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If you don’t know what to do, don’t do anything at all. While I’m definitely no procrastinator (just ask my husband), this adage, unfortunately, describes my approach to determining the best mattress for our master bedroom over the years.
Embarrassing, but true.
You see, my husband and I bought a sleep number bed shortly before we started our family. That was more than 15 years ago. It seemed like a good decision at the time, but the truth is, I never really liked it all that well. How much can you really determine from a few minutes laying on a bed in a showroom anyway?
Why did we buy it, you might ask? Good question! I guess it was primarily because it was the new and different sleep technology at that time and we thought the feature of being able to pump up our individual side of the bed to our personal liking (hubby likes it firmer than I do) would be conducive to slumbering marital bliss.
Yes, we basically got “sold”.
Our sleep number bed had a 20 year or so limited warranty, so about 10 years in, I realized we needed to find something else especially once I started bearing children which caused me to find the bed ever more uncomfortable for my perpetually sore back and neck from all the physical rigors of raising children (constant stooping, bending over, carrying babies on your hip etc).
Besides a lack of comfort, I didn’t find the EMFs from a plugged-in bed right about where your head is resting on a pillow to be conducive to a good night’s sleep. Either my husband, myself or whoever changed the sheets and pumped up the bed kept forgetting to unplug it!
Not to mention the toxic substances that were being outgassed by the chemicals added to the mattress for “safety” that we were breathing all night long.
With so many checks in the “replace your mattress now” category, you might wonder why I didn’t get a new bed sooner.
That’s where the “if you don’t know what to do, don’t do anything at all” comes in.
I knew I wanted a nontoxic mattress, but I didn’t want to pay a ton of money for an organic mattress only to find it just as uncomfortable and possibly more unhealthy than the bed I currently had.
My concerns about buying a new mattress were due to the recent (2007) flameproof mattress regulation which requires all mattresses to withstand a severe open flame test (2000 degrees for over a minute). This requires acutely toxic and known, cancer-causing chemicals in or next to the surface of all mattresses – even organic ones (untreated organic wool cannot pass this test as it burns at 600 degrees). Companies are not required to disclose the chemical cocktails they use in their mattresses and often deny they use them at all.
Watch out for furniture in dormitories too. The mattresses provided by colleges and boarding schools use these chemicals too.
Given all these regulations, I honestly didn’t think that the bed of my dreams had even been invented yet – truly nontoxic with a sleep technology that actually delivered a great night’s sleep. So I procrastinated my decision and did nothing.
Then, a friend of mine who is into a green and nontoxic lifestyle shared the research she had done about mattresses and why she had settled on an IntelliBED.
Sometimes the best things that come into our lives are from the recommendation of a like-minded friend.
Isn’t that the truth?
Benefits of Gel Mattresses
I dug in and started to read the research for myself. Here are the most compelling factoids I uncovered that clinched the decision for me:
- IntelliBED uses hypoallergenic, nontoxic Intelli-GEL® instead of toxic foam or fire retardant treated organic wool to cushion your hips and shoulders. This patented gel technology reduces pressure points by as much as 80% compared to even expensive memory foam or latex foam (see pressure mapping images to the right).
- Over 900 doctors, chiropractors, and orthopedic surgeons recommend the IntelliBED for their patients. The science behind this bed blows away all other sleep technologies.
- Other gel mattresses on the market are not non-toxic and don’t perform as well as Intellibed. When tested, these knock-offs perform more like other foams and nothing like the patented intelli-GEL.
- IntelliBED uses the same patented mattress technology chosen by hospital burn units as this sleep technology eliminates undue pressure on parts of the body damaged by fire exposure which would cause excruciating pain, exacerbate inflammation, and compromise tissue healing.
- Instead of a 10 minute trial in a showroom, intelliBED gives you 90 days to try out the mattress in your own home with a full money-back guarantee if you’re not completely happy.
The combination of top of the line sleep technology which no other mattress measures up to, nontoxic, non-outgassing mattress materials and a 90-day money-back guarantee made the decision very easy for my husband and myself.
In addition to the mattress, we are using the IntelliBED pillows too, which are made from the same non-toxic, hypoallergenic gel instead of toxic foam or mold-prone down or feather pillows. We love them so much that we are purchasing an IntelliBED pillow for each of our children for Christmas and plan to replace their cotton futon mattresses with Intellibeds as soon as possible.
My husband and I are totally thrilled with our new IntelliBED. After sleeping on an IntelliBED for only two weeks, my back felt like it did before I had kids, which I never thought was possible.
How to Try IntelliBED for 90 Days Risk-Free
I contacted IntelliBED and asked if it would be possible for me to share a special coupon with my readers to try it as I know from your emails that sleep and nontoxic slumber are big issues for many. For those of you in a quandary about your mattress like I was for such a long time, this coupon plus the 90-day money-back guarantee makes the decision easy and risk-free.
Use coupon HealthyHomeEconomist to get 10% off Intellibed’s Organix line of beds including organic cotton sheets, a deluxe mattress protector, and free delivery.
Click here to find out more.
IntelliBED even offers the white glove treatment at no extra cost, with the bed delivered and set up by a team of two professionals right in your own home who will also haul off your old mattress if you like! This is what we did, and it was so convenient and non-stressful.
Bye, bye Sleep Number!
UPDATE: Since this initial article was written, we’ve now replaced our three children’s natural mattresses with Intellibed mattresses too! We even got one for my son’s bed at college (check it out in this article on healthy dorm furniture).
Included in this update post are my photos and film clips after visiting the Intellibed factory in Salt Lake City, Utah to personally verify all claims about this bed.
More Information
I bought an intelliBED in May of 2006. I had researched beds to help my lower back issues. I will state, for the record, the intelliBED was VERY helpful and quite comfortable. I did not have the problems with aches and pains I had experienced before.
With that said, I began having trouble with aches, pains, and piriformis syndrome about 12-18 months ago. I noticed that there was a sizable “hump” in the middle of the King-sized intelliBED I share with my spouse. In fact, I had to literally PULL myself up in order to breach the hump. I had done everything required to maintain the bed (6-month rotations, etc.) and contacted intelliBED regarding the warranty. The individual with whom I chatted on April 6th had even indicated the beds manufactured during the time I purchased mine had inherent issues with support and were not up to the standards intelliBED requires. Without great detail (which I do have), the last communication I received from them after submitting my warranty claim form and other documents was April 13, 2015, advising my paperwork had been received and I should hear from them within 24-72 hours. I have sent two follow-up emails, May 9th and June 1st, requesting some communication from intelliBED about my warranty claim. Nothing. I can only presume perhaps they don’t want to cover 100% of the warranty work since I am entering year #10. The warranty covers 100% (although YOU pay for shipping to Utah both ways!) the first 10 years, then begins to pay less each year for the remaining 10 years of the warranty.
I hope you continue to enjoy your purchase and that you do NOT have to deal with the company. I have friends who swear by other beds they own and I am now in the process of investigating those options. I assure you I would NEVER purchase from this company again. They do NOT respond to customers in a reasonable manner. I cannot get anyone to tell me WHY I am being ignored. Having a good product helps with sales… but follow-up is far more important to me. I will never recommend intelliBED again and I have contacted friends I had recommended them to in the past to advise of my problem.
Good luck.
Have you called them? http://www.intellibed.com/contact-us/
I did finally receive a call from their Operations department today (6/18/2015). The young man did not offer any explanation for the lack of communication other than “your claim just hit my desk”, whatever that means. At any rate, he/they are apparently working to resolve my warranty claim to my satisfaction. I will return and post when the process has been completed as to whether the resolution is satisfactory.
FOLLOW-UP
On June 7, 2015, I posted a review of my personal experience with the intelliBED Warranty/Customer Service department(s). I was extremely displeased with the lack of response from the company after my initial contact on 4/6/2015. You may read the first review dated 6/7/2015 for details.
This follow-up is to provide information on what happened after I posted my review on several blog sites as well as the Utah BBB site.
On 6/18/15, I received a call advising my warranty claim had “just hit (my) desk” from the Operations Department. The caller could not or would not discuss why I had not heard from anyone after my attempts for communication but rather suggested we simply “move forward” from this point. He reiterated the same information I had garnered from my initial chat with Customer Service on 4/6/15. He advised he was going to simply replace my mattress with a comparable one with the “new and improved” internal components. He then told me it would be $700 for them to ship the new mattress. I advised I had a copy of my transcript chat where the Customer Service Representative had checked with the Warehouse Manager and quoted me $500 total for the two-way shipping of my old mattress for repair. He said he was the Warehouse Manager and he would honor that. (See summary for my question on why a one-way shipping charge would be the same as a two-way shipping charge.)
On 6/19/15, I received a call from Customer Service to get credit card information to charge the “discounted” shipping charge to me (again… shipping charge is a sore point with me). She indicated the new mattress would likely ship out on 6/22/15.
On 7/8/15, after some confusion with the shipping/delivery company, the new mattress arrived. My old mattress was removed & destroyed while on the truck. I took photos of the destroyed mattress per the Warehouse Manager’s request.
On 7/13/15, the Customer Service Representative called me to check up on the delivery and to request I forward the photos of the destroyed mattress to them which I did. On 7/17/15, the delivery company called asking if I had photos of the destroyed mattress they picked up. Yes. She asked if I would email copies which I did.
I have been sleeping on the new mattress for 3 weeks now. It is the way I remember my old mattress was in the beginning. I have not experienced any of the problems that had begun cropping up in the past year with my lower back issues or my Piriformis Syndrome. My sleep is back to what was advertised to me in 2006 (which I experienced and loved the first 8 years).
SUMMARY: I am very satisfied with my new warranty replacement mattress. I was always happy with the product until it began to fail. I remain less-than-happy with the entire Warranty experience. I cannot resolve in my head why a one-way shipment charge would be the same as a previously quoted two-way shipment charge. I do not understand why no one could explain the excessive length of time before anyone contacted me even after I followed-up twice. I have suggested to intelliBED the need for some improvement and consistency in its Warranty/Customer Service communications. I am fairly certain they are simply glad to be done with me. Quite honestly, I am glad this ordeal is over, too. My sincere recommendation to anyone who may need to work with intelliBED on any Customer Service issue is to GET IT IN WRITING! Use the Chat mode or Email mode. Copy/paste the entire chat transcript to a document to which you can refer later on. Keep a running document on any/all communications with dates, times, and names that you can refer back to if something changes. As a final, rather humorous note… I received an email yesterday from an individual identified as a “Customer Service Champion” thanking me for my purchase of the intelliBED mattress. I didn’t purchase it. It was a warranty replacement. The intelliBED company really needs to do some extensive organizing and coordination among its departments.
I am concerned about the silica (glass) it is fiberglass) Why would I want to sleep near this breathing in possible tiny particles that could cut my lungs????
It’s silica thread. It is not fiberglass.
Hi Sarah,
I’m in process of buying an IntelliBed mattress and I tried out your coupon code. The description in your post also mentions a free pillow and a wake-up light, but the pillow, etc., didn’t work out on the IntelliBed website shopping cart. At risk of coming across as a looking-for-freebies mooch, is this part of the coupon code still valid?
Thanks!
Hi Christie, that free light/pillow special expired on December 31. 2014. I believe the most recent freebie was for bamboo sheets and a mattress cover. The promos change every so often. I would call customer service and see if you can swap things out perhaps?
Two great things to check into; Orgonite and grounding pads and sheets.
Does intellibed ever have a sale? Are thier prices negotiable?
They seem expensive, my Chriopractor recommends the bed and I would like to purchase one,but they are very pricey!
Instead of spending thousands of dollars on a fancy bed, you could spend less than $200 and buy a 9ft hammock stand and a Mayan/Brazilian/Nicaraguan hammock. Millions of people sleep in hammocks every night for many good reasons.
You’re suspended in the air so this eliminates pressure points. Many people have their back and shoulder pain cured from simply switching from a bed to a hammock.
If you spill on a mattress, you’re kind of screwed. There’s no real way to clean it. You can throw a hammock in the washer as often as you want (remember all the dead skin cells that build up on your sleeping surface)
Most hammocks are 100% cotton and you can choose organic cotton. No flame retardants or off-gassing to worry about.
In hot weather, the hammock keeps you nice and cool. A mattress traps heat under your back.
Most people react to hammocks with “I couldn’t do it, my back would hurt”. Well as I said before millions of people in central and south America use hammocks and they aren’t all crippled with back pain every day, obviously. Here in north America and the UK we have been brainwashed into believing hammocks are uncomfortable torture devices. That’s true – the spreader bar type of hammock is. NEVER EVER BUY A SPREADER BAR HAMMOCK! They are dangerous (=easy to tip over) and not suitable for sleeping in. They are usually made of rope which is very uncomfortable and creates a “rope tattoo” on bare skin. Since they are spread out flat this gives you the illusion it is a better sleeping surface, but it’s the opposite. You need the traditional bar-less hammock hung with some slack (it will be shaped like a banana). If you learn how to get into it properly and lay in it properly (at a diagonal angle), you will be laying flat. Once it is hung properly it is almost impossible to accidentally fall out of. It does take some acclimation when switching from a bed to a hammock, but most people who do it never go back to beds! It is worth a try…especially because it is such a CHEAP experiment! Worst comes to worst you could just put it in the backyard during summertime as a swing or napping spot.
bee, could you give me a link?
Most people like to use their mattreses for more than just sleep, if you know what I mean. Nothing about a hammock seems like a idea for that…
You are right, you can’t wash a mattress. That’s why you’re supposed to use a machine washable mattress pad under your sheets…
Thanks, Bee! I hadn’t thought of hammock sleeping before and it makes total sense plus they don’t cost much! I found some trek light hammocks designed for all night sleeping and am avoiding the bar hammocks.
Can you (or anyone else) recommend a non-toxic mattress that is available in Australia AND is good for people with bad backs? Thanks.
Hi Anna, I have the same question. Did you ever find an answer?
I’m guessing that’s a no then? I’m also interested in locating such a mattress in WA.
Sarah,
We are in need of a new bed and I have been considering the choices. My husband is a terrible thrasher. I usually end up on the couch to get some uninterrupted sleep. How is it going with the movement in the bed? Does it shake when your kids get in it?
Our intellibed is the zero partner disturbance model. I haven’t noticed our youngest getting into bed with us yet and it’s happened several times already since we’ve had it. As for someone who thrashes a lot, I’m not sure about that … he may need more B12 (this can really help with nighttime thrashing). I would recommend liver as the best source and Radiant Life’s desiccated liver powder if he won’t eat fresh liver (see my resources page on where to find it).
What about latex mattresses? Are there any that don’t have chemicals added to them?
Sarah, when you were doing your research, did you come across anything about wool rugs and if the regulations regarding open flame tests also apply to wool area rugs and carpets, thus requiring they be treated with fire retardants?
I am researching this now as we are in the process of figuring out what to replace our family room carpet with. Stay tuned! I will blog about what we eventually buy.
I did a search for fire retardant regulations for wool rugs and came across this:
http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Business–Manufacturing/Business-Education/Business-Guidance/Carpets-and-Rugs/
It talks about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 so I wonder how up to date this information is or if anything has changed.
Looking forward to your post!
Also found these which might be helpful:
http://www.nrdc.org/health/flame-retardants/toxic-couch.asp
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/pbdes_are_flame_retardants_safe_growing_evidence_says_no/2446/
(the comments are illuminating)
and this one from 1 year ago
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cancer-linked-flame/