Ah, so it's once again time to get yourself a brand new mattress. As exciting as mattress shopping can be, the sheer amount of options can seem endless. You're faced with huge variations in materials, styles, fillings and even size options. But perhaps the most crucial deciding factor could be that all-important price tag.All of this can leave you asking yourself, "how much should I pay for a mattress?". Mattresses can vary in costs almost as much as they vary in style.Before you're tempted to click the buy now button at your favourite retailer, firstly take some time to consider the aspects that affect the price of a mattress. In this post, we will be delving into the mattress manufacturing process, so you can develop a better understanding of what affects the prices of mattresses.So, without further ado, let's begin!
So, What Goes Into Your Mattress?
Springs
Quality mattresses contain springs made from coiled steel, these vary in both style and quality. The thickness of the steel will affect the cost of the mattress, as will the composition of the spring itself. Let's talk about the different types of springs!
Heat Tempered Springs
Heat tempering is a process in which the steel is heated and then cooled to a particular temperature to improve the strength of the spring and decrease brittleness, resulting in super-strong mattress springs!
Pocket Springs
Pocket springs are basically springs that are enclosed within their own fabric pocket. Working independently from each other, each spring reacts only to the pressure applied to that area for more personal support! Perfect for when you are sleeping in a pair and you both need different levels of support.
Open Coil Mattresses
Open coil mattresses are the most traditional type and they tend to be on the cheaper side of the scale as they can be manufactured on a large scale quickly and easily. They don't offer as much support as the pocket spring mattresses and typically tend to include around 300 springs.
Insulator pads
The insulator pads prevent the mattress foam from going into the springs. The pads can be made from natural or synthetic fibres. Natural fibres, made from cotton, are approximately a third of the cost of synthetic pads to produce but may hold dust mites and be subject to mould.
Foam
The price of memory foam can vary enormously. The advantage of more expensive foam is its higher density and many people find this more comfortable.
Fibres
More expensive mattresses contain temperature-regulating fibres which dissipate body heat over the entire mattress. This means that you stay warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
The Cover
A double mattress is covered in about six yards of material. The cost of the material used can range from less than £1 a yard, to over £10 a yard, so obviously this affects the price.
Machinery
To assemble all the raw materials into a mattress requires specialist machinery and the cost of all the machines needed can be many hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Labour, Transport and Profit
Of course, the people who actually make the mattresses need to be paid, otherwise, they can't earn a living! Mattresses are also quite big and bulky items, so transporting them from a warehouse into your home can be a costly affair.The store or online retailer selling the mattress then needs to make a profit to ensure the business stays open and staff's wages can be paid. Adding all this up can result in one expensive package, so be sure to remember this the next time you're browsing a range of mattresses.If you're looking for a wonderful mattress at an affordable price, check out our range. From orthopaedic ones to memory foam, to pocket sprung, we're certain to have the perfect mattress to help you get your forty winks.
