Why Build Your Own Tempur-Pedic-Style Visco Mattress
Visco foam mattresses like Tempur-Pedic are becoming increasingly popular with consumers but the hefty price tag is prohibitive for many people. However good it may be, many people believe it's just not worth the price. So how can you get a visco elastic mattress for a lot less?
DIY Custom Visco Mattress Making
Before we tell you how to build your very own Tempur-Pedic mattress, there are some problems or drawbacks to know of:
- Memory mattresses (including premium Tempur-Pedic mattresses) are not made entirely of viscoelastic, temperature-sensitive foam. The material is expensive to make and too soft to provide good support on its own. Making a mattress entirely of it would be not only very costly but not very effective in providing comfortable sleep.
- Home-made visco mattresses cannot possibly match the comfort of the more expensive ones on the market. Really good quality, high density memory foam is costly to make. No manufacturer with any business-sense would sell this type of viscoelastic foam at wholesale prices when they would get a much higher profit by selling it as ready-made memory mattresses at market prices.
- Many manufacturers fail to provide detailed information on the quality of their foam (whether it's really the heat-responsive type, its density, ILD firmness ratings, etc). This can make choosing the visco foam for a homemade mattress tricky and somewhat of a gamble.
- Memory foam is still relatively difficult to find. Since many small, local retailers don't stock it, you may be forced to buy sight-unseen from Internet stores -- again, somewhat of a gamble.
Having said that, many people are satisfied with the level of comfort of their home-made visco mattress. On the other hand, there are also advantages of building your own Tempur-Pedic mattress:
- Home-made visco mattresses cost less than commercially-available ones. While not as good as the more expensive ones on the market, yours may still be very good value for money.
- Custom-made mattresses can fit bed frames, foundations or rooms of unusual sizes.
Alternatives for Custom Mattress-Making
There are three ways to go about creating custom visco mattresses:
- Improvising one by placing a memory foam topper over an existing mattress -- the cheapest choice.
- Having a manufacturer custom cut one for you -- the easiest choice.
- Putting a mattress together yourself by following these next steps.
Disclaimer:
MyFoamMattress.net is an independent buyers guide and is not affiliated with any mattress manufacturer or retailer. Different mattress manufacturers and retailers may advertise on this website but we are not affiliated with them in any way, we do not act as agents on their behalf nor are we their employees.
All care has been taken to provide consumers with unbiased information on memory foam mattresses. This may include both the pros and cons of different products and of different brands. All our content is based on extensive research on existing consumer opinions found online on countless forums, discussion groups and review sites spanning back 6 years. Our findings are meant to act exclusively as a concise summary of all these consumer opinions we have read.
Known Brands
What is the secret behind Tempur-Pedic mattress technology and why is it in the top 5 most popular brands alongside the likes of Sensus, Isotonic, Bergad and Sealy? The answer is that it uses good quality, high density, heat responsive foam.
How Long Does It Last?
What affects the expected lifetime of visco elastic toppers and do Tempurpedic overlays last longer? The answer is years and years as long as it's made of better quality, higher-density foam.
Real NASA Link
Many manufacturers claim viscoelastic foam was first used by the NASA Space Program to boost sales for their foam bedding.
NASA never did use that basic material in the 1960s. NASA foam pillow or space foam pillow technology simply does not exist as such.
The truth is the Swedish Tempurpedic company did eventually come up with a reliable formula now used in the best-selling Tempurpedic mattress.
While Tempurpedic pads are commonly known as Swedish pads, not all such products made in Sweden are made of the so-called NASA memory foam.
Authenticity Test
How can you check if your purchase as good as a real Tempur-Pedic mattress? You can try the wine glass test, the egg test, or the fridge test.