The Inside Story on High Density Foam Mattresses

High Density Foam Mattresses were a popular type of mattress in South Africa for many years, but thanks to modern sleep technology their effectiveness in providing a healthy sleep have come into question. But why is this? For us to understand more about High Density Foam Mattresses we will need to look a little closer at them…

The High Density Foam Manufacturing Process

Polyurethane (PU) foam is made entirely synthetically and is often also called polyfoam both here in South Africa and abroad. This is the most common material used to manufacture High Density Foam Mattresses. It is also used in the manufacturing of innerspring mattresses when it is added as an upper comfort layer during the manufacturing process.

Is There a Difference Between High Density and Memory Foam?

Most definitely! In fact just by looking at the two different types of foam side by side one can immediately see the difference. They also feel completely different when touched. The main difference between the two however runs a lot deeper still, as even though both types of foam have polyurethane in them, memory foam contains additional chemicals which increases its density and viscosity. In other words, these mattress are chemically related but vastly different from one another.

3 Grades of Polyurethane Foam

There are three grades of polyurethane foam available in South Africa:

• Regular Grade
• High Density
• High Resiliency

In our opinion, both regular grade and high density foam are NOT suitable for use as a mattress on their own. Instead, they need to be used as fabric layers when constructing other mattress types. High resilience mattress foam on the other hand is of much higher quality and is perfectly suited to being used as a mattress. This is because it offers a much higher support rating and can nearly approach latex foam in terms of comfort levels.

Advantages & Disadvantages of a High Density Foam Mattress

The Advantages of High Density Foam Mattresses:

• They are made out of Polyurethane (PU) which is inexpensive to manufacture and means that High Density Mattresses Prices are consistently kept lower.
• The foam is lightweight and easy to flip or move, making High Density Foam useful in the manufacturing of camping mattresses.

The Disadvantages of High Density Foam Mattresses:

• The foam offers poor support for both the spine and body.
• They are not particularly comfortable to sleep on.
• Movement on one side of the mattress is transmitted throughout the whole mattress.
• The polyurethane of which the mattress is made is poorly ventilated, resulting in little or no airflow through the mattress.
• High Density Foam Mattresses have a short lifetime as the polyurethane foam breaks down quickly.

In Conclusion

There is a place for these types of mattresses in the South African market, but well-known South African bed suppliers such as Bed King don’t recommend them for continual adult use due to the disadvantages mentioned above. However, if you are cash strapped and would like to find out more about better quality mattresses at an affordable price, then contact a local bed and mattress specialist store and book an appointment with one of their trained staff.
As published on: Beds Cape Town