The Right Foam Mattress for Nursing Homes

Young girl's hand touches and holds an old woman's wrinkled hands.; Shutterstock ID 115740043; PO: 47953; Other: Public AffairsMany studies have shown that utilizing full-foam mattresses in nursing homes is better than innerspring cores for the prevention of uncomfortable pressure points and bedsores. Bedsores are very uncomfortable and can lead to infection and hospitalization.

For over 60 years, traditional spring-coil mattresses have been the norm for nursing home use. They are less expensive, from a business perspective, because there is nothing to them.

Others have bought full-foam mattresses and thought they were doing the right thing because after all there were no springs inside. However, what they did not realize is that there are so many different qualities and grades of foam and that they are not all the same.

In some cases, they were paying double from a medical products distributor, for lighter weight foam that sagged pre-maturely. They could have paid less by going directly to the source – a foam and mattress manufacturer like FOAMITE.

Here is an example of what ‘Not to Buyand what you need to know if you are looking for new mattresses for a loved one.

A Competitor’s Cheap (But Expensive) Full-Foam Nursing Home Mattress

Would you put your elderly parent on this mattress? Many do night after night without realizing it. John, the 78 year-old resident, who was sleeping on this mattress complained about having a bad back, after only 6 months of sleeping on this brand new high-tech foam mattress.

I wonder if you slept on a mattress like this, how long it would be before you were hunched over and complaining about a sore back. Communication is a wonderful thing; especially, when it comes to solving problems but it’s extremely hard for those who can’t communicate at all and who have to suffer through this night after night.

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What’s wrong with this 6 month-old retirement home mattress?

  1. It is made with cheaper light-weight foam (1.3 lb density), but with an extra-firm compression to deceive those that think firmer foam is better foam. The weight or the density of the foam determines the longevity and not the firmness.
  2. The topper was made with strips of 3″ foam. This grade of foam is commonly known, in the industry as air foam; however, if that wasn’t enough even more air was added between the strips. Here we go again, just like spring mattresses, you are paying for mostly air.
  3. It has already started to sag after only six months of use. The firm edges, which help patients to get in and out of bed, have sagged from 6″ to 4.5″ thick.
  4. 2014-04-30 21.10.04This mattress cost way too much for the quality of foam that was used to make it.
  5. This is a one-sided mattress that cannot be reversed. When using low-density foam like this, you want to be able to reverse it so that you can prolong the life of the mattress. Yet, another fail!
  6. The cover was made with the cheapest Medstaff Vinyl. It gets hot and makes noise when you roll around in the mattress.

It’s What’s Inside That Counts! The purpose of this actual example is to educate you and to make you aware of what is going on in the Medical mattress industry. By going direct to a foam and mattress manufacturer, Like FOAMITE, you can get much better quality and pay less by avoiding the middleman.

What Every Good Mattress Should Have

A good full-foam mattress should be made with high-density foam that has a minimum denisty of a 1.8 lbs/cubic foot in every layer – not something better on top and something cheaper on the bottom.

You want lasting comfort on top, firmer support in the center core for better spine alignment, firm rails for better edge support (they need it for getting in and out of bed), softer head and foot zones for better pressure point relief.

Choose a mattress that is made with foam that is as natural as possible and that does not contain any harmful chemicals or substances. Some cheaper fire retardent grades will off-gas and have been linked to numerous health problems. Avoid these at all cost.

In the end, you want a clean mattress that will provide you with the best comfort, support and durability at the lowest possible price.

Final Word

If you have a parent in a nursing home you cannot assume that they are always doing the right thing and providing you with the best possible options.

Help your parents or Nursing Home residents Sleep Better…

Sincerely,

R.C. (Bob) Dimas

A Mattress Can Cause or Relieve Back Pain

PrintYou spend a third of your life in bed. Yet many people do not realize the impact that this seemingly passive activity has on their backs and overall well being. According to Dr. C. Gus Tsiapalis, one of the many back and spine experts that we talk to on a regular basis, “you can achieve Optimal Health by paying close attention to your spine and doing everything possible to keep it healthy and in proper alignment”.

Orthopedic surgeons have taught us that the only time during which the muscles, ligaments and other structures in the spine can completely relax is while sleeping. When a person suffers from a back injury or other disorders, it is especially important to sleep well in order to: help the healing process, repair strained muscles and soothe inflamed joints.

Physiotherapists, that also refer patients to us, say that the facet joints and discs are “loaded” during daily activities. The soft tissue contracts to help movement and to keep us in an upright position against gravity. During sleep, the discs are able to reabsorb water content and the soft tissue can relax.

The way you sleep can add to your back pain

People should pay more attention to how they sleep. Incorrect posture can strain your back and contribute to existing back pain or the development of it. Most experts agree that the best sleeping position is on the back with a small pillow tucked underneath the knees. This position allows for the natural curve of the lower back.

However, the most common sleeping position is on one’s side with legs and hips aligned and flexed. This position often leaves the upper leg unsupported and the knee sliding forward to rest on the mattress. This then rotates the lower spine and could cause back or hip pain. To prevent this, you should place a pillow between the knees and thighs.

Whether sleeping on your back or side, back experts believe that either position maintains the spine in a neutral position and gives the spine a chance to unload some of the stress that it has been burdened with throughout the day.

As far as the mattress is concerned, sleeping on the wrong mattress can cause sleeplessness, back pain, and overall aches and pains throughout your whole body. For people with a back problem, a mattress that is not a good fit can make the pain even worse.

According to a sleep survey, “68% of people sleep on a mattress that is the wrong firmness”. This percentage gets even higher when you consider the number of people that are sleeping on a mattress that is no longer comfortable because it is lumpy and has lost its comfort zone.

PrintThe Best Mattress [4U+1]

Mattresses are not really at the top of everyone’s shopping list until you can’t sleep and even then people blame it on something else. People like Homer usually put off buying a mattress longer than they should and instead prefer to roam around the house, at night, from their bed to the couch to the recliner and then back again.

For some people the thought of going out mattress shopping keeps them up at night. Selecting a new mattress can be a very daunting and trying experience but it doesn’t have to be that way. “My 20-year pillow top mattress has only lasted 3 or 4 years”, is one of the most common complaints that we hear in our showroom on an ongoing basis.

Another problem with couples that differ in size and weight is trying to decide what (ONE) mattress is just right for both of them. I mean everybody wants a comfortable and supportive mattress but trying to figure that out without a real sleep expert’s help is a crap shoot at best – see Ergocheck Testing.

According to Dr. Tsiapalis, “Foamite is the best kept secret in the GTA for Real Comfort and Better Sleep. They can make you a mattress that is right for your weight, back condition and preference. They use the latest sleep technology to determine what firmness is right for you and then do the same for your partner on their side of the bed. They do custom mattresses at a great factory direct price. Not only do we refer patients to Foamite, we also sleep on their mattresses too”.

Sleep Better to Look and Feel Better…

Sincerely,

R.C. (Bob) Dimas

Be the best that you can be by doing whatever is necessary to improve the quality of your sleep!

Easy-Tips to Help You Sleep and Feel Better

Keep a regular sleep schedule

10 BETTER SLEEP AU3013Getting in sync with your body’s natural sleep/wake cycle is the key to good sleep. You will feel more refreshed and energized.

Set a regular bedtime

Having regular sleep and wake times each day, even on weekends, will help condition your body’s natural sleep/wake cycle. If you tend to stay up later on weekends, make sure you still try to wake up at your regular time or at most an hour later. You can always make up for lost sleep with a short nap.

Wake up at the same time

If you’re getting enough sleep, you should wake up naturally without an alarm. If you do, then it could be a sign that you are not getting enough sleep, perhaps you need to start sleeping earlier.

Nap to make up for lost sleep

Most of us have a natural dip in alertness between 2 – 4 pm (depending on when you wake up and start working). A quick power nap can be extremely effective to recharge. You should limit your nap to less than 30 minutes to prevent from entering into a state of deep sleep. If you do you will feel even worse when you wake up.

Fight after-dinner drowsiness

If you’re sleepy after dinner, try some stretching or light chores to keep awake. Falling asleep too early will disrupt your normal sleep cycle. If you have a late after-dinner nap you may wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble falling back to sleep.

Limit shift changes if possible

Shift workers have sleep disturbances due to biological cues from light that affects the body’s natural instinct to sleep. If you do work night shift, to help regulate the body, try to be in as much bright light as possible but in your bedroom, make sure you have black-out curtains to shut out the day light. Limit any caffeine to the early part of your shift. When switching shift cycles, you may need up to a week to adjust to changes in your sleep routine.

Sleep Better to Live Better…

Sincerely,

R.C. (Bob) Dimas

Be the best that you can be by doing whatever is necessary to improve the quality of your sleep!

Sleep Your Way to a Healthier and a More Successful Life

man-sleeping-on-single-bed-from-top-view_318-63721Lack of sleep is the primary cause of low productivity in the workplace, yet many entrepreneurs boast about sleeping less than 5 hours a night. The truth is, the longer you sleep the more effective your creative thinking and productivity will become.

How Much Sleep Do You Really Need to Succeed in Your Career?

On average an adult needs 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Those who sleep less than 5 hours for a few nights in a row have equivalent levels of impairment to someone who is driving intoxicated.

Sleep Deprivation Affects Innovation and Creativity

Whether you’re growing your own business or looking for a promotion, sleep deprivation affects both innovation and creativity as well as productivity and critical thinking.

A lack of sleep also contributes to increased stress levels. Stress prevents sleep yet sleep deprivation increases stress and its consequences.

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Sleep Tips for Successful Living

In order to be successful, you need to get a great night’s sleep. Here are some helpful tips:

1. Get Into Routine
Set a bedtime and stick to it. Remember you need at least 7 hours of sleep a night.

2. Turn Off Your Screens
The glow from screens is know to delay the release of melatonin, making it harder for you to get to sleep.

3. Avoid Caffeine and Alcohol
Caffeine, a stimulant, keeps your body alert and energized; therefore, increases the number of times you wake during the night.

4. Sleep With the Right Mattress and Pillow
Sleeping with the wrong mattress and/or pillow could be keeping you awake at night or reducing your quality of sleep. Make sure you are sleeping on the right quality and firmness. Our Ergocheck Testing and the information that you supply will take the guess work out of what mattress firmness is right for you on your side of the bed. Don’t buy your next mattress without a proper Sleep Analysis conducted by a qualified Sleep Expert and a Medical Practitioner if you are under current care.

Be the best that you can be by improving the quality of your sleep!

Sincerely,

R.C. (Bob) Dimas

Biodegradable Mattresses Good For You & The Environment

thMost people don’t think about recycling mattresses

They should because landfills are
full of them and they are not decomposing anytime soon.

On average, each spring mattress core takes up 42 cubic feet. About 40 million mattresses a year are sent to North American landfills where they occupy a lot of space and take a long time to decompose. Some take as long as 80 to 120 years to decompose and they usually float on top of dumps because of their flexible construction.

How long should a good mattress last?

According to industry experts a good traditional spring mattress should last 8 to 10 years. However, judging from the comments that we hear in our showroom, on a weekly basis, most people complain about their expensive 10 or 15 year (warranty) mattress that is no longer comfortable after 3 or 4 years.

This is primarily due to the fact that the light-weight polyurethane foam, that represents the comfort zone, sags or softens up long before the springs break down. You can still sleep on that mattress for another 4 years but it will be very uncomfortable. The springs will cause pressure points in your shoulders and hips and you will toss and turn – like a fish on dry land – and way more than you would if you had a proper topper.

More mattress sales equal more trips to the dump

Mattresses are a growth industry. The International Sleep Products Association’s “in their Bedding Barometer” reports that wholesale mattress sales in the North America were up 11.7% last year; compared to 2012, while year-to-date unit shipments increased by 7.6%.  With millions sold each year, the issue of what to do with the old and uncomfortable mattresses is becoming a rather BIG issue.

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There are Biodegradable Options

Foamite makes mattresses with Koosh Natural biodegradable foam that is good for you and the environment. They are for educated consumers that think beyond comfort and design and that know how to get the best value for their money. They shop factory direct where they can buy Real Comfort – superior quality for a lot less than retail.

Our sustainability goal is to only use the right kind of raw materials, to create the things we truly need and ensure that they will last. Our mattresses are so well made that they truly last longer. They are also made with more renewable resources than ever before. And once you are done with it and throw it into a landfill it will biodegrade within 6 to 8 years.

Final Word

The natural alternative has always been available, at Foamite, even long before it was cool to talk about the environment. Join us in our commitment to respect environmental values.

Act now to sleep better, help keep our landfills clean and to preserve our future.

Start every day with a good night’s sleep…

Sincerely,
FOAMITE INDUSTRIES INC.

R.C. (Bob) Dimas

Be the best that you can be by doing whatever is necessary to improve the quality of your sleep!

Stop Worrying About Insomnia & Waking Up Tired

anxiousssDo you worry when you can’t sleep well? Most people that understand and appreciate the importance of a good night’s sleep do. You should know that some people require far more sleep than others and that you should not worry if you are not sleeping like you did when you were younger. I know people that get by with five hours sleep and others that need twice as much and still complain about being tired.

However, if you are one of those people that think they have insomnia, you should know that worrying about insomnia will hurt you far more than insomnia. One of our customers called us and visited us obsessively after purchasing a mattress. She actually thought that she was going insane because she was suffering from chronic insomnia.

We did whatever we could to help her. We took the mattress back four times and re-worked it to a different configuration each time based on what she thought was going to help her sleep better. In the end we left loose foam layers inside the cover so that she could play around with them and replace them easily without having to bring her mattress back every time.

Evelyn went to see her mother’s family Doctor. He was an older fellow and he had known Evelyn all her life. After a few visits this Doctor let her have it. He turned to her and said, “Evelyn, I can’t help you! In fact, no one can help you, because you have brought this thing on yourself”.

He told her to go to bed at night and if she couldn’t fall asleep, to forget about it and not to worry. Instead, she should just say to herself, “I don’t care if I don’t fall asleep”. And that, “it’s alright with me if I lie awake until morning”. He told her to keep her eyes closed and to think, “as long as I just lie still and don’t worry about it, I’ll be getting rest anyway and there is nothing to worry about”.

Evelyn did that and in two weeks time she was dozing off to sleep. In less than a month she was sleeping eight hours and her nerves were back to normal. It wasn’t insomnia or the feel; instead, it was the little voice in her head and the constant worry about not sleeping well.

What Causes Insomnia?

Without going into all the medical details you should know that insomnia is basically a symptom and not an illness. It either prevents people from falling into a deep restful sleep, or wakes them prematurely and does not allow them to sleep long enough to provide effective rest.

The main causes of insomnia as reported by doctors are:

  1. Drinking large quantities of alcohol in the evening
  2. Emotional problems
  3. Physical disorders
  4. Stress and constant worrying
  5. Sleeping on a surface that is not conducive to rest and relaxation

(more…)

The Original All Natural Latex Rubber Mattress

You Don’t Know, What You Don’t Know…

best-mattress-before-buy-latexAn old customer of ours used to say, “You don’t know what you don’t know until you have a problem and then you need to know it!” He also believed that people should be left alone to make their own mistakes and to learn from them. I guess that is the way it was, but maybe it’s not so much like that anymore. In today’s world with social media, you can find out all kinds of things very easily and quickly.

How does this relate to Latex Mattresses? Well, it’s like this. You can ask a lot of questions up front to make sure that you are getting the best value for your money or you can lay awake at night and eventually pay for another mattress sooner than you thought you would.

Once you make a decision it would also be great if you could look inside your mattress to make sure that you received exactly what you thought you were getting. I trust people, but since it’s not a perfect world, my motto is and always will be, “…trust but verify!”

Here Are Some Things That You Also May Not Know

In a recent incident a consumer discovered, the hard way, that a major New York mattress retailer misrepresented what was in his Latex Mattress.

R&F Latex

A Customer found out that the Latex that he got in his Latex Mattress was only 21% Latex and 77% Polyurethane foam. However, in their store, the sales staff routinely described this mattress as 100% Natural Latex. Six months later the bed became very uncomfortable. It became lumpy and the “pillow top” seems to have become distorted.

People that make spring mattress don’t really know how to make a good latex rubber mattress. If they did they would not put a fluffy “pillow top” on top of a good piece of foam that is in the core of the mattress. You would not do this, unless the piece in the middle was not that good to begin with or if you were trying to hide something and prolong the inevitable – premature sagging.

What’s Inside A Spring Mattresses, Does Anybody Know?

Innerspring mattresses are still the most common mattresses sold in North America because they are cheaper to produce and mattress retailers can make more money selling them. The spring core unit provides a lot of support but the quality of comfort materials are often lacking. The most common complaint that we hear in our showroom is that my 20-year spring mattress is no longer comfortable after 3 or 4 years.

It’s the padding on top of the springs that is supposed to provide comfort. Many manufacturers will use the same spring core and then vary the padding and the covering material to provide a range of different mattresses.

What Previous Latex Mattress Customers Know

The Original All Natural Latex Rubber Mattress was and still is 100% natural. All natural latex mattresses are highly recommended by previous owners who are familiar with their luxurious feel, unbeatable comfort and long lasting durability. Latex is a naturally created biodegradable product. It can last up to 25 years, as a sleep surface, before it begins to break down.

LATEXOnly Latex is made with real all natural foam rubber that is derived from the sap of a rubber tree. It is five times heavier than 1.0 lb. per cubic foot plastic-based polyurethane foam, which is commonly used as a comfort layer on conventional spring mattresses.

Latex is a natural hypo-allergenic material that has pin-core holes in it to allow the mattress to breathe. For people that like an even cooler mattress you can add a layer of iFoam under the Latex. The micro-capsules in the iFoam maintain a constant temperature in your sleep surface. Natural Latex is also good for allergy sufferers as it does not attract dust-mites like conventional spring mattresses that are made with cotton felt inside.

Sleep Better to Live Better…

Sincerely,

R.C. (Bob) Dimas

Be the best that you can be by doing whatever is necessary to improve the quality of your sleep!

We Don't Sell Fluff... Unless That's What You Want to Buy!

Screenshot 2016-07-14 10.42.11“I am not at all impressed with retail mattress stores and their lack of transparency. They lack knowledge when it comes to foam and comfort products. Instead of educating people, it has been my experience (and I have read) that big mattress makers would rather sell fluff (lower quality foam) at inflated prices, rather than materials that will last!” – France F., Belleville, ON

We have been in business for close to thirty years. Here are a few things you should know before you buy your next mattress:

  1. Foam is the key comfort ingredient used in all mattresses.
  2. All foam is not the same. We carry 45 different grades.
  3. If you want to buy a good mattress you should get to know your foam first!

If you come in to see us, we will educate you like no other mattress retailer will or can. And then we will leave it up to you to choose the foam or mattress that is best for your application and budget.

As a manufacturer we have supplied mattress makers with foam. You would be surprised with what some put in a mattress cover and then sew it shut so that you can’t look inside.

When we started in the mattress business, we decided that we wanted to be different than all the other mattress makers out there. We wanted to build custom mattresses using the best and most natural comfort ingredients and offer them to people at a great factory direct price. We wanted to show people what was inside our mattresses (all our mattress covers are made with zippers), save people money, give them a chance to change the core of their mattress as many times as they wanted and make people’s lives better in some small way!

No one that cares about their sleep should buy a brand name mattress without really knowing what they are buying – what’s inside matters! No one goes to sleep thinking about the brand of mattress that they are sleeping on. However, everyone wakes up feeling better or worse depending on what they slept on and for how long.

Still, nobody jumps up from their bed and runs out to buy a new one. Instead, they continue to sleep on the old, lumpy, and uncomfortable mattress for much longer than they should. Sometimes it is only 3 years old and when they go back to the store to complain they are told that what they are complaining about is not covered by warranty. We have your back. When it comes to reworking your mattress we like to focus on solutions rather than dwell on problems.

Remember, when advertising is involved, you the consumer will eventually pay for it. The same applies to when you buy a mattress from a distributor, store or other middleman – you will pay more for a product.

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Our best form of advertising is still satisfied customers and word-of-mouth. Ask anyone who knows us* and they will tell you that there is no better alternative for mattresses or custom cut foam products.

Sleep Better to Live Better…

Sincerely,

R.C. (Bob) Dimas

Factory Direct Mattresses - Always on Sale!

We are more than a mattress store; we are Comfort and Sleep Experts!

ALWAYS-ON-SALE-300x225Last month I was up in the second floor of our showroom when I overheard two ladies talking to each other. As the salesperson turned to help another couple, one lady said to the other, this mattress is $1,000 less; it can’t be as good as the one that we saw at the other store. After asking, we soon discovered that the other store specialized in carpets and they sold furniture and mattresses, on the side.

Obviously they didn’t understand the concept of factory direct shopping and going to a company that specializes in mattresses – when you are looking to buy a (good) mattress. Not only do we specialize in mattresses we also supply the foam to other manufacturers that make mattresses. In case you didn’t know, foam is “the key comfort ingredient used in all mattresses”.

I guess in their opinion if you don’t have time for all the details then the best thing to do is to just compare the prices. It has been our experience, over the years, that price shopping can go either way. In this case, the award for better quality went to the one with the highest price. This is true in some cases but an educated consumer (our favourite kind) takes the time to make a good comparison and to really understand the reasons behind a higher or lower price.

Closed for the Holidays!

closed-holidays-150x150If you are looking for a Boxing Day, Week or Month, Sale I am sorry to tell you that we do not do that. For the past 26 years, we have always closed for the Holidays. This year we will be closed from Wednesday, December 24th, and re-open for regular business on Monday, January 5th, 2015.

We are not a mattress store. We are a foam and mattress manufacturer. We do not practice the art of retail pricing and price slashing. Compared to retail prices our prices are “Always on Sale” throughout the year. We stock some mattresses that can be taken with you (folded to fit in your car) but the majority of our mattresses are made to order for each customer based on their weight, preference, and back condition. We determine this after we conduct a thorough Sleep Analysis.

Retail Boxing Day Sales

A couple of the major retail mattress chains are going all out to let you know about their Boxing Day Specials. One is promoting a Queen mattress for $488. I bet you that our $295 Queen Size mattress will give you more comfort and last longer than that $488 Model. However, in most cases, they use the lower price to draw you in and then try to switch you to a higher-priced model. Do you know what goes into making a spring mattress? Mostly Air! Have a look here to see what’s inside a spring mattress.

According to the News 4 Hidden Camera Report on Mattresses, most retail mattress sales are a joke. I am sure that Boxing Day Mattress sales are no different. It is very difficult, if not impossible, for consumers to compare prices. According to Liz Crenshaw, a consumer reporter, “you can’t compare brands from store to store because they will never carry the same brand name”. Have a quick look it will help you to better understand the games that stores play when it comes to mattress advertising.

In another investigative report, they uncovered a manufacturer using old mattress cores to make new mattresses that they could sell at the “Best Price”.

If you want to buy a good mattress at the right price, you should buy it from the inside out and go to a manufacturer that can educate you on all the combinations available in today’s marketplace.

Make sure you rest over the Holidays and visit us in the New Year if you are not getting the sleep that you truly deserve.

Happy Holidays everyone and to all a good night’s sleep!

Sincerely,

R.C. (Bob) Dimas

Be the best that you can be, over the Holidays, by maintaining a proper rest and sleep schedule!

How a Good Bra is Similar to a Good Mattress

SQ-BRA-BLOGOver the summer we went to New York City for my son’s 18th birthday. At the Neo-Futurarium theatre, I caught a play, while the others were shopping “obsessively”. It was called, “Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind.”

In it a woman did a monologue – “An ode to her bra, the one that never quite fit”. She said, “Ladies, is one of your bras a misfit? Does it just never quite feel right but you’ve never had the will to get rid of it – so the only time you wear it is when the others are in the wash?” Women throughout the theatre nodded their heads in sympathy and agreement.

She then holds up a bra. “I have one of those bras too and this is it!” She begins to speak to the bra – a stirring rant about how we’ve walked together for so long, but now we are going our separate ways and I am never going to suffer your discomforts again.

Then all of a sudden her little speech turned into a rousing call to action. “Ladies, how many of you are suffering from one of those bras RIGHT NOW?!” A few women nodded their heads as she continued. “It’s time to take it off. Take it off! Now! Throw it onto the stage where it will join my bra in never making any female suffer again. Go ahead, do it!”

I looked around the 150-person theater, half of them were women. I’m thinking, is this really going to happen? Hell, I was pumped. I quickly put both my hands on my chest wishing that I had a bra on me – lol. I didn’t, but if I did – snap, pop, pull and on the stage it would go!

Sure enough, arms disappear inside T-shirts, adjustments ensued, right arm pops back out, reaches into left sleeve and pulls that bra through the sleeve. A woman twirls it around her head and her newly rejected bra sails through the air and lands on the stage. Another woman across the room does the exact same thing. So, 2 out of the 75 women, passionately stepped out of their comfort zone (or should I say uncomfortable zone) and defied the norm. An act that in most circumstances would be considered, shall we say, highly inappropriate.

So, 2 out of 75 that roughly rounds up to 3%. This goes to show you, like many things in life, that a small percentage of people will do HIGHLY erratic things and violate the norms. What kind of norms? All kinds of norms – clothing, work hours, choice of profession, manners, humour, acts of terrorism, sleep routine, camping out for 4 days to get tickets for their favourite band, or even shopping factory direct for their next mattress.

Why suffer through an uncomfortable mattress?

You know what I say, “buy a good mattress and a good bra because when you take one off, you are laying on the other”. I mean they both support you and are intended to keep you better aligned (more comfortable), so why not take the time to do it right.

And what does my thoughtful and beautiful wife think about all of this? Besides thinking that I am nuts for making this connection, she now thinks its obvious. She said, “the majority of women probably take more time to choose a proper fitting bra, than a much more expensive item, like a mattress”.

She also said, “women hate shopping for bras, and you can never find the right one because different styles always fit differently”. Hmmm… that sounds a lot like mattress shopping to me.

People hate shopping for mattresses because it’s so confusing and the big mattress makers have this strategy of offering different models to different stores so that consumers could never make a good comparison, even if they could tear the cover off and look inside. That’s why we say, you should buy your next mattress from the inside out. What’s Inside Matters!

SQ-BACK-PAINThe norm for buying a mattress is to go out to furniture or mattress stores and to eventually pick one based on the cover, the advertising, what is on sale or what the salesperson really thinks is the “Best Value”. Don’t do it! Don’t fall into that trap.

The biggest mattress complaint we hear in our factory direct showroom, every week, is that my 20 year mattress has only lasted 3 years. And just like that old uncomfortable bra, people keep using their uncomfortable mattress long after they should have thrown it away. Even though they wake up with a sore back or stiff muscles, they continue as if that was the norm.

However, the difference between an old bra and a mattress is that you only use the ill-fitting bra when the others are in the wash – you use your mattress every single night. That is unless you split your night between the bed and the couch. In some cases people have suggested that they decided to give foam a try, after sleeping more comfortably on their couch’s foam cushions than on their spring bed.

Another problem with mattress selection is buying a mattress that is too soft or too hard, according to studies – 68% of the population does that. I wonder how many women buy bras that don’t fit just right?

We use Ergocheck Pressure Testing (the Latest in Sleep Technology) to determine what firmness is right for you and your partner on each side of the bed. Even though he may not know the discomfort of wearing a bra, I am sure that, he too feels the discomfort from sleeping on a bad mattress.

Final Word

What we do is not the norm. Actually it is far from ordinary. We don’t expect everyone to come in to see us; however, the 3% that do, will be greeted with open arms, lots of information (on how mattresses are made) and with more options and customization than they will ever find, even if they visited 100 mattress stores – in person or online.

Better by learning about the options that will allow you to do so.

Sincerely,

R.C. (Bob) Dimas

Be the best that you can be by doing whatever is necessary to improve the quality of your sleep!

Warning: Bedroom Mattress Fires are Common

Mom-&-Baby-SQLast spring a Foam and Mattress Factory burned down in the west end of Toronto. That was uncommon, but what is common is mattresses that catch fire in bedrooms. Believe it or not according to U.S. statistics – “Every day one person dies in a bedroom fire”.

Foamite’s public relations campaign to educate consumers about fire-resistant foam, used in bedding, has generated a lot of interest amongst local fire fighters and sleep experts. Most people are not aware of the variety of foam available; therefore, it is not suprising that they also do not know that some foam grades are available in both regular and fire-retadant.

We believe that we have a responsibility to make safer mattresses, but ultimately it is up to the consumer to be educated and to decide what is best for them. In terms of safety, the issue of fire resistant mattresses is equally as important to mattresses as airbags were to automobiles ten years ago.

Considering that someone in the United States dies in a bedroom fire every day (according to the U.S. Consumer Products and Safety Commission), many of whom are children, we should not wait until regulations are mandatory before we offer safer mattresses to consumers. Give yourself and your family members a chance. Save a little on the thickness or the cover, but make sure that you buy a Fireshield Barrier for your mattress. It’s a no brainer!

What’s a Fireshield Barrier?

Teddy-SQIt’s a separate fire barrier, which encases the foam underneath the mattress cover. It adds even more protection to fire retardant foam. It provides open flame protection and prevents the foam from igniting and the fire from spreading.

It is a new fire-resistant Tencel fibre, derived from sustainably farmed trees. It is made using an environmentally-friendly closed-loop fibre spinning process. Still we didn’t stop there. Foamite’s Fireshield barrier is UL Greenguard certified. It has been tested for thousands of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) and found not to contribute to poor indoor air quality.

Woman Dies in Bedroom Fire

This can happen anywhere, don’t let it happen to you!

Investigators are looking into the cause and origin of a fire that killed a woman inside her third-floor apartment in East Scarborough this past Thursday afternoon.

Firefighters were called in at about 11:20 p.m., said Deputy Fire Chief Michael Ajello. Initially faced with thick, heavy smoke, firefighters made their way into the third-floor bedroom where they discovered a body, said Ajello.

BURNED MATTRESSNeighbors said the prospects of the woman escaping the fire on her own appeared grim from the start. “She wasn’t disabled but it was hard for her to get around,” said Monique Brown, a neighbor who has lived in the area for 28 years.

“I saw real thick smoke, I saw the firemen throwing out two mattresses,” said Brown. “One was really charred, one was still burning.” Officials did not immediately identify the victim, but Brown referred to the woman as “Miss Johnson,” a 45-year resident in the building.

“She stayed to herself, didn’t really mingle,” said Brown. “They were telling us it was really bad up there,” she said. “It’s just really sad.” It took about 25 minutes for the six to eight fire companies that responded to get the fire under control.

Final Word

Buy fire-retardant foam that is not made with TRIS, PDBEs or any other harmful chemicals or substances that could be detrimental to your helath. If you are not sure about what you are getting, buy regular “non-FR” foam and encase it in a Foamite Fireshield Barrier.

Sincerely,

R.C. (Bob) Dimas

Be the best that you can be by doing whatever is necessary to improve your safety and the quality of your sleep!