So soft, so cool
June 27, 2022 11:00 AM Subscribe
I'm getting a new mattress and I want one that is cool and soft. Suggestions? Also snowflake details...
My current mattress is a full innerspring with a built-in memory foam topper. I got it in 2010. It is the right amount of softness for me. My friend is moving and can give me an innerspring king mattress which is in great condition. The trouble is I tried it out and it is a little too firm. I’m not sure how cool it is, but probably cooler than my current one? I’m ready to spend significant money on a new mattress if that is likely to be more comfortable. I went to the mattress store and all their beds were too firm for me, but I don’t think I’m super picky because I’m usually good with the softness of hotel mattresses.
Questions:
1. Do mattresses rated as having good cooling just offset the heating affect of foam, or do they actively cool somehow?
2. Is there a mattress/topper that will likely be significantly more cooling than my current bed? (I do get too hot in hotel beds too though.)
3. Should I get a new cooling mattress, or take the free mattress and get a softer (and cooler?) topper to put on it?
4. Any recommendations for a mattress and/or topper? (Cool and soft.)
5. I like to have the weight of a quilt on me at night, but does anyone know of a quilt or blanket with more weight than a sheet which would be cooler than a regular quilt?
My current mattress is a full innerspring with a built-in memory foam topper. I got it in 2010. It is the right amount of softness for me. My friend is moving and can give me an innerspring king mattress which is in great condition. The trouble is I tried it out and it is a little too firm. I’m not sure how cool it is, but probably cooler than my current one? I’m ready to spend significant money on a new mattress if that is likely to be more comfortable. I went to the mattress store and all their beds were too firm for me, but I don’t think I’m super picky because I’m usually good with the softness of hotel mattresses.
Questions:
1. Do mattresses rated as having good cooling just offset the heating affect of foam, or do they actively cool somehow?
2. Is there a mattress/topper that will likely be significantly more cooling than my current bed? (I do get too hot in hotel beds too though.)
3. Should I get a new cooling mattress, or take the free mattress and get a softer (and cooler?) topper to put on it?
4. Any recommendations for a mattress and/or topper? (Cool and soft.)
5. I like to have the weight of a quilt on me at night, but does anyone know of a quilt or blanket with more weight than a sheet which would be cooler than a regular quilt?
5. Hospital blankets. The loosely-knit cotton blankets. When you have just one of them, a lot of air gets through and it stays cool. I have a bed on my third floor that I occasionally sleep in without air conditioning. I wouldn't say it's comfortable (it gets to be 95+ degrees up here), but I can do it.
posted by kevinbelt at 12:03 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by kevinbelt at 12:03 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Wool is a surprisingly cool mattress topper. When it’s horribly hot, so hot that lying on my couch or bed makes me miserable, I throw down a wool blanket and a sheet over it and it makes the couch/bed tolerable. There are wool mattress pads that would probably be a more elegant solution.
At night I use a weighted blanket knitted in huge loops like this one. A fan pointed at me provides ventilation and I get the benefit of the blanket’s weight.
posted by corey flood at 3:27 PM on June 27, 2022
At night I use a weighted blanket knitted in huge loops like this one. A fan pointed at me provides ventilation and I get the benefit of the blanket’s weight.
posted by corey flood at 3:27 PM on June 27, 2022
You should investigate temperature-regulating Merino Wool. For instance, Merino Wool Mattress Topper.
posted by dobbs at 3:45 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by dobbs at 3:45 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Since you liked your previous innerspring/foam hybrid combo, I would start with your friend's mattress and splurge on nice cushy topper. If it works, you've saved yourself at least a grand and the MASSIVE headache of comparison shopping for mattresses. If it doesn't, you're only out a couple hundred bucks that you could probably make back by selling the mattress.
posted by yeahlikethat at 6:44 AM on June 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by yeahlikethat at 6:44 AM on June 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
I just switched from a regular very old inner spring matteress with a memory foam topper to a new inner spring mattress with 3" built-in latex top layer. I used to have to keep my a/c at 65F at night, but now I can keep it at 69 or 70. So that's a pretty good improvement. Mine is supposedly a "cooling" mattress (Aireloom), because of the latex, breathability, and other mystery science that I don't really understand. I do miss the squishyness of the topper but I'm getting used to this one. If I were you, I would take the King mattress and look at gel, latex or wool toppers for it, or see if your body will adjust to it as-is.
Also, as someone mentioned above, get one of those loose weave cotton blankets. Like this. It provides some weight but the loose weave is very porous and lets the warm air right out, so it doesn't really insulate without a layer over the top of it. I keep a sheet on the bed to pull over the top of it if I get cold, which surprisingly adds an absolute ton of warmth by mostly sealing off the blanket holes.
posted by bluesky78987 at 7:46 AM on June 28, 2022
Also, as someone mentioned above, get one of those loose weave cotton blankets. Like this. It provides some weight but the loose weave is very porous and lets the warm air right out, so it doesn't really insulate without a layer over the top of it. I keep a sheet on the bed to pull over the top of it if I get cold, which surprisingly adds an absolute ton of warmth by mostly sealing off the blanket holes.
posted by bluesky78987 at 7:46 AM on June 28, 2022
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For a lightweight covering, right now I have two flat sheets sewn together but my favorite is a 58” wide thick cotton beach towel. There’s something about the nubbiness of the texture that is the perfect weight and not clingy.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 11:50 AM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]