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deborahg
Citizen
Username: Deborahg
Post Number: 647
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, August 24, 2003 - 12:48 pm: | 
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We need a new mattress, and it also time to buy our toddler a "big boy bed." Can anyone recommend a good place (e.g. reasonable prices, un-sleazy salespeople, good selection)? Also, the last time we bought a mattress was during the Reagan administration--not that this has any bearing on our purchase (although alas, we don't sleep any more easily now than we did then)--have there been any mattress advances (comfort, style, type) we should know about? What kind of mattress do you have, and do you love/hate it? What can one expect to spend?
Thanks!  |
marken
Citizen
Username: Marken
Post Number: 39
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, August 24, 2003 - 10:44 pm: |
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We just bought a mattress -- it arrived on Saturday .... and the process wasn't much fun. So you have my sympathy.
OUR CHOICE:
We were happy with a Sealy for over 7 years, but we couldn't find one that was comfortable. We thought we found a Simmons Beautyrest, but heard too many negative things about -- like quickly developing a "trench". In the end, we went with a SpringAir Pillowtop.
VENDOR:
After trying Sleepys, Rockaway Bedding, and Macy's, we opted for 1-800-Mattress, but only after we visited their store on Route 22 in/near Watchung. They're prices were good and the salesman wasn't pushy. FYI: their online inventory is much smaller than their in-store or over-the-phone inventory.
MY ADVICE:
THE most important (and most time consuming) thing to do .... is try out the mattresses. Lay on your back, and on your side, if you have a partner, lay on it together. Get in and out one at a time. Take your time at the stores. PS: If you're a woman, wear pants that day.
Also, talk to your friends and family about their mattress; find out what brands they sleep on and where they bought. Ask if they have any problems with brands and/or vendors.
Check out the "groups" tab on google. Just type in "mattress" and the manufacturer to see some others' opinions.
CONFUSION:
Because model names vary widely and are inconsistent between stores (see more below) you either have to purchase the mattress you like from the store or find some reliable way to cross-reference between stores.
PRICE:
Starts at about $500 for a queen size mattress/box spring combo, from there, you can easily get to over $2000.
UNBIASED REPORTING:
Here's buying advice from Consumer Reports, Dec 2002.
Mattress sets
Once you've settled on the firmness and size you're most comfortable with, compare quality details and price from brand to brand and store to store.
If you think shopping for a car is an ordeal, try shopping for a mattress. Sure, you can lie down on a mattress, maybe even take it home for a 30-day "test drive." But try to peek at its innards and you'll be thrown out of the showroom. Worse still, while a Ford Taurus is a Ford Taurus nationwide, the names of essentially identical mattresses--called "comparables" by the industry--often differ from store to store. Independent bedding shops typically offer mattress sets from manufacturers' national lines. Major chains such as Macy's and Sears and telephone-order sources such as Dial-A-Mattress sell mattresses from the same manufacturers' lines but with names unique to the chain. Comparables are supposed to share basic components, construction, and firmness but may differ in color, fabric pattern, or quilting stitch. Consumers are the losers, since they can't comparison shop. This name game allows retailers to vary the price of similar mattresses by hundreds of dollars.
WHAT'S AVAILABLE
Sealy, Serta, and Simmons account for nearly three out of every four mattresses sold, but there are more than 35 other brands. The big makers offer no-frills models, but most people are more familiar with their flagship lines: Sealy Posturepedic, Serta Perfect Sleeper, and Simmons Beautyrest. You can buy a mattress filled with water, foam, or air, but innerspring mattresses--named for their coiled steel springs sandwiched between layers of padding--remain the most widely purchased type. The padding, usually identical on top and bottom so you can flip the mattress, is generally made of several materials, including polyurethane foam, puffed-up polyester, or cotton batting. Mattresses used to be about 7 inches deep. Now they can range from 9 to 18 inches. If you buy a thicker mattress than what you have now, you may have to buy sheets with deeper pockets or corners.
IMPORTANT FEATURES
Most stores have a cutaway or cross-section of at least some of the mattress sets on display. Here’s what you should look for and ask about:
Ticking is a mattress’s outermost layer. On most models, the ticking is polyester or a cotton-polyester blend. Low-end mattresses may have vinyl ticking, which can eventually stretch and sag. Fancier mattresses have damask ticking with the design woven into the fabric, not printed on it. Some also contain a bit of silk, which is more a marketing gimmick than any substantial benefit.
In most cases, quilting attaches a few layers of padding to the ticking. Stitch design varies and is largely an aesthetic consideration. Make sure stitches are uniform and unbroken; broken threads can allow the fabric to loosen and pucker. Top padding is generally polyurethane foam, with or without polyester batting. Batting provides a uniform, soft feel but tends to lose its loft faster than does a soft foam.
Middle padding lies below the quilted layer and often starts with foam. Convoluted foam, shaped like an egg carton, feels softer than a straight slab of the same type of foam, and it spreads your weight over a wider surface area, which should make you more comfortable. Soft, resilient foams feel almost moist to the touch. Foams that feel dry or crunchy won’t spring back as readily. Other padding often consists of garnetted cotton (thick wads of rough batting that provide loft but compress quickly) and more foam of varied thickness and density. In some mattresses, firmness differs from area to area. One side may be firmer than the other, or a middle section may be firmer than the head or foot. A "test nap" is the only way to tell if a mattress is right for you.
Insulation padding lies directly on the springs and prevents you from feeling them. Commonly used bedding insulators include "coco pad," the fibrous matter from a coconut husk, and “shoddy pad,” pieces of fabric that are matted and often glued together. Coco pad, especially in more than one layer, makes a mattress stiffer. Plastic webbing, nonwoven fabric, or a metal grid directly atop the springs can help keep them from chewing up the pad above.
Extra support is added to certain areas--at the edge, say, so you have a solid place to sit when you tie your shoes. If you want extra support at the head, foot, sides, or center, ask whether the mattress beefs up those areas by means of more closely spaced coils, slabs of stiff foam inserted between the coils, thicker wire, or extra springs.
Coils are the springs that support you. While coil design doesn’t affect a mattress’s ability to withstand use and abuse, it does shape the bed’s overall "feel." The wire in springs comes in a range of thicknesses, or gauges. As a rule, the lower the gauge number, the thicker and stiffer the wire and the firmer the mattress. The higher the gauge number, the thinner the wire and the softer the mattress.
Handles let you reposition the mattress on the box spring. They’re not meant to support its full weight, which is why most warranties don’t cover broken handles. Best are handles that go through the sides of the mattress and are anchored to the springs. Next best are fabric handles sewn vertically to the tape edging of the mattress. Most common is the weakest design: handles inserted through the fabric and clipped to a plastic or metal strip.
The foundation, or box spring, can be a plain fiberboard-covered wooden frame, a wooden frame containing heavy-gauge springs, or even a metal frame with springs. A plain wooden frame, usually found with cheaper sleep sets, is adequate only if the wood is straight and free of cracks. Placing a mattress atop a plain wooden frame can make the mattress seem harder than it actually is. Corner guards help keep the foundation’s fabric from chafing against the metal corners of the bed frame.
HOW TO CHOOSE
Performance differences. A firmer mattress won't resist permanent sagging better than a softer mattress. A thicker mattress sags more than a thinner mattress. And because all the permanent compression is within the padding layers, not the springs, more padding equals more potential for sagging.
Recommendations. The only way to judge mattress comfort is to try out a variety of brands and models in the store. (If you buy by phone, of course, you'll have to do your testing at home--after having made sure you can exchange an unsatisfactory mattress.) A good mattress will gently support your body at all points. Although we could find no published scientific data on which type of mattress is best, orthopedic experts generally recommend the firmest mattress that you find comfortable.
Never pay list price for a mattress. Sales are common, and deeper savings are often possible if you bargain. If you spend at least $450 for a twin-size mattress set, $600 for a full-size, $800 for a queen-size, and $1,000 for a king-size, you can get a high-quality, durable product. Spending more for a mattress gets you thicker padding, damask ticking, and perhaps a pillowtop--a cushion on both sides of the mattress that's filled with foam, wool, silk, or a down blend. Mattress-by-phone businesses usually offer rock-bottom prices, especially if you persist in seeking low quotes, but you buy the bedding unseen and untried. Be sure you can exchange it.
When you buy a mattress, buy a box spring, too; they perform as a unit. Putting a new mattress on an old box spring could void your warranty. |
joecool
Citizen
Username: Joecool
Post Number: 72
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Monday, August 25, 2003 - 10:07 am: |
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Talk to the owner of Orange Mattress on Springfield Avenue. They have name-brand mattresses, but are well-known for their custom-made ones. They are extremely well-versed in construction, ticking etc. I know of several local folks who have a custom-made and LOVE it. They are constructed on-site and you can probably take a look at the process.It's worth a visit. |
deborahg
Citizen
Username: Deborahg
Post Number: 649
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, August 25, 2003 - 2:54 pm: |
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Wow, this is great! Thanks! |
R S
Citizen
Username: Rollins23
Post Number: 8
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 26, 2003 - 10:35 am: |
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Remember the most important things about buying a mattress, and that is that all prices are negotiable.
When I had to get a new mattress, I went to the store, and found one I liked. I then called SLEEPYS (800-SLEEPYS) and 800-Mattress (800-MATTRESS) and began to play them off of each other. They both claim to beat the other by 20%.
After 5 calls back and forth, I got a mattress that was originally quoted at $899 for $425 delivered. I ended up using 800-Mattress because Sleepy's charges a restocking fee at 20% of the *retail price* if you have any problems. The restocking fee at 800-Mattress was $5.
Always negotiate. The name of the mattress isn't a problem, as if you pick out a Sealy Sleepright, 800-Mattress will say, our model is called the Sealy Sleeptight or something. You can use their websites as a guide as well. |
ffof
Citizen
Username: Ffof
Post Number: 1378
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 26, 2003 - 3:02 pm: |
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Second for Orange Mattress. THey are enormously better than any of those dial-a-mattress places. And they are nice, polite and right here on Springfield Ave! |
michael
Citizen
Username: Michael
Post Number: 351
Registered: 1-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 26, 2003 - 4:39 pm: |
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Orange Mattress on Springfield. Couldn't find a better deal , helpful and buy only what you need.
Highly recc. |
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