a ‘break’ to recover it’s shape. Another advantage is their displacement for shake if you have another sleeper in your bed. They don’t shake that much and give you the support even when put on the floor. You don’t need a box spring or a frame if you have a platform bed and the lack of noise these beds make is a HUGE bonus.

Synthetic latex mattresses are generally softer. They have all the benefits of natural latex but are more consistent and last over 25 years. These are an alternative for people that want a latex mattress but are allergic to latex. Consult your doctor before trying these out just to be safe as certain allergies vary.

Memory foam is fairly simple, they have a few types of memory foam, but what is important is the fact that its memory foam and not just plain foam. Some are called visco elastic, this simply means they’ve processed it a certain way, and some have added latex to make it feel more like a mattress with that ‘bounce’. The memory foam mattress was never intended to be a mattress, rather it was invented by NASA and later used for the bed industry with a ton of money spent on advertising.

In the Store, now it’s time to buy.

By now you’ve probably decided that you want to try out a mattress. A general rule of thumb is learn to bargain, be patient and lie in a bed for at least 10 minutes. People usually say you can’t tell until you spend a night in it, but if you try out the few you have rounded it down to, you’ll quickly notice this isn’t true at all.

Try not to listen to sales pitches or advice that any salesperson will tell you. After reading this you now know what’s important, you know how you sleep and what to look for, and most importantly you know the advantages and disadvantages of what they might be trying to sell you.

Mattresses are over-priced. They are almost always on sale, and always can be sold for less than the sale price too.

So how do you do it if you aren’t the type to barter?

Compare.

And how can you compare something that has a different name? Well, knowing that every spring mattress is essentially the same, and just has a different topper or latex mixed in with them, go find a cheap mattress that has what you want, get a “best price” from them and then go some place else for the more expensive one. They WILL match that price. If they don’t, keep looking. It’s worth it.

Another thing to do is find someone online that works at one of these places. Find out the employee price.

When you realize its 50% LESS than the actual price you’ll be more comfortable asking a place like Sleep Country or Sears, or anywhere to match the price you got from The Brick, or Sears, or The Bay. Honestly, it doesn’t matter where you shop these places will match it. Again, the markup is huge. Pick a place that you want to deal with that has a good policy. You should have a sleep gaurantee where you can try it for 60 days worry-free.

The Types?
Sealy makes a ‘Spring Free’ Latex mattress for Sears, but a ‘Tuscay’ latex mattress for The Brick. Sleep Country also carries a 100% natural Latex mattress called Regeneration and Regeneration II. The Bay carries a high-end Sealy (Sterns & Foster) Latex bed.
The truth? Every latex mattress is worth about the same. They are priced from $2400 to $2800 but they justify that based on the fact that consumers don’t know much about them and they think they can’t be compared. Expect to pay 1000 to 1300 for a great mattress. This stands true no matter what kind of bed, as long as it’s good. King Size or Queen Size really only varies by a couple hundred dollars.

Just remember, don’t be confused by brand names and features. All spring mattresses should be treated equal! As well as, all Latex to Latex or Memory Foam to Memory Foam. Sales people know this and now you do too. Don’t be confused with posturpedic, tempurpedic, comforpedic. Just ignore it. Keep it simple.

Most importantly, enjoy your new mattress now that you’ve bought one by making an educated decision, it really makes a difference.

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