Made in USA
An Interview With Our Mattress Pro
Dewey Turner, now president of FloBeds, has walked countless customers through mattress shopping over the years. So we asked him for his best mattress shopping advice.
Things You Should Know When Mattress Shopping
If I am looking for an all-natural latex mattress where should I start?
If you’ve decided on a latex mattress, you’re on the right track! Whether you purchase a bed from us or anyone else, I would highly recommend all latex. Latex is more durable than anything used in the bedding industry, and here at FloBeds we can make sure you get the proper support needed for your body, without compromising comfort. If you are curious on what firmness level might be best for you, check out the page people use every day to customize the mattress of their dreams. Get some firmness advice.
What is an ILD?
ILD stands for Indentation Load Deflection and is a standard for measuring foam firmness. The bedding industry uses it as the universal scale for latex firmness. Below is a list of the ILD’s for each of our firmness levels, as well as a more scientific description of ILD.
| Firmness | ILD |
| Soft | 22 ILD |
| Medium | 28 ILD |
| Firm | 32 ILD |
| Extra Firm | 36 ILD |
| Super Firm | 44 ILD |
ILD is a firmness measurement that is a standard for measuring firmness. It is also called IFD, or Indention Force Deflection. It is a measure of load bearing capacity or firmness. Testers measure it on the surface as 25% IFD. For example to determine 25% IFD, a four-inch thick latex sample is compressed to three-inch thickness. The number of pounds required to achieve compression is the 25% IFD value. The higher the IFD the firmer the surface feel.
What is the difference between Talalay and Dunlop?
For years we carried Natural Dunlop processed latex for our natural customers, because before the year 2005 Natural Talalay was not available. During those years, we ran into many issues. Most of our customers buy over the phone or on our website, so they buy sight unseen. Naturally, some customers feel skeptical when their new mattress arrives in pieces. During the installation our customers tend to look at each piece rather closely, touching, feeling, and even smelling the foam rubber going into the bed they plan to spend the next 20 years on.
With the Dunlop latex, customers would notice that one firm Dunlop core felt different than the next, eye brows began to raise, and customers looked even closer and noticed that the firmness was not even consistent in the head and foot of one piece. We are really micro tuning mattresses for folks here, and the inconsistency’s our customers found in the Dunlop processed latex made our job a bit more difficult.
The Talalay process simply produces a more consistent, durable product. It’s a product we are happy to stamp our name on.
For more information: on Talalay vs Dunlop, or latex in general check out this page on our website: Talalay vs Dunlop
Why Customize Your Bed When Mattress Shopping?
With a conventional mattress made by say, one of the major “S” brands, a very large couple may walk into a showroom and be told one mattress will be good for them. Let’s say he weighs 300lbs, while she is 275lbs. Later that afternoon it would not be uncommon for that very same mattress to be sold to another couple weighing half as much. What I’m getting at here is, people are built differently, their mattresses should be too. Here’s a link to more information on that topic: adjustable firmness
What kind of warranty questions should I ask?
Most mattress companies have warranties, and many are overstated. The real question when mattress shopping is whether the company will stand behind its warranty. Many will not, we will: (see our BBB profile) and have been since the 70’s. We think it is a good sign when the company has been in business longer than its warranty.
