Brooklyn Bedding BME for child with asthma?

My husband and i have the brooklyn bedding BME in medium and love it. My 7 year old needs a new mattress and we are considering the BME for him as well because he has allergies and asthma. However, I wondered if there’s any reason to be concerned about the convoluted foam in BME. Has anyone done any research or have experience with this? Or, are there any other recommendations for latex twin beds that cost $500 or less?

Thanks! Heather

Hi HeatherinMI,

There is more information about dust mites and allergies and methods that can be used to control dust mite populations or other allergens that are related to mattresses in post #2 here and in post #3 here. There is also more about allergy encasements in post #2 here that may also be helpful.

I can’t think of any reason why convoluted foam would be a reason for concern in regards to asthma but the BME no longer uses convoluted foam in their polyfoam base layer anyway.

I don’t make specific recommendations but some of the better lower budget latex and latex hybrid mattress options I’m aware of are listed in posts #3 and #4 here.

Phoenix

Man - every time i buy a new bed, they change the construction right away. I’ve only had our BME for a little over a month! I really hope the version we’re currently on holds up over time. Do you have any thoughts on the polyfoam used by BB? Any potential for VOCs? We will get a waterproof mattress protector but want to do our best to ensure we’re not buying anything that will exacerbate his allergies.

Hi HeatherinMI,

There are no lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress that would compromise the durability or useful life of the mattress for any weight range either with or without the convoluted base foam. The change is relatively minor and for some people (more with heavier weight ranges) may improve edge support.

As you can see in the durability guidelines here … the 2.0 lb polyfoam they use in the base layer is a good quality and durable material that would be suitable for any weight range.

The only reliable way to to assess the “safety” of different materials in more general terms is based on lab tests and the certifications they have for harmful substances and VOCs so that you have some assurance that the VOCs are below the testing limits for the certification (see post #2 here for more information about some of the more reliable “safety” certifications). If the materials in a mattress or the mattress itself has a reliable “safety” certification then for most people they would certainly be “safe enough” … regardless of the type of material or the name of the manufacturer on the label.

The latex in the BME is certified by Oeko-Tex and the polyfoam is certified by CertPUR-US so there would be no reason for concern in terms of harmful VOC’s.

Phoenix