Mattresses and its Types

A mattress is a mat or pad, placed on a bed upon which to sleep or lie. An ideal mattress should give support and at the same time conform to the body contours

Word mattress derived from an Arabic word meaning “to throw”.

History: Earlier mattresses were filled with a variety of natural materials, including straw & feathers.

Tips on buying mattress:

• Type
• Construction
• Firmness
• Comfort
• Durability
• Size
• Appearance
• Covering (ticking – outermost layer.)

Types of Mattresses (5 Types)

1. Spring
2. Air
3. Foam
4. Water
5. Solid stuffed

Spring Mattress

These mattresses have an inner layer of springs between layers of insulation and padding.

The springs may be tied together with wire or helical hooks. Usually, they are well padded with layers of cotton, coiled hair, rubber, or plastic foam, and the whole unit is then tightly covered with a strong fabric called ticking. They vary in depth from 12-22 cm approximately. Their quality and price depend upon the number and gauge of the springs, the type of padding, and the quality of the ticking.

Gauge determines firmness & support. The lower the number the thicker the spring.

• Open Spring: These have hourglass-shaped wire coils sandwiched between
• Wireframes: Each spring connected together with wire to make up the spring unit.
• Pocket Spring: The springs in these are cylindrical and each spring sits in its own individual pockets & pockets are connected together. Very comfortable mattresses.
• Continuous Springs: In these, the springs are made from wire that is linked and intertwined in a mesh-like pattern. Continuous spring mattresses are ideal for double beds because they compress to the shape of the body. Thus they are also referred to as ‘posture-springing mattresses’.

Air Mattress

An air inflated mattress well-known brand is Aerobed.

Advantages:

• Cushion of air can adjust to increase the comfort of the body.
• Level of firmness can be controlled.
• Some airbeds have independent chambers & trizone system.
• They don’t need to be turned
• They are very light.
• They are sometimes connected to an electric air pump
• The portable version of an air bed can also be rolled up and packed, so is meant for travel or temporary guest use.

Foam Mattress

These mattresses are made from synthetic rubber/plastic that is whipped into foam with a chemical setting agent while in a semi-liquid state and poured into heated moulds. In the moulds, the foam gets shaped, set, and vulcanized without losing any of its tiny air cells. A good foam mattress may be about 10 cm deep (minimum) and have layers of foam, with the firmest layer at the bottom and the softest at the top. They normally have a right and a wrong side.

These mattresses are extremely resilient—they regain their original shape rapidly after being laid on and therefore require no turning.

They are not prone to attack by moths and other pests, either.  The latex ones are more durable than the synthetic foam mattresses.

1. • Latex/rubber Mattress:
     1. latex is the finest polymer.
     2. Resilient feel with excellent durability.
     3. Anti-microbial activities.
     4. Comfort to the body contours.
     5. Breathable.
     6. No turning required.

1. • Polyurethane/Vinyl Foam Mattress:-
     1. Body heat reacts with foam to soften it.
     2. Mattress moulds and remoulds to body contours.
     3. Provides excellent support & enable natural movement during sleep.
     4. Helps to maintain correct posture & align spine horizontally.
     5. Anti-microbial properties.
     6. Non absorbent
     7. vii.Occasional rotation required.

Water Mattress

These resemble interior-sprung mattresses in appearance. Well~ designed ones have water-filled cells in the centre of the mattress. These cells are covered with vinyl—covered urethane foam and the perimeter of the mattress has a row of innerspring coils that are meant to provide support to a person sitting on the edge of the bed. The cover fabric can be removed—there is a zipper along the top of the mattress~—so that the cells can be serviced as necessary.

Water filled mattress distributes your weight & avoids pressure spots.. Special waterbed conditioner is used to condition the mattress & prevent bacteria. Sometimes have an in-built heater. Two concerns about waterbeds are:

• One can feel seasick.
• Mattress may burst.

Solid-stuffed mattresses

These mattresses are made by filling a fabric with padding. The padding may be in the form of animal hair, cotton, kapok, wool, or coir. All stuffed mattresses are prone to attack by moths and other pests. They are also absorbent and require frequent turning when in use. They may also require frequent re-making as they tend to sag easily. For these reasons, hotels offering quality service do not opt for these mattresses.

Care and cleaning of mattresses

DO’s

• Alternately rotating and flipping the mattress on a periodic basis can help minimize body impressions.
• Turn spring mattresses over weekly for the first six weeks .and every three months after that. Turning the mattresses regularly may increase their lifespan by 50 percent.
• Reverse the mattress from head to foot as well.
• A system of labelling the mattresses at the corners to indicate the months of rotation help GRA’s to follow a periodic mattress—turning schedule.
• While making the bed allow the mattress to breathe for at least 15 minutes-other guestroom cleaning tasks may be accomplished during this time. It is important to air the mattress in this way to dry out the moisture absorbed from the body during the night
• Every bed should be covered with a moisture-proof mattress protector. The ideal ones are made of vinyl and are stain resistant, non-allergic, and flame-retardant.
• The mattress and base should be cleaned with a soft brush every month.
• Check for tears, distorted springs, or any other damage periodically;
• Check screws and nuts on the legs or castors of the bed frame and box spring at the same time, and tighten if required.

DON’T

• Foam mattresses do not need turning. However, the single—layer ones may be turned.
• Dry clean or wet the mattress.Vacuuming is the only recommended method
• Do not use a vacuum cleaner on a daily basis as this may pull the upholstery out of shape.
• Do not bend, fold, drag or drop the mattress.

NOTE – BEDDING – The term ‘bedding’ may be applied to all the bedclothes placed on the bed, such as blankets,  quilts, pillows, and all other bed linen, such as sheets and bedspreads.