Factory Direct Mattresses in the Toronto, ON and GTA area

[phoenix]

Hi sangen,

Just in case you haven’t read it yet I would make sure you’ve read the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choices … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones…

I do not want a mattress that has any brominated or organophosphate flame retardants in it. I also don’t want a mattress that off-gasses any more harmful VOCs than the level found in typical indoor air. It’s not important to me that the mattress be organic, but I suspect that since I don’t want the flame retardants or the VOCs that means I’ll have to restrict myself to buying an organic mattress?

Post #2 here and the more detailed posts and information it links to have more information about safe, natural, organic, “chemical free”, and “green” mattresses and mattress materials that can help you sort through some of the marketing information and terminology that you will encounter in the industry and can help you differentiate between them and answer “how safe is safe enough for me” so you can decide on the types of materials you are most comfortable having in your mattress. These types of issues are complex and are generally specific to each person and their individual sensitivities, circumstances, criteria, and lifestyle choices.

If you have any advice for me on how to locate flame retardant-free innerspring mattresses, I would appreciate it.

The previous link also has more information about “safe” fire retardant methods that don’t use chemicals to make them fire retardant.

I asked if they could make a pocket coil mattress with a latex comfort layer on top, but the woman I spoke to said you can’t put latex on top of coils because the coils would cut into the latex. That doesn’t sound quite right to me.

This would depend on the type of innerspring that is used in the mattress. With innersprings that use helical coils and have lower coil counts you would generally need an insulator layer to prevent the comfort materials from compressing into the innerspring but many fabric encased pocket coils that have higher coil counts would provide a “bed” for the comfort layers above them that would have even enough support for the comfort materials above them to prevent the springs from cutting into the layers above them and don’t need an insulator layer above the coils. There are many pocket coil/latex hybrids that work very well without cutting into the latex comfort layers.

Latex in general is the most breathable of all the foam materials so there would be less chance of sleeping hot on latex than on other types of foam materials that are generally used in comfort layers but the type of mattress cover and the materials that are quilted to it along with the mattress protector you use and your sheets and bedding will also have a very significant effect on temperature regulation because they are closer to your body. Wool is a great temperature regulator (in both directions) and wool quilted covers are often used with latex mattresses both as a fire retardant and as a temperature regulator. There is more about the many variables that can affect sleeping temperature and temperature regulation in post #2 here.

Phoenix