Glossary of Mattress Terms 

 Glossary
Definitions of Terms Used in Mattresses

AIR BED: A vinyl mattress filled with air, usually covered with cushioning and ticking. The newest type designs that look like a regular mattress are a derivative of soft sided waterbeds, replacing the water bladder with an air bladder and pump.

ALOE VERA FABRIC: A skin-friendly mattress fabric with the healing power of Aloe Vera. A mattress fabric treated with Aloe Vera is not just very pleasant to sleep on, it is also very effective at the energy level so that people sleep better.

ANTIMICROBIAL: is a substance that kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, or protozoans. Antimicrobial drugs either kill microbes (microbicidal) or prevent the growth of microbes (microbistatic). Disinfectants are antimicrobial substances used on non-living objects.

BAMBOO FABRIC: Bamboo fabric is a natural textile made from the pulp of the bamboo grass. Bamboo fabric has been growing in popularity because it has many unique properties and is more sustainable than most textile fibers. Bamboo fabric is light and strong, has excellent wicking properties, and is to some extent antibacterial.

BODY IMPRESSIONS: are indentations in a mattress that are created when the mattress compresses over time. People may call them valleys or compressions or holes; a couple creates two. When you notice compression, it’s time to change your mattress.

BONNELL COIL: An innerspring mattress coil with an hourglass shape.This is the most widely used coil.

BORDER ROD: Heavy wire that forms the outer edge of an innerspring unit. The border rod is usually clipped to the outermost coils and the ends of the helicals.

BOXSPRING: A boxspring is designed to support an innerspring mattress. A mattress and boxspring together comprise a sleep set (see BUILT UP FOUNDATION).

BUILT UP FOUNDATION: A boxspring supported solely by wood and foam.

CALIFORNIA KING: A bed that measures 72 inches wide and 84 inches long.

COIL COUNT: The number of innerspring coils in a mattress. The standard for a queen bed is 390. Coil counts can be very misleading as to the quality of a mattress because there are other factors which must be considered in the quality of an innerspring support unit such as design, durability and many other factors.

COIL SPRING: Spirals of wire in varying heights, sizes and gauges which form the supportive structure of an innerspring mattress.

CONTINUOUS COIL: An innerspring mattress coil configuration where each row of coils is made from a single piece of wire. This is the coil unit used mostly by Serta.

CUSHIONING: Polyurethane foam, latex, memory foam ,cotton felt or other materials that lie above the insulator and below the ticking of an innerspring mattress.

DAMASK COVER: Damask refers to a type of fabric which can be cotton, linen, silk or wool that is woven into a rich pattern. Much like jacquard, the weave provides the pattern which can be simple or quite complex. Often, damask depicts floral scenes or geometric patterns. The damask pattern is always reversible, showing a beautiful pattern on either side.

DENSITY: The weight per cubic foot of foam. Density is independent of firmness but is considered an important indicator of foam quality.

DISH: An undesirable characteristic common with four and five inch low density mattress cores. When weight is placed in the center of a low density foam mattress, the corners rise and bow in response to the deep compression.

DOUBLE BED: Also known as a full or regular size, a double bed measures 54 inches wide by 74 inches long.

DOUBLE EXTRA LONG: A bed that measures 54 inches wide by 80 inches long.

DUNLOP PROCESS - LATEX :The Dunlop process is the most common method of producing mattresses and other products made from natural latex. In this process, the serum is collected from rubber trees, then frothed in a centrifuge. The material is then poured into a mold and baked at a low temperature. Around the world, the Dunlop process is the most common method of latex production. Latex products made using the Dunlop process are typically more dense than those made using the Talalay process.

FATIGUE: A softening or loss of load bearing capacity. A condition which is a cause of complaints with innerspring bedding and low quality foam mattresses.

FIRMNESS RATIO: The measure of the tendency of a spring to become firmer as greater weight is placed on it.

FOAM: Polyurethane foam is used as padding material in innerspring mattresses and forms the edges of foam encased mattresses, air beds and hybrid waterbeds. It can also be used as the major supportive material.

FOAM ENCASED: A innerspring coil unit that has been totally incased in foam on all sides by laminating foam slabs together to create a "tub" to place the coil unit inside. The "tub" replaces the border rod partially or completely.

FOUNDATION: perform a function similar to that of box springs in supporting mattresses, except that the surface is rigid rather than flexible. They normally are covered with the same quilting as the matching mattress. Mostly still refered to as box spring.

FUTON: A flexible, usually cotton filled mattress which is often used as a dual – purpose mattress and sitting surface.

GAUGE: The thickness measure of the wire used in innerspring mattresses. A lower gauge number denotes a heavier wire.

HELICALS: Wire spirals that usually hold together adjacent rows of coil springs. Helicals can run either way in a innerspring unit.

HIGH RESILIENCE: HR foam is a variety of polyurethane foam which is more supportive, comfortable and durable than conventional foams. It normally has a density rating of 1.5 or above.

HYPOALLERGENIC: Definition: non-allergy producing. A term applied to a preparation in which every possible care has been taken in formulation and production to ensure minimum instance of allergic reactions.
(Blakiston's Medical Dictionary)

IFD: Indentation Force Deflection is a measure of the load bearing capacity or firmness in polyurethane foams.

ILD: (Indentation Load Deflection)This is a measurement of foam firmness. Firmness is independent of foam density, although it is often thought that higher density foams are firmer. It is possible to have high density foams that are soft - or low density foams that are firm, depending on the ILD specification. ILD specification relates to comfort. It is a measurement of the surface feel of the foam.
ILD is measured by indenting (compressing) a foam sample 25 percent of its original height. The amount of force (in pounds) required to indent the foam is its 25 percent ILD measurement. The more force required, the firmer the foam. Flexible foam ILD measurements range from 10 pounds (supersoft) to about 80 pounds (very firm).

INNERSPRING UNIT: The spring and wire unit made up primarily of coils, helicals and border rods which forms the heart of an innerspring mattress.

INSULATOR: A tough fiber padding, wire or netting that separates innerspring mattress coils form the cushioning.

LATEX: A natural foam product often used to make premium quality latex foam mattresses. It comes from the rubber tree, which grows only within about 700 miles of the equator. Latex is used in a wide variety of products from rubber bands to rubber gloves to mattresses. There are two methods used in the production of latex to prepare it for use, Dunlop and Talalay processes.

MEMORY FOAM: See Visco Elastic

NATURAL LATEX: is pure and natural latex is made by processing serum collected from ducts beneath the bark of the rubber tree. The sap is harvested, processed in a centrifuge, poured into a mold, and baked. Real, non-synthetic latex is by far the most resilient material used in mattresses today. It is more resilient than any fiber or any other foam, including memory foam.

OFFSET COILS: An innerspring mattress coil that has an hourglass shape and a squared off section at the top and the bottom of the coil.

PILLOW TOP MATTRESS: A top finishing treatment where a big pillow of soft materials is sewn over the entire surface of the mattress.

PLUSH TOP MATTRESS: A mattress that has extra layers of comforting materials added instead of sewing on a pillow top.

POCKET COILS: Cylindrical innerspring mattress coils, enclosed in separate flexible fabric pockets. The pockets are attached to adjacent pockets.

PRESSURE POINTS: The points at which capillaries will close due to pressure against the body. This undesirable effect can be reduced by a mattress that supports evenly.

QUILTING: Patterns that are sewn into the mattress ticking. For surface softness, many manufacturers quilt the ticking to soft urethane foam of varying thicknesses.

RECOVERY TIME: is the amount of time it takes a piece of foam to return to its original shape. Latex foam has a short recovery time, and memory foam has a long recovery time. Along with ILD, the recovery time is one of the most important factors in determining comfort.

RESILIENCY: Surface liveliness and spring - back ability.

TACK and JUMP QUILTING: The least amount of quilting used to provide the softest feel. This process tacs a very small pattern, cuts the thread then jumps to another area and starts over again. Generally found on premium priced mattresses.

TALALAY PROCESS- LATEX:The Talalay process of latex production is a somewhat more modern means of production, though with the advanced method comes a higher cost of production. Once extracted and prepared, the latex compound is ready to be poured into the mold. Once the latex material has been poured into the mold, the mold is sealed off. Air is then vacuumed from the mold, which is designed to evenly distribute the foamy latex material inside the mold. This leads to an open-cell, consistent end product. Once the air has been drawn from the material, the mold is flash frozen for stabilization and the lock the latex product in place.

TEMPERING: Tempering or stress relieving of coils, helicals, border rods, etc. , with heat or electricity assures that the wire will return to its original height after compression.

TICKING: Ticking is the outer fabric covering on a sleep set. These fabrics are often attractive prints or woven damasks.

TOPPER PAD: Insulation and padding material that lies on top of the spring assembly in an innerspring mattress.

VISCO ELASTIC: Memory Foam, A common name for visco-elastic foam. Temperature sensitive, slow recovery urethane foam that conform to the body and distributes pressure according to body heat and weight. It comes in many thicknesses, densities, and different levels of softness and firmness.