The Healthy Foundations Blog

Yesterday, a customer wrote and asked this memory foam mattress topper pad question:

Question:
"What would be the advantage or disadvantage in buying three of your 3" queen
size pads and putting them on top of each other on our innerspring?"

Our Answer:

We don't recommend putting multiple pads on a mattress. If your innerspring mattress is so hard that you don't think a 3" memory foam mattress topper pad will do the trick, you really are better off buying a new mattress than getting 2 of our pads. The problem is that memory foam is a soft material, and you would just sink in so deep with 6" that you wouldn't be comfortable. A Three inch thick memory foam mattress pad is really the thickest we recommend.

If, however, you had the opposite problem - your mattress is has dips or is too soft or sinky - then we wouldn't recommend getting a memory foam mattress topper pad at all. The memory foam mattress topper pad would just make the bed even softer and more uncomfortable. There really isn't any add on that can save your bed if it has dips or is just too soft - at this point you really need to start looking at new mattresses.

Posted by David Rosenberg at 08:46 AM | Permalink

One of our most frequently asked questions about buying a memory foam mattress topper pad is:
"Will a 2" pad work for me, or do I need to get a 3" or even thicker memory foam mattress toppper pad?"

Here is our answer from our Memory Foam Mattress Topper Pad Information Page:

________________________________________

Memory foam mattress topper pads come in a variety of thicknesses - from 1" pads all the way up to 4" and beyond. After trying out a number of pads and thicknesses, I really feel that the 2" thickness is the sweet spot. It really gives most people the benefits of a memory foam pad (better sleep, less aches and pains, etc) and at an affordable price. A 3" pad is somewhat more luxurious and provides even more cushioning, but there is a trade-off in that you sink in deeper and lose some support for your back. And while the price for a 3" has come down a lot over the years, you still pay a bit of a premium for the 3". I would suggest a 3" for someone who is a bit heavier (for women over 165 or so, for men over 185 or so), or if you are really looking for a soft, luxurious feel. As for 4" or even thicker pads, I just think this is overkill. If you need this much cushioning, you may just really need a whole new bed.

Posted by David Rosenberg at 10:20 PM | Permalink

Here's a question we had today from someone wanting to know if our memory foam sleeps hot:

Question:
"I enjoyed your website and found it very informative, but have one question. I have a too firm mattress about 2 years old and have tried various toppers, including a memory foam topper that I bought at Linens and things. It was comfortable at first, but became unbearably hot throughout the night, and I'm usually very cold-natured!. I had to throw it out and now have an alternative down topper that's better than just the mattress, but I am very achy in the morning and toss and turn all night. ... My husband can sleep on almost anything, but if the topper's too hot, it's just not going to work. I didn't see any testimonials about temperature. Can you give me some info??"

Answer:
I don't know what type of foam the Linens and Things topper was, but we don't have any complaints about the Healthy Foundations memory foam topper sleeping hot. I think the reason is that our memory foam pads are an open cell foam - and this keeps the heat from building up and being a problem. I sleep on our pad and I never feel warm at ordinary room temperatures. If I travel during the summer (I take my pad with me) and the room is over 75 and humid, it can be somewhat warmer but still usually not uncomfortable.

One thing you can do, though, if you feel the pad is warmer than you like it to put a quilted mattress pad on top of the topper pad. This extra, quilted layer will make it a bit cooler, and it shouldn't detract much from the feel of the foam as long as the quilted pad is fairly thin.

Posted by David Rosenberg at 02:11 PM | Permalink

Pancreatic cancer has been a part of my life for years. My father passed away from pancreatic cancer at just 61 and for many years I've published the information I came across when researching pancreatic cancer on the website Pancreatic Cancer Online.

Recently I found out the mattress community has come together to raise money for research into pancreatic cancer diagnosis and treatment. I think this is really exciting - and I wanted to help spread the word about this as well. The event is Seena Magowitz Annual Golf Classic, and it is the brainchild of her son Roger Magowitz. His mom, Seena, died of pancreatic cancer a few years ago, and this is the third year he has put on the Golf Classic to raise money for pancreatic cancer research. This years Golf Classic was December 3, 2005 and raised over $160,000.

Roger, who is the owner of Mattress Discounters, has done a amazing job of bringing together a lot of the big players in the mattress industry to sponsor and participate in his event. Some of this years sponsors were Sealy, Simmons and Tempur-Pedic.

I can't tell you how warmed my heart was that my industry, the mattress industry, came together to help support one of the causes closests to my heart - pancreatic cancer research. I've always separated these two interests of mine, my specialty mattress business and my pancreatic cancer informational website, and it is just so nice to have both these areas come together in such a positive way.

The insidious thing about pancreatic cancer is that it kills so quickly and completely that, unlike other cancers, there are literally no survivors to lobby for funding. Pancreatic cancer kills 98% of those diagnosed, and most within 6 months to a year. It is such a quick and devastating disease that most families are overwhelmed and just try to pick up the pieces after - they really don't have the emotional ability to lobby for funds as well. The end result is that while pancreatic cancer is the 4th or 5th leading cause of death among cancers, it gets just a fraction of the funding less lethal cancers get.

That is why what the Seena Magowitz Annual Golf Classic is doing is so important - it is already one of the biggest fundraisers for pancreatic cancer in the country. And I was impressed by Roger's interest in growing the event and spending the time and energy to find worthy research to fund.

If you have an interest in helping, you can vist the Seena Magowitz Annual Golf Classic site and send Roger an email (his email is on the contact page). While I found out too late to help with this years Golf Classic, I'm sure that if you contact Roger he will put your name on their list and send you information on the 2006 Seena Magowitz Annual Golf Classic when it is available.

Posted by David Rosenberg at 02:04 PM | Permalink

Since September, 2005, memory foam prices to retailers have risen dramatically - many retailers have seen price increases of over 50% in just one month. The reasons behind this price increase have to do with severe shortages of key components for making polyurethane foam. This is just one other offshoot of the damage done by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Both Hurricanes severely damaged the only plants in the US that make one particular key component (called TDI), and while these plants are getting back on line industry experts warn that these shortages may last for a year or longer. And they are also warning that prices may never come down - these price increases may well be permanent.

What has this meant to the memory foam industry? Well, since memory foam is made only of polyurethane, it has led to unimaginable price inceases and shortages. There are only a few main manufacturers of foam in this country, and all have been severely impacted by these unprecedented shortages. Bottom line - they are able to produce about half of the foam that they were making before, and their cost of production has gone up almost 80%.

So far we've been fortunate and our supplier has continued to be able to supply us in full (I guess that is one of the benefits of being a good customer). But shortages have occurred and prices, as a result of both the price increases and shortages, have sky rocketed.

We've raised our prices the absolute minimum to cover these unbelievable price increases, and we will continue to do this if there are future price increases as well. As for now, we don't see having any supply shortages either because of our buying power. One thing I want to caution you about is that we are hearing through the grapevine that some resellers are going to lower grades of memory foam to save costs - but still advertising the memory foam to be of a higher grade. I don't know if this is really true or not, but given the times you may want to make sure who you are dealing with and not let price be your only guide. We've worked hard to make sure that we continue to get and sell only the best grade of 4 lb memory foam. This meant we had to raise our prices 20% or so to cover the new price increases, but we only want to carry the best foam possible and wouldn't ever consider cheapening out the product just to save a few bucks.

Posted by David Rosenberg at 02:03 PM | Permalink

Welcome to our new Healthy Foundations web blog. I'm very excited about this experiment and look forward to sharing my thoughts on a wide range of subject - not just on memory foam but also on all sorts of other subjects in the mattress and sleep areas as well as any other health related areas that strike our fancies. I look forward to getting your feedback on these postings as well as hearing about any topics or events you would like us to write about. The more we know what you are interested in (questions about memory foam, latex, or air beds, sleep questions, etc.) the more useful this blog can be.

Posted by David Rosenberg at 02:01 PM | Permalink