No records
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PQRS
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Softness/Firmness
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There are several "species" or types of soft and firm and people use the same words interchangeably to describe them even though they mean different things and different people may be more sensitive to one or the other. There is the
- Hand feel soft/firm that describes the surface "feel" of a mattress or the "hand feel".
- Pressure relieving soft/firm that describes the upper layers and the pressure relieving ability of the mattress and how well it forms a pressure relieving cradle that re-distributes weight.
- Deep support soft/firm that describes the firmness of the support layers and how far the heavier parts of the body sink down.
Overall perception soft/firm that describes the more subjective overall feel of the mattress.
They are very different perceptions or "species" of softness and firmness that individuals are most sensitive to. When talking about the softness or firmness of a mattress ... it's important to know "which" softness or firmness you are referring to because the "overall impression" is not really specific enough to understand what is happening when you lie on a mattress '(although the softness of the comfort layers is probably the one that most people relate to ... at least initially)'. |
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PQRS
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Pressure Points
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Is pressure or discomfort experienced at specific points of a person’s body (usually shoulders and hip area) when lying on a mattress. Pressure points become an issue when primary and/or secondary mattress support or comfort are incorrectly selected for a person’s body type. When the perfect balance of comfort and support is achieved for a specific individual this is experienced as pressure relief in all sleeping positions. |
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ABC
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Blended Latex
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Blended Latex (NR/SBR) is latex rubber made using a proprietary blend of natural (NR) and synthetic Latex (SBR) which will often be indicated as percentages of NR/SBR ~ 30%/70%, for example. The two types of rubber are blended to optimize the desired attributes of the rubber for a given manufacturing process and end product. Blended Latex is predominantly used in a majority of bedding products. |
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MNO
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Natural Latex Rubber
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L: Latex Natural Rubber (NR)~ 100% Natural Rubber (NR) Latex is harvested sustainably by tapping the sap of Hevea Brasiliensis rubber trees grown in tropical climates. It is processed into a “foam” using one of the 2 methods Talalay & Dunlop
- The white milky liquid/sap is harvested when the bark of the tree is incised, a milky liquid exudes and is subsequently whipped to a froth (Dunlop process) or expanded through vacuum applications (Talalay process) and further vulcanized. Vulcanization of the rubber retains the rubber's elasticity under temperature changes. This process heats rubber exposing it to sulfur, which causes cross-linking, decreasing rubber's tackiness and sensitivity to heat and cold" Read more about both processes in this article by Matt To Go here.
- NR has molecular inconsistencies that makes it more difficult to work with and makes the 100% natural Latex foam rubber less durable then SBR or NR/SBR blends
- 100% natural Latex formulation offers less precise control over the firmness range of Latex foam rubber
It is durable, naturally anti-microbial, mildew proof, dust mite resistant, breathable and has an open-cell structure. |
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PQRS
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Rubber Vulcanization
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is a chemical process patented by chemist Charles Goodyear in 1844 that converts natural rubber (NR) or synthetic rubber polymers (SBR) in a more hardened rubber that retains the rubber's elasticity under temperature changes. This process heats rubber exposing it to sulfur or other curatives, which causes molecular cross-linking, decreasing rubber's tackiness and sensitivity to heat and cold, and the ability to recover the shape after compression in the resulting rubber slab.
The vulcanization process generates long molecular chains with strong crosslinked bonds which account for the physical performant properties of the Latex rubber in all its variations. |
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TUV
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Talalay Latex
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Talalay latex rubber is a high-quality, resilient, and durable foam like material made from either natural latex rubber (NR), synthetic latex (SBR), or a blend of the two. Dunlop blends (NR/SBR) use various percentages of both natural and synthetic foams in their formulations.
Talalay process is a newer, more expensive and more sophisticated high-tech method of rubber fabrication method developed during WWII. This process creates vacuum in a mold in which the latex is poured causing the latex to expand. The expanded latex is subsequently frozen, preventing the particles from settling before being heated and cured, resulting in a lower density rubber. Despite using less latex in the mold core, it has a stronger, thicker cell structure, making up for the lower amount of latex in the material in terms of durability.
The process allows for more consistent control over and a wider range of firmness. Only a few manufacturers worldwide use the Talalay process. (Radium & Latex International who changed its name in 2015 to Talalay Global)
Talalay latex, considered the most temperature-neutral of all the foam materials, is desirable as a comfort layer for pressure relief, and often paired with its dense, more supportive counterpart Dunlop. |
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DEF
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Dunlop Latex
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Dunlop latex rubber is a high-quality, durable foam like material made from either natural latex rubber (NR), synthetic latex (SBR), or a blend of the two. Dunlop blends (NR/SBR) use various percentages of both natural and synthetic foams in their formulations.
The original Dunlop process for producing Latex rubber was developed in 1929. Dunlop process of latex fabrication has two main variations: one uses a mold and the other (more recent one) is done with a continuous pour method on a moving belt. The mold method is simpler and results in a denser foam. Continuous pour Dunlop can be made softer, but still dense and durable, varying little in terms of firmness throughout the material.
Dunlop is historically less expensive than Talalay and yields a denser/heavier, less airy, less consistent foam rubber, tending to be denser toward the bottom of the mold.
Synthetic or blended Dunlop is the least expensive (higher % of natural rubber increases the cost of the blend).
Dunlop is popular for its supportive characteristics as it does not compress as deeply with greater weight as opposed to its latex counterpart: Talalay. Mattress manufacturers tend to use it in the support layer of an all latex mattress. Regardless of the type, latex in general is the most temperature-neutral of all the foam materials. |
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MNO
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Mold Core
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L: A unit of Latex foam rubber that comes out of its process mold (Talalay or Dunlop) is called a core, which is not conceptually the same as the support core layer of a mattress. A process mold core can be cut into layers for use in bedding applications such as in the comfort layer and in the support core layer of a mattress. |
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PQRS
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Personal Value
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The price paid for a product in comparison to its benefits. |
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JKL
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Latex Rubber
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L: Latex Rubber ~ is a supple rubber (not foam) with an open cell structure that is produced by vulcanizing Latex using either Dunlop process or the Talalay process with the addition of small amounts of other necessary and proprietary ingredients. Its physical performant properties are derived from the vulcanization process that generates long molecular chains with strong crosslinked bonds.
- During vulcanization the rubber is heated exposing it to sulfur, which causes cross linking, decreasing rubber's tackiness and sensitivity to heat and cold".
- Vulcanization of the rubber retains the rubber's elasticity under temperature changes.
- Read more about both processes in this article by Matt To Go here.
The raw materials used can be either natural latex (NR) obtained from the sap of the rubber tree or a synthetic/chemical polymer called SBR (synthetic latex) or a blend of the two. The two different methods used to make the rubber are the Dunlop process (the original method) and the Talalay process (a newer more high-tech method). In its natural or blended form is considered to be among the highest quality “foam” available with superior physical properties such as point elasticity, support factor, and resilience. It is durable, toxin-free, naturally anti-microbial, mildew proof, dust mite resistant, breathable. Two attributes aid ventilation... an open-cell material structure that you can easily blow air through, and an edge-to-edge array of process mold pinholes that allow air to move up/down fully through the core. So as you move about and by natural convection, a Latex foam rubber mattress core naturally breathes/ventilates Firmness is graded on an ILD scale ranging from 14 ILD (super soft) to 44 ILD (super firm). Latex foam rubber graded below 19 ILD is considerably soft and said to wear out/breakdown sooner '(denser foam lasts longer)'. |
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