Grading Memory Foam
Memory foam has become a popular component of many different items. These can include pillows, mattress toppers and of course, toppers. Many consumers long used to traditional coil spring mattresses are finding the need to learn a new lingo when making the transition to a memory foam mattress. The primary material of memory foam mattress is memory foam which is graded on several different properties. These scores can vary from brand and model of memory foam mattress. Also, the scores can vary from the same model as the memory foam used to construct the model may have come from a different batch.
Density is one quality for which a rating is provided. Memory foam is made from polyurethane foam. Additional chemicals are added to the polyurethane foam to increase its viscosity. The more chemicals that are added also lead to a greater density. The density is an important part of selecting a mattress. The higher the number the slower that the memory foam mattress will retake its original shape. As a result, these mattresses are much firmer. The small the density, well, the more it will feel like a traditional coil spring mattress.
Memory foam mattresses also come with an ILD rating. ILD stands for Indention Load Deflection, which will indicate the hardness or softness of the material. The rating will appear as a percentage. As a rule, the higher the ILD rating, the firmer the memory foam used in the mattress.
Another quality that memory foam mattresses are rated on is resilience. Basically, resilience is a measure of the amount of spring in the memory foam mattress. When determining the resiliency of memory foam, a steel ball is dropped from the standard height of one yard. Then the rebound of the steel ball is measured to calculate the resiliency. When perusing mattresses, the higher the resiliency rating, the longer lasting the memory foam.
A fourth measurement of memory foam is called tensile. Tensility is the property of being stretched before breaking. While this measurement may or may not be provided, you can typically ignore this. Memory foam mattresses are not stretched.
Permanent link to this post: Grading Memory Foam
From the Snoring relief articles weblog
see also:
- Why do I need a memory foam mattress?
- For a long time now there have been few options available to consumers when purchasing a mattress. Traditionally coil spring mattresses were the most prevalent mattress model available for purchase. However in recent years a new mattress known as a memory foam mattress has been on the market. In the beginning few [...]...
- History of Memory Foam
- Memory foam is a common term used in our lexicon today. Used as material to construct items from mattresses, pillows, toppers and much more, people hail memory foam as a new innovation with numerous implications. However, you might be surprised to know that memory foam is anything but new. Actually, the material has been around [...]...
- Memory Foam Mattresses
- You press your hand into this soft yielding material and you feel it mould itself around the contours of your fingers. You take your hand away, but instead of the material springing back to its original shape, the shape of your hand remains there, moulded into it as if you had pressed your hand into [...]...
- Mattresses for Babies
- Choosing the right mattress can be a very important choice for a parent, especially for a newborn baby. There are a large number of mattresses on the market, but the good news is that as long as they are bought from a reputable place any mattress will be sufficient for a baby’s needs. There are [...]...