Mattress Buying Guide |
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A Mattress Buying Guide For Anyone Considering BuyingMost people are pretty sure when they need a new mattress! However, if you're not entirely sure yourself, if any of the following signs sound familiar it could be time to think about buying! Do you find that you spend more time tossing and turning in the night than you used to? Does going to bed not really seem like the ultimate in relaxation anymore? Or the classic one, you sleep better in the hotel bedroom or over at your friends houses than you do in your own bed? If any of this is ringing a bell with you then It could be time to bite the bullet a buy yourself a new mattress. There are one or two more obvious signs that the game is up, if your bed is showing visible signs of deterioration, such as dipping or sagging, this is a clear indication. When it comes to the actually shopping activity itself, the same advice holds true as shopping for any product. Do your research before pounding the pavement and calling into the stores. Check out the top manufacturers, get a feel for the market, who are the big players and who are the bargain basement manufacturers? Don't confuse quality with price, it's the age-old mistake, more expensive doesn't always mean better quality! Again, doing your homework by reading pages like this will better arm you for the shopping experience. Watch out for gimmicks and cheap ploys or unrealistic claims! Use your common sense here, and don't be fooled into believing claims that just don't sound right! A common claim by mattress manufacturers is that a bed is 'orthopaedic' or 'medical grade' and while a chiropractor may casually recommend a particular mattress to a given patient, to boldly claim that the wider medical community endorse a particular mattress is misleading and in my experience almost always false! Don't fall victim to the overly pushy salesperson, your new mattress is a big investment so don't be rushed! One warning sign to pay attention to is a retailer who will not offer a no obligation trial. If a salesperson is doing a good job in informing customers about their mattresses as well as listened to customer requests and requirements, then provided they are selling a good quality product they should see very few returns, meaning they should be willing and able to confidently offer no obligations trials. If they don't, you need to be very sure about your purchase and confident in the integrity of the retailer! When it comes to picking a particular mattress, a lot of it is down to personal preference, but as a general rule I would stick to the better known manufacturers such as Serta, Simmons and Spring Air, or Tempur-Pedic if considering a Memory Foam Mattress. Speaking of the memory foam mattress, this raises the issue of mattress type, by this I mean the mattress construction. There are four fundamental categories of mattress, namely the spring mattress, the memory foam mattress, featherbeds, and the inflatable mattress. Considering the spring mattress first, this is the standard mattress we've all slept on at one point or another and it makes up by far the largest proportion of the mattress market. The spring mattress consists of an inner core of steel springs covered by layers of padding. The spring stiffness as well as density determines the mattress stiffness. The lower the 'coil count' for the mattress the softer it is, the softer the mattress the more evenly is will support your weight, similar to the principle of memory foam beds. However you need to strike the balance between a soft mattress offering even support and a soft mattress offering too little support, the only way to get this balance right is by either dumb luck or trial and error, hence the importance of the 'no obligation' trial! The next most popular type of mattress is the Memory Foam mattress. Most Memory Foam mattresses have a conventional core but instead of a fabric padding, the sleep surface is a heat sensitive foam. For a fuller description of Memory Foam Mattresses click here. A feather bed is a feather or down filled pad on which you sleep. They're not hugely popular but a top end one can make for a great sleeping surface. The most common design is known as a baffle box, and it resembles a series of down pillows stitched together, this stitching helps to keep the filler evenly distributed. Goose down makes for the best filling. The final type of bed is the air bed. This is not a real long term alternative to any of the options described above, and is typically used as a bed for occasional guests. However it is included here for completeness. When shopping for your next mattress, the most likely candidates are the traditional spring mattress and the Memory Foam mattress (especially recommended for sufferers of pack pain). The key to making the right decision is to do your homework, and don't be rushed. Try as many beds as possible before handing over that cash. |
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