What is Natural Latex?
Natural latex is made from the sap of rubber trees. The sap is whipped into a froth and baked into latex layers.
Purity
The best latex mattresses are made with all natural latex meaning without synthetic latex or fillers blended in. The latex is simply natural foam rubber. The Dunlop latex used by our manufacturers is certified organic according it USDA standards. Their process is certified organic according to GOLS (global organic latex standard) established by the control union. We also have mattresses from Savvy Rest that contain Talalay Latex. It is the purest form available which is cradle to cradle GOLD certified and meets sustainable forestry guidelines. The best quality latex is comprised of 95-97% natural latex, with the remaining percentage being the curing agents that allow the sap to bake into a solid piece of latex.
Comfort
For a comfortable sleep, you need a responsive surface for pressure relief and appropriate support for your spine and shape. Latex can meet all of these needs. Several of the mattresses in our showroom offer a custom layer design. The mattress can be made very soft or firm. The firmness can be customized on each side of the mattress, if one persons needs are different from their partners. Unlike most foams, latex breathes, which discourages the build up of heat and moisture in the interior of the mattress. Latex does not have the motion transfer of innerspring mattresses so you can move around in your bed without waking your partner up.
Sustainability
Latex can be certified organic according to USDA standards. Farmers use methane digesters to power their homesteads, and only organic fertilizer is used on young trees. No chemical pesticides or herbicides are allowed. Natural latex foam is made from the sap of the rubber tree. also called rubber serum. After the sap is collected, the bark of the tree heals quickly. Rubber trees can yield sap for over 30 years. When the trees are harvested, the land is replanted. Wood from the rubber tree can be used to build furniture.
Durability
One question we often receive is do latex mattresses breakdown or sag? Yes natural latex mattresses are meant to breakdown over time. The natural latex core in the mattress will oxidize after many years of use instead of off gassing toxic chemicals in a landfill like polyurethane or memory foam. Not to worry, latex mattresses are meant to last around 20 years, which is much longer than your typical conventional mattress. When it is time for a new mattress, you can rest easy that your old latex mattress will not be leaving a nasty carbon footprint behind. Latex mattresses are not immune to dips or sags, especially if an individual is sleeping on a mattress that is too soft. However, memory foam is more known to have issues with dips or sags due to the fact they retain body heat. It is the chemical reaction between the foam and the body heat that allows the memory foam to gently contour to the body. While this offers pressure point relief at first, eventually memory foam can struggle to bounce back, causing significant dips. The latex mattress company’s we represent have long warranties to handle dips, sags or manufacturer defects.
Please visit our website to take a look at all the different latex mattress options we have available to try in our showroom.