By: Pat Caudill 5/13/13
I have found that there are only two reasons to buy a
mattress. Either you don’t have one or
the one you have is old and needs to go.
I’ll assume that you are looking for a new mattress because the old one
hurts your back or it’s just too uncomfortable.
If that is the case, lying on a new mattress for thirty seconds in a
store show room will not even come close to giving you an idea of its actual
comfort level.
Here is a great way
to get a feel for a mattress. Before you
leave your home, take the sheets off of your bed, remove all of the pillows and
now you should be looking at nothing more than the bare mattress. Keeping both hands open and fingers curled
under each finger press down on random areas of your old mattress. Note how it feels and come up with words that
mean something to you: squishy, lumpy, soft, very soft, sharp, hard,
inconsistent, or stiff. Write them down
and head out to Sam’s Club, Sears, JC Penny’s, Mattress Discounters, or your
local Original Mattress Factory. Based
on the size and style of your previous mattress and using the same pushing
method, find a similar mattress to you old one and start pushing and noting how
it feels when you push. This is the best
way to compare apples to apples. Then
depending on your budget move up or down the model line until you find a
mattress that will fit your needs and budget.
Keep in mind that everyone sweats, leaves behind bodily
fluids, hair, skin, and who knows what else on their beds. There is a study that was done some time ago that
says that a mattress will weigh 50% more eight years after you purchased it, if
it is your daily use bed. What is the
extra weight? Well, let’s just say that
there will be plenty of DNA to prove that, that is your mattress.
I recently had to purchase a new mattress for a guest bed in
our home. I went on line and looked for
the best deals but I was not able to really compare mattresses so I still didn’t
feel as though I was able to make a truly informed decision. Then I visited an actual mattress
factory. I essentially attended mattress
101. I’m here to tell you that I’ll
never look at a mattress the same again.
There are two components to a mattress set:
1.
The Box
Spring
2.
The Actual Mattress
The Box Spring is essential for the mattress to bend and
flex the way it was specifically designed to.
Without a real box spring you are immediately taking years off of your
mattress. I have found only one company
that builds a true box spring for a mattress.
Original Mattress Factory. While
this is a big deal it’s not necessarily a deal breaker or a deal maker. It is however a big plus.
As far as the mattress goes there are so many options and
sizes and comfort levels it’s mind boggling.
Here is what you need to know going into it. All mattresses have the same type of
padding. The FDA and EPA require all
mattresses to be made of a specific type of petroleum based foam due to its
fire retardant abilities. The rest is just
coils and the cover. Now before I get
too much further, let me clarify, I am not addressing the Sleep Number type
beds nor am I addressing the memory foam type of beds.
The mattress that you are looking for should have the
firmness and still the comfort of a plush top layer that is comfortable to you
and your spouse / significant other if necessary. Here are some secrets that most bed
manufacturers simply will not tell you.
1.
A mattress
that has a pillow top has the exact same amount of filling / padding as the
less expensive model, it’s just slightly more compacted because there is no
pillow top to allow it to expand. In 6
or 9 months your body will compress the foam and the $300 to $800 extra that you put down on that pillow
top will be unrecognizable compared to the non-pillow top type mattress in the
same class.
2.
The inner spring is the heart of the
mattress. Often the spring core of a
mattress will have already begun rusting by the time you get it. Not only that but quality of the core springs
vary wildly. The thicker the metal the
longer it will last. Ask to see the
inside of the mattress, if they don’t have a cut away of the model of the
mattress that you are looking for then don’t buy it.
3.
Buying a mattress has as many trappings as
shopping for a used car or at a carpet store.
Every sales person WILL attempt to upsell a higher end mattress and / or
a warranty or some other “protection”.
Look, I’m all for companies making a profit. However, I want a fair deal and I want to be
treated with respect. If you feel like
you are getting played by the sales staff.
Walk out. They are not the only
show in town and you have a right to spend your money where ever you like.
4.
Delivery is usually about a $50.00 option. If you have a king sized mattress going up
stairs, it’s totally worth it. They will
even get rid of the old mattress for you too and they may even make the bed for
you. How great is that?!
5.
Flipping your mattress: Many moons ago it was commonplace to
literally flip your mattress once every six months or so. This helped air out the mattress and it
helped prevent sagging in the middle. To
save money most mattress companies only build one sided mattresses, and in doing so, prevent you from flipping
your mattress. The goal is to ensure
that the mattress wears out faster and you will in-turn need to buy a new
mattress sooner. They are cheaper to build that way and they
can still charge you the same amount by claiming that its pillow top will
ensure that it lasts longer. This is
simply not true. They are essentially
building in a disposal date into the mattresses. The Original Mattress factory still to this
day builds double sided mattresses. They
have a 12 year replacement warranty (non-prorated), which happens to be the
best in the industry.
Now I ended up purchasing a twin mattress for our
granddaughter to sleep on while she is here visiting us. My needs were specific; I knew exactly what I
was looking for, and how I wanted the mattress to feel.
Normally I only mention a specific company if I feel that they
have really impressed me, and to be honest, that rarely happens. Well, the Original Mattress Factory had zero
sales pressure, they were very knowledgeable, very respectful and I felt valued
while I was shopping there. They helped
me load up the mattresses into my truck and I was off. I ended up spending $350.00 on a twin
mattress with a real box spring. I have
already decided that I will be getting our queen mattress replaced in the next
year and I will be going back the Original Mattress Factory in Beavercreek.
No comments:
Post a Comment