Hello to everyone on this amazing site. I began shopping for a new mattress several weeks ago and my research led me here. Ive read all of the amazing info provided but have a few questions still. This will be my first mattress purchase in 10 years ( currently sleeping on an innerspring mattress from the original mattress factory) The reason for the added research is the fact that my wife is pregnant and we have two little ones at home. We attempt to limit the amount of “bad” things we allow into our house. Be it in the form of food or household chemicals. It can be difficult at times to differentiate which of these things are actual threats to my family’s health though. Which leads me to my question.
Should I be concerned with the fire retardants/chemicals used in the mattress industry these days? If so, what are my options to avoid them in the Cleveland OH area?
We have enjoyed our innerspring mattress. What options due we have to avoid the retardants in an innerspring mattress? Is it as simple as finding a manufacturer that uses wool? Is the polyurethane foam below the top layer a hazard as well? Will a Dr’s prescription allow us to eliminate the chemicals?
2… We’ve considering latex as well but there is so much to learn! Is latex the best way to avoid chemicals?
3… What are some reputable companies in my area that I should consider while shopping? Haven’t even looked at price points yet. Replacing my mattress with the exact same at the original mattress factory will cost $900. (mattress only-king size) Any guesses as to how much I should plan on increasing that budget by if we go this route?
Thanks in advance for all of the advice and help! Feel free to tell me to just go down the street and buy the same mattress that we have and to not put any more thought into this whole fire retardant/chemical thing!! Sometimes I wonder how much I’m actually helping my family’s health by trying to avoid all of these things.
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 and components 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, beliefs, and lifestyle choices.
There is also more about “safe” fire barriers in this article and post #2 here and the posts it links to at the end and there is more about purchasing a prescription mattresses that don’t have a fire barrier and don’t pass the fire regulations in post #4 here and the posts it links to.
The most common method used to pass the regulations in the mattress industry is the use of inherent, “non chemical” fire barrier fabrics that are either quilted into the cover or are wrapped around the inner materials of the mattress like a sock and foams that use flame retardant chemicals are much more common in the furniture industry than they are in the mattress industry.
There is a lot of misleading information in the industry about fire retardants and “chemicals” ranging from significant “fear mongering” on one side to completely minimizing fire retardants as an issue at all on the other. Like most issues that arouse strong feelings or controversy the most reliable and “accurate” information tends to be in between both polar extremes so there is “some truth” that “some mattresses” may use some chemicals that some people would find questionable or wish to avoid. Some people may also wish avoid certain types of synthetic foams or fabrics as well even if they have been tested for harmful substances and VOC’s and would be considered “safe enough” by most people. There are also many people in the industry that IMO exaggerate the risk (usually in an effort to sell some very costly mattresses) and seem to believe (or at least want their customers to believe) that every mattress except for an “organic” mattress (however they define this) is somehow “loaded with chemicals” to prevent them from catching fire which is far from the truth but this type of misinformation tends to scare people and lead people down a rabbit hole of conflicting and misleading information … and of course is also somewhat ridiculous and exaggerated.
There is also more information about the different levels of organic certifications in post #2 here and some of the benefits of an organic certification in post #3 here and there is more about the different types of organic and safety certifications in post #2 here and more about some of the differences between organic and safety certifications in post #2 here that can help you decide whether an organic certification is important to you or whether a “safety” certification is enough.
That would depend entirely on the type of mattresses and materials you are considering. There are some very general guidelines about what to expect in different budget ranges in this article but if a manufacturer can make a mattress without a fire barrier then it shouldn’t have a significant impact on the price of the mattress compared to the same mattress with the fire barrier.
The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Cleveland/Akron/Canton, OH areas (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets your own criteria and the quality/value guidelines here) are listed in post #2 here.
I don’t know which of them can make a prescription mattress that doesn’t pass the fire regulations so you would need to call and find out (if you even decide to go in this direction) but I would suspect that some of the manufacturers in Amish country probably could.
Sometimes I wonder how much I’m actually helping my family’s health by trying to avoid all of these things.