cooling a memory foam mattress topper
May 11, 2014 3:57 PM   Subscribe

Has anyone had any success with finding the right barrier layer to stop a memory foam mattress topper trapping too much heat?

I have a memory foam topper to soften a mattress which would otherwise be too firm. It's OK by me as I like things warm, but is likely to be too hot for my partner when he stays. I have seen various recommendations for cooling mattress pads or adding another topper made of feathers to cool the effect of memory foam, but the first mattress pad I tried (coolmax) was useless and did nothing, so I'm wary of spending more money on something that won't work. Has anyone tried anything that worked?
posted by Flitcraft to Home & Garden (10 answers total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
 
Just in case a negative data point helps: as a warm sleeper, I have experimented with this a fair amount with no success at all. With some kinds of memory foam it's basically a Princess and the Pea situation — no matter what I try to put between it and me, I still end up waking up drenched in sweat.
posted by RogerB at 4:15 PM on May 11, 2014


Another hot sleeper here. I recently purchased a memory foam topper, and I already had a topper plus a fitted mattress pad to hold it in place. It's been a couple of months with this set up (mattress > memory foam > topper > fitted pad) and so far it doesn't seem any hotter.

What may be helping is that the memory foam is "vented" so maybe that's something you can try doing yourself. There's nothing special about other toppers; they were pretty inexpensive and probably 100% synthetic. FWIW, I've never been able to tolerate foam memory pillows but I do have a gel pillow that I l.o.v.e.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:46 PM on May 11, 2014


Best answer: I put a wool blanket between my mattress pad and the memory foam. It cooled things down a lot!
posted by futureisunwritten at 4:47 PM on May 11, 2014 [3 favorites]


Best answer: I have two memory foam toppers under a featherbed under a wool mattress pad; the feathers and the wool completely eliminate the warmth issue of the foam. Apparently I also have a mattress topper hoarding issue? But it works. Just a wool blanket should make a noticeable difference, though.
posted by kmennie at 5:11 PM on May 11, 2014 [3 favorites]


Seconding RogerB here - as a (very) warm sleeper, I have never found a foam mattress I am comfortable with.
posted by saeculorum at 5:12 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]


Best answer: We have a memory foam mattress with a 2" wool topper -- it doesn't completely get rid of the heat issue, but it is noticeably better.
posted by Malla at 7:15 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]


Nothing wool.
posted by k8t at 9:05 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Is that actually meant to be 'nthing wool' rather than 'nothing wool'? It looks like people are saying wool is the best bet. Unless anyone wants to contradict that, I'll take it that a wool topper sounds like it might be worthwhile? I'll try a blanket first though. Thanks!
posted by Flitcraft at 3:10 AM on May 12, 2014 [1 favorite]


Sleep Number sells special sheets and mattress pads made out of a funky material that draws the heat from your body. I fell for the pitch and bought a set, but haven't tried them yet (to be honest, even after washing they smell kinda funky). If you MeMail me in a week or so I will let you know if the sheets are effective.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 3:33 AM on May 12, 2014


Although I've never spent the money for one, I've heard great things about horsehair toppers.
posted by twoporedomain at 12:50 PM on May 12, 2014


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