2nd Sem - Unit 04 - Types of Beds and Matresses

TYPES OF BEDS & MATTRESSES

Guestroom Beds

—  Good beds are an investment in comfort and health.

—  An ideal bed cradles the body while its underlying firmness maintains correct posture.

—   The types of bed generally used in hotels include conventional guestroom beds such as single beds, double beds, queen-size beds, king-size beds and extra beds such as cribs, sofa beds, Murphy or sico beds, and zedbeds or rollaways.

Understanding the construction of beds

Most beds consist of the following parts:

—  A frame, on which the springs and mattresses rest----this is usually a rectangular, metal or wooden framework, some having a raised edge all around so that the mattress fits in and is held in place (but in hotels , these frames make bed-making difficult).

—  A base, which may be made of open coiled springs, wire mesh or laminated wood strips to provide resilience and support.

—  A mattress, which lies on top of the springs and provides  extra padding.

—  A headboard, made of painted or varnished wood or an upholstered type.

—  In most hotels, headboards are not part of the beds.

—  They are typically mounted on the walls behind the beds and not on the frames.

—  A footboard, usually made of wood or metal and lower in height than the headboard.

TYPES OF BEDS

1. Conventional Guestroom Beds
2. Extra Beds

1.Conventional Guestroom Beds

          These include:

—  Single Beds

—  Double Beds

—  Queen-size Beds

—  King-size Beds

King-size beds being the largest in size.

2.Extra Beds

—  These Include

a)      Cribs

b)      Rollaway Zed Beds

c)      Sofa Beds

d)      Murphy or Sico beds

e)    Bed Boards

a)Cribs

—  These are available as guest loan items in hotels and are usually collapsible to save storage space.

They should have adequate locking mechanisms to ensure that they do not collapse when an infant or a child is put to sleep in them.

b)Rollaway Zed Beds

—  Zed beds get their name from their three-part folded frame resembling the letter ‘Z’.

—  These can be rollaway beds on rollers or casters.

 They generally have a thin latex-foam mattress that rests on a base of stretched springs attached to a rectangular folding frame.

c)Sofa Beds

—  These provide extra seating by day and a bed by night.

—   The better ones have a slatted wooden base with an interior-sprung mattress.

—  The wire-mesh ones may be cheaper but tend to sag in time.

d)Murphy or Sico beds

—  These beds fold up into the wall, giving the impression of a book-shelf, a wardrobe, or a cabinet.

—  The fitting of the unit is the main consideration.

These beds come in handy when rooms are let more than once in 24 hours, for meetings by day and a bedroom at night.

e)Bed Boards

—  These are not extra beds, but they may help in enlarging a smaller bed if necessary.

—  They are pieces of wood (generally plywood) as wide as the bed and almost as long, and may be placed between twin beds.

Care and cleaning of beds

—  To clean open-spring beds, dust and brush the open springs periodically and wipe with an oily rag.

—  Use an underlay cloth made of felt on open-spring bed bases.

—  The dust ruffles should be laundered as and when necessary.

—  Check for loose headboards and footboards regularly.

—  Remove the dust from the base of the bed using a soft brush or a vacuum cleaner with an upholstery attachment.

—  Remove any stain, dirt, or grease mark from the headboard, footboard, base, and legs of the bed as well.

—  Periodically polish the wood or metal areas.

—  Remove fluff and dust from the castor wheels, applying a little oil when they seem to squeak or feel stiff.

MATTRESSES

—  These may be medium-firm, extra firm, or super firm.

—   An ideal mattress should give support and at the same time conform to the body contours.

—  When choosing mattresses, it should be borne in mind that they ought to be at least 6 inches longer than the average sleeper’s height.

Construction of Mattresses

Consists of three components:

       · Ticking/Upper Layer: It is the thick protective fabric and covers inner side of mattress. It can be made of cotton, polyester and satin.

       · Topper: It is the soft foam stitched along with inner side of ticking for better support.

       · Cover/Filling: Cotton foam, jute, coconut fibre, kapok.

Types of Mattresses


          There are primarily five types of mattresses:

·         Interior-sprung mattresses

·         Latex or foam-rubber mattresses

·         Solid-stuffed mattresses

·         Plastic mattresses

·         Water mattresses

1)Interior-sprung Mattresses

—  These mattresses have an inner layer of springs between layers of insulation and padding.

—   Interior-sprung mattresses are of three types:

a)      Open-spring mattresses

b)      Pocketed-spring mattresses

c)     Continuous-spring mattresses

a)Open-spring Mattresses
They have hourglass-shaped wire coils sandwiched between wire frames.

b)Pocketed-spring Mattresses

—  The springs in these are cylindrical, and each is enclosed in a fabric or foam pocket.

c)Continuous-spring Mattresses

—  In these, the springs are made from wire that is linked and interwined in a mesh-like pattern.

—  Continuous-spring mattresses are ideal for double beds because they compress to the shape of the body.

Thus, they are also referred to as posture-springing mattresses.

2.Latex or foam-rubber Mattresses

—  These mattresses are made from synthetic rubber that is whipped into foam with a chemical setting agent while in a semi-liquid state and poured into heated moulds.

—   In the moulds, the foam gets shaped, set, and vulcanized without losing any of its tiny air cells.

—  A good foam mattress may be about 10cm deep (minimum) and have layers of foam, with the firmest layer at the bottom and the softest at the top.

—  These mattresses are extremely resilient—they regain their original shape rapidly after being lain on, and therefore, require no turning.

 They are not prone to attack by moths and other pests, either.

3.Solid-stuffed Mattresses

—  These mattresses are made by filling a ticking with padding.

—  The padding may be in the form of animal hair, cotton, kapok, wool, etc.

—  All stuffed mattresses are prone to attack by moths and other pests.

—  They are also absorbent and require frequent turning when in use.

—  They may also require frequent re-making as they tend to sag easily.

For these reasons, hotels offering service do not opt for these mattresses.

4.Plastic mattresses

—  These are made from polyethylene and vinyl foam.

—  They are non-absorbent and resistant to attack by moths and pests.

—  For use in hotels, they should be treated with a fire-retardant finish since they produce toxic fumes on catching fire.   

5.Water Mattresses

—  These resemble interior-sprung mattresses in appearance.

—   Well-designed ones have water-filled cells in the centre of the mattress.

—  These cells are covered with vinyl-covered urethane foam and the perimeter of the mattress has a row of inner spring coils that are meant to provide support to a person sitting on the edge of the bed.

The ticking can be removed-there is a zipper along the top of the mattress-so that the cells can be serviced easily.

Care and cleaning of Mattress

—  Alternately rotating and flipping the mattress on a periodic basis can help minimize body impressions.

—   While a mattress is brand new, slight body impressions may form especially on extra-plush mattress surfaces.

—  Turn mattress over weekly for the first six weeks, and every three months after that.

—  Reverse the mattress from head to foot as well.

—  Turning mattresses regularly may increase their life span by 50 percent.

—  Foam mattress do not need turning; however, the single layer ones may be turned.

—  The mattress base should be cleaned with a soft brush every month.

—  Do not use a vacuum cleaner on a daily basis as this may pull the upholstery out of shape.

—  Check for tears, distorted springs, or any other damage periodically.

—  While making the bed, allow the mattress to breathe for at least 15 minutes----other guestroom cleaning tasks may be accomplished during this time.

—  It is important to air the mattress in this way to dry out the moisture absorbed from the body during the night.

—   Every bed should be covered with a moisture-proof mattress protector. 

Standard Mattress Sizes

Bedding
The term bedding may be applied to all the bedclothes placed on the bed, such as blankets, quilts, eiderdowns, pillows and all other bed linen such as sheets and bed spread.

SELF ASSESSMENT



Q.1) Explain typesof beds used in hotels.

Q.2) Explain construction of a mattress with a neat diagram.

Q.3) Explain in detail types of mattresses used in hotel guest rooms.

Q.4) Differentiate between Studio Bed and Murphy Bed.