Memory Foam Mattress with an Electric Blanket (or Electric Mattress Pad) There is no safety problem such as flammability with a decent memory foam mattress or topper (as contrasted with one of the cheap egg-crate type foams). Memory Foam Durability with Added Heat There seem to be two schools of thought on using heated mattress pads with memory foam. Some people say the memory foam mattress won’t support the bodyproperly if it is extra warm. Tempur-Pedic® states on their web site that they do not recommend using electric blankets or mattress pads because the “exposureto direct heat over extended periods of time can cause damage to the TEMPUR material”. Tempur-Pedic® further suggests that if at bedtime your mattress is too cold, try turning up the bedroom thermostat for twenty to thirty minutes before going to bed. Once you are in bed, the mattress will warm up quickly in response to your body heat. If you do choose to use an electric blanket to warm your mattress before bedtime, we recommend that you turn it off after 30 minutes to avoid overexposing the TEMPUR material to high heat.
My personal opinion - not supported by rigorous objective testing Several years ago, I myself spoke to the Technical Director at another one of the memory foam mattress manufacturers and he told me there would be no problems. I tend to believe this version because I personally have slept on a memory foam mattress with heated mattress pads for about six years now and I do not notice any problems. In fact, during cold weather, my personal opinion is that the support and comfort actually work better due to the extra warmth and I didn't like the "cold brick" feel. And I definitely do not want to increase my house temperature. One of the major benefits of heated bedding is to save money and energy by heating only the bed, not the whole house. Since some memory foam manufacturers say no and some say yes, you will have to make the final decision whether to go with the heated pad on the memory foam. Sorry we couldn’t be more scientific or definitive. Carries ALL MODELS of the Award WinningSAFEST Heated Blankets andMattress Pads fromSoftHeat Low VoltageUL Says: SoftHeat'sSafe & Warm TMtechnology uses"Non-Hazardous Class2 Low Voltage"
1. Before You Buy – A MUST Review: the Lead Page of the Buyer's Guide offering: Major considerations before your purchase; Links to all of our Reviews and Ratings sections 2. Ready to Buy? If you want to see a list of retailers carrying each of the major brands of Heated MATTRESS PADS this year, click Heated Mattress Pad Retailers OR for Heated BLANKETS, click Stores Selling Electric Blankets. The Electric Blanket Institute’s Consumer Guide and Blog text is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike 3.0 United States License. For any reuse or distribution you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. The best way to do this is with a link to this web page. This information has been developed over many years of testing and is presented freely for educational use only and without any warranty of any kind. It is not a substitute for the safe usage practices of your individual product. See our Policies Page for other information including advertising and affiliate linkage.
Sorry, all information presented applies only to products sold in the United States. We cannot help with other products.Polyurethane foam, memory foam and latex foam are the three most common types of foam used in mattresses. While latex foam has seen a bit of a resurgence in recent years, most mattresses only contain memory foam and polyurethane foam. Interestingly, latex foam was very commonly used in mattresses prior to the introduction of polyurethane foam in the 1950’s. We get a lot of questions about why we offer latex foam products but not offer polyurethane foam or memory foam products. We only sell latex foam products because we have a strong belief that latex foam is the best type of foam to use in mattresses and mattress toppers. Latex foam offers several significant advantages over memory foam and polyurethane foam. Latex foam is a foam produced by vulcanizing liquid latex into a solid foam. The vulcanization process cross links latex particles with sulfur through the application of heat and accelerators such as zinc oxide.
Latex foam can be produced with natural latex, which is harvested from rubber trees or synthetic latex, which is produced from petrochemicals. All of the latex foam we sell contains only natural latex and never contains any synthetic latex. Latex foam provides exact pinpointed support and reacts instantly to your every move. Latex foam does not “sink in” and “bottom out” as the night goes by. It maintains constant support and does not get softer when warmer. This makes it extremely easy to move throughout the night without any sleep interruption. The pinpointed, contoured support allows certain areas of the body to sink further into the mattress while others are supported. This is especially helpful to side sleepers, as they require more give in their shoulder and hip but more support in their midsection. Latex foam is one of the most durable types of foam available. Latex mattresses and mattress toppers long outlast those made with memory foam and polyurethane foam.
We often hear stories from customers that have had latex mattresses last over 20 years. Latex foam scores highly on all foam durability tests which simulate long periods of use. It is very common for natural latex foam to have emissions certifications. All of the foam used in our Pure Green and is ecoInstitut and Oeko-tex class 1 (their most stringent class) certified. While synthetic latex foam can sometimes have certifications, it is not as common. Polyurethane Foam (also known as poly-foam) is the least expensive and lowest quality foam used in mattresses and mattress toppers. People are often familiar with polyurethane foam as the type of foam used in sofa cushions or cheap “egg crate” mattress toppers. Polyurethane foam is made up primarily of compounds derived from petrochemicals. Many mattress manufacturers use polyurethane foam as the top layer of spring mattresses. This is done primarily because polyurethane is very inexpensive, not because it is high quality.
More recently, many online mattress retailers have begun using polyurethane foam as a base layer in their mattresses instead of using spring coils. Polyurethane foam can be compressed very easily due to it’s low density. This allows many online mattress retailers to save on shipping cost but also causes many of these mattresses to have short lifespans. There are several different varieties and densities of polyurethane foam. Generally, higher density polyurethane foam is a bit more durable while low-density polyurethane foam can degrade very quickly (sometimes within a year). Even high density polyurethane foam is less dense than latex foam or memory foam. All polyurethane foam, no matter what density, will degrade faster than any latex foam of decent quality. Polyurethane foam can add some softness and support, but it will not provide the same pinpointed support associated with memory foam or latex foam. Polyurethane foam tends to collapse much quicker when pressure is applied.
Because of this, it does not provide the same pinpointed, contoured support that latex foam is known for. Polyurethane foam rarely carries any emission certifications other than the certipur-US certification. This certification is often touted by mattress manufacturers. While the certipur-US certification is certainly a step in the right direction for the polyurethane foam industry, it lacks the credibility of the third party certifications such as ecoInsitut or Oeko-tex. It is a standard that was designed and is administered by the polyurethane industry itself. While the certipur-US certification does ban the use of certain types of fire retardant chemicals, it is very common for polyurethane foam to contain fire retardant additives. Memory foam (also known as viscoelastic polyurethane foam or tempurpedic foam) is a type of polyurethane foam that contains added compounds which change the way it feels. This gives it the "slow moving" properties that memory foam is known for.
For example, it will hold your handprint for a few seconds when pressed. As with polyurethane foam, memory foam is made up primarily of compounds derived from petrochemicals. Memory foam is usually denser and more expensive than regular polyurethane foam. Memory foam does provide much a more pinpointed feel than polyurethane foam. While it provides a pinpointed feel, it is not as supportive as latex foam. We commonly talk to people who have a memory foam mattress or topper but cannot stand the unsupportive, sinking feeling they experience on it. Covering memory foam is actually one of the top reasons that people buy our mattress toppers. Unlike latex foam, which responds instantly and provides constant support, memory foam responds slowly and sinks further the longer that pressure is applied to it. The sinking of memory foam makes moving during sleep more necessary, but the slow response of the foam makes it very difficult to move without sleep being disturbed. Memory foam is also heat reactive, which means it absorbs heat and softens as it gets warmer.
This adds to the “sinking” issues mentioned above. As the memory foam heats up from your body, it gets softer and sinks more. As your body sinks further into the foam, you get hotter. This continues until many wake up to find themselves hot and stuck in one spot of their mattress. Newer versions of memory foam exist, which are designed to reduce heat (often called “gel foam”). While these foams contain chemicals which make the surface of the foam feel cooler, many experience the same heat issues with gel foam. Densities of memory foam can vary greatly. In general, higher density memory foam is more durable and of better quality. There are a lot of very inexpensive, low density memory foam toppers which are sold online. Many mattresses also contain this low density, inexpensive memory foam. Low density memory foam may work well for a few months after purchase, but it will degrade very quickly. As with Polyurethane foam, certipur-US is typically the only certification that can is applied to Memory foam.