Mattresses

[oliger]

Reply to RP2813:
It takes getting used to. It kind of repeats you like an echo. I won't go into detail, but I have the original full wave type. The support is all over the place. You can add and subtract water to adjust the firmness to an extent. It's fun though you can bottom out and hit the wooden frame with the weight of two moving people if you aren't careful. A big plus is that if you need to keep quiet, there is minimal noise. I also like the sanitary factor. It's very easy to throw sheets into the washing machine, and wipe down the vinyl mattress.
Reply to SudsMaster:
It's not a matter of WILL it explode, it's a matter of WHEN. It's best to replace the mattress every 10 or so years to avoid catastrophe. The mattresses are fairly cheap, and worth replacing. They also make them much thicker than they used to. I have a liner in mine to catch MOST of the water, though a ton of water would still spill.
_______________________________________________________________________
When I originally wanted a waterbed, the price for a frame was insane. I went to the hardware store, bought the lumber and built it better than you can buy premade. With a fancy bookcase headboard and all, the entire bed cost me around $400. Frame, liner, heater, mattress, pad, and sheets.

 

[foraloysius]

I have had a waterbed in the past. I had to give it up because I needed an adjustable bed for my lung problems. Otherwise I would have kept it, it was the most comfortable bed I ever had. Mine was 50% stabilized. I wanted some of the wave effect, but didn't want to be sea sick. I was very happy with that.

However I didn't like it for having sex on. It was a nightmare! I can't believe some people are saying it's great for that. When I had a "date" at home, I used the bed in the guestroom, that was a rather firm queen sized boxspring.

A waterbed will never explode. If that happend there is way too much water in the mattress. And that is not very comfortable because it the middle of the mattress will ball up. You need to fill the mattress just enough so that your spine is perfectly horizontal. Not more and not less. There is not really any pressure on it, so if you have a leak, a bit of water will flow out, it will not be a flood. I had a colleague who had a leaky waterbed in the middle of the night sometime. The mattresstop was wet ofcourse, but no flooding. When there is a leak, there is suddenly not more water in that bed than before, so it will not overflow like a sink with the tap on.

A good waterbed has a thick mattresspad on it. A cat's claws are not long enough to go through that I think. Or you must have a tiger for a pet. ;-)

 

[askolover]

I've had a waterbed with cats in the house for a total of over 20 years and no cat has ever punctured it.  Once, I was changing sheets on my old one and the liner flipped up just right and the mattress hit a screw head in the corner and it sprang a leak.  Just got the kit at walmart and glued the patch over it.  I haven't seen waterbed repair kits in a while so I now keep a pool liner repair kit on hand...same thing.  My current mattress has lumbar support and everything and is semi-waveless.  I'm just not quite heavy enough to displace the lumbar support area so I tend to scoot down in the bed so more of my torso is on it.  I built my bed too.  They aren't cheap anymore so I built the pedestal and frame and my dad built the headboard...you'd never know it wasn't store bought.  Everything total was about $200 for the mattress, liner, digital heater, and the wood.

 

[retro-man]

Have had a water bed for at least the past 30 years. It has a lumbar support in the mattress and is pretty much motionless with the fiber filling the bag. No rising up in the middle with too much water. I have it quite filled so that is pretty firm. Sex is great on it. Previous bed was a basic bag in a frame. Now that was terrible for tumbling around. They have made a lot of improvements over the years. Our beach house has a regular mattress which needs replacement and my back and hips notice the difference.

Jon

 

[jamiel]

Yeah, big problem with memory foam is they're awful for sex...thats what hotels are for... We had a Novaform from Costco for about 11 years. It had a knitted cover which pilled and ultimately split...I hadn't realized how much the memory foam mattress relies on the ticking to give structure to the entire thing. We bought a GhostBed right at the beginning of lockdown and it's been quite good. Thinner than the Novaform (which means sheets fit better). A firmer, more rigid woven ticking as well gives it a firmer feel. I've been happy with it (it's slightly better for sex too!)

 

[dermacie]

I have a Stern's and Foster mattress that I believe was around $1900 ish in 2000 when I purchased it. I hope to get another year or two more of it. It doesn't seem too bad yet.

 

[tolivac]

Tried my Dads waterbed when he had one at his house----LOATHED,HATED it!!!!!Would rather sleep on the FLOOR than a waterbed!Ended up using my Stepmoms bed instead-MUCH better.

 

[foraloysius]

The firmness of a waterbed is not determined by the amount of water you put in it, but by the stabilisation fillers of the water mattress. I'm sure more water makes it firmer, but that is not the way to do it if that causes the spine not being in a straight line. There are guide lines for how to fill a waterbed. A lot of people will get away with an incorrectly filled waterbed just like a lot of people get away with sleeping on a bad mattress. But if you have back problems there is no option otherwise than a correctly filled waterbed.

Besides that too much water (not enough is bad too), can stretch the vinyl too much, put too much pressure on the seams so the risk of leaks becomes bigger. More water also means more energy to keep the water at the selected temperature.

One downside of a waterbed is that you have to keep the blankets or duvets on it to keep the energy low. I prefer not to make the bed all day to make life difficult for the dustmites. Dustmites like the warmer environment of a heated bed with covers on it. Ventilation is important to keep control over these creatures.

 

[twintubdexter]

We all have different likes & dislikes...

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">I had no idea water beds were still popular. About 100 years ago I flew (on World Airways, how old is that) to Kansas City to visit friends and slept on a waterbed. It was awful. It was like sleeping on a pile of hot water bottles.  Every time I moved it created a wave and made me seasick. I'm sure there are higher-quality waterbeds today and adjustable thermostats. My friends were cheap so I assume the bed was too. I have been planning on buying a new mattress for my adjustable frame as a reward once I'm scheduled for the reversal of my "C" surgery. I currently have an early model memory foam bed. I want a new cushy pillow-top mattress, maybe something hybrid. Even though I have back problems (cancelled that surgery) I don't want to sleep on anything firm. And since I haven't done any entertaining in the bedroom in 10 years, even if someone gives me a "Blow Up Bob Doll" for Christmas, that's not a concern either. I want that "sink-in" feeling. I hope to find some good advice here.</span>

 

[ea56]

I had a waterbed from ‘73 til ‘76 when the craze first began.  It was a double size frame made of 2”x8” pine boards held together with 6” lad bolts on a plywood platform.  I think I paid around $150 for the frame, mattress and heater.  I thought to was very comfortable, easy to make.  I just used flat sheets, tucking the bottom sheet into the space between the frame and mattress and the weight of the water held the bottom sheet in place.

 

Back then they were the rage with my age group.  People used to say the motion was like power steering for sex.  It was a bitch to move, and I moved 5 times while I owned it.  The second time I moved it, I was in a hurry, so while it was draining through a garden hose directed outside, I thought, why not start taking the frame apart?  Bigga mistake!  As I removed the second 6”lag bolt from the right side with  the mattress half way drained, the mattress rolled off the platform onto my leg, like a tremendously heavy blob.  I was by myself, but I managed to free myself.  But then it was a real problem getting it drained the rest of the way and my “time saving” attempt ended up costing me at least an extra 2 hrs!  Ya live and ya learn as they say, LOL.

 

Finally, in the early summer of ‘76 I moved into an upstairs apt. and waterbeds were verboten. So, I bought a used double mattress and old fashioned steel bed springs from The Salvation Army Thrift Store for $22 ($20 for the mattress and $2 for the springs).  It fit perfectly into the pine waterbed frame with about 12’’ at the foot for storage of extra blankets.  That was the most comfortable bed I ever owned, believe it or not.  And everyone that ever shared it with me said the same thing too.

 

Eddie

 

[sudsmaster]

The only time I slept in a waterbed I didn't care for it. I really couldn't see the advantage.

 

 

[foraloysius]

Joe

Firm is not always good, the higher your weight, the firmer the mattress should be, generally speaking. More important is that a mattress supports your body in that way that your spine is in a straight line. It's all about being comfortable and feeling relaxed after a night sleep.

One thing I like is a wool mattress topper. I've gone through several mattresses the last few years (one replaced under warranty, the second replaced within the exchange period, the third ok but not great). It makes the mattress more comfortable and gives it a more plush feeling. Because of my allergies it's together with the mattress in an anti-dustmite cover.

 

[imperial70]

Casper

I bought a casper. I've never slept better and my back problems have ceased.

 

[gyrafoam]

Solid foam rubber-----

always seemed to be the very best I ever slept on, but, I don't think anybody makes anything quite like that anymore unless custom made.
Jamison was the last I remember.

Most of the traditional American mattresses with springs come from the "three S'", Sealy,Serta, and Simmons. They own just about everybody else.
Biggest difference is in type of coils. Simmons uses "pocketed" coils which are smaller, so there are more of them.
Coil-count goes up based on the quality level.
All coil-counts are based on a "full" sized mattress because that was the most popular size when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

No matter what size of traditionally sprung mattress you get, a coil-count of 600 should be the starting point. Anything else is going to be an inferior product.

Today's units aren't made to flip. They are forcing everyone to replace them every five years which is the typical good life expectancy, anyway. It's just that they go bad so slowly you usually have to sleep on a newer one before you realize how bad your own has gotten.
If you weigh about 100# you could have it for years without a problem.
Otherwise, Gravity is working against it just like it works against us.
Anyone over 200# already knows that before long a cheap mattress is going to become a giant hot-dog bun with you in the middle.

The process of procuring a mattress is a shell-game almost as bad as toilet paper, although, toilet paper is much cheaper.
A mattress has HUGE Mark-up!
I don't care what any sales person says to me, I already know you can knock half the price off of a decent unit and still hold on to the commission,perks, and make a profit for the company.
Beware.
And don't think you can comparison shop because you won't find "apples to apples" comparisons on purpose. They just switch the names and fabric colors so you can't make an exact match from another store.
Forget about warranties. Somewhere in the fine print is a sentence that will "void" the warranty for anything you can imagine. If you are luck, in the first year, you might be able to pound the table and get them to pro rate the price on another over priced unit. They can't take the old one back.

Simmons is the real stand-out with their pocketed coils, but, you want to buy better than a MOL unit!
Serta's upper end stuff is very well built with the coils interconnected.
Sealy is kind of the "Whirlpool" of traditionally sprung units.
They take one of their better Posturepedic units, put better foam and fabric on it and slap a Sterns and Foster label on it. Then jack the price way up. Kind of like Amana to Maytag or Kitchen Aid.

My companion and I once bought a new King-Size TOL S&F unit direct from the warehouse for $200.00. (We knew a local rep. from Sealy.)
The exact same unit, under various model names and fabric colors was selling in local stores for around $3800.00 in 1996 dollars.

The local Sam's here in Roanoke sells Simmons for a somewhat lower price that the other stores, but, still tremendous Mark-up.
The mattress stores are always getting people in the door with $99.00 specials, which are laughable. People actually come through the door thinking that these are a "good bed for the kids".
They aren't thinking about the kids bodies forming in the shape of a pretzel. It's all about price.
Salespeople are known to say " oh sure, I will show you those "dog beds" right over here."

Just don't go through the door with a Consumer Reports in hand or they will know you are in idiot right off the bat.
Happy hunting. My best advice is to buy the highest coil-count for the best price and plan on replacing it in five years.

 

[sudsmaster]

Costco routinely has Sealy and S&F mattresses for reasonable prices.

 

I may be wrong, but the diagram on the sides of new Sealy mattresses at Costco shows individually pocketed coils.

 

The line I've read is that although newer mattresses are single-sided, the quality of the one-side padding is such that flipping the mattress is not needed anyway. I guess.

 

[circlew]

If you want a two-sided mattress, they are readily available at Original Mattress Factory. Their advertising points this out.

Previously I had a Stearns & Foster twin mattress, and it was decent. It was purchased while S&F still had a plant in Cincinnati.

 

[rolls_rapide]

Of the beds I've slept in, over the decades, Sealy, Slumberland, and Myers, I'd say that Sealy is probably the best for me, for firmness and support.

The Slumberland was too soft, gave me a sore back. The Myers was better but still a bit soft.

I'm not convinced by those topper things, I find them far too sweaty.

I just use a traditional woollen blanket on top of the Sealy mattress, then I put a quilted fitted mattress protector (those ones with majority of polyester-cotton with polypropylene bonded backing) over that. Then the sheet on top.

Quite a comfy kip.

There's another competitor brand, Silentnight. They used to claim that with their system, there is no 'roll together'. They don't seem to use that advert anymore.

Oh, and I can't be doing with those pine-framed bedsteads. I keep clattering my bloody shins off them.

 

[mattl]

So much information, so many views, it should not be this hard.

 

I've been using the double Sleep Number mattress for a week or so now, not bad.  I bought it for my dad because it was a single bladder style, no divider in the middle, and that is a big plus.  It's a good stop gap and takes the pressure off rushing out to buy something though I do have 3 others to chose from in the house.  I will explore some of the new foam mattresses and I want to check out a hybrid Latex/ coil mattress if any of the stores have one around me.

 

Art Van was where I bought the last few sets, but they are gone, no Costco near by, but we do have a few Sam's in the area, plus Macy's and a few smaller retailers.  Never felt I could trust some of the mattress stores like Mattress Firm or US what ever, not sure of the quality.  Gotta say I hate this...

 

[foraloysius]

So, what about Ikea mattresses? Overhere in the NL they sell good ones for a reasonable price. I don't know if the US versions are similar. The sizes are completely different ofcourse.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/cat/mattresses-bm002/

 

[askolover]

I'm not a rough and tumble sleeper...usually can't even tell I've been in the bed.  I keep a comforter on my waterbed year round and it stays tucked in on 3 sides.  When I slip out of the bed I just flip the comforter back over the spot I came out of.  No making the bed everyday because it stays made.  Eddie, I also have always used flat sheets on my waterbed.  I got one set of waterbed sheets back in the 80's and I hated them.  I always use a satin flat sheet on the bottom too because otherwise I end up like a mummy when I turn over because everything tries to go with me.  With the satin bottom sheet I can just give a little oomph and flip right over no problem.  I bought a 100% cotton filled quilt on ebay several years ago to use as a mattress pad.  The cotton breathes well, protects the water bag, and helps with insulation along with the top comforter.  My bed was built out of 2x10's and 1/2 inch plywood.  My first one in 1984 had particle board for the pedestal.  Mine is much stronger.