With all of the mattresses that are being made, is there such thing as a Conventional Mattress that can be put in to a waterbed frame? As you will see in this blog there is finally a mattress for people who no longer want their waterbed mattress, but would like to keep their wooden water bed frame, and it can be found at waterbed stores and mattress stores. These stores simply put a conventional mattress that is custom made to fit inside of a waterbed; it is called a water bed insert. 

Available water bed insert mattress sizes:

· Super Single 46 inches wide x 82 inches long
· California Queen 58 inches wide x 82 inches long
· California King 70 inches wide x 82 inches long

10 Benefits of a waterbed insert mattress

1. You can keep your waterbed headboard, frame, drawers, sheets, mattress pad, and comforter.
2. Saves money only one thing to buy, a conventional coil spring mattress that is made to fit the waterbed.
3. Buying a replacement conventional mattress for the hard side waterbed means you can still use everything you already own for it.
4. Regular mattresses for a waterbed are easier to get in and out of.
5. Special waterbed conventional mattresses are easy to move.
6. No waterbed heater expenses to pay for.
7. Waterbed inserts come in a variety of firmnesses including Firm, Medium, and Pillow Top Soft, memory foam, and all natural latex
8. Conventional water bed inserts are cheaper than buying a new set of mattresses.
9. Do not have to drain and fill when moving the waterbed.
10. Don’t have to worry about leaks.

Bonus Benefit

11. Waterbed Inserts are lightweight.

Can’t find a store that carries waterbed inserts. Contact us or call STL Beds at 888-STL-BEDS

St. Louis mattress owners you have a few choices to help you get rid of your old boxspring and mattress. You can throw it away, donate it, or even give it away or sell it, however at the time of this blog St. Louis and its surrounding areas do not offer a recycling program for old mattresses. If you know of a program please contact us and will post the information and correct this blog.

Pay for a disposal
Donate it
Give it away

Disposing of mattresses through waste disposal or trash services.

Most trash services will haul away old mattresses and boxsprings for a nominal fee. They will then take it and properly dispose of the mattress for you, no matter what kind of shape it is in and usually require it to be sitting curbside for them to pick up. Not to long ago back on 7/31/08 I wrote a blog called Mattress Recycling – One St. Louis Area Company on a Mission. While researching the blog, I sent out an email to several waste companies asking for information that they might share with our readers. “AKA their customers”. I had hoped that they would be of some help in assisting the readers on the best ways to properly disposal of mattresses in an environmentally friendly way. (Recycling Mattresses) I offered in return full credit to any waste disposal company free of charge free advertising via my web site.  I attempted to contact  (IESI, Allied Waste, Veolia. The only company that responded to my inquiry was Waste Management of St. Louis who helped with very good suggestions. So thank you to WM again for their help. However Waste Management of St. Louis did not have a recycling program for mattresses. They did offer some suggestions

St. Louis here are a few ways you can give your mattress away.

• St. Louis area phone books are loaded with churches. There is probably one near you who would be glad to help and individual or family in need of a clean mattress.
• There are charitable organizations In The St. Louis Area That will accept clean used mattresses and box springs.
• If you are looking  to get a few dollars for your old used mattress and boxspring well here is your chance.

Craig’s List is a place where you can sell your old mattress set or purchase a used mattress and boxspring in the St. Louis area. Craigslist St. Louis can also be a good way to help someone out who may not be able to afford a new mattress and boxspring. Craig’s List St. Louis has several places where an individual can post a classified ad for free as well. I would recommend listing under the “For Sale” or the heading “Free”, “Furniture”   “Household.”

If you are Looking for a free mattress or something specific like a brand name, or special size mattress in the St. Louis area post that listing under the “Wanted” Category. http://stlouis.craigslist.org/

Riverfront Times Backpage.com Simply list your item under buy sell or trade. Simply post your mattress under “Furniture” or “Free”. If you are looking for something specific in your mattress purchase post under “Want-Trade” and list exactly what you are looking for. http://stlouis.backpage.com/online/classifieds/index

Junk man or companies like them can dispose of old mattresses:

1-800-GOT-JUNK? Their advertisement says that they are a full-service junk removal company. They will haul nearly anything away including old furniture and mattresses. They will load and cleanup, anyplace the items are – and you don’t have to carry it yourself all the way to the curb. Cost are pretty steep to just haul a mattress away, but if you are like me you could probably find enough other junk to get rid of in addition to that old mattress to make it worth while. http://www.1800gotjunk.com/us_en/

Blog coming soon will offer ways to recycle your old mattress and box spring through reuse.

Whether you’re a big time tree hugger, an SUV driving gas-guzzling Hummer driver, or someone in between, an organic mattress made from all natural rubber is a smart purchase and has something for all of us.

Really you say? Everyone wants a safe, durable, comfortable mattress and from our experience latex rubber meets and exceeds all traditional mattresss criteria.

· Mattresses built from rubber are more durable than those built from polyurethane foam.
Natural rubber mattresses do not take the set that traditional spring mattresses get. Almost immediately body impressions appear in regular mattresses, this is what we call a body impression. Over time like anything a mattress can loose its resiliency, but with all natural latex rubber its elasticity is its trademark. Similar to a rubber car tire latex rubber mattresses are not only flexible and durable but return to their original shape.

· Latex mattresses are good for the environment because they save much needed landfill space.
This is because all natural latex rubber mattresses last between 15-25 and years resulting in fewer being thrown into landfills and dumps. There are only a handful of mattress recycling programs in the USA so most mattress and boxsprings end up in these landfills within 5-8 years. Even worse is that mattresses use up more landfill space than nearly any other household item combined.

· Latex mattresses are environmentally friendly because they are naturally biodegradable.
When a mattresses useful life has been exhausted and needs to be disposed all natural mattress materials decompose at a faster rate than regular mattresses and boxsprings. Their decomposition will not leach the poisonous toxins into the environment often found in common mattresses. Think of it like cheap particleboard furniture vs. hand crafted oak furniture. Which will end up in the dump first?

· Latex mattresses can be custom built to your desired firmness for the best feel and support.
You can also swap out softer and firmer rubber layers to change and customize the feel, which can be very important as your body changes 5,10, or even 15 years down the road.

·Organic latex mattresses can be individually customized for each sleeper.
Dual firmnesses are available so one sleeper can have firm while the other snuggles up to soft.

· All natural latex mattress components are not derived from non-renewable oil.
That’s right latex mattresses are built from sustainable and renewable resources. The rubber tree is the primary resource for this mattress type with a life cycle of about eighteen years. After the first three years the tree will grow to maturity and start to produce the rubber sap the mattresses are built from.

· Organic rubber mattresses are safer and healthier mattresses because of the extremely limited amount of chemicals used to make them.

Dunlop latex is about 90 to 95 percent all natural rubber. The vulcanization process requires curing factors, such as fatty acid soaps (1-2 percent), zinc oxide (2-3 percent), sulfur (1-2 percent) and sodium (1-2percent). The last stages of this latex fabrication process washes out these added chemicals and the water is then recycled for a nearly all naturally chemical free mattress and clean waste water.

· What about the fabric covers are they really safer?
Our Land and Sky latex mattresses use certified organic wool to comply with new mandated fire safety laws. Some companies use undisclosed chemicals to comply with the Consumer Product Safety Commissions mandate FR1633 for fire retardantcy.

· Over their useable life latex mattresses are cheaper than regular coil spring mattresses.

At the time of this blog a queen latex mattress if it only lasted for 15 years priced out at $1500.00 which would cost about $100.00 a year to own. A regular $600.00 mattress and box spring normally last for about 5 years costing about $120.00 a year. Now add to that the waste of resources such as steel, oil, fabric, foams and landfill space wasted in that same 15 year time period.

· It does not require as much energy to produce an all-natural latex mattress.
Lets not even get into the technical details. It would take at the very least twice the raw materials and resources to get a conventional spring mattress to last as long. So why don’t mattress companies build them to last. $$$ They don’t want them too.

Conclusion:
Latex is cheap, durable, and comfortable. The only way to find out for sure is to test drive one for yourself. Find an Organic and All Natural Mattress near you. Are Green Organic Latex Mattresses Any Good Or Just a Sham?

Tell us what you think.

Read more about Latex Green

Recently our company had another discussion on the subject of recycling. We wanted to create and execute a plan that would make The Water Works Sleep Center and The Furniture Gallery a more environmentally friendly company. We tried to determine how our company could make the biggest impact by reducing our company’s overall environmental footprint. For a long time we did the small things like recycling aluminum, paper products, plastic bottles, and newspaper etc.

In late October of 2007 The Water Works took a huge eco friendly step by offering our customers a choice in mattresses that are constructed from sustainable resources rather fossil fuels. Just as important these mattresses are virtually chemical free. Having taken this big step we can now offer our customers the choice of being environmentally responsible when purchasing a mattress set.

I guess you could say in recent months we have become committed to the idea of owning a more earth friendly business. The Water Works Sleep Center’s goal is to give back to the environment as much as possible through a dedicated recycling effort.

Here are a few of our ideas.

1. Our findings determined that the biggest impact environmentally would come from recycling the old mattresses and boxsprings we haul away and dispose of for our customers. By recycling these old mattresses and boxsprings we could save much needed space in landfills for items that do break down and compost.
   The fact is that mattress sets are designed and built to last for many years and therefore don’t break down properly. This is a great mattress characteristic for the consumer, but a very bad one for a landfill. We were disappointed to learn that at this time to our knowledge Jefferson County, St. Louis City and County do not have mattress-recycling programs in place. There is currently only a hand full of projects to recycle mattresses being offered across the country. We feel there has to be a way to utilize the raw materials such as the polyurethane foam, steel, and wood form old mattresses and boxsprings through a concerted or maybe even mandated recycling effort?
2. Secondly we determined there is a way that we can make a large impact immediately. The amount of cardboard that we dispose of is quite incredible. The cardboard that is collected from protective packaging from such things as dressers, chest of drawers, and mattress boxes only goes to waste. The sad thing is to this point we are doing nothing but throwing this recyclable waste into our dumpster which ends up in the local landfill. We are currently working on this issue and will keep you up to date.
3. Finally we throw away quite a large amount of plastic bags. These bags are used to wrap new mattress and boxsprings and pack various items that we sell. Currently we have recycled a great number of these mattress bags others have been recycled through reuse. Often people contact us looking specifically for mattress bags to protect their expensive mattress from damage during a move and we provide them at no charge. Moving companies often charge about $5.00 plus for a bag. Some people have also used these plastic bags to cover outdoor patio furniture in the wintertime while others use them protect their gardens from cold snaps and frost.

The hardest part of something like this is getting started; nevertheless recycling has to start somewhere so we decided recently to contact several local waste management companies. Here is a copy of the email we sent out.

To Whom It May Concern:

I own a small retail mattress store in the 63010 area and have been getting many inquiries about how customers can recycle mattress and boxsprings. I have a blog on my website that is at www.stlbeds.com . I intend on addressing mattress-recycling issues. I would be glad to put up any information you might have concerning those issues specifically directed at how people can properly dispose of a mattress set or ideally recycle them. I would be glad to credit your company  (IESI, Allied Waste, Veolia and Waste Management of St. Louis) with any relevant information with free advertising on our website for providing such useful information to the general public.

Thank you,
Doug Belleville
636-296-8540

Unfortunately only one company responded to my email.

The only company that responded to my inquiry was Waste Management of St. Louis. Company representative Melanie A. Ambridge who was very helpful called me to let me know that they did not have such a program in place. She did mention several alternatives to trashing the old mattress. I will provide that information in a future related blog. I researched the other waste disposal companies’ websites only to find that they did not offer mattress-recycling programs. Waste haulers please feel free to call us with changes to the previously mentioned information and will post and update your mattress recycling status.

How can we get mattress recycling?
Pressure your waste service with phone calls and letters telling them you want them to provide a mattress recycling program.

When we recover the materials used to build a mattress for reuse, if means one less tree, one less barrel of oil is needed to build something else. By recycling what we throw away The Water Works Sleep Center and The Furniture Gallery can reallocate money spent to dump trash and waste into a landfill into paying for services like hauling always recyclable materials such as cardboard and mattresses. We encourage you to reduce your waste by increasing your recycling efforts. Call your waste service and ask about recycling.

The Water Works has dedicated itself to setting aside just a few moments every day to organize recyclables. We are challenging you at home and work to do the same to help reduce waste and benefit the environment at the same time. By recycling, reusing, and buying products that have less environmental impact you to can do your part.

We will continue our efforts to contact various waste companies who are interested in solving this issue. If you know of a company dedicated to such efforts please comment below and we will give them a shout out. We would love to find a company willing to deal with the mattress recycling issue. We will be posting follow-ups to this blog in the future.

Come on (IESI, Allied Waste, Veolia and Waste Management of St. Louis) one of you can make a difference by recycling mattresses – who will it be?

• Would you like to have a mattress-recycling program in St. Louis City, North/South/West St. Louis County, Jefferson County, and Franklin County?
• Would you use a mattress recycle program if it were offered?
• How much would you be willing to pay to have a mattress properly torn down and recycled?
• Recycling is simple!
• Recycling can save you money on your purchases!
• Mattress Recycling would benefit the local economy!
• Mattress Recycling would create new jobs!
• Mattress Recycling would conserve fossil fuels / natural resources!
• Mattress recycling can save energy!
• Mattress recycling can reduce pollution!

1. Add Legs To Your Bookcase Waterbed Headboard.
Whether your waterbed bookcase headboard is oak or pine or some other wood, it can be converted to free stand on its own. When a waterbed headboard is properly converted it will look just like the headboard for regular bed.

A waterbed head board as a rule rests on the stock extended waterbed frame which does not touch the floor. When legs are added they become an extension of the headboard. People are often surprised how properly it matches with existing bedroom furniture while saving you money and recycling your headboard through reuse.

Cut to length the corresponding pieces of wood side frames. Attach them to the headboard that will now stand at the proper height. Just as important the headboard will seamlessly blend once again with your dresser, chest and nightstands. These can also be purchased prefabricated and are called headboard stands. This now self-supporting bookcase headboard can accommodate a conventional steel bed frame that will be bolted up for further stability.

With the headboard now in place any number of different mattress options is available to rest on your new headboard and frame combination. What kind of a mattress can be used with a waterbed headboard you ask?

Any and all mattresses including:

• Mattress and Boxspring
• Memory Foam
• Latex
• Organic
• Airbed
• Softside Waterbed

2. Use A Waterbed Insert (Drop in Replacement Mattress)
The waterbed drop in mattress is the cheapest and easiest conversion method to put you back on an innerspring mattress or any other mattress of your choice while keeping your waterbed headboard and coordinating furniture. These specially sized innerspring mattresses are intended fit the unique sizes of wood framed waterbeds.

Waterbed drop in mattresses usually measure:
• California King 70 x 82
• California Queen 58 x 82
• Super Single 46 x 82

The mattresses are intentionally undersized allowing you to make your bed with ease while continuing to use waterbed sheets and comforters.

3. Replace Your Old Worn Out Unsupportive Waterbed With A New One.
Water mattresses can and do lose their support just like coil spring mattresses but are significantly cheaper to replace. Buying a quality-baffled mattress with support can cost only a few hundred dollars or less compared to a thousand dollars or more. It can be like an old pair of shoes or innerspring mattress; the support just slowly goes away. A water mattress option allows a person to retain the benefits of temperature control, keeping your waterbed warmer or cooler if you so choose, a rare find in today’s mattress market. If you choose this route it is important to remember to have your waterbed heater and standup safety liners looked at for possible replacement.