Latex Mattress in Miami

[phoenix]

Hi Adianez,

One other query. Do you know if in fact fire retardants are no longer mandatory?

Fire retardant chemicals have never been mandatory. What is required is that a mattress pass the 16 CFR 1632 and 1633 fire regulations with or without the use of fire retardant chemicals (the method of passing the regulations isn’t specified in the regulations). The most common method used to pass the regulations is the use of inherent fire barrier fabrics that are either quilted into the cover or are wrapped around the inner materials of the mattress like a sock (see post #2 here)

With a prescription from a licensed health professional then a manufacturer can also sell a mattress that doesn’t pass the fire regulations.

I’m rather disappointed that they might have lied about not using adhesives.

I certainly wouldn’t assume that anyone is lying to you because they could be providing you with information that they believe is accurate. I would just ask them for specifics that you can verify. It’s also possible that they are using some method to bond the layers together that I don’t know about. For example you can use flame bonding with polyurethane foam although it’s mostly used to bond a fabric to the polyurethane and there is also a new process called Pulse Fusion being used by Latexco to bond latex to other types of foam but it’s very new and apparently won’t be available in North America until the end of the year (and it doesn’t use heat).

Latex does seem to be not an option for us at this point

I’m not clear why you are ruling out latex as an option but of course the choice of materials is always a personal preference.

. Do you know of any fabrics or retailers that make coil mattresses with latex instead of foam?

There are some sources of innerspring/late hybrids in post #2 here.

We co-sleep so we are looking for a mattress free of chemicals that won’t break the bank. To make matters worse, our current mattress is 14 years old and smells “earthy” so I have the distinct feeling we may have a mould issue

There are many options available when it comes to either natural, chemical free, or “safe” materials that can avoid the use of harmful chemicals in a mattress.

There is more information in post #2 here and the more detailed posts and information it links to 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 natural is natural enough for me” or “how safe is safe enough for me” so you can make more “fact based” choices on the types of materials you are most comfortable having in your mattress. These types of issues can be complex and are generally specific to each person and their individual sensitivities, circumstances, criteria, beliefs, and lifestyle choices.

Phoenix