Think mattress pads are just a required cover for your bed? Well, you’re partly right—every mattress does need a cover to protect from typical wear and tear. But the right mattress topper can do more: Some protect mattresses from dust, dander, and spills, some help the bed stay at a comfortable sleeping temperature, some reduce how much the bed moves when a sleeper tosses and turns, and some can even make a so-so feeling mattress a fabulous place to sleep. If you want to find the right mattress topper for you, this guide can help. Why do you need a mattress pad? Most people buy a new mattress pad because they either have a new mattress that they want to protect or because they're looking to make their bed more comfortable. What are you protecting your mattress from? Everyday wear and tear A basic cotton mattress pad A waterproof mattress pad Allergens like dust, dust mites and pet dander A mattress pad enhanced with anti-allergen properties
A mattress protector with bedbug barriers What would make your mattress more comfortable? Temperature control: A mattress pad that stays comfortable relative to how hot or cold I am in the night. Mattress pads filled with natural fibers like cotton, wool, or down. A bed that adjusts to my body: I'd like a mattress pad that makes my bed feel more custom-fit to me. A down-filled mattress pad, which is fluffy and comfortable-and will help keep the temperature even while you sleep. (If you're concerned about allergies, you can also opt for a down-alternative mattress pad.) A Visco Elastic mattress pad (aka, Memory Foam ) can also conform better to your body-these synthetic pads respond to body heat, getting softer in the spots you press the mattress most, and staying firm elsewhere-so they feel like they're supporting you where you need it. And if you opt for a cotton mattress pad, look for one with a higher fill count, which will feel softer. More firmness: I'd like my mattress to feel a little firmer than it currently does.
A latex mattress pad or a Visco elastic pad can add more firmness to the mattress for a more supported feeling. Reducing motion: I need a way to make my partner's tossing and turning less jarring to me when I sleep. A mattress pad made with Memory Foam or latex will reduce the transfer of motion, meaning one side won't move as much when the other one does. Mattress pads and mattress toppers are often confused. Here are the most common types of bed toppers. Type of mattress toppers Mattress Protector (a non-padded mattress covers) Non-padded mattress covers (sometimes called encasements) are designed to help protect a mattress from exposure to things that might damage it-like water, dust and dust mites, mold, pet dander, and other allergens. Non-padded mattress covers can be made of cotton, vinyl or super-tightly woven polyester fabric, and they usually zip up to totally surround the mattress. (You can get these encasements for box springs, too.) A fitted mattress pad works like a fitted sheet-a ring of elastic around its bottom edge helps secure it to the bed.
Unlike a sheet, however, a fitted mattress pad is quilted on top to provide a comfortable sleeping surface-and to circulate air to help sleepers' body temperatures stay more even during the night. Fitted mattress pads are a good match for most standard-size mattresses. Because it has a quilted top, a guaranteed-to-fit mattress pad helps make a bed feel more comfortable. It also offers better temperature regulation. The side panels of a guaranteed-to-fit mattress pad are made with an elasticized fabric that helps it attach securely to deeper mattresses, usually up to depth of 24". (These mattress pads are sometimes referred to as Tailor Fit or Expand-a-Grip.) Visco Elastic Mattress Toppers These mattress toppers, sometimes called memory foam, are designed to provide additional support to sleepers. They conform to the body because they're made with a temperature-sensitive material that contracts more where the body is warmer, but stays firmer where the body is cooler. These mattress toppers can also dampen motion when a sleeper moves.
Visco elastic mattress pads are placed on the bed underneath the fitted sheet. These mattress toppers are essentially mattress-sized pillows designed to create a more comfortable sleeping surface. Fiberbeds and featherbeds cradle body areas that don't come into contact with the mattress. These stuffed pads are made with natural materials like down and cotton or with man-made materials, and can be placed underneath or on top of a fitted sheet. Also referred to as egg crates, these dimpled foam pads are designed to improve body weight distribution. They add support, help reduce tossing and turning, and add a layer of cushioning to the bed. These mattress pads are electric and come with warming controls. Some come with dual controls that let you have different warmth settings for each side of the bed. The cover's fabric content: 100% cotton covers will provide superior comfort and durability over cotton/polyester blends; many are treated with fabric protection that makes them stain- and water-repellant as well as anti-microbial.
The cover's thread count: This number stands for the number of threads per square inch of fabric. A higher thread count of a better quality yarn will provide a mattress pad with greater resistance to wear and tear (it will feel softer, too). The mattress pad's fill: Most mattress pads have a polyester fill. As you'd expect, thicker fill provides more cushioning. Down-alternative fills, which are made of super-fine gel fibers, provide extra support and comfort. All mattress pads are machine washable. The general rule is to launder them less frequently than you wash your sheets, but more frequently than your comforter.My daughter is going to college this fall and we are getting ready. Her school recommended a number of items for her dorm which we dutifully purchased. Having worked on getting toxic flame retardants out of the foam in our couches over the past several years, it occurred to me that I should have the school-recommended foam mattress toppers for my daughter tested for those same toxic chemicals.
So I bought both recommended toppers and sent samples to Professor Graham Peaslee at Hope College in Michigan. Testing revealed that both the egg crate and memory foam toppers contained toxic flame retardants: "The egg-crate mattress topper was approximately 1.2 percent bromine. Brominated flame retardants are usually persistent, bioaccummulative and toxic. The flame retardant mixture called Firemaster 550 is the most common source of such levels of bromine in new foam, and although lacking extensive study, Firemaster 550 has been associated with obesity and anxiety in animals. In addition, one major component of Firemaster 550 has been linked to decreased sperm count in men, neurotoxicity and disruption of heart development and endocrine and metabolic function." It wasn't just the recommended egg-crate mattress topper that was found to contain toxic flame retardants, the memory foam pad did too: "The memory foam pad tested positive for bromine, but quantitative levels were not reported.
Firemaster 550 is again a prime suspect, but further testing is needed." "Flame retardants have been linked to cancer, reproductive disorders and brain damage in children, among other ills, " reports Lynne Peeples. It shouldn't take a chemist and out-of-state testing to determine whether or not toxic flame retardants are in our sleeping areas. It's time to eliminate toxic flame retardants from our stores, schools, hospitals and homes so we don't have to send products out to be tested in the first place. Fortunately, some are seeing the light and change is happening. For example, Kaiser, the largest US health management nonprofit announcing that they will stop buying furniture treated with flame retardants. They are leading the way in working to eliminate unnecessary and harmful chemicals in our surroundings, and putting pressure on manufacturers. You can read more about it in this Huffington Post article. Mattress toppers are incredibly common in dorms around the country ,and it appears that most contain flame retardants that seep out and become part of our children's toxic body burden.