March 22nd, 2005
Disclaimer: The following veers dangerously close to sleep-apnea territory. But I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t really need your help.
My wife and I have been casually shopping for a new mattress for a couple months. Our old one has springs sticking out of it and is permanently concave. It is unpleasant.
On Saturday night we went out to dinner, had some wine, and then went for a walk through Old Town, Alexandria. We stopped at Joann’s Bed and Back Store and, with almost no provocation, bought a TempurPedic mattress, which was supernaturally comfortable.
On Sunday morning I did some post-facto research and went to epinions, where I found that while most people liked TempurPedic’s special memory-foam mattresses, about 10 percent of them had the same two complaints: (1) The memory foam begins wearing out after about three years; and (2) When you try to invoke the 20-year warranty from TempurPedic, their customer service is terrible. Ten percent isn’t a great many people, but of the 90 percent who liked the TempurPedic, few of them had owned the mattress for more than a year. (This makes sense of course, if you had it for a year, wrote an epinion review, and still liked it five years out, it probably wouldn’t occur to you to write another positive review.)
Frightened at having bought this thing on a lark, I called the store and cancelled our order.
Was this a mistake? I’d like to hear from you (or anyone you know) about TempurPedic. Have you ever had one of their mattresses? Did you like it? Hate it? How long did it last? Did the foam form a little valley where you slept after a few years? How was dealing with TempurPedic? What is your recommendation?
In short, I need your help in deciding whether or not I should go through with the TempurPedic purchase, because while I loved the way the mattress felt, it’s too much money to spend on something which I’ll need to replace in a few years.
Any and all thoughts, experiences, advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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I’ve heard similar things, but can’t confirm the veracity.One thing I’m wondering–and perhaps you can ask–is whether there’s any advantage to the TempurPedic brand vs. the other brands of similar mattresses. I know that one prominent local furniture and bedding store is selling a private label version for 1/3rd the price. Is it a deal, or not?
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Being part Swedish, I suppose I should stick up for the TemperPedic, but I have heard the same thing about them — they wear out. Also, I purchased one of their pillows for my wife, who has back problems. With in a year the whole thing had gone flat and lost form.Additionally, as an allergy sufferer, my doctor has specifically told me to avoid TemperPedic mattresses because they act like sponges and trap lots of allergens. He said the Sleep Number bed was better because, while it has the same foam core as the TemperPedic, it is primarily an air chamber that can be adjusted and doesn’t trap all the dirt.
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I second the Sleep Number recommendation. I had back surgery several years ago, after which we bought ours. Words cannot describe the difference it has made to the quality of our sleep. BTW, it also has a twenty-year warranty.
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ABC Carpet & Home here in NY just started carrying mattresses by Hastens, another Swedish company. They start at about $2000 and can go as high as $16000. But I tried one out, and it was fantastic. Also, the cheaper ones are closer to the ground (box spring and mattress top all in one). Totally natural ingredients: horsehair, cotton, wood, metal. No gross plastic or plastic-like covering, so your bed can breathe. If I had the money, I would’ve bought one right then.That said, friends have a Sleep Number bed, and they rave about it.As for me, I bought a fake Tempurpedic pillow, and I despise it. It’s way too hard for my tastes.
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I’ve got some good feedback on cheaper, non-TempurPedic brand beds and TempurPedic pillows. We bought a ‘memory-foam” bed from abed.com – it was much cheaper than the Brookstone beds, for example. i think we boght the “denmark” version. i thought i was incredible – like sleeping on air – but it was too soft for my husband and he had lower back pain regularly from it. worse: within months, it sagged. They don’t refund -they just allow you to put the money toward another mattress. we upgraded, and that one sagged soon too. i don’t recommend these.as for the TempurPedic pillow, i never could figure out why the beds have a 20-year warranty and the pillows only have a 1-year warranty. yes, they do start to sag – before the year’s out as well. but i get neck pain unless i sleep with it, so i’m happy.
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I know nothing about TempurPedic.I’ve been sleeping on Serta for the past twenty years, and the only thing that might make me change my mind was a pillow soft by Johnson that I slept on at a friend’s house a couple years back.Those squishy-beds would probably wreak havoc with my back, so test-drive a Serta.~ mikeP.S. You’ve got springs sticking out? You DOG, you…
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The memory foam, in my experience is terribly hot. You sink into it and as a result you are half cocooned in thick foam! It is also difficult to turn over – you first have to pull yourself out of a hole. I second the sleep number (I have a comfortaire) style of bed
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Forget about the foam mattresses. Yes they wear out and form “hollows”. For about the same money you can get a traditional Chatham & Wells mattress that will be vastly preferable. And it’s built like a tank, so you know it’ll last 25 years.
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I’ve got four words for you:Simmons Beautyrest World Class.I have a terrible back (four fused vertabrae) and so researched the heck out of mattresses when it came time to get a new one a few years ago. The key is actually to try them out, in the store.I got a Simmons Beautyrest World Class (firm) and have loved it ever since. It just seems really solid and I haven’t noticed any appreciable change in it since. We’ve had it about 4-5 years now.I use a TempurPedic pillow but have discovered that they do wear out within a year or so. I imagine the mattresses do the same. And they can be hot as they don’t breathe very well.Good luck.
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I have a Simmons Beauty Rest, too. It’s amazing. I’m ruined for other mattresses now.
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I bought a Hastens bed in CT and absolutely love it. It is all natural so it breathes better than other beds and it should last 50 years. It did cost more than other brands, but I feel that my mattress is the most important piece of furniture in my house. I live in NY, so the dealer in CT did not charge me sales tax, you should all think about buying out of state.
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We bought a Tempurpedic mattress around 2.5 years ago. It was wonderful for the first year and change. I’m reading this blog because ours has gotten soft and lost it’s “memory”.Their warranty does not cover increased softness. I’ve noticed my back getting sore, now I know why. My recommendation is to avoid them, they are great for a while, but when they get soft, they offer little support.
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I live in Prague and recently bought a Hastens bed from Sweden. Terribly expensive, but so far worth every penny. I remember once sleeping in a luxury suite bed in a Westin Hotel in Boston and enjoying every night’s sleep immensely. This Hastens bed is better. Damn, they’re expensive, but I’m hoping it will last forever!
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I went through a very similar situation. I agonized over what to do, because I loved the feel of the memory foam in the store, and a friend of mine RAVED about here. It is a huge expenditure, though. I’m willing to invest in a quality bed, because I do believe that with things like this, you get what you pay for. But everyone has a different opinion on the subject, and you can’t trust the salespeople in the showrooms. Long story short, I was so confused that felt the need to consult an expert. I called 1-800-Mattress – I’ve used them before and always got honest answers to all my questions. The consultant knew everything about all the different knock-offs of the memory faom beds. For example, did you know that the memory foam beds retain heat? Once your body heat gets in there, they warm up like an oven! There is also a significant poroblem with wearing out, particularly for heavier people.We ended up getting something of a hybrid. It’s called the Aruba mattress from King Koil. It’s the best of both worlds…and awesomely comfortable layer of foam over a really supportive interior. We love it! Hope this helps.
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Well, here’s my 2¢ worth.I would recommend the SleepNumber bed and then, if you must have the “foam” feeling, buy the Tempur-Pedic materss overlay and place it inside the SleepNumber bed underneath the foam that already comes with the matress.This way, you get all of the advantages of both, and the disadvantages of the TP bed, such as sagging, are not that noticable since you can always increase the firmness of your SN bed.That’s what I’ve done.
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I am going through a similar situation with the TempurPedic. I was all wound up and raring to get one then heard all sorts of opinions about thier lasting quality from my research and various chat forums.I recently went to 1-800-Mattress, who have extremely helpful and selfless ‘Sleep Consultants’ who worked with me (discussing my lifestyle, sleeping habits, budget, etc.) in deciding the perfect mattress, which turned out to be a Simmons, fantastic! if you have a 1800Mattress Store near you, i highly recommend them. Extremely helpful and convenient – they delivered the bed the same day i ordered it, set it up and took the old one with them. Sleep Well, CC
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Worst purchase we ever made. Within 6 months, mattress was overly soft causing us to sink into it. Turning over at night was so difficult we both wake up when one of us try's to do so. Backaches every morning. Mattress traps heat and is too hot for comfort unless room is really cold and then the mattress gets hard. A complete waste of money for us.
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7/2/09 — Why this site doesn't show the date on posts is beyond me!I can't believe some posters are accusing those of us who dislike the TempurPedic as being imposters! That is certainly not true in my case. I posted my opinion of the TempurPedic last year (do a find in page for March 2008). While I didn't like the mattress, I felt I gave a balanced view of it. My husband, a back sleeper, didn't mind it. I'm a side sleeper, and it was just horrible for me. The smell was bad for a few days, but not as bad as others have mentioned.I also wonder why they do such good business after complaints like those mentioned here, but we all must remember that different people like different things. I had the basic model, which may have been the problem. Some people will dislike it and others will love it. At least this site provides opinions on both sides of the issue so that you can make an informed decision. (There's plenty of negative comments on here about the Sleep Number bed, too–who's posting those? TempurPedic managers? Come on people!)To follow-up on my first post, we returned our TempurPedic (classic model, very basic–I believe around $1800 in Spring 2008). I can only hope the better, pricier models live up to all the hype, but how many of us can afford that? We picked out a Simmons Beautyrest that was in the middle of the Beautyrest price range, and still cheaper (on sale) than our TempurPedic. We're both very happy with it, and I never regretted returning my TempurPedic. It wasn't for me, bu it might be for you. At least do the research first, and maybe that will reduce the chance of disappointment if/when purchased.
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7/2/09Many people who are satisfied with their TempurPedic aren't going to go online and brag about it. People who are not satisfied, however, most likely will want to vent and warn others. These reviews are mostly lopsided. In a statistic provided by TempurPedic, 94% of TempurPedic owners say their expectactions were exceeded with their purchase.For the best opinions, try and talk to your friends or friends of friends about TempurPedic. Avoid strangers and salesmen.
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Hahaha. I'm still trying to figure out who works for Tempurpedic, sleep number and 1-800-Matress.
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:)) No Kidding! Something like almost every one of the positive comments seems to be blindly extroverted. Oh, hello Mr. Personal Stake.I have a Tempur-Pedic, and it has been a year-long horror. I sleep on the floor now. My poor girlfriend tries to sleep on the thing because of how much $$$ we spent. She sleeps on a pile of materials to try and reduce the pain. FUCK TEMPUR-PEDIC!
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I had a TempurPedic bed (king mattress and box springs) replaced due to sagging and loss of support after about eight years. The customer service was great from TempurPedic, but not from where we purchased the mattress (BackRite). BackRite would not help us in making a claim to TempurPedic. I thought that was really sad and they lost a customer. I am not shy about letting anyone know that BackRite would not assist us with warranty issue especially since the cost of the mattress was rather expensive.If you have a problem with the bed sagging or losing support, contact TempurPedic, via telephone, and just follow their instructions (fill out form, take the pictures they request, and email everything to them), they will respond. Have had the replacement bed for two years now with no issues. It does take time getting use to the bed (a few days at most). Once you are use to the bed, it is wonderful. Recently purchased a new TempurPedic (queen) for an additonal bedroom. So far, no regrets.
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I found a memory foam with no heat build up or off gassing.This is my fifth year sleeping on it and it feels just as as good as night one.www.myessentia.com
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So much marketing BS here I can't tell who is legit.
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If you do buy it keep my contact info because I am tyring to get a class action law suit going.My Tempur-pedic has a rut. It is only noticable when I lay on it, but the warranty requires me to use a ruler to measure the rut (which I cannot do while I am on it)I have heard of other people who have had this same issue and Tempur-pedic must be aware; I can think of no other reason for the wording in the warranty.DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!!
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My wife and I received our TP Rhapsody on July 13, 2009. We bought it through Brookstone, where they honor the 90 day trial _without_ restocking fee. First, the smell. Definitely not a mold smell like some have experienced. This smells like chemicals, like plasticizers or whatever. The smell was extremely strong. We took the outer washable cover off and left the windows open to air it out. It took over a week for the smell to reduce to a point where we could sleep on it. Since then, it's been fine. The apple trick had absolutely no effect whatsoever.One thing I did to accelerate the "break in" process and to try to squeeze out some of the chemicals trapped in the foam: I walked carefully on it in a systematic pattern to try to evenly compress all parts of the mattress. No idea if it helped.One thing I have gathered from the other posts here is the "break in" pattern. It seems that the bed softens where you sleep on it. If you sleep in only one spot, you'll get an indentation there. My guess is that if you could apply a similar amount of wear to other parts of the bed, then it would wear evenly.We noticed that where we slept was less firm than, for instance, the middle.So I had this bad cough and decided to sleep in the guest room. (The contrast of the guest bed vs. the TP is dramatic, BTW.) I suggested that she sleep in the center of the bed. That seems to have helped even out the wear.I can't decide if the speed of wear is good or bad. It does make me a bit nervous.We're also going to rotate the mattress regularly. And since it's a king, it _nearly_ square, so we could rotate it 90 and 270 to spread out the wear.But of course, we're not going to let the trial period lapse without a careful consideration of how the bed has done. I think 90 days really isn't enough.
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The worst bed you will ever buy. It feels so soft and cozy.. you have no idea what it's doing to your back. And then 3 months later you start to get shoulder pain, followed by neck pain, followed by lower back pain. THE WORST BED EVER please mark my words. 1800 mattress $300 bed was more comfortable to me than this $2000 bed. My neck feels like it is breaking. NO SUPPORT. Do not buy this bed. I'm so serious. Just don't do it. Buy the pillow if you love the idea of it so much.
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Don't buy it.That simple.
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I have two tempurpedic Deluxe beds. And when I travel I only travel to hotels with Tempered beds, like the Rivington in New York. My husband and I have had the main tempur for 4 years. Yes, it breaks in but it's better when it does and it does not get worse. Regarding the heat. Yes, it's much hotter. I sleep between sheets, and in the winter with a light blanket. No comforter. If you have heavy blankets this will keep you from turning over properly and you will most likely just end up on your back. This is true of most mattresses, the warmer tempur makes light blankets possible.I did once have a corporate rental for 6 months and I bought the classic tempur and it was like sleeping on a brick the whole 6 months.I used to have massages, and physical therapy 2-20 times per month before we bought our tempurpedic beds. Now I don't ever need it.This summer we went on vacation to a place that had no tempur. My back and neck hurt so bad when I returned I could not work for another 2 weeks until I recovered.Tempur rocks.
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Posted 11/22/09 I was almost ready to buy a Tempur-pedic Rhapsody today from a furniture store that is closing. Thought it would be better to do some research before buying…and boy am I glad that I have. I'm shocked at how many people seem to have had problems with this. The plastic smell should be a red flag for these toxic things. In doing more research have any of you had any luck with Carpe Diem or know anyone that has purchased one? Hastens mattresses seem to be extremely expensive and require more maintenance than what I think I would want. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.Thanks for your time!Kristen
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Don't buy one! We paid a lot of money for ours, have had it just 4.5 years and it is broken in and broke! Mattress saggs, platform is cheaply made and now creaks, wakes us up, even wakes up the dogs! It is a "Delux" Queen Size. Was hot at first and wifes "hot flashes" soaked in so can't warrent the thing! Oh my gosh don't try the "wine test" they will not take it back if you spill! We moved the mattress today into a spare bedroom. Am having a Sealey "Crystal Sea" true form King moved in tomorrow. I build furniture out of real wood so I feel I know what I'm talking about!
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Did I mention that the Crystal Sea model by Sealey cost us around $500.00 less than our Tempur Queen?
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Ok. After reading all this I finally just had to comment. I've got a tempurpedic king size celebrity that adjusts like a craftmatic. Very expensive bed; paid about $6500 for it. The salesman really encouraged us to buy the special cover to protect the mattress. I've had it for almost 2 years now and have had NO problems at all. If you want to talk weights, I weigh almost 270lbs and my wife around 200lbs, there really isn't even any "spots or craters" either like some of you guys are saying. It did take some getting use to; until you get the hang of it getting out of bed can be a bit tricky. We use to laugh about it. It does get alittle "warm," but we seem to tolorate it well. When the mattress is cold you do need to watch yourself plopping into bed, can be a bit hard until it warms up, but then in less than minute it is great. Ok I'm just gonna come out and say it, sex is awesome in this bed; your knees and arms grab in a bit for tracktion. If you have the upper parts and lower parts of the bed lifted a bit and your in the middle having fun it helps hold you together when your doing it from behind. Ok, my face is red, but you guys can't see that. I hate beating around the bush in discussions sometimes. I'm sorry for the folks who are having trouble but for us this is the BEST BED WE HAVE EVER HAD!Mike DGresham, Oregon
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What about latex? I have a slight reaction to latex. Also, being a health care professional, I am seeing more and more patients with latex sensitivity/allergy. Is a latex bed really a good thing?
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My husband and I were about to buy a new mattress after owning our TempurPedic for 6 years, but instead we FIXED it! Learn how at fixyourtempurpedic.blogspot.com
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I bought the tempurpedic deluxe three years ago and have been aching for the past 1 1/2 years. (Lower back, spine, neck, shoulders)The chemical smell only lasts for the first few weeks.I found firm, equal support for the first few months. As it gets used more, it soon softens in certain areas (hip area especially) and becomes a hammock. When I stand up off the bed, the bed will always come back to its original shape…perfectly flat. But I definitely feel a hammock-like shape after I am in it for 5 minutes now. It's just like sleeping inside an oblong bowl. If, by chance, I slide over 4 inches I definitely will not lay flat. I would lean permanently. I no longer sleep on this bed. I sleep in the guestroom.When I called tempurpedic a few months ago to complain about the hammock effect, they told me to take a photo of the bed. "Does it show any sags?" I told them it never sags without me in it. It has become a hammock WHILE I'm in it. (My queen-size mattress has actually become 2 hammocks.) It was not that way for the first few months. It has definitely broken down, but it will always hold its original shape when no one is on it. Tempurpedic does not care what it FEELS like when you're in it. It only cares what it LOOKS like when it's sitting there all by itself. That's why they can deny the 20 year warranty to everyone.
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I've had a bad back for ten years, following an accident — slipped disc L4/5 and disc degeneration L3-S1. I've also had a Serta that was starting to get old (10 yrs), and it was getting to the point, I couldn't sleep comfortably and I couldn't get out of bed in the morning (I'm 33). Once my husband woke up, saying his back, too was stiff, I ran out and bought a Tempurpedic.We've had it over a year, and couldn't be happier. It's changed my life. No more back and hip pain the morning. I sleep beautifully, and so does he. It's not hard, it's not soft, it just works. And even if it wore out in another few years, and I couldn't invoke the warranty, I'd buy another. It's the only mattress that's helped my back pain.
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Great article. I actually love my memory foam bed.
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Well i am a new owner of a TP/ Allura/King/ I am 6ft 188lbs,37yrs old and a lot of sleeping problems and so far so good!I have 2 disc herniation at L-4/L-5 and its pretty wild how good this bed feels even a little softer wouldn't kill me, granted its still new. To the people who are having lots of issues and not stating what model bed you have or the fact you and your partner may/may not be a little on the thick side i think those factors are important details. If you are going to trash something i think you should at least put all the facts on the table, i can't i understand how these beds just fall apart so fast and hope to not find out, there is hardly a smell at all,that being said i saw absorbent packs come out of mattress box maybe that helped. The pillows smelled more than bed but is almost gone in a few days.good luck to all and be accurate. ps how do you get hot in just 5mins in the store on the bed come on REALLY lol gt/nc
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My wife decided to purchase the Tempur-pedic foam mattress from one of the local stores about three months ago and spending about $3,000.00. When she purchased it the sales person told he “don’t be concerned if you smell a strange “manufactures” smell, it should dissipate soon. Well after two months the smell is still there. The odor to us smells like “mildew” similar to a washcloth that has not been rung out complicatedly and left standing for a week or two. We contacted the Tempur-pedic company to have one of their representatives out to inspect the mattress, and were told that they needed a product complaint packet filled out first and mailed to them. About a week later we received the packet and after obtaining the bed’s serial number, date of manufacture and model number and sending with that a copy of the sales receipt I thought we were on our way to getting this resolved. About three weeks later we were contacted by the company advising us that we had not attached a “photo” of the NEW mattress with the submission. Upon calling their customer service department and questioning why they need a photo of a NEW mattress, I was told that was needed because it was policy. When I asked what it is the photo is going to show about an odor all I was told was that it was policy. I will now send in the photo and see what happens. My recommendation is “DO NOT PURCHASE THIS MATTRESS”, IT’S NOT THAT CONFORTABLE, IT’S HARD AND WHY SPEND $3,000.00 FOR SOMETHING THAT IS PRODUCED WITH AN ODOR.”
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My two cents. We've had our TP Celebrity for six years now. It's the best we've ever owned, no question.However about a year ago I started experiencing low back pain. Finally I went to a chiropractor who asked about the age of our bed. I didn't think it was too old at 5-6 years but went I got home I checked and sure enough on my side there is a significant lack of support compared to my wifes side.I weight in at 170 and she at 100.So I'm torn, no question it's a great mattress for us and maybe $4k every five years isn't so much but still, I feel suckered by the fine print of the "20 year" warranty.
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I find that no matter how good a product is, even a mattress, there will be some people online saying it's bad.
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A good Sleep keeps the mind and body fresh. The beginning for all the problems in the body is lack of sleep. If a person does not have proper sleep, then throughout the day the person feels sleepy and tired. Sleep apnea is basically a condition that affects most people causing them to stop breathing for around 10-20 seconds as they sleep. The sleep apnea cannot be identified by the same person since it occurs during sleep. So if someone complaints about you for snoring, inform your partner or your family member who sleeps along with you to notice your sleeping condition during sleep. If you had sleep apnea, there are lots of medical procedures and devices to cure sleep apnea in a natural way.
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My parents bought one of these mattresses for their cabin. It wasn't really slept on very much until two yrs ago when my mother moved up there full time. The first couple of times I slept on it, I was really impressed with how well I felt in the morning. The bed is about six yrs old now.Now, I cannot tolerate sleeping on thing. I am racked with excrutiating pain, that I don't get at home on my saggy mattress. It feels like someone has broken my ribs both in front and back and my hips are killing me. No change in position helps at all. I had a TP pillow my mother bought for me after a neck injury, and it ended up falling apart with a year too…keeping that in mind…I will never buy a TP mattress.
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I have the temperpedic celebrity and love it. I have had it for about 4 years now. When I have guests I let them sleep on the bed and i go to couch and the next day they tell me how comfortable the bed is. No complaints on my end. I also bought the same mattress for my patents which are 55++ and it has relieved back pains from my mother which has lupus and improved circulation in my fathers legs. Definitely well worth the money. They have had their mattress for approximately 3 years. Hope this helps in your selection. Many people that I know have the temperpedic air number or something like that. May want to look into that and compare what is best for you.
Anonymous March 22, 2005 at 4:30 pm
Although I don’t know about the TempurPedic mattresses, I am a BIG fan of the Sleep Number Beds. My wife and I purchased our bed about a year ago. We have family members and friends who have had their beds for several years now and have had no problems, so we were pretty confident in our decision. Since we purchased the bed, my wife’s back problems have dissipated significantly. I strained my back over the summer, and the adjustable settings made sleeping a lot easier than you could imagine. I would suggest you look into these beds as well.