Support Layers
Support Layers & Foundations
Comfort Layers
General Industry Terms
Fabrics, Fibers & Stitching
100
The term used to describe the thickness of a wire. The lower the number, the thicker the wire. This is also another factor which affects the support and feel of firmness.
What is Coil Gauge
100
A slender piece of furniture that can be placed under a mattress. This will stabilize the mattress with firm support so that no box spring is required. Can be used to lower the height of a mattress; however, they generally will not offer the same support that a matching box spring will.
What is a Bunkie Board
100
A denser type of polyurethane foam, making it both more supportive and heavier. It is often referred to as "viscoelastic" foam. Most of this foam has the same basic composition; however, changing the density and layer thickness of the foam can offer a unique feel. Benefits include durability, increased motion separation, increased support and advanced pressure relief.
What is Memory Foam
100
The ability to alleviate the continuous physical force exerted on or against an object by something in contact with it. This can increase comfort, increase blood flow, and reduce overall tossing and turning.
What is Pressure Relief
100
Textile fiber obtained from sheep and other animals. Benefits include: durability, breathability, temperature regulation, moisture wicking, hypo-allergenic, flame retardant and soft to the touch.
What is Wool
200
A trademarked term that describes a unique Marshall coil that provides the most in pressure relief and motion separation; in addition to being longer lasting.
What is an individually pocketed coil
200
A wide, flat box made of wood, covered with cloth that is put under a mattress for support. This non-yielding foundation, sometimes called a "no-flex", "low-flex" or “zero-deflection unit”, provides support similar to a platform foundation.
What is a Wood Foundation
200
Gel liquid, gel beads or gel pads are added directly into the foam during the manufacturing process. This allows for increased durability, support, and temperature regulation/cooling effect.
What is Gel Infused Foam
200
Uses a support layer constructed of high density foam. The type and density of foams used impact the comfort of the mattress. This can also be altered by the addition of various foams and even the order in which they are placed on top of the support layer. The support can be increased or decreased by changing the type and density of foams used within the support layer.
What is Memory Foam Mattress
200
A thick fabric used for mattress covers whose design is typically woven into the fabric rather than printed onto it. Certain types are considered particularly high quality, such as Belgian (softer, high thread count), matelassé (raised design), jacquard (made with special loom), and tapestry (extra heavy).
What is Damask
300
Amount of coils that fit into a mattress if there was no edge support.
What is coil density
300
Design in which different sections of the mattress have different levels of support to help improve spinal alignment. The most popular design offers a higher concentration of coils in the middle third of the mattress, providing additional firmness at the heaviest portion of the body.
What is a Zoned Support System
300
Traditional process of manufacturing latex which produces a stiff, firmer feeling foam.
What is Dunlop
300
The dimensions of a Full size mattress.
What is 54 x 75
300
A natural, man-made fiber which is also referred to as Lyocell. Benefits include: moisture wicking, breathable, anti-bacterial, durable and eco-friendly. It is also very soft and smooth to the touch.
What is Tencel
400
Knotted, round-top, hourglass-shaped steel coil
What is a Bonnell Coil
400
Spirals of wire used to secure adjacent rows of coils in innerspring mattresses. Is also used to attach rows of coils to the border wires.
What is Helical Lacing
400
A very common type of foam in the comfort layers and used in almost all mattresses. Also called polyfoam or just poly, it is commonly found in household goods such as kitchen sponges, chairs and car seats.
What is Polyurethane Foam
400
How the head, shoulders, spine, hips, knees and ankles relate and line up with each other. This puts less stress on the spine and allows for normal nerve function.
What is Spinal Alignment
400
Can be applied directly to the ticking that a guest can see and touch. As this material changes the fabric changes from a solid to a liquid, and absorbs heat from the body. The material is then engineered to release that heat back to the sleeper as it changes back to a solid, aiding in temperature regulation throughout the night. Is also commonly found in outdoor clothing.
What is Phase Change Material (PCM)
500
This type of coil is fabric encased, with six wire convolutions in each coil.
What is a Marshall Coil
500
An innerspring design in which coils are connected to each other forming a single structure made up of many coils. This type of coil is found in Sealy and Hampton & Rhodes.
What is an Offset Coil
500
Products carrying this certification are made with low emission (VOCs) for indoor air quality and do not contain ozone depleters, PBDEs, mercury, lead and heavy metals, or prohibited phthalates.
What is CertiPUR-US® Certified
500
Process where coils are heated and cooled multiple times in order to solidify the shape of the coils. This process can also be achieved using an electrical current.
What is Tempuring a coil
500
The act of a sewing machine stitching a section and then raising out of the mattress to “jump” to another section. Usually the closer the stitching is together, the firmer the mattress will feel as the foams and fibers are compressed. The further apart the stitching, the softer it will feel as the foams and fibers are allowed to expand.
What is Tack & Jump Stitching
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