An Introduction to Support and Comfort Layers

We have talked in previous sections about the role of the support and comfort layers and the different materials that can be used in each. In this section, we will talk about the 3 main ways of putting them together and about the remaining layers that will not only complete your mattress but can have a significant effect on how it performs and feels.

Mattress construction and layers that affect mattress performance and feel.

Other layers that are part of some or all mattresses and that are used to complete your mattress.

  1. Quilting layer: Commonly used as a layer above the comfort layer. Usually made from foam or fibers and forms a separate but interconnected part of the comfort layer. It can affect breathability, temperature regulation, and pressure relief as well as overall feel and can also be used for fine-tuning.
  2. Ticking: This is the fabric that surrounds the mattress and it too can affect breathability, temperature regulation, and pressure relief as well as have a significant effect on the overall feel of the mattress.
  3. Fire Barrier: This is used to prevent a mattress from bursting into flame and preventing "flashover" from either a smoldering heat source or with an open flame. The "open flame" regulation that all mattresses now need to comply with was added in 2007 to the first "smoldering heat source" regulation that was already in effect.
  4. Insulator: This is a layer which is used over an innerspring to prevent the layers above it from shifting into the innerspring and is also used to alter the feel or response of the innerspring itself.

Each of these different methods of construction and additional layers are discussed in more detail in the pages of this section.

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