SA Mattress Manufacturer Says Most Frail Care Beds Fail at the Seams, Not the Foam

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa: South African mattress manufacturer Mr Mattress says the mattresses supplied to most frail care centres and old age homes fail at their stitched seams long before the foam inside wears out, and has built its care mattress range around a fully welded waterproof cover instead.

"A mattress in a frail care bed works harder than any bedroom mattress," says founder Andries Taljaard. "Occupied up to 24 hours a day, cleaned with sanitiser constantly, exposed to incontinence and spills. An ordinary stitched mattress absorbs fluid at the seams and the cover fails within months. Facilities then replace mattresses again and again, which is the most expensive way to buy them."

A welded, not stitched, solution

The company's frail care line uses what it calls its SteriShield cover, fully welded and seamless rather than stitched, so there is no seam for fluid to enter. The cover is described as fluid impermeable, wipe down sanitiser proof and anti-microbial treated, built onto a 50 kg per cubic metre published density foam core rated to 140 kg.

"Strip the linen, wipe the mattress, the bed is ready for the next resident," says Taljaard. "That is the entire brief for a frail care mattress, and most on the market were never designed around it."

An honest boundary

The company is explicit that its frail care mattress is a general care product for pressure redistribution, not a medical device. "This is not an alternating pressure air system," says Taljaard. "For residents with advanced pressure injuries, we tell facilities directly to use a dynamic system from a medical device supplier for those specific beds. We would rather lose that sale than sell the wrong product into a health setting."

The range carries a 5 year institutional warranty, published bulk pricing from R2,199 per unit, and 30 day accounts for approved institutions.

About Mr Mattress

Mr Mattress is a South African mattress manufacturer founded by Andries Taljaard, producing high density foam, memory foam and hybrid spring mattresses at facilities in Gauteng, Cape Town, East London, Bloemfontein and Durban. All products use SABS approved materials and sell factory direct with a 365 night home trial and free delivery nationwide, with a small fee applying only in extreme rural areas.