Celsion vs Classic vs Natural from Talalay Global

[phoenix]

Hi Sensitive1,

I emailed the store today, asking if Talalay Global is the source of the latex - I had been told the manufacturer is in Connecticut -, and which of the types of latex I have.

This would be Talalay Global in Shelton, Connecticut.

I have read that the term may be used sometimes a little too loosely, and ‘natural’ could also be a blend.

The term “natural” is often used even for blended latex by some mattress manufacturers, as even the blended latex has some natural rubber in it, so it can be confusing at times.

And according to the Talalay Global website, the Celsion is generally ’ Utilized on top of innerspring, visco, foam and latex support cores’ and since mine is an innerspring, I’m afraid the top layer may be that instead of the natural - and since it has more additives, I’m afraid it may be more ‘odorific’ than than the natural version??

The addition of a small amount of paraffin wax phase change material to the Celsion latex would not change the smell of the item (you stated it smells like rubber to you, which is what it is), and adding the phase change material (if that is indeed what you have), which is not rubber, would not alter the normal odor of the latex. Using a phase change material is normally only used in the uppermost layer of any mattress, as this is the area closest to your skin where the potential for any difference in surface sensation might be noticed.

Talalay Global never uses the Dunlop process, correct?

Yes, they only produce Talalay latex. Dunlop tends to have a more “rubbery” smell than Talalay.

As for getting rid of chemical odor - I have a friend who swears by spraying vinegar on things, if that is of use to anyone, but I doubt it would penetrate down through the ‘silk and wool’ covering on my mattress - it is button tufted and there is no way to remove any cover. The same goes for the baking soda, I’m afraid, . but if anyone has had success with this I would like to hear.

I don’t recommend spraying material into a mattress and instead only recommend airing out the product. As you may be aware, if you spread powder on top of the mattress or spray vinegar or any other fluids onto your mattress, it will generally immediately void any comfort exchange policy a business has in place. Some liquids can also cause premature degradation of your comfort materials.

I’ve been looking up Styrene-butadiene Evidently it is a combo of styrene and butadiene.

Yes, that would be correct. Synthetic latex is made primarily from a combination of Styrene and Butadiene which have a very similar chemical structure to natural rubber (which is mainly Isoprene rubber) and become very stable when they are polymerized together. There are many sources for both Styrene and Butadiene but the most common source is from petrochemicals. SBR latex (synthetic) is a less dense material with a slightly different chemical structure than natural rubber. It is made from two chemicals which are Styrene and Butadiene while natural rubber is primarily Isoprene. These two polymers (SBR and Isoprene) are similar but not the same. In addition to being primarily Isoprene … natural rubber also contains other compounds in varying amounts including proteins, resins, fatty acids, and sterols. These additional ingredients are missing from synthetic rubber (including synthetic Isoprene). Both are generally Oeko-Tex standard 100 certified in terms of harmful substances or VOC’s and offgassing.

While I’m no expert in materials science or chemistry, while there may be precursor chemicals used in the manufacture of various types of foams, for example the manufacture of styrene and butadiene, when they’re combined to create synthetic rubber and then combined in the creation of foamed rubber (latex foam) they become inert and aren’t considered to be harmful, yet they can still be listed as “ingredients” in the foam. They could present a risk to the people who manufacture the foam or handle the unreacted chemical itself (which is where people commonly incorrectly relate the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) to be representative of the “safety” of a finished product), but the risk to consumers that purchase the final product would be minimal. The only reliable way 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 (regardless of whether they are organic or natural or synthetic) so that you have some assurance than the VOCs are below the testing limits for the certification. 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 MSDS, type of material or the name of the manufacturer on the label.

The issue of “chemicals” in a mattress is a complex one with a lot of fear mongering, contradictory, misleading, and exaggerated information all over the web on all sides of the argument. In the end there are really no definitive answers to the question of “how safe is safe enough for me?” that would apply to every person but post #2 here about organic, natural, green, chemical free, and “safe” materials and claims and the more detailed information in post #2 here and the posts it links to may be helpful in sorting out all the information that you will be exposed to in your research so you can make more informed choices about the materials you are most comfortable with. There’s also more about synthetics material in post #2 here.

I would also be aware that the issue is not so much about chemicals in your mattress (every mattress material whether it is natural or synthetic has some type of natural or synthetic chemicals) but whether any chemicals that are harmful to you are present in amounts that you may be sensitive to for one reason or another. Other sources of “chemicals” that some people could be sensitive to in a mattress include various fabrics or fibers or the chemicals used to make them antimicrobial, antifungal, or water resistant, any fire retardant chemicals or fillers infused into the foam or fibers, or glues used to bond the layers together (or used in the foundation).

There are certifications for harmful substances and VOC’s (some of which have a smell and some which don’t) such as CertiPur (mainly for polyfoam and memory foam) and Oeko-Tex (mainly for fabrics/fibers and latex) and Eco-Institut (also mainly for fabrics/fibers and latex) that for most people would be “safe enough” but for those who are more sensitive to some chemicals even these may not be enough to guarantee that they will have no reactions to a specific material that would be fine for the majority of others. In general though, the use of more natural materials or components, materials that have more stringent certifications (such as Oeko-Tex or Eco-Institut), or that are known to have a very low risk of reactions in most people would generally be the most effective approach.

In most cases, “best judgement” along with “preponderance of the evidence” and your own personal or health history would be the best approach, especially in your case with your specific sensitivities.

There is also more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here but all of the latex you are likely to encounter (either Dunlop or Talalay that is made with either natural or synthetic rubber or a blend of both) will have a reliable safety certification such as Oeko-Tex, Eco-Institut, or Greenguard Gold (see post #2 here) and based on actual testing I would consider any type or blend of latex to be a very “safe” material in terms of harmful substances and VOC’s.

And the government says Celsion is safe for infants?.

Oeko-Texhere is not a government certification, but a worldwide independent testing and certification system. There is more about the standards of the testing . Yes, all the latex from Talalay Global is Oeko-Tex Standard 100, Product Class I certified.

Phoenix