I know I was supposed to list you the best memory foam toppers on the market, but this time I‘ll give you the worst one that I‘ve ever seen. Yes, we are talking about 2.5 inch Costco distributed Novaform Memory Foam Topper. Don‘t get me wrong, most of the Novaform Products are great and extremely high quality (I‘ll write later on in the mattress reviews for the Novaform Elite Memory Mattress which is one of the best I‘ve ever seen), but specifically for the 2.5 inch foam topper currently promoted by Costco is very very bad.
The Novaform Topper is made of extremely high quality Visco Elastic Memory Foam (which is very good), but the 2.5 inc version is very buggy and in about 30% of all packages shows fabric/manufacturing problems mostly related to deflation problems. Most memory foam mattresses are shipped in vacumed condition (they shrink extremely much when vacuumed) and when you open them they deflate and expand to their normal size. The thing about this particular topper is that in many cases it does not deflate properly on the edges and somehow looks weird. If you don‘t care about the looks (because when you put it in the velour cover you don‘t actually see that problems, its not that bad and it‘s actually quite nice for $90-$150 USD price…..
Also note that a lot of people are complaining about the intensive gas/paint type of smell which is actually from the visco memory foam chemical that converts regular foam to memory foam, but this smell will fade away in few days without problem. All memory foam mattresses have that smell when fabricated but in most cases the manufacturer aerate them to loose the smell and then package them for shipping. In this case I suppose Costco didn‘t bother to wait that few days and they packaged them immediately after fabrication and that‘s why they have that smell.
The overall quality of the novaform memory foam topper is quite good, and I‘d say that for the price of $90 for a full size mattress is not that bad and actually quite cheap. If you will be able to keep it aside and live with the little defects on the edges it is a very good quality topper as being made of high quality Visco Elastic Memory Foam which makes it good, but if you are able to spend a bit more then you should go with some other topper like the TempSoma memory foam topper.
Visitor Comments
Comment by: PJS
Message: we bought the full size costco novoform 2-1/2 inch memory foam topper. It is supposed to inflate to 54 inches wide. After 24 hours, it is 38″ wide. It is 2-1/2 inches in depth. Will it ever reach 54 inches?
Comment by: Kevin
Message: Actually you are dead wrong, the Novaform mattress sold at Costco and the Tempsoma sold at Sam’s Club are the exact same topper made by the same company. They are both made by Sleep Innovations.
Comment by: Virginia
Message: I bought the twin size 2 weeks ago and it is working out beautifully. Yesterday we bought the KING, brought it home, opened it and got instead a QUEEN foam pad and KING mattress cover. Today we brought it back (no small task after it reached full size)and bought another KING. This time it WAS a KING.
I don’t understand you yelling “DO NOT BUY” this product. Who cares if the sides are slightly imperfect? It’s zippered inside the case and you don’t sleep on the edges!
Note to PJS: You probably mistakingly got a TWIN size pad instead of a FULL in the box like we did! Bring it back!!
P.S. The smell is gone after a couple of days…
Comment by: Debbie
Message: I recently purchase the king topper from Costco after sleeping on one during our family vacation. Also, I have a friend who recommended the same topper. I think it’s wonderful. I haven’t slept so good in a long time. My son is getting ready to leave for college and is requesting one for his dorm room. The price is right and it’s comfortable.
Comment by: Anonymous
Message: I will say that it seems this topper has changed over the years. I bought one 3 years ago from Costco and love it but have upgraded to a larger bed. So, I bought a new topper but it’s now a 3-inch instead of a 2-inch and seems to be less than 4lb/sq. inch in density.
No problems with expansion (that would be “inflate”), but I’m concerned about its apparent lower density. I will be taking it back to Costco post haste if I’m not happy.
Comment by:
Message: I bought one 5 years ago and it is the best thing ever–still good as new. I swear by it and still have at least another 5+ years of life on it. Not bad considering i picked it up for $120.
Comment by: Sunny
Message: This memory foam give off a distinct chemical odor which many people will find unpleasant. It’s been 3 days and the off gassing is still very significant. Some friends tell me they can smell residuals after a year! After doing some research, I found the foam may decompose and emit toxic gases and respiratory irritants like toluene di-isocyanate and fire retardant PBDE’s. I would not recommend any memory foam product for this reason.
Comment by: Rick
Message: I don’t understand your comments either. I have purchased four of these toppers so far and love them. I have never slept better – I even put one on top of a very very expensive mattress and I now know I could have gotten away with a cheap mattress and put the topper on for all of $189 more. It’s a great deal.
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
I recently purchased the Sleep Innovations Memory Foam Mattress Topper and am really concerned about the chemical smell. I feel like I am being poisoned while I slepp. I aired out the topper for 72 hours as suggested on the instructions. The smell was still so bad that it came thru the cover provided and I couldn’t sleep.
Does anyone know if breathing this checmical is actualy safe?
Also, the zipper heads came right off when I put the cover on. So, now I can’t take the cover off. The company is not willing to help me out. The mattress topper is too big and heavy to take back to the store – it is a king size. I asked Sleep Innovations to just send me new covers and they won’t do it.
We’ve had ours for 4-5 years now and LOVE it!! Great deal at Costco. Sorry you had problems. We didn’t. Cosco return policy is second to none as well.
My wife and I bought the Costco 3″ topper a few weeks ago. My wife is 8 months pregnant and she needed better support than our old mattress. The Cal King novaform topper was well-priced, expanded fully and was indeed very comfortable – much of her hip and shoulder pain went away that night.
But I got sick from it. The first few nights I noticed the strong off-gassing odor. I awoke with headache and feeling woozy. I am in good general health, have no history of allergies or other medical issues, and am a doctor myself – but I am convinced that the off-gassing caused my distress. I have had a cough for 3 weeks since for no other apparent reason.
We have since bought a new mattress and am looking forward to our first night on it. We are taking our topper back to Costco today.
Bottom line – You spend a third of your life in bed. All mattresses (short of organic materials) have chemicals, but this smelled (and felt) terrible. Don’t play it cheap surrounding yourself with a potentially toxic topper and invest in a high quality mattress.
The heading in this article is a little extreme, don’t you think? The majority of the reviews don’t agree with the author of this article and I have a tendency to agree with the consumers. I also think part of the article is misleading, specifically the part about vacuuming. The pads don’t shrink, as much as they are compressed before shipment and vacuum sealed. In some cases, the vacuumed (slightly different method of preparing the pads for shipment) mattress pads won’t regain their original shape by expansion when the packing material is removed. I’ve owned memory pads before and found the odor will dissipate after a day or two. If you’re concerned about the odor, place the pad in a spare bedroom for a few days and allow it to air-out.
I just bought a king sleep Innovations mattress topper
and it has been on our bed for about one week. The smell
is horrible enough so that my husband has made a comment nightly. Today I rolled up the foam & I am washing all bedding. Sorry to say but I too would not recommend this product. I am putting the foam in the basement & when the smell is gone I will use it. I was satisfied with the sleep quality of the foam but is it the smell!
BE CAREFUL when you buy this product.
Side question. My memory foam bed still smells after 6 weeks. We actually left it unmade for two weeks to air out while on vacation. It still has a smell. Would encasing it in an allergy cover help with that?
I disagree. I have the Novaform topper and I have great experiences with it. I get the cooling kind because otherwise I get hot.
My husband and I just bought the Memory Foam topper from Costco in Toronto, Canada. I suffer from allergies and the odor that emits from the foam despite the multiple covers we put on them, has made me sick. The King size foam topper is rather heavy to try and package and take back to the store. I have read conflicting comments on how the smell/odor goes away after a few days to some who still smell the gases over a year. I am not sure what to do other than to give it a few more days to air out, give it away, or throw it out.
I am concerned too about the smell being toxic.I have had it for 3 days now & didn’t air it out prior to using as I didn’t read the directions if it said to do that.It’s the best sleep I’ve had in a long time other than the smell prior to sleeping & waking up to the smell.I do have some long term concerns because of the toxic smell but at the moment it’s too comfortable to give up?
I purchased the Novafoam from Costco at a Canadian price of $118.00.
It is for my teenager’s bed to add comfort. He loves the feel of it but the fumes are absolutely overwhelming. We’ve only had it a couple of days. I am not letting him sleep on it another night. If it doesn’t dissipate by tomorrow I am returning it. This can’t be safe! My lesson is buy the best quality mattress you can afford from the start.
Do not buy this foam! I had it in the box for over 2 years and it won’t expand! The warranty is a joke as they say to “simply return this product”. but it weighs a ton and would cost a fortune to return.
I will put this issue to rest right now…
The foam needs fresh air in order to air out. The odor is a “fresh foam” odor that is not harmful. The odor should have aired out within 48 hours from when unpacked; however, sometimes it may take 1-2 weeks. Memory foam is made from 100% polyurethane. Polyurethane Foam is an inert, inactive product that poses no health hazard unless burned. Our foam contains no latex, formaldehyde, and no PBDE’s. Foam has a distinct odor. One can become sensitive to the odor, just like one can become sensitive to perfume or cologne. Foam is non-allergenic. The gas is not permitted to dissipate during the post manufacturing process. There is no clinical evidence that the odor of memory foam causes side effects.
Have you ever heard of anyone dying from this? No!… and to judge it on the imperfect sides is ridiculous.
Memory foam is manufactured and packaged to order, so if someone was to leave the foam in the package for an extended period of time, OF COURSE it will not expand correctly.
So chill with the extreme title until you read a little bit more into things.
I purchased the Novaform Pure Comfort 3″ mattress as for our guestroom bed. It inflated properly however, had an odor which the information said would dissipate in a short period of time. I left the mattress uncovered on the top of my bed mattress. After 4 days, the “chemically” odor increased in the room, so I removed the Novaform and returned it to Costco. Unfortunately after another 3 days the odor was still so pungent I could not go into the room without my lungs tightening and coughing. I have since had to remove and throw away the original mattress the Novaform was laying on and purchase a new bed at 8x the cost.
I bought the topper and was amazed how strong the smell was. We used it to supplement the more firm foam insert in our Select Comfort bed. It was the most comfortable bed ever!! About 10 days after sleeping on it I started having low grade temperatures, headaches and felt very ill every morning. I went to Dr. and they ran several tests and couldn’t find anything. Told me it was probably a virus. I went back to Dr. because I felt so ill a few days later and they insisted it was a virus. By the end of the week I was so bad I went to the ER. I felt like my body was toxic! I really thought I may not live through it that’s how bad I felt. I am a healthy 34 year old woman. ER ran a barroge of tests and couldn’t find a reason I was ill. I was at ER for several hours ans started to feel better as the hours dragged on. Came home went straight to bed…….only to wake up this morning feeling awful all over again. I thought I might have to go back to ER!! I asked my husband to remove the memory foam and I have not been exposed to it for about 14 hours now (since I woke up this am) and I am feeling much better. I think this bed is making me sick.
I bought the 4″ and the smell and the feel aren’t to my liking. I know Costco’s return policy is amazing but does anyone have any tricks on getting it back in the box??? I’ve been trying forever to no avail. Thanks!
After 10 months still smells like chemicals and caused wife’s eyes to burn. Removed it and eyes went back to normal. Originally laid outside for 2 days, then in garage with door opened for another 2 days, then on table in bedroom with fans blowing air out the window for another 2 days. Aired it out again after 10 months with fans blowing and windows open for 3 days and no difference. What a shame. Best sleep in years, but now in a garbage bag taped shut and poor sleeping. Costco Novaform 2.5″ queen topper. I’m glad Megan put this to rest. I have a package to take back and desperately looking for foam that does not stink.
We have ahd a queen topper for a couple of years. It took several days to “stretch out” after being vacuum packed and off-gassed quite a bit during that time. We just laid it out on the family room floor for several days. Since then – No Problems – love it. Just don’t expect to use it right after you open it up.
I purchased one of these memory foam toppers from Costco two weeks ago. When I opened it up and put in on the bed, it smelled bad, but I read the guide that came with it. It informed me it was “harmless”.. I tried to sleep on it that night, and lasted about an hour and a half before the crushing pain in my chest forced me to give up and sleep elsewhere. I have been told in the past by my doctor that I have mild ashthma, which he said I ought to treat as a precaution. But I have never felt anything so frightneing. My chest was as heavy as when I suffered from pneumonia. Clealry it was a major attack brought on by the off-gassing fumes.
I aired it ought for two days and tried again, and lasted about three hours. Same thing, though not as severe.
It’s been a week now since I opened it, and I have now not slept on it for five days. My chest has not quite recovered yet, but is improving.
How dare they market these things as helpful for allergy sufferers! Clearly they are a major allergen, which present a significant health risk.
At this point, I consider the $200 spent on this as thrown away, as the reciept from Costco marks it as unreturnable.
We bought a Cal King Novaform memory foam mattress from Costco three days ago. After two sleepless nights, we arranged for its return.
What they don’t make clear is, if you don’t heat your bedroom overnight, the mattress will feel like hard wet sand. Exactly like hard wet sand. So, unless you heat your bedroom overnight to at least 60 degrees (they say), or live where it’s always warm at night, I would definitely recommend trying a temperature senstive foam type mattress before you buy it. Seriously.
Costco will send a truck to pick it up from us at no charge. Can’t be that.
Also, more research, from independent sources, on the foam outgassing might be a good idea.
I try to discourage folks from buying foam toppers or mattresses.As other users have observed,there can be significant off-gassing with these products,and it doesnt always diminish over time.There are toxic compounds used in the manufacture of these products,and the toxicity can remain long after the curing and airing process.
We got the Novaform mattress topper from Costco (queensize) for Christmas. Ours expanded to its proper size in less than 2 hours, no problem. The odor was a bit a strong at first, but has disapated over the last couple of days. For those of you who are still experiencing the smell, I suggest that you wash the mattress cover first, then use a linen spray (like febreeze) or lay dryer sheets on top of the topper before putting on your regular sheets. I absolutley love the mattress topper. Best nights sleep I have had in a while. It saved us $1800-$2300 as we were looking at getting a new mattress.
I bought a Sleep Innovations mattress topper at Costco about 3 years ago…it inflated gradually within a few days…it smelled for about a year…but I kept it in the attic when I wasn’t using it…and over the last few years it has been terrific. No smell, still holds up 2.5″ evenly and everyone sleeping on it loves it! I use it in our guest bedroom.
I would highly recommend it.
I’ve had this mattress topper for about three weeks. Yes, the smell was a little strong at first, but dissipated over several days. I’m probably weird, but I didn’t find the smell offensive, and it never made me ill for even a second. Maybe I have a tolerance for chemical odors, but now that the odor has dissipated, it’s a great mattress topper. You have to get used to not being able to roll around as much, but it is very comfortable.
My husband bought me the Novafoam mattress topper from Costco for Christmas a year ago. The first 8 months or so were great. I had never slept so good. Unfortunately, the comfort didn’t last. The material progressively broke down over the next few months. It got to the point that it was so soft it was actually causing back pain instead of helping it. I took it off my bead a few days ago and am sleeping much better; oh and my back pain went away. My recommendation? Save your money. This product is terrible, and I regret the $130 wasted on it. Costco won’t return it because it has been over a year. I have attempted to contact the manufacturer because it has a 10 year warranty, but I am having difficulty finding the website. For now I’m stuck with this piece of junk taking up half my closet. If anyone knows how to contact the manufacturer, I would greatly appreciate the info.
My husband and I purchased the memory foam topper, and LOVED the way we slept on it the first night. However I woke the next morning with a sickening headache, that lasted almost all day. The next night when we went to bed the smell was so overwhelming that we couldn’t stand to go into the bedroom! We had to remove the topper, and all the linens, blankets, pillows ect. We put the topper in the garage, because we can’t get it back in the box. I have health issues myself and will not take a chance on developing something more serious. The odor is so strong we can’t even sleep in our room, and have placed a rug and towel at the bottom of the door, because the smell is permeating the rest of our home!
I bought the queen size one. It did had 2 edges that didnt inflated after 30 mins. What I did is “massage” the area and it deploy perfectly 1 hour later. On the other hand the smell was pretty bed, because of our cat we close the bedroom door and I woke up at 3 am with a sore throat. I open the window just a bit and vent the room and I was ok when I woke up 3 hours later. I hope this smell is not toxic.