Inferior Mattresses

The excelsior or husk mattress with a cheap ticking, and a light cotton padding on one side, called a "cotton top" mattress, is a low priced article. A little better grade is made with the same body, hut with a slightly better grade of ticking, and both sides cotton, instead of only one side. This is called a "combination" or "reversible" mattress. Then there is the sea moss mattress and also the cheap wool mattress. Beware of this mattress as the filling is usually waste or rags or sweepings from the floors of clothing factories. All of these may be under special fancy names and special tickings, but the grade of the mattresses will be about the same in every store. If one owns such a mattress, it is not policy to send it to a renovator to be cleaned, as a new one will cost less, and likely the renovator would throw the old mattress away and send a new one in its place.

In judging cotton-felted mattresses the cotton with the longest fibre will give the greatest satisfaction.

Silk Floss Mattresses

Silk floss is playing an important part in the mattress business and those made of this material sell for about the same price as the better grade of felted mattresses. Silk floss is the product of the Kapok tree of the East and West Indies.

It is known botanically as the "Eriodendron anfrac-tuosum," or species of the cotton tree and is related to the cotton plant. Owing to its oily nature, it is non-absorbent, which makes it very healthful and especially practical in a wet season or climate. This flossy tree wool is very soft and fluffy, and makes light soft mattresses. A mattress of silk floss weighing but thirty pounds will be as thick as a felted mattress of cotton weighing forty-five pounds, a point that should appeal wonderfully to a person who has charge of the dressing of the beds. It is also used in life preservers, owing to its light weight and buoyancy.

In buying silk floss mattresses, beware of those made of part silk floss and part some other material. Other fibres and down from plants are used in mattress making, but silk floss is the best.

Hair Mattresses

Many prefer hair mattresses and claim that they are more healthful. However, a strong argument in favor of cotton felted and silk floss mattresses is that they are more healthful, since vegetable fibres can not carry diseases from dead animals. Hair mattresses are made from the hair of various animals such as hogs, and tails of cows and horses. The hair ranges in length from one inch to two feet, consequently the price of a hair mattress varies according to the quality of hair used and the number of pounds contained in the mattress. Often hair is mixed with a fibre and sold as an all hair mattress, but in time it will become lumpy and unsatisfactory. The best grade of hair goes through a process of sterilizing and purifying before it goes into a mattress, therefore but little trouble ever arises from its use.

Mattress deception has been a common thing in the past, but we owe thanks to some state laws for this eradication which make it a criminal offense to offer mattresses for sale without a label truthfully defining the contents. Some mattresses are made so that the interior can he exposed, which is a splendid idea, thereby eliminating all chances of fraud.

Proper Care Of Mattresses

That the life of a mattress depends largely on the care it has is not generally known. A mattress should be turned at least twice a week, and should be aired at least once a week. If the weather permits, it should be taken out of doors, and if not, it should be laid in front of a window, in the sunshine if possible, and where there is good ventilation. Besides this, a mattress should be beaten hard on both sides with a heavy club, free from corners or splinters. This will restore a mattress to practically the same condition that it was in when it came into your home. The cotton, or hair, or silk floss, will become springy again and really take on new life. Not so much can be done with the inferior grades of mattresses, although airing and sunshine will do them great good. Mattresses should be renovated every few years if they are in constant use. In time, body excretions, odors and dust will accumulate inside the mattress ticking and adhere to the cotton and a renovation is the only thing that will thoroughly clean it.