The best place to buy a mattress – topmattresspick.com might sound like a walk in the park, or a walk in the mattress factory, but the problem is that there are actually many factors to consider when you go mattress shopping. To help you find the best mattress for you, pay attention to these crucial tips for mattress shopping.

1. Consider The Mattress Type First

One of the first tips to follow when you are mattress shopping is to pay attention to the specific type of mattress in question. Generally speaking, there are innerspring, adjustable air, and foam mattresses.

Inner spring mattresses are those which are sold the most, and they have steel coils on the inside. These tend to be fairly comfortable at first, but springs can wear out pretty fast. With that being said, these kinds of mattresses tend to be fairly inexpensive and can be found virtually anywhere.

If you want something more comfortable, something that doesn’t transfer energy as much, and something that helps relieve pain, you might want to consider a foam mattress. However, those made of foam do tend to be quite expensive and exclusive.

Most people who don’t travel around will not go for an inflatable mattress, but the fact that they can be adjusted to a specific firmness is pretty neat. At any rate, the type of mattress you get will affect the quality of your sleep in many different ways, so do not rush into any one decision too fast.

2. Go A Size Larger

One thing to look at when you are mattress shopping is the size of the mattress in question. If you are a single person, you might be tempted to go for a single size mattress, or if you are two people sleeping together, you might be tempted to go for a double or full size. However, generally speaking, this can be a bit of a mistake.

Remember folks, you probably toss and turn a bit in your sleep. You don’t want to turn over and fall out of bed and you don’t want to elbow your loved one in the face either. When it comes down to it, getting one mattress size larger than you think you need just from looking at mattresses can make a big difference.

Simply put, you want to have enough room to sleep comfortably. Yes, if you already have an old box frame or bed frame, you might not want to go a size larger than the mattress you previously had, mainly due to cost and spatial issues, but if possible, it is definitely recommended to do so.

3. Know Your Warranties

When you are mattress shopping, something that you want to be very clear on is the warranty you get. Mattresses are expensive and they are meant to last a long time. If you get a multi-thousand dollar mattress, you want it to last for 10 or 20 years.

After all, this is not the kind of purchase you want to make every couple of years. Therefore, when you are mattress shopping, you need to get one with a good warranty, if possible a total warranty that covers everything.

Pay attention to limited warranties because these can be quite tricky and are often meant to fool customers into thinking that they are totally covered when that is not always the case. Also, the more money you spend on your mattress, the better it should be. It is reasonable to assume that big box retailers and specialty stores will provide you with better warranties than small storefronts and mom & pop shops.

Mattress Shopping Tips To Follow

Of course, there are some other tips you should follow when mattress shopping, but none so important as the ones we have discussed above. Besides those main tips, you should also see if you can lay down in the mattress first before you buy it, compare prices from different retailers, and don’t rush into any buying decision too quickly.

According to local reports, Santa Cruz, CA has seen a 25% increase in recycled mattresses citywide since 2016 thanks to a new bed recycling initiative.

Bye Bye Mattress began operating in the city in 2016 and is run by the Mattress Recycling Council, a non-profit that educates industry professionals on recycling laws and works with local governments to establish mattress recycling programs. The council currently powers programs in California, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, the only three states in the U.S. that have enacted explicit mattress recycling legislation.

To better understand the relationship between the MRC, local governments, and programs such as Bye Bye Mattress, I spoke with a variety of local and national stakeholders.

UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM

In California specifically, any and all conversations about mattress recycling must begin with the Used Mattress Recovery & Recycling Act, a law passed by the state in 2013 to force the mattress industry to address and deal with the waste produced by discarded beds and box springs.

The bill was sponsored by non-profit group Californians Against Waste (CAW) and former state senator Loni Hancock, who represented the 9th Senate District in the northern East Bay from 2008-2016.

“Senator Hancock was representing Oakland and noticed that the city had a particularly bad mattress problem,” CAW Policy Analyst Kelly McBee told me. “At the time, the city was collecting between 18-35 illegally dumped mattresses a day, which resulted in half a million dollars spent per year on bed removal. And this was in just one Californian city out of hundreds.”

Indeed, zooming out to the macro level illuminates the rampant spread of the issue, which manifested not just in Sen. Hancock’s district, but all over the state. As Lance Klug—Public Information Officer for California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle)—explained:

“In California, we’ve got nearly 40 million people, which means we’ve got millions of beds that reach the end of their lives in any given year. Before the law, many of these beds were illegally dumped… which was not only a waste of resources and a major eyesore for communities, but also cost the taxpayer a lot of money in cleanup.”
recycle.

Just how well do plant-based memory foam compare traditional memory foam mattresses? Many shoppers are surprised to learn there are differences and may not realize what characteristics distinguish one from the other.

In order for consumers to learn more about the similarities and differences we take an in-depth look at not only the two types, but also comparisons of popular manufacturers that were chosen to represent both plant-based memory foam and traditional.

Traditional vs Plant-Based Memory Foam

No stranger to the game, traditional forms of viscoelastic material have been used in bedding for over 20 years now. Memory foam continues gaining popularity among consumers, and in the past ten years this has inevitably meant more options coming to the market. Though this type of bed consistently rates higher than spring beds in terms of comfort and overall satisfaction, there are few issues that newcomers like plant-based foams have sought to address.

Traditional Memory Foam

Traditional memory foam mattresses are made from petroleum-based polyurethane. The process was originally developed by NASA, later purchased and introduced into the mass market. This type of foam is temperature-sensitive, meaning it reacts by hardening in cold spaces and softening in warm. The buoyant sensation and pressure-reliving properties come from the memory foam’s ability to contour to the sleeper and evenly distribute weight.

Plant-based Memory Foam

Though traditional memory foam has many positive aspects, there are few complaints which variations have sought to address such as heat retention, odors and chemicals, excessive viscosity, and firmness unpredictability. Plant-based memory foam replaces a portion of the petroleum products with plant-derived oils.

In addition to being considered more eco-friendly, some types of plant-based memory foam have actually been shown to improve breathability and eliminate other concerns without heat-retention issues. Certi-PUR® certified plant-based foams are also free of chemicals like CFCs, formaldehyde, phthalates, PBDEs, and are low in VOCs, all of which have been cause for concern in traditional memory foams.