Comfortable, cool, allergy-friendly bed setup?

November 20, 2012 3:14 PM

Our bed has reached the end of its life. Best foam bed setup for side-sleeper comfort, cool sleeping, and allergy symptom reduction? We're considering latex.

Doc thinks the allergies are due to dust mites, and has suggested covers for our mattress and pillows. We already sleep hot on a memory foam topper, and it was worse with a protective cover, so that's one of our main concerns.

The other concern is a need for soft support for hip, shoulder and back pain. We were sleeping really well on a medium-firm spring mattress with a softish 3" memory foam topper.

I've been reading that latex is a good alternative to memory foam in terms of comfort and heat. Everybody touts how it is "dust mite resistant," but I can't find any good sources to back that claim up.

I'm pretty much over spring mattresses. Right now, I'm thinking my best bet is to find cheap but durable foam as a base, wrap it with plastic, stick a latex topper on it, and put dust mite covers on the pillows. I've also considered the Sleep Innovations mattress that everybody raves about, but it looks like it's probably too firm, and it would need a cover, which brings me round the the sleeping-hot issue again. I want to be sure I've considered all our best options.

Some specific questions:

1. Are there non-crinkly/noisy dust mite covers for pillows?
2. Are there mattress dust mite covers that don't sleep hot? If not,
3. Would a latex topper really truly be a good choice for allergy-sufferers?
4. Any suggestions for how you would set this whole thing up, particularly on a tight budget? Any personal experiences?

Thanks.

posted by moira to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Response by poster: (The setup I'm considering are this foam base and this latex topper, but I'm concerned it will be a little too firm.)
posted by moira at 3:19 PM on November 20, 2012

Best answer: I can't speak to the mattress, but I have the Allersoft pillow covers (I got them on Amazon) and they are not noisy AT ALL. They're just like regular pillow case covers. You wouldn't even know they're for allergies.
posted by Countess Sandwich at 4:15 PM on November 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Sleeplikethedead is an excellent resource for researching every variable under the sun regarding mattresses and pillows.
posted by mcstayinskool at 4:41 PM on November 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yes to latex, especially talalay mattresses. I had a brand in the past called Vivetique which costed an arm and two legs but it was literally the best thing I've ever slept on. I am not sure how you would do this on a tight budget, because this stuff is a lot more expensive than a spring mattress. I purchase a talalay topper to try to make my current mattress (a horrible memory foam) more comfy and it didn't really help with comfort or get close to the feeling I had with my other mattress that was all talalay..

There are non crinkly covers for pillows and mattresses that look like thick cotton. Mine are from Linen's N Things but I've also seen them at Target and Macy's. I have not noticed that mine made me sleep hot, I've always used one just for the sake of having a cover on the mattress. I know one person who got insurance to help pay for the costs because of their chronic asthma. The doctor had to prescribe the mattress and pillow covers.

I have asthma and allergies and it has made a difference. It depends on what your triggers are.
posted by dottiechang at 7:47 PM on November 20, 2012

My sister doesn't have allergies but recently bought this top-of-the-line IKEA latex mattress and really likes it.
posted by Dansaman at 11:43 PM on November 20, 2012

I went to sleeplikethedead for latex recommendations as I'm an allergy-sufferer as well. The Ultimate Dreams Latex Mattress they review can be had for $600 shipped (Queen size) and you can specify how firm/soft you want it. They ship it like a big rolled crepe. Peel off the plastic when its on your bed frame and it expands over a couple of days.

After ordering, they contact you directly with your firmness request:

All of our mattresses are made to order and as an added bonus we like to contact our buyers and get an idea of what type of firmness you are looking for? On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being as hard as the floor and 10 being almost like sleeping on a cloud, this mattress comes in at a 6, very good support with just enough of a plush soft top. By changing the firmness in the 3 inches of latex we can dial in your comfort.

I ordered a 5 which is quite firm. I put a cotton/poly standard pad over it and its fine for me (my side doesn't lose circulation, I don't wake up sore). Its nowhere as hot as memory foam, and it absorbs pretty much all movement. If you want more give to the top of the mattress, I'd recommend getting a higher number. A lot of the Amazon reviewers explain their firmness selection and how it works out for them.

Stay away from the special offer pillows. They were overstuffed and did not give and provide any give, forcing weird neck contortions. My back pains went away when I quit using them.
posted by ijoyner at 6:01 AM on November 21, 2012

Response by poster: Thanks so much. After learning about non-sweaty covers, we were back and forth on memory foam vs. latex. It was a tight race, but since we loved our memory foam topper so very much for the way it conforms, it's less expensive than latex, and it's a known quantity, we decided we'd go in that direction.
posted by moira at 7:55 PM on November 21, 2012