Replacing Silentnight with Salus Emperor 1500 mattress

Hi Tony.

Your question sums up succinctly the dilemma of nearly all readers of this site.

If we take your considerations as an example it will hopefully put into perspective what everyone is up against and what aspects should be considered to reduce your choices.

Firstly, your current mattress is about five years old! For what you originally paid for this particular mattress getting five years out of it could rightly be deemed as good! The Sleep Council now recommends that all mattresses should be replaced every seven years (the previous recommendation by the SC was 10 years)- Now this does not mean every mattress will LAST seven years it means that any mattress should be considered for replacement by year seven. Obviously, the better mattress you begin life with will still / should be still comfortable by year seven, but the brunt of all nightly activity, perspiration, spills etc will be cause for due replacement even if the mattress still relatively comfortable.

This brings me to what actual components will last for this time. There is no doubt about it that there will be relative deterioration of any spring support. Even the cheapest of all spring supports – the open coil / Bonnell type will still be going strong (although unbearably uncomfortable from day one !!) it will no doubt be the comfort layers that will be giving up the ghost.

If you had chosen our Origins Latex five years ago, there would be no doubt that you would be still enjoying a good comfortable nights sleep. Comfort layers by themselves can be graded as basic (Polyester) to mid-range (Latex) to Premium (horsehair etc) However, the amount of such filling or even the amount of a combination of such fillings will play an important part towards the longevity of the mattress as a whole. It has always been annoyingly prolific to see descriptions of mattresses which are nothing short of a list of farmyard by-products advertised as sumptuous upholstery including.

Without any weight/ depth/density attributed to the component, it is utterly useless for you to determine whether you are getting a good buy or being completely and utterly deceived.

Your current mattress is described with a latex component. The reason why I know you would have been still sleeping soundly on our Latex mattress is that it contains 6cm of premium latex plus an additional 2cm of Reflex foam acting as a buffer between the spring unit below and the latex above. There is just no possible way that all this filling could have become fully compressed within five years to give you any nights discomfort. Sure, you would have seen five years worth of wear and tear – but even this could have been minimised if adequate care attention by use of a comforting topper was instigated from day one.

When looking for your new mattress you have to be aware of what you can feasibly get for your money.

If we could sell you a Horsehair and wool mattress for £600 or so we would – but it’s not possible and it would be a waste of your time and life looking for such.

Your request for comparisons between the two models you mention above The Salus Emperor and the Sweet Dreams 2000 (I presume latex) is difficult bordering on the impossible as no significant and worthwhile detail is provided from either of these manufacturers. The good thing you are doing is trying to compare like for like models ie: comparables between latex models, which should in a short while – if you can garner depths and qualities from these manufacturers – give you a worthwhile basis of comparison. Although these are manufactured with different construction techniques (Foam encapsulated v open construction) once you have your relevant data you would be in a better position to choose whom or which to opt for.

We always advise people to try the top of the range mattresses from the best retailers even if their budget cannot stretch to this extreme. It will, however, enlighten you on what can be deemed as a good quality mattress and put into perspective the run of the mill that offered in many of the prolific high street bedsheets! Finally, our order to delivery lead time is always within four weeks from the first Monday.

Some models such as our Origins range can be within three weeks and our Artisan range is 4 weeks to delivery.

John and Ryan.