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>> all foam mattresses deform to some degree So do spring mattresses, by the way, and aren't they the most common type?

dangrossman 13y ago
Foam mattresses tend to deform and stay deformed after only a few years of use; the foam just doesn't re-expand all the way. Spring mattresses are warranted against more than minor deformation, not just defects at the time of purchase. If you buy a name-brand (Serta, Stearns & Foster, etc) mattress and after 5 years it's sagging 4" In the middle, you make a warranty claim and get a new mattress.
- chockablock 13y ago
  Have you had to use your mattress warranty? When I looked into it most warranties were pro-rated, required that you followed their mattress maintenance schedule, customer had to pay for inspection, 'normal wear' was not covered, etc, etc. This article [1] claims that actual useful lifetime of a mattress is around 1/3 to 1/2 of the warranty period. (I ended up buying 2 awesome, cheap, non-brand name, made in the US mattresses from Restonic, which are still going strong after 5+ years). [1] http://www.sleeplikethedead.com/mattress-warranty.html http://www.sleeplikethedead.com/mattress-warranty.html
- bradleyjg 13y ago
  If I can buy a product for 10-25% of the cost that lasts 33% as long, I've come out ahead.
mpermar 13y ago
Well, there is tons of types of springs and more importantly spring layouts. Some manofacturers will use less springs than others, and that is very important. Personally I prefer spring mattresses over foam mattresses. They last much much longer as dangrossman commented, are more reliable and also much firmer. And also you can't leave aside the weather factor because spring mattresses are way more breathable than foam-only mattresses. We, for example, avoid selling foam-only mattresses to people that live on high humidity areas because there is a high chance they will return it with humidity stains. Normally I would go for a pocket spring mattress ( I think that's the term in English for a mattress with individual sealed and padded springs ) with a decent amount of memory foam on the top. That way you get the firmness and breathability from a spring mattress plus the comfort of a nice soft memory foam layer.
- tesseractive 13y ago
  Doesn't quality latex foam have pretty comparable breathability? And my impression was that the firmness of foam was widely variable based on the type and density of the foam.
  - mpermar 13y ago
    Not even close. No matter how porous the foam is, you can't match a spring. But bear in mind this factor can or cannot be relevant depending on where you live. If you live on a dry place, it does not matter; also if you take good care of your mattress (e.g. change sides regularly, open windows to air the room regularly, open the cover if it comes with one, use a mattress protector to avoid liquids to pour in, etc.) it will not matter that much either; but if you live on a humid place well... then myself I wouldn't go for a foam-only mattress. On the firmess you're right, it is very variable. I've been myself sleeping on a foam-only sofa-bed mattress for almost a year and it is firm enough. The issue with latex or foam is that they distort with time. It is unavoidable. Depending on the quality of what you have bought that might be years but I've seen many poorly made mattresses that are returned within months. It also depends on the weight of the people that is going to sleep as well. My wife would be worried if you were a customer insisting on buying a foam mattress and your weight as a couple were bigger than 180kg for example. Specially if it is a wide mattress as the weight would not be distributed evenly.
    - QuantumGood 13y ago
      Doesn't "a decent amount of memory foam on the top" greatly reduce the breathability of the spring that you say is so important?
      - mpermar 13y ago
        No. Mattresses breath mainly from the bed frame area. On humid areas for example a foam-only mattress is a not a good choice if you have a bed frame with no ventilation at all, like a storage bed frame for example as you will have to air the mattress way more frequently if you really want it to last.

Foam mattresses tend to deform and stay deformed after only a few years of use; the foam just doesn't re-expand all the way. Spring mattresses are warranted against more than minor deformation, not just defects at the time of purchase. If you buy a name-brand (Serta, Stearns & Foster, etc) mattress and after 5 years it's sagging 4" In the middle, you make a warranty claim and get a new mattress.

chockablock 13y ago
Have you had to use your mattress warranty? When I looked into it most warranties were pro-rated, required that you followed their mattress maintenance schedule, customer had to pay for inspection, 'normal wear' was not covered, etc, etc. This article [1] claims that actual useful lifetime of a mattress is around 1/3 to 1/2 of the warranty period. (I ended up buying 2 awesome, cheap, non-brand name, made in the US mattresses from Restonic, which are still going strong after 5+ years). [1] http://www.sleeplikethedead.com/mattress-warranty.html http://www.sleeplikethedead.com/mattress-warranty.html
bradleyjg 13y ago
If I can buy a product for 10-25% of the cost that lasts 33% as long, I've come out ahead.

mpermar 13y ago

Well, there is tons of types of springs and more importantly spring layouts. Some manofacturers will use less springs than others, and that is very important. Personally I prefer spring mattresses over foam mattresses. They last much much longer as dangrossman commented, are more reliable and also much firmer. And also you can't leave aside the weather factor because spring mattresses are way more breathable than foam-only mattresses. We, for example, avoid selling foam-only mattresses to people that live on high humidity areas because there is a high chance they will return it with humidity stains. Normally I would go for a pocket spring mattress ( I think that's the term in English for a mattress with individual sealed and padded springs ) with a decent amount of memory foam on the top. That way you get the firmness and breathability from a spring mattress plus the comfort of a nice soft memory foam layer.

tesseractive 13y ago
Doesn't quality latex foam have pretty comparable breathability? And my impression was that the firmness of foam was widely variable based on the type and density of the foam.
- mpermar 13y ago
  Not even close. No matter how porous the foam is, you can't match a spring. But bear in mind this factor can or cannot be relevant depending on where you live. If you live on a dry place, it does not matter; also if you take good care of your mattress (e.g. change sides regularly, open windows to air the room regularly, open the cover if it comes with one, use a mattress protector to avoid liquids to pour in, etc.) it will not matter that much either; but if you live on a humid place well... then myself I wouldn't go for a foam-only mattress. On the firmess you're right, it is very variable. I've been myself sleeping on a foam-only sofa-bed mattress for almost a year and it is firm enough. The issue with latex or foam is that they distort with time. It is unavoidable. Depending on the quality of what you have bought that might be years but I've seen many poorly made mattresses that are returned within months. It also depends on the weight of the people that is going to sleep as well. My wife would be worried if you were a customer insisting on buying a foam mattress and your weight as a couple were bigger than 180kg for example. Specially if it is a wide mattress as the weight would not be distributed evenly.
  - QuantumGood 13y ago
    Doesn't "a decent amount of memory foam on the top" greatly reduce the breathability of the spring that you say is so important?
    - mpermar 13y ago
      No. Mattresses breath mainly from the bed frame area. On humid areas for example a foam-only mattress is a not a good choice if you have a bed frame with no ventilation at all, like a storage bed frame for example as you will have to air the mattress way more frequently if you really want it to last.