I and my 2 daughters have extreme chemical sensitivity. I have been researching and researching mattresses - I can easily get a prescription for a chemical free FR free bed, but I am having trouble finding someone who can make a bed for us! Smells cause issues, so I have to shy away from latex. Memory foam gives us migraines and stomach pains. Wool seems to be treated with chemicals to qualify for fire retardant issues. FR inherent rayon has chemicals in the fabric. Waterbeds are an option, but we have pretty bad mold allergies, so I’m not sure I want to introduce water into the bedroom. At the present we are just sleeping on $14 air mattresses from Target. Is there any place that makes maybe a simple innerspring bed with non-treated cotton covers/batting?
As you know … researching all the controversial and conflicting information that is connected to safe, natural, ecofriendly, and organic (all of which are different) materials can be both frustrating and difficult because there is not enough information available to know all the things that people in your situation may really want or need to know with any absolute certainty (and there is a lot of misinformation you will encounter as well). Post #2 here though and the information it links to would be a good place to start.
Most people in your situation would be looking at natural fibers, latex, and innersprings in various combinations but since you appear to be sensitive to the smell of latex (even though it’s not toxic) then you would be limited to innersprings and natural fibers.
In terms of fire barriers … the two types that would likely be “safe enough” for you are either organic wool (that has no chemicals and is often used to pass the fire code in spite of what you may be reading) or an inherent viscose/silica fire barrier (some of these are Oeko-Tex certified and don’t use any harmful chemicals or produce VOC’s at any harmful levels again in spite of what you may be reading) and of course if a manufacturer you are dealing with offers it … no fire barrier at all is also a good option. Post #4 here along with post #2 here may also be helpful.
If you let me know your city or zip code then I’d be happy to point you in the direction of any local options I’m aware of that may be worth considering. There are many manufacturers that make an innerspring/wool mattress that would probably be suitable for wha you are looking for although they do tend to be more costly.
That is fabulous information - Thank you soooo much! I live in Raleigh, NC (27615). My head keeps reeling from all the information out there! I’m so glad to hear about wool - that one keeps popping up and looks like a good option. :cheer:
The better options I’m aware of in the Raleigh, NC area are listed in post #6 here.
I would call the ones that seem to make or carry mattresses that interest you and have a more natural or organic focus and talk to them about your needs on the phone and then visit the ones that you are most interested in trying or talking to.
There are also online options available but you won’t be able to test these in person so while they may provide a good value reference I would focus first on local options.
This is a very incomplete list with some examples of some manufacturers that make mattresses similar to what you are looking for (innerspring/natural fibers with no foam) to give you some ideas and a sense of the wide variety of designs and pricing available. Some of these include latex which you may want to exclude but you can look on their sites to see what they have available.
There are also some “super premium” mattresses that use innersprings and natural fibers in their construction … some of which can go well into mid 5 figures. these include manufacturers such as VI Springs … Hastens … Savoir … Relyon … and Hypnos.
There are also some “old style” manufacturers in various areas of the country that still make innerspring/natural fiber mattresses as well but “foam free” mattresses certainly aren’t nearly as common as mattresses that contain some type of foam.
Hope this helps … and you should at least have some interesting reading to do
Phoenix
PS: I should have mentioned as well that in many cases innerspring/fiber mattresses are on the firm side, particularly as the fibers compress, and if you want to add a wool topper for some extra softness and to relieve pressure points then post #3 here has some of the better sources for these I’m aware of.
Hi - thank you for this site! I’ve looked into all the sites you mentioned above. I’m looking for a flippable Innerspring mattress With no foam or latex. I live in Long Island. I drove an hour and a half to Norwalk mattress and liked what they had. The only problem was their warranty was super vague (she said if it sags a couple of inches then they’ll fix it - she wouldn’t define what a couple meant beyond around 2 which is huge). And they are far away if there’s a problem. I’m going to check out Charles h beckley this weekend. Do you know of any local to me places that sell what I’m interested in? My zip code is 11706. Thank you thank you thank you!
Welcome to The Mattress Underground! We appreciate your kind words and thanks for your question.
Looks like I missed seeing your post and hope you’ll forgive me for that :). Did you get some mattress shopping time in this weekend? Are there any insights you’d like to share with other TMU consumer members?
Charles H Beckley charges twice as much as Norwalk for a flippable cotton tufted inner coil mattress and box spring. The owner of Norwalk mattress said they use pretty much the same process and materials. I’m hesitating on purchasing norwalks flippable cotton tufted inner spring mattress because it is a little hard. I am thinking of buying it and then adding a topper. They have a bed with a talalay 1 inch topper sewn in that is comfortable so I might buy one separately. Still not sure. It’s a lot of money to spend on an item with no return policy. Does anyone out there know any other places that make and sell flippable inner spring mattress near or in Long Island?
Thanks for the mattress shopping update, sounds like the search is still on.
I will always recommend supporting one of our Trusted Member manufacturers/retailers located near you whenever possible. With your location of Long Island being a bit distant from those offering showrooms in the Northeast, I’ll give TMU consumer members a chance to share their thoughts, moving your post to a new topic “Flippable Innerspring Mattresses near Long Island NY”
