Does anyone have a wool mattress pad?

[alootikki]

I've heard that wool mattress pads can regulate your bed's temperature (cool in the summer, warm in the winter) and feel very plush. They are pricey though! Anyone have one? Are they worth it?

[indigo99]

I have one on our latex mattress (natura is the brand I think). What I hate about it is how difficult it is to wash and dry. We have a fairly large/newer machine, and it still has dry spots when I take it out. It's a waterproof one though so whatever parts are rolled up inside just don't even get wet. I basically have to wash it on several quick cycles so I can take it in/out each time to get it all clean. Then I have to hang it to dry, and it takes several days. It is possible to dry in the dryer if I use the air only cycle without heat and take it in/out all day long to get all the parts. I still have to let it air dry after that, but it does speed things up. There's also a lot of wool in the lint trap after each cycle in the dryer.

The spare/regular pad that I have isn't easy to wash either, but it isn't as thick and isn't nearly as difficult as the wool.

After all that, however, I do like it. I have a regular waterproof one to use when the wool one is being laundered, and I do sweat a lot more when sleeping with it. I like to sleep with a blanket regardless of the temp though so I tend to sleep hot anyway. It's also not as comfy as the wool although I don't notice a huge difference in that regard since my latex mattress is really comfy anyway. Are you getting one that's waterproof though? If not, I'm guessing there are thinner (regular) ones that probably aren't too hot.

We spent a lot to get a latex mattress so I didn't feel too bad getting the more expensive mattress pad for it. Knowing what a PITA it is to launder, I'd probably still buy one so I guess it's worth it to me. If you really don't have a problem sweating at night though, I probably wouldn't recommend it.

[theriviera]

We had a wool mattress pad on our last spring/coil mattress. My husband is a really hot sleeper, and it helped a lot. I also used a waterproof mattress cover (or maybe it was under an allergy cover) so we didn't need to wash it. We've upgraded to a latex mattress and no longer use the wool mattress pad as we are not as hot.