Bedrooms & More Blog

How to Identify Botanical Latex versus Synthetic Latex

If you have been reading my blogs you will know my aversion to synthetic latex (also known as Styrene Butadiene or SBR). Many times a consumer is relying on the salesperson to represent their product honestly. Unfortunately, the salesperson may not know the true answer as they will often just pass on what they have heard or been told. So, here are some hints on how to check for yourself.

To recognize synthetic and blended latex, look at the latex sample provided.

• SBR will yellow with age
• SBR will crumble with age
• SBR will tear and pull apart, particularly on the sides of the sample
• SBR will retain a chemical smell for many months after being produced

How to tell if the “latex” mattress is really only a layer of latex laminated to polyurethane foam:

• Bend the mattress (an all latex mattresses will fold in half)
• Look on the law label for the contents by percentage (unfortunately, the latex listed will not specify whether botanical or synthetic)
• Smell the mattress (if you are odor sensitive you’ll notice the chemical smell)
• Lift the mattress (sometimes helpful as latex is heavier than most synthetics)
• Feel the mattress through the sides. You may be able to feel the transition points for the layers and poly foam feels noticeably different than latex

Hopefully some of these tips will help in ensuring that you get the real thing – pure botanical latex.

-Blake Garfield

Bedrooms & More Seattle
300 NE 45th Street
Seattle, WA 98105

Talalay and Dunlop are processes for creating latex mattress cores, layers, toppers and pillows; they are not types of rubber. This distinction gets lost on many consumers and can contribute to people making misinformed and potentially costly decisions. Calling latex Dunlop or Talalay does not give any indication of whether it is botanical, natural, blended or synthetic.  The confusion over this differentiation can be used by retailers, who like to charge a premium for what may be lesser products.

The more important decisions in getting your best value are:

Is the latex botanical, blended or synthetic (Styrene Butadiene or SBR)?

How much of the mattress is actually botanical latex and how much is other materials?

Botanical latex comes directly from the rubber tree (Hevea Brasiliensis) which only grow within about 10 degrees of the Equator. All real rubber comes from this area. Botanical latex is the longest lasting, most durable, material used for mattresses and does not off gas chemically. Most consumers would think what is called natural rubber would be botanical, however, in the industry what is called natural rubber is often a blend of synthetics and botanical rubber.

Synthetic latex (SBR) was developed prior to World War II necessitated because real rubber was restricted during the lead up to the war. Petroleum is the source of both styrene (plastic) and butadiene. Some mattress manufacturers and retailers refer to SBR made products as being “natural” latex, suggesting that petroleum is a natural product, therefore the end result is also natural. It is not the same as the botanically natural latex that was originally developed for use in mattresses. SBR products have the tendency to break down like polyurethane foams; not keeping their shape like botanical latex. SBR also off gasses because of the petroleum content.

Because the mattress industry has very few regulations, a latex mattresses can be made of all synthetic, all botanical or a blend of types of latex. Mattresses can also contain as little as an inch of latex, (often synthetic), laminated to a “soy” foam core (polyurethane). This is the most common type of “latex mattress” on the market and is a recipe for a very temporary sleep surface.  This can be hard to ascertain from the salesperson or the advertising for the mattress. Often the promoter will rely on the consumers lack of knowledge by just saying “this mattress is Talalay (or Dunlop) latex rather than addressing the important issues of how much latex and whether it is real botanical rubber or synthetic.

The Dunlop process of forming latex involves large metal molds (think of an oversized waffle iron if a visual is needed) being filled completely with liquid latex.  The molds are heated throughout with thermal pins producing a finished core; it is sometimes referred to as pincore foam by old-timers because of the holes left by the heating elements.  This process yields a solid, durable product that has been used in mattresses and upholstery since the 1920s.

The Talalay process, developed in the 50’s, uses less liquid latex to produce the same depth of core. Similar metal molds are filled part way and a vacuum is created in the mold to disperse the latex. Then it is freeze dried in place to set. This process is often used to create a softer product which is the result of more air and less rubber. The Talalay process is more often used as the cushion layers on top of beds because of this softness. The trade off is that Talalay produced latex breaks down more quickly than Dunlop processed latex because there is less raw material and the tiny air bubbles that comprise it have thinner cell walls separating them.

Botanical dunlop cores offer a better, longer lasting support system for mattresses, a fact evidenced by their continuing use and popularity since the 1920’s. Softer, cushioned layers can be either Talalay or Dunlop processed latex depending on the durability preference of the consumer.

Don’t be fooled!  Do as much research as possible, and become an educated buyer.

-Wanda Garfield

Bedrooms & More Seattle
300 NE 45th Street
Seattle, WA 98105

My husband and I have been in the business of both selling and producing mattresses and related products for over 40 years. Our industry has, by and large, gone the route of the appliance industry. You used to be able to purchase, for example, a refrigerator, and it lasted way beyond your desire to have one in harvest gold! Only a few years ago, I purchased a new refrigerator and within a couple of years, the ice maker stopped working. Guess what, parts for it are no longer available! If I want to have an ice maker again, I need to get a whole new refrigerator – can you say ice cube tray! That’s not good for my pocketbook and it’s not good for the planet. Products shouldn’t be so disposable!

It used to be that people expected to have their mattress last 15-20 years; most mattresses were actually warranted for 15 years. The industry as a whole has changed over the last 10 years and most mattresses are now designed to last only 5 years (though they still maintain a 10-20 year warranty). Large mattress manufacturers did a lot of research to see how few years a mattress would last without a big backlash from the consuming public. Most stores have no options; they sell only what is offered by the “major manufacturers”, whose warranties are nearly useless.

The first cheapening of mattresses was the introduction of the “can’t flip” mattresses, also dubbed “no-flip.” Consumers were told that they no longer needed to turn their mattress over. The reality is that these mattresses CANNOT be turned over. Most mattresses have an incredible “ahhh” factor when you lie down on them in the showroom – after all, the consumer is in the market for a new mattress because theirs no longer feels good.

Unfortunately, nearly every day we have consumers come in and say, “I bought my current mattress only 2 years ago and I can’t sleep on it any more because of deep body impressions. The store I bought it from tells me that it isn’t defective, but I can’t sleep on it because it hurts my back”. I believe consumers think that these major manufacturers would never purposefully sell products that don’t last – NOT TRUE! These products are designed NOT to last.

We have, in the past, carried nearly all of the major brands. We felt that in order to have a legitimate mattress business, we needed to carry several of the big “S” brands, air type beds and memory foam . One by one, we took them off of our floor. The first to go, over 10 years ago, were the air bed and the memory foam beds. Wow, are we are glad to have made that choice. Initially, we elected to take them off of the floor because of consumer reports of sleeping too hot or waking themselves up to turn over. Only later, did we discover that the toxicity of the memory foam was a huge issue for many people.

In our retail business, which has been in the same location for over 40 years, we have always felt the best way to run our store is to give our customers products that will last for as many years as possible. With an honest business philosophy, we have been very successful and have been joined by our three sons and two daughters-in-law.

My frustration is that so much misinformation is being put out there, both by retailers and on the internet - most recently regarding latex. Unfortunately, our industry is not regulated. I wish it were!

We have carried latex mattresses from two of the major “S” brands. One is a smaller manufacturer who has been making latex mattresses since the 1930’s. More recently, we have begun to import our own pure botanical latex cores directly from Southeast Asia, and have them made into quality mattresses here in the United States.

Botanical latex comes directly from rubber trees, which grow in a narrow band near the equator. Unfortunately, we are encountering situations where consumers are being duped into believing that synthetic latex made using the Talalay process is more durable than 100% botanical latex. After carrying latex mattresses for over 25 years, we can state categorically that botanical latex, in its purest form, is the longest lasting material available for conventional mattresses. Period.

The last major “S” brand that we removed from our floor was using the Talalay process with synthetics to make the highest end product they carried at the time. They said, “Trust us, it is exactly like the botanical latex.” When 50% of them didn’t hold up, (taking deep body impressions within 6-12 months), we removed them from the floor to blaze our own trail and started doing our own research.

The Talalay process used with pure botanical latex is excellent for cushioning layers but the best possible core for a latex mattress is the Dunlop process. This is the tried and true workhorse for the latex mattress.

Blending in petroleum based latex serves only one purpose (think Hamburger Helper) – to stretch the use of botanical latex. This is the greatest impact of our non-regulated industry. Such mattresses can and often are called “Natural or Organic,” so is uranium, by the way. Our experience is that blended latex does not hold up as well as pure botanical latex. The claim is that the Talalay process produces a more consistent product. We have found this to be an untrue claim. Pure botanical latex is a more expensive resource than the ingredients in “Hamburger Helper,” and such synthetic blends make it possible to sell a less durable product for more money.

The nation’s largest manufacturer of latex products has inundated the Internet with information about the way their products hold up. The statistics have been skewed to show results desired by the testers. The claim is: Blended latex holds up better than the true botanical latex. What you don’t see is that the test was done at 158 degrees. Frankly, I don’t feel very comfortable sleeping at 158 degrees! How about you? What the reader will most frequently miss, is that the test has been influenced to favor the synthetic latex. However, the test parameters have been relegated to fine print, and the bold headline that blended latex out-performs is prominent in the readers mind. At room temperature, the botanical latex will not break down like the alternative blended foam.

-Wanda Garfield

Bedrooms & More Seattle
300 NE 45th Street
Seattle, WA 98105

People ask us about how to deal with bed bugs and, though, that is not our expertise, we have spent a fair amount of time researching in order to help those who are dealing with this serious problem.

Once you’ve come to the realization that you are in fact dealing with bed bugs, now you’ve got to decide how you’re going to tackle this problem.  There are different approaches, and none of them are perfect.  Because we specialize in non-toxic products, our customers tend to be most interested in solving this problem without chemical treatments.  This is very doable, but it is no small project.  Since Bed bugs are not able to tolerate high or low temperatures, extreme heating or cooling can be deadly for bed bugs.

In order to kill the bed bugs, and all of their eggs, you need to bring the heat up over 113 degrees and maintain that temperature long enough to bring all items in the room/house to that temperature.  This is easy to do to a few items, but when doing this to an entire home, can be quite costly; this can also potentially damage items in your home that cannot tolerate the sustained high heat.  Furthermore, it is not always effective on the first try, as the bugs can hide in walls, or other nooks and crannies in the house, to escape the heat.

Heaters can be rented, and little heat boxes can be used for smaller items.  Simply putting your bedding items in a hot dryer can be effective on a smaller scale.  This can be a do it yourself project, but don’t expect to be successful on the first try.  The most recent statistic I’ve heard said that it takes an average of 3 treatments to eliminate an infestation (and that is for professionals).
Extreme cold can be an effective means of killing bed bugs.  Now, I’m not really familiar with this equipment, and its availability; but it is my understanding that this poses less risk to your electronics and personal items than heat treatments.

Additionally, it can be similarly effective for eliminating bed bugs.  Essentially what you do is spray a CO2 powder/snow on everything that is affected by the infestation, effectively bringing the temperature of all items below the threshold bed bugs can tolerate.  However, bugs in crevices or walls could escape the cold.

Vacuuming prior to treatment can improve the odds of success.  The vacuum must be cleaned and emptied immediately following to prevent bugs from simply crawling out of the vacuum bag, and lead to re-infestation.

This brings me to chemical treatments. These don’t appear to be any more effective than heat or cold treatments; because bed bugs have developed resistance to many pesticides.  This leads to the need for multiple treatments in many cases.  Furthermore, chemical treatment of mattresses can cause allergic reactions, or worse.

Since burning your house down, and leaving all of your belongings behind is not really an option, you’ll have to decide what is the appropriate approach for you.  Simply replacing your mattress is not going to solve the issue, because the bed bug are not only in one spot; bed bugs are probably in the baseboard, and the box too.  They could even be in your bed frame.  Replacing a mattress, and putting a bed bug encasement on it will not be sufficient without other measures, and even once you’ve done all this they may still return.

Good Luck.