Need a Industry solution for mattress quaqmire

Alee

I needed a new bed so I spent a month surfing relentlessly for advice and opinions from forums, manufacturers and retailers web sites, medical related sites etc., then days talking to sales reps from several London retailers and testing different types of mattresses and base.

Buying a bed and or mattress is a big investment - both in financial and health terms. Yet everything I have heard or read are either too vague or too general to be of any real substance. There is no industry standards or consensus of opinions. Even after lying on all the store beds for 10 or 20 minutes is no guarantee of a true picture of the suitability.

I wish manufactures & retailers will hire out 'test mattresses' for a couple of days home trial. For health and hygiene reason, the mattress must be used with a protective covering still on and for this covering to be replaced for the next hire. The protective cover does not impede any testing.

I say this because after all my research and testing of a Relyon 1100 pocket sprung and memory foam mattresses, which I bought for £700, I had an even worse back ache after 1 night. I was then told to give it a couple more nights of use as I need to get use to a need bed. Now Benson .... is refusing a refund even with their original protective plastic cover still intact.

The dilemma here is - does one continue to use it for as along as one can with the risk of further damage to the back or throw away the £700 and making another £!!! mistake?

Any suggestion?

dmg24

Unless the bed is faulty (i.e. not fit for purpose), you do not have a right to return it. TBH I don't think that one night is sufficient time to get used to a new mattress, and Relyon is a very reputable brand, so I would give yourself time to get used to it.

Alee

Thanks DMG24. I forgot to mention that I took the sales rep's advice and tried it for a further 3 days. Same result albeit slightly less painful in the morning. I wake up a couple of times in the middle of the night because of the discomfort and slight pain. The mattress is of medium tension - so does this mean I need a firmer tension? I do have a history of moderate back ache.

dmg24

I am not a medical expert, but it does sound like you need a firmer mattress.

However, this would not render the mattrass not fit for purpose, so I am afraid that you are stuck with it.

RadoJo

If you are receiving treatment for a bad back, could you ask advice from a medical professional? It might be that adding a hard board between your mattress and bed frame could help (only know this as family member has sciatica and this was reccommended to him, so don't take my word for it as medical advice!) or there is some other solution which you could use in conjunction with your existing mattress and frame.

It is difficult to try and find the perfect bed, but shopping around can only tell you so much. I hope you manage to find a way to make your mattress suitable without costing the earth!

mandybear

When I bought a new bed I was told various different things about the firmness of beds - one salesman said that it is an old wives tale about needing a firm bed for bad backs. Apparently modern beds don't have the sagging problems that they used to which was corrected by putting a board under it but people still think it helps.

I don't know if this is true or not but I get back pain and if I have to lay on anything hard it makes it worse!

I ended up getting a really soft and comfy bed and it is lovely to sleep on!

Alee

Thank you all for your comments. I spoke to Relyon today and they refuse to comment or advice, telling me to go back to the retailer Benson for Beds because this is a range specific to them. Have you noticed that more and more retailers have beds & mattresses made to their own specifications? Specifications which many retailers are unable or unwilling to disclose. The purpose? To hinder the buyer's ability to compare prices and quality. That way they can charge any price for it and also make it impossible for the customer to argue their case when a product fails to live up to expectation. Does manufacturers not think that this hotch-potch way of offering their products will affect their reputation negatively?

If banks can be force to introduce AER & APR as a standard for comparing rates, and food manufacturer having to list food contents, why can't this industry be made to have some sort standardisation. There is plenty of research about sleep and its effects but yet very little research about the product s relating to sleep.

hollydays

Labman wrote: »

Alee, was the bed you are replacing comfortable for you? If so, it might be worth looking for a similar one.

AAH Common sense!

soolin

My father had a bad back and like mandybear says he was advised by his specialist to buy a soft bed. He was even told that if he could afford one an old fashioned feather topper over a matress would help as it would mould to his shape.

They demonstrated mattress types at the hospital outptients where they showed that lying on a firm mattress actually gave no support at all and made the sleeper adopt a very unatural position where the hips and shoulders touched the bed but the back/waist area was completely unsupported.

If you have a clinically diagnosed back problem and are still under medical supervision then ask for advice for your own specific problem as what you need can vary depending on what the actual problem is. A bed salesman is in no way qualified to give you any advice and if you need a specialist bed you should be going to a specialist advisor, not a high street shop.

Tim_Deegan

I suppose many of you were wondering when I would reply to this thread. Well after reading some of the replie I just had to.

First of all Alee, there are companies who give a satisfaction guarantee, and will take your mattress back if you don't like it.

Talking to sales reps in many big chain stores just tends to confuse and fill your head with missinformation that is designed to make you part with more money.

20 mins lying on a bed in a shop isn't anywhere near enough to find out if a mattress is suitable, it can only give you a very rough idea.

Relyon is a very good brand. However if the particular model doesn't siut you, then it could be the best quality bed in the world, but it could still give you back pain.

Mandybear, was it me who told you that??

With Bonnell open coil sprung mattresses is was and still is advised to buy one with firm springs if you have back problems. This link shows a picture of the open coil springs http://www.bedlum-beds.co.uk/Editor/assets/P2060002.JPG These springs create a flat sprung platform. If the springs are soft then the mattress can sag towards the middle causing your spine to curve.

A pocket sprung mattress has lots of individual springs standing upright, and each spring is within a a fabric pocket, well that's what pocket sprung means. Each spring on it's own isn't actually very firm, but because there are so many they give you excellent support due to the fact that they contour to your body by giving support where it is needed. For this reason you should go for a firmness that suits you rather than thinking that you need a firm mattress because you have a bad back.

Labman :T :T :T

Soolin, I'm afraid your father may have been given wrong information. With a pocket sprung mattress he should go for what he finds comfortable. As far as toppers go he would be far better off with a memory foam one as feathers can move around and become lumpy. The best option is a pocket sprung mattress with memory foam built in.

soolin

Oldish, but probably about the same time my father was told to chuck out his hard 'orthapaedic' bed

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3264913.stm

in slightly more depth

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Health/Good-news-for-bad-backs/2005/04/02/1112302291076.html