Conventional Mattresses Versus Eco-Cloud Organic Mattresses
Eco-Cloud organic mattresses are covered with organic cotton fabric and padded with all natural latex and organic wool. Big name brand mattresses are not. Regardless of the brand name, conventional mattress construction and materials used are fundamentally the same from manufacturer to manufacturer. These days, they are all one sided which means they cannot be flipped in order to even out the wear in the polyurethane foam. Whichever brand you buy, your mattress will be made with about two inches of hard poly foam below the springs and several inches of varying densities of polyurethane foam above the springs. If you choose a top of the line version, it will have even more polyurethane foam with an inch or two of memory foam or blended latex on the top. It will also have some form of chemical fire retardant laden fabric or fibers under the cover. The polyurethane foam itself will be rated FR meaning that it is blended with fire retardant chemicals. The blended latex will have a percentage of natural latex mixed with a petroleum based material called SBR that will off gas. The reason conventional mattresses are made with polyurethane foam is simply because it is incredibly cheap. A one inch thick queen size layer of this material costs the manufacturers of the mattresses about a dollar. The price of the same size layer of natural latex is close to $100. Latex will keep its shape and be resilient and comfortable for more than 20 years. Polyurethane will compress and stay compressed in a matter of months. Another brilliant innovation in most conventional mattresses is foam encasement. The mattresses are made with a three or four inch thick wall of hard polyurethane foam around the innerspring. The top padding covers both. When you sit on the edge of the mattress it feels like a firm supportive edge. The problem comes in a few months when the padding where you sleep starts to sag but the edge does not. You wind up with an indentation where you sleep and two high points where you don’t sleep. Eco-Cloud mattresses are not foam encased.
Temperature Sensitive Memory Foam Mattresses
Memory foam is a type of polyurethane foam that will mold to your body in a few seconds as your body temperature warms it. You will feel yourself sinking into it. If you test a memory foam mattress and you love the way it feels, you may be very happy with it. Often people are pre-sold by the marketing of this type of mattress and after they get it they find that they want a divorce. In order for memory foam to be effective it needs your body to warm it and therefore these mattresses are made with just a thin fabric cover over the foam. There is no insulation, so it will reflect your body heat back to you and that’s why it will sleep warm. Another unusual aspect of memory foam is that since it molds itself to your body shape, when you need to change position in your sleep it will resist turning over in bed. The third concern with memory foam is the smell from off gassing when the mattress is new. With the exception of Keetsa memory foam mattresses you may find the odor objectionable.
“Traditional” Mattresses Made in San Francisco
These mattresses have been made locally for many years and have developed a brand conscious following because they have been made in almost the same way for a long time. They are traditional in that they are still made with equal padding on both sides and can be flipped. They used to be made with cotton batting for padding, but a few years back they changed. The cotton is now blended with polyester fiber and the top inch of padding is all polyester fiber. None of the materials used are organic. They use the polyester fibers because when the mattress is burn tested the polyester will melt rather than ignite. This is a step up from the chemicals used in conventional mattresses, but polyester does not offer the temperature regulating benefits of organic wool.
“Swedish” Mattresses
This company manufactures its mattresses in Sweden and sells them in their own stores. Because of the low value of the dollar versus the euro and the cost of shipping these mattresses are priced somewhere in the $5000 to $8000 range for a queen. For that amount of money you get one inch of polyester fiber on one inch of latex and springs. No magic here folks, keep moving.
Other Brands of Organic Mattresses
There are several companies selling organic mattresses on the internet. This is another instance of buyer beware, because you really do not know what you are getting until it arrives. It is more important than ever to choose an organic mattress, but if the mattress you receive does not feel the way you want it to you have wasted your money. Our concept is to offer the widest range of firmness levels possible in organic mattresses. We are not interested in trying to guess at your comfort level in a phone conversation. We manufacture and sell our mattresses in the bay area. We want you to come to one of our stores and take your time in choosing the organic mattress that is just right for your comfort and support. If you find after sleeping on your choice that it is either too firm or too soft, we will come to your home and adjust the firmness by changing the top layer of latex. We care about your comfort and want you to love your Eco-Cloud mattress. We hope that you will tell everyone you know how great it is! However, if you don’t live in the bay area and want to sleep on an Eco-Cloud mattress, but don’t know which one to choose call us. We have developed a precise system for estimating which one will work best for you.
Blissful Mattresses
These are latex mattresses, but not fully organic latex mattresses as they use a semi synthetic fire blocker instead of organic wool. The upper layer of latex is 50% natural latex and 50% blended latex. The Paladin fire blocker used is made from rayon, silica, nylon & polyester. The last time I looked there were no four legged polyesters running around the barnyard.
They do not have removable zipper covers which would allow you to change your mattresses firmness by repositioning the layers.
The use of a semi-natural fire blocker is a step in the right direction, but it is not the real thing. Having organic wool in your mattress gives you the additional benefit of wool’s temperature regulating property. It will sleep cooler in the summer and cozy in the winter.
Graphite Infused Latex Mattresses
Adding 30% graphite powder to natural latex would be a good thing for Arnold Schwarznegger in his younger days as it adds about a third to the weight of a latex mattress. That’s the good news… The bad news is that graphite dust is known to cause respiratory problems that may lead to Graphitosis.