Have you heard about ‘what is a pillow-top mattress? Actually, this question intrigued me as a researcher. When I looked into the phenomenon, I got thrilled and thought of buying a pillow-top mattress for myself. Now, I am going to share my findings with you.
If you crave a plush mattress that provides solid back support as well, you should go for a pillow-top mattress. The construction of a pillow-top is amazing. Usually, it has a solid and strong coil base that is topped by a thick layer of cushioning. This approximately 2-inch top layer can be made up of Memory Foam, wool, cotton, latex, or fiberfill. This is ‘what is a top‘ means as well.
The best thing about the pillow-top feature is that you may find it on any kind of mattress including a foam mattress, innerspring mattress, or hybrid mattress. It means that you may enjoy the mattress of your choice with the pillow-top extra-soft bed top.
It also means that with a pillow-top mattress you need not buy a mattress topper or pad to enhance the cushioning of the top layer of your bed.
Pros & Cons of Pillow-Top Mattresses
| Pros of a Pillow-Top Mattress | Cons of a Pillow-Top Mattress |
| A pillow-top mattress will provide your body with pillow-like cushioning because of its extra-cushioning top layer. | According to customers’ feedback, a regular mattress lasts longer than a pillow-top. If they are used by heavy sleepers, they sag quicker than expected. |
| The pillow-top not only brings plushness to your bed but also comes with strong back support through its packeted coiled or innerspring lower structure. You may find it in all kinds of beds including spring, foam, or hybrid beds. | The pillow-top mattresses are not suitable for overweight people because they have no strength and capacity to provide the desired comfort and firmness to support their back alignment. |
| Because of the balance in comfort & support, the pillow-tops provide back alignment that is necessarily required for people who suffer from backache issues. Therefore, these mattresses are especially recommended to sleepers with back, shoulder, and hip pain. The pillow-top beds allow them to sleep well, without feeling any pain. It doesn’t mean that a pillow-top mattress is designed only for people with back pain. In fact, they let people cherish a great sleep experience in general. | Due to their cushioning material, they are not a good fit for cool sleepers as they trap body heat and provide a hot sleeping experience. |
| These mattresses are equally super comfortable and supportive for all three kinds of sleepers including side, back & stomach sleepers. | Pillow-top mattresses are heavier than the regular mattresses on the market. Therefore, it is not easy to move them from one place to another. |
| You may find pillow-tops in all kinds of mattresses, from firm to soft mattresses. Similarly, this cushion-like top layer adds this extra comfort to mattresses regardless of thickness levels. | Many times, bed frames and bedsheets don’t fit the pillow tops because of their smaller sizes. Thus, you should check the sizes of your bed frame and sheets before you opt to buy this mattress. |
| With a pillow-top mattress, you don’t need to add a mattress topper or pad to enhance the softness and comfort of your mattress. | The pillow-top mattresses are more expensive than regular mattresses, but they are affordable. |
| The pillow-top mattresses are more expensive than regular mattresses, but they are affordable. | Regular clockwise or anti-clockwise rotation is important for the maintenance of the mattress. In case, it is a flippable pillow-top mattress, you have to not only change its sides but also rotate each side. |
| All traditional and modern mattresses demonstrate off-gassing on unpacking, and you have to wait for a couple of days to get rid of it, but pillow-top mattresses don’t come up with any chemical odor. They are smell-free when you unpack them. | |
| Another quality of the pillow-top is that it is plush enough to not transfer movement on the mattress. So, you don’t feel any activity on the bed when your sleeping partner changes his/her sides. Thus, you enjoy a peaceful sleep. |
When you come across the significant pros of pillow-top mattresses, you may conclude that you can neglect its cons.
However, when you enter the mattress market, you may hear some other similar terms that might be confusing. At this point, it is crucial to learn about these terms, too, so that you make informed decisions at the time of shopping.
Pillow-Top Vs Memory Foam Mattress
| Pillow-Top Mattress | Memory Foam Mattress |
| A pillow-top is basically an innerspring mattress that is topped with foam, wool, or latex cushioning. | A Memory Foam mattress is an all-foam mattress. |
| Because of its innerspring construction, the pillow-tops let the air flow throughout the mattress by default. Thus, the mattress doesn’t trap heat and sleepers enjoy cooler sleep. | A traditional Memory Foam mattress promises hot sleeping because of its non-breathable foam material. So, this mattress is great for those sleepers who prefer to sleep hot. However, with modern Memory Foam mattresses, there are models that appear with breathable features such as gel infusion, open-cell technology, etc. |
| A Pillow-top mattress is costlier than a regular mattress but less expensive than a Memory Foam mattress. | Comparatively, a Memory Foam mattress is more expensive than a Pillow-top mattress. |
| As compared to a Memory Foam mattress, a pillow-top sags faster due to its coil structure. | A Memory Foam Mattress is more durable than a pillow-top mattress because of its high-quality foam layers. |
| The pillow-top mattresses are known for their odorless properties. On unpacking, you will never feel any off-gassing of chemicals. | The Memory Foam mattresses off-gases a little when you first unpack them. You have to put them in the open air or in a ventilated place for a couple of days so that their chemical odor dissipates. |
| Due to the innerspring construction, the pillow-top mattresses are responsive. However, the top cushion layer reduces the motion transfer on the bed. So, when one of the sleeping partners moves on the mattress, the other partner doesn’t feel much movement. | Some Memory Foam models are not responsive at all or some of them are a little responsive, but their level of responsiveness is lower than the pillow-top mattresses. |
Pillow-Top Vs Euro-Top Mattress
You might wonder what is a Euro-top mattress? A Euro-top mattress is similar to a pillow-top mattress in its features and both of them come up with equally promising characteristics; but according to our research, there are some significant differences that may be useful to know.
| Pillow-Top Mattress | Euro -Top Mattress |
| A plush cushioning layer of Memory Foam, latex, cotton, wool, or fiber is joined at the top of the mattress. | A layer of fiber, Memory Foam, or similar materials is stitched under the top layer. |
| It is a durable mattress. | It’s a more durable mattress. |
| Pillow-tops offer good edge support. | Euro-tops offer firmer edge support. . |
| The pillow-top gives the same soft but firm cushion-like feeling throughout the mattress. | This is firm at the edges because of the paneling around its perimeters but it cushions in the central part. |
| Sometimes, bedsheets don’t fit the size of a pillow top. | Sheets matching the size of a Eurotop are easily available in the market. |
| A pillowtop mattress has got a rounded plush surface. | A Eurotop comes with a flat soft surface. |
In conclusion, both mattresses are luxury mattresses and they are equally great choices. Both of them support the aching backs.
Pillow-Top Vs Regular Mattress
The major difference between a regular mattress and a pillow-top is the top layer. The pillow-tops have a padded and cushioning layer at the top of the mattress whereas a regular mattress doesn’t offer this feature.
Pillow-Top Vs Plush Mattress
Generally, both plush and pillow-top mattresses are very similar in feeling luxurious softness and spine-supportiveness despite their different construction in terms of materials used and top plush layers.
Should You Use Pillow-Top Mattress Pads?
The answer to the question is: YES, you should use a pillow-top mattress pad. A quilted mattress pad offers several benefits, such as it:
- turns your pillow-top mattress into a plush bed
- maintains the shape of your bed
- keeps your mattress clean due to its water-proof quality. No stain or spill can reach your mattress
- protects a mattress from contaminating elements
What About Using a Pillow-Top Mattress Topper?
Just like a mattress pad, a mattress topper is an additional layer that is added to the top of a mattress, but it is thinner than a mattress pad. A mattress topper aims to:
- provide you with a cooler bed
- make your mattress softer and more comfortable
- give you additional spinal support
- eliminate or remove body pains during sleep by providing additional pressure relief
- enhances the life of a mattress
How to Clean a Pillow-Top Mattress?
Cleaning a pillow-top mattress is not hard at all. There are different options:
- Use vaccuum cleaner to remove all the dust
- For removing stains, spread baking soda for a couple of minutes and then remove it by using a vaccuum cleaner
- Apply a dish-washing detergent on the mattress to remove spills and stains. Massage it with wet cloth. And, wipe it off with a dry cloth. Finally, put the mattress in the sun for a while.
- In case of discoloration, apply white venigar on the effected area. After 30-45 mintues, soak it off with a dry cloth.
Conclusion
A Pillow-top mattress is the best choice for those who are combination sleepers (though it suits all sleeping positions), specifically, if they have backache issues. It offers all the features that are required of a top-quality mattress such as body-conforming, the balance of comfort & support, strong edge support, a decent level of motion isolation, cooler sleep, and affordable price.
Furthermore, Mattress toppers and pads can also be used for the various purposes that are mentioned above.
Alongside that, the pillow-top mattresses are easy to clean.
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