I am big on research. I spent my 20s buying crap and regretting it. What a waste of time and money. I’d say to myself, I need a new cell phone (I can’t help it — it’s part of my culture!). And I’d go to the kiosk and buy whatever phone seemed cool. A few months later, I’d be back at the mall, buying another phone, one that would do what I really needed it to do.
So I learned how to research products before I buy. And researching memory foam was one of the longest projects I’ve done. The information out there is scanty and contradictory. So I want to put it all down here, in this one post so that you have the information you need to buy a good visco elastic mattress. Before I get started, if you are a “cut to the chase” kind of person — here’s the answer: buy a memory foam mattress from these guys. I bought my topper from Healthy Foundations and I love it.
1. Why bother with memory foam anyway? We’ve already talked about why memory foam is so awesome. But here’s a one sentence overview: Memory foam beats other materials for mattresses because it conforms to your body, relieving pressure points.
2. Density. Lots of products are called “memory foam” make sure you are getting high-quality foam. High quality is mostly seen in the density of the foam. The more cells the foam has, the better the feel and the more durable the mattress (or topper). The density should be at least medium — 3lbs. (Memory foam density is measured in cubic feet. A cube of foam measuring one foot in height, length and width — would weigh 3 pounds.) Density also can describe the feel of the foam — less dense means a “softer” feel as you lay down.
3. Materials. Visco elastic foam is basically polyurethane. Polyurethanes, depending on the exact composition can be regular foam, like seat cushions, memory foam or even made into wood glue.
Since so many companies are selling memory foam these days, you have to find out about the materials they use in making the foam. Do they use filler material like sand? Few places have regulations about what materials should be used to manufacture memory foam, so you the consumer, have to ask questions.
4. Safety. There are two parts to the safety question: smell and flammability. First, memory foam is a product made from chemicals — it doesn’t grow in nature, so it will have some odors especially at first. If you are a sensitive person, you need to consider the factors before buying. For most people, the smell is gone in as little as 24 hours or it make take as long as two weeks. What I did was let it air out in the garage with fans blowing on it. A friend of mine put it out on her deck and the fresh air and sunshine seemed to work well, too.
Flammability is a big concern for people. Foam is very flammable. There is a federal law –16 CFR-1633 — about flammability in mattresses. Since it is a federal law (that’s been in effective since 2007) any foam you buy should meet this regulation.
I hope this post will help you out. There’s a lot of info out there and sometimes it’s hard to make sense of it. A couple of general rules — you can’t go wrong buying from the big manufacturers. A company like Tempur-Pedic has a vested interest in making quality foam; their livelihood depends on it! And honestly, memory foam is one of those products (like shoes) where the more money you spend, the better the quality.
More about Memory Foam Mattress:
So I learned how to research products before I buy. And researching memory foam was one of the longest projects I’ve done. The information out there is scanty and contradictory. So I want to put it all down here, in this one post so that you have the information you need to buy a good visco elastic mattress. Before I get started, if you are a “cut to the chase” kind of person — here’s the answer: buy a memory foam mattress from these guys. I bought my topper from Healthy Foundations and I love it.
1. Why bother with memory foam anyway? We’ve already talked about why memory foam is so awesome. But here’s a one sentence overview: Memory foam beats other materials for mattresses because it conforms to your body, relieving pressure points.
2. Density. Lots of products are called “memory foam” make sure you are getting high-quality foam. High quality is mostly seen in the density of the foam. The more cells the foam has, the better the feel and the more durable the mattress (or topper). The density should be at least medium — 3lbs. (Memory foam density is measured in cubic feet. A cube of foam measuring one foot in height, length and width — would weigh 3 pounds.) Density also can describe the feel of the foam — less dense means a “softer” feel as you lay down.
3. Materials. Visco elastic foam is basically polyurethane. Polyurethanes, depending on the exact composition can be regular foam, like seat cushions, memory foam or even made into wood glue.
Since so many companies are selling memory foam these days, you have to find out about the materials they use in making the foam. Do they use filler material like sand? Few places have regulations about what materials should be used to manufacture memory foam, so you the consumer, have to ask questions.
4. Safety. There are two parts to the safety question: smell and flammability. First, memory foam is a product made from chemicals — it doesn’t grow in nature, so it will have some odors especially at first. If you are a sensitive person, you need to consider the factors before buying. For most people, the smell is gone in as little as 24 hours or it make take as long as two weeks. What I did was let it air out in the garage with fans blowing on it. A friend of mine put it out on her deck and the fresh air and sunshine seemed to work well, too.
Flammability is a big concern for people. Foam is very flammable. There is a federal law –16 CFR-1633 — about flammability in mattresses. Since it is a federal law (that’s been in effective since 2007) any foam you buy should meet this regulation.
I hope this post will help you out. There’s a lot of info out there and sometimes it’s hard to make sense of it. A couple of general rules — you can’t go wrong buying from the big manufacturers. A company like Tempur-Pedic has a vested interest in making quality foam; their livelihood depends on it! And honestly, memory foam is one of those products (like shoes) where the more money you spend, the better the quality.
More about Memory Foam Mattress: