Archive for the ‘ foam ’ Category

Coconut and Coir

Coconut and Coir Coconuts are not only something you can eat, but something you can sleep on. Coconuts are the fruit of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera), a tree naturally found on tropical coasts. The coconut palm has spread by means of its bouyant seed floating on water, following ocean currents and tides. From beaches, it spreads to nearby low areas by dropped seeds. Coconuts are rather large and heavy for seeds, so coconut palms do not naturally range far from the shoreline. However,...

Graphite and Diamond Dust: Pencil lead and jewels

Graphite Lump ~~~ Pencil ~~~ Cut Diamond ~~~ Graphite Structure Graphite and Diamond Dust: Pencil Lead and Jewels Several mattresses are described as having foams or fibers infused with graphite or diamond particles. Graphite and diamond are two kinds of carbon crystals. Both are pure carbon, but they differ in the crystalline structure. The structural difference makes diamond extremely hard and graphite relatively soft. Real diamond particles (a.k.a. diamond dust) are very abrasive and...

Natural or Organic?

  Natural or Organic? Many producers and sellers label or describe their merchandise as "natural" or "organic" products. "Organic" and "natural" food, clothing, bedding and many other goods are fashionable. Significant numbers of shoppers now ask, "Is it natural? Is it organic?" Two concerns drive this trend: health and the environment. There is also, for some, a philosophical or religious undertone, a belief that there is an intrinsic value to being as natural or organic as possible....

Foam Springs

Foam Springs In February 2014, I posted an article about wood coils, a new kind of mattress innerspring invented and developed by a Hungarian company. Not long before the launch of wooden coils in the bedding market, another new kind of mattress spring was invented and introduced into the market by Willy Poppe, a Belgian. Poppe is CEO of a family-owned bedding manufacturer, Diamond Spring Company, in Sint-Niklaas, East Flanders, Belgium. Willy Poppe *** Logo of...

Natural Plant Oils in Foam

[caption id="attachment_852" align="aligncenter" width="501"] Plants used as sources of oils for manufacturing foam[/caption] Natural Plant Oils in Foam Several manufacturers claim that some or all of the foams used in their mattresses are either partially or wholly made from plant oils. Terms used for these are soy foam, plant-based, botanical-oil, natural oils, etc. Plant oils used include those extracted from soy beans, castor beans, canola (rapeseed), palm kernel, coconut, peanuts, and...

Phase-Change Materials (PCMs)

Phase-Change Materials (PCMs) [caption id="attachment_521" align="aligncenter" width="277"] Ice Cubes (from BedTimes Magazine)[/caption] Consumers now occasionally see the terms “phase-change materials” or “PCM s” in descriptions of clothing or bedding. Each season, more manufacturers use PCMs in their products, some even making them a selling point. Even a casual reading tells us that phase-change materials have something to do with comfortable temperatures. More exactly, PCMs are...

Polyurethane Foam

One of the common ingredients in mattresses and upholstered is polyurethane foam. In descriptions of mattresses, it is often called "poly foam." With differing densities, resiliency and other characteristics, it can be a base pad, support core, comfort layer, or quilting foam. It was used before the invention of memory foam, which itself was developed from polyurethane. Polyurethane (PU) foam is made by linking large molecules, usually isocyanates, to each other with modified oil molecules...

Latex

Latex is used in several ways in mattresses and bedding. It is commonly used in pillows and mattress pads/toppers. It can be found in cover quilting and comfort layers on innerspring mattresses. Even memory foam mattresses may have a latex layer. Then there are latex mattresses, usually a latex comfort section over a base foam support core. Some latex models also have a latex support core, either (mostly) a high-density and high resiliency latex foam or (seldom) a solid block of...

Memory Foam

[caption id="attachment_249" align="aligncenter" width="302"] Hand Impression in Memory Foam[/caption]   Visco-elastic memory foam was developed from polyurethane. It is denser than polyurethane, and is also more sensitive to heat. When someone sits or lies on it, the memory foam becomes softer, allowing the person to sink into it. This way it conforms to a sitter’s or sleeper’s body contours. The memory foam can be formulated to be more or less heat sensitive, therefore...

Mattresses, Beds, and How We Sleep

by Wesley Vaughn   [caption id="attachment_342" align="aligncenter" width="397"] Sealy Mattress and Box Spring[/caption]   It is common knowledge that we need sleep, and that—for the most part—several factors determine whether and how we sleep. Among these factors are time of day, how tired we are, physical condition, medication, diet, amount of light, noise, vibration and motion, warmth and cold, pain and comfort. Even knowing this much, it is easy for many people to...

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