I just received a 2" talalay topper a week ago. It has an incredible amount of smell/outgassing (it doesn’t smell like vanilla like some have described latex ; it smells like a Farm & Fleet tractor store filled with rubber tires!). It is so strong that I can’t even stand to be in the same room with it. I am slightly smell sensitive, and often buy unscented products but don’t have any known allergies or diagnosed sensitivities. I recently bought a memory foam topper from LUCID for my daughter’s bed and expected it to seriously outgas, but I could not smell it at all. The latex topper is not organic latex, which I don’t think is even possible for talalay. I bought it from a TMU.
My question is whether this is normal? If you’ve experienced this, how long did it take to go away?
When we purchased our full talalay latex mattress 6.5 years ago, I don’t recall having any smell at all. If this is going to last very long, I will have to return this topper and try something else (I have 3 more weeks), so I just need an idea of what might be normal. Thanks.
Sorry that you are having a bad experience with your Talalay topper; while some ‘out gassing’ is normal, and of course folk who are sensitive to smells might find it stronger smelling, any heavy scent should dissipate after a few days…if possible , you might want to try hanging it in your basement or garage, or outside for a few hours, but after a week it certainly shouldn’t have a strong enough odor to be so irritating for most people. You might also want to contact the seller to see if they have any suggestions…it might be possible to wipe it down with very mild soapy water, if it can be hung in a ventilated area to dry it fully & immediately. Depending on how the foam was prepared and cured, in some cases the manufacturing process can leave a slight film or coating; but again, after a week , in normal circumstances, you shouldn’t be noticing it so much. Keep us posted on how it’s going and how it’s resolved!
I just bought three new latex mattresses with components sourced from all over both Talalay and dunlop layers and none of them smelled very much . I am very sensitive to smells but the " new" smell of my blended Talalay did not last more than maybe half a day and was mild enough that I could sleep on it - my husband’s dunlop mattress and topper did not smell for longer than maybe half a day or so either - and it was most definitely not a chemical smell but that typical latex/ natural rubber vanilla .
We just got a 2" latex topper from Sleep on Latex today, so we haven’t slept on it. It had a slight scent, similar to pancakes, but after we put it on the bed we didn’t smell anything.
Thanks @Cheri and @flybear for your input! Most people tend to think of the smell as ‘vanilla’ - but ‘pancakes’ is a good simile as well! Again, in most cases unless there is a specific allergy or sensitivity to smell, and strong scent should go away in a short period of time…again, nothing is 100% so if anyone experienced stronger smells that last for a longer period of time, you should contact the manufacturer to see if the issue can be resolved.
Thank you for the responses. I forgot I had also bought a topper last year from Sleep On Latex for my daughter’s bed (that I ended up returning due to being too soft for her) and had no smell issues.
I’m taking Basilio’s advice and leaving topper in basement to air out for a couple of days. I can still smell rubber. If the smell isn’t gone in a day or two, I will return it.
In case someone else has this issue thought I’d leave this info. After several days leaving latex in the basement, I contacted the manufacturer. They said its not unusual if it is very freshly made for latex smell to be strong. Recommended putting in room with open window and blowing fan on it, and the odor has gotten better as a result.
Thanks for the info ‘straight from the manufacturer’! in most cases any scent should dissipate after a bit of time in a well ventilated area. In some cases they can also be wiped down gently with a mold detergent to remove any smell that may linger, as long as it can be dried quickly (basement, outside, using a fan) to make sure mold does not form.
