What You Need to Know About Tufted Mattresses

When shopping for a new mattress – especially when visiting our showrooms – you may have heard the term “tufted mattress.” Hand-tufting is something we specialize in at Gardner Mattress, having over 120 years of combined experience in the craft. It’s a quality of our mattresses that we’re especially proud of and it helps us create products that suit our clients’ needs.

If you’re in the market for a new mattress, here is what you need to know about tufted mattresses.

What Is a Tufted Mattress?

A tufted mattress is a mattress that has been tufted. This is an upholstery method that compresses all of the materials used to fill mattresses. The compressed materials are held together by an anchor (the tuft). This is created by using a long needle and tufting straps to compress the layers of materials inside the mattress, with the cords tied on both sides, often in a decorative fleurette or pom-pom. This method is a necessity for mattresses that use natural fibers like cotton, wool, and horse hair. 

Tufting is one of the most traditional ways to make a mattress and allows the mattress layers to hold their shape. You won’t have to worry about materials bunching or sagging over time, as the secured layers remain taught and stable for even restless sleepers.

What Are the Benefits of a Tufted Mattress?

A Sign of High Quality

Tufting, especially hand-tufting, is a labor-intensive process that requires skilled craftsmen to do. This is why you only find it in high-end, dedicated mattress sellers. When you find a store that offers hand-tufted mattresses, you know you’re getting a mattress that’s a higher quality than your mattress-in-a-box options found online. While it’s a lot of work, we continue the tufting tradition because we know how much our customers appreciate and benefit from it.

Keeps Its Shape

As we said, a tufted mattress holds its shape better than a non-tufted mattress. That’s because the anchor holds the layers of material in place and compresses them. This means that your mattress won’t have impressions where your hips, shoulders, or head lays throughout the night.

This is a major benefit as it means your tufted mattress will stay comfortable for longer than a non-tufted mattress. This saves you money and pain in the long run as you won’t need to replace it for several years. You also won’t wake up with pain first thing in the morning until it’s time to replace it.

No Volatile Organic Compounds

Non-tufted, multi-layered mattresses still need to be held together, otherwise the layers fall apart. However, most companies do this by using chemical adhesives that can off-gas volatile organic compounds (VOC). VOCs can negatively affect the indoor air quality of your home as well as your health over time.

You may not think VOCs are a big deal, but remember that you spend 6-8 hours a night on your mattress. If it’s releasing volatile organic compounds, you’re breathing them in every night right from the source. Breathing in clean air is essential to sinus and lung health, so sleeping on a tufted mattress, which avoids using harmful chemicals, can only benefit you in the long run.

What you need to know most of all is that a tufted mattress could be the best bedroom purchase of your life. You’ll be treating yourself to a high-quality product that will last you up to a decade. Come to one of our showrooms to test one out for yourself. You can even speak to one of the craftsmen that hand-tufts the mattresses.