I need help finding a chemical free mattress. I recently purchased a memory foam mattress after a neck injury made my 20 year old mattress uncomfortable. I started experiencing some strange things, I woke up feeling foggy in the morning, my arm started losing feeling and going numb, and them I started getting very anxious even having anxiety attacks. I have never had any of these things before, but thought they might be from the neck injury. But after three weeks my neck was getting better, but not these symptoms. I read online about chemicals in mattresses, and decided to sleep in the guest room for a couple nights, 48 hours later I felt normal again. I got rid of the memory foam and bought a foam/latex combo mattress from a company claiming to use a different kind of fire retardant, no chemicals. I had the same reaction. I don’t know if it’s the chemicals or the foam that’s the problem. I’m ready to get rid of both. I’m looking for an innerspring mattress with no chemicals. Is this possible without spending thousands of dollars? My Dr said he would give me a prescription, but I can’t seem to find a place that I can order one from. I live in Iowa, so it’s hard to find something close. Chicago is about 4 hours away, and I will go there if I have to. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks, Tim
Hi Urlacher,
I’m sorry to hear about your experience but I can certainly sympathize and it appears that for some reason you may be sensitive to a material that would normally be fine for most people. I have also had a similar experience with a memory foam topper (see here) although I haven’t had any reaction to any other type of memory foam other than this specific topper. Unfortunately … it may be somewhat difficult to track down the cause of your experience.
The only reliable way to assess the “safety” of a material in more general terms is based on any certifications they have for harmful substances and VOC’s and while for most people memory foam that has a CertiPUR certification would be “safe enough” … it’s also possible that even with a certification some people may have a specific sensitivity to certain materials that for most people would be fine (some people with MCS or multiple chemical sensitivites for example may react to materials that the large majority of people will be fine with). In very general terms and based only on anecdotal information and “reports” you will find that memory foam will have the highest incidence of people that have complaints about “symptoms” they they experience when they sleep on memory foam followed by polyfoam followed by latex.
Since this mattress didn’t seem to contain any memory foam it may be much more difficult to find out the specific materials you may have been reacting to because it could be a particular type of foam, a fire barrier (although the most common fire barriers used in the industry today are non chemical inherent fire barriers), any glue in the mattress, or “something else” completely.
There is a lot 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 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” that can help each person decide on the types of materials they are most comfortable having in their mattress or on the certifications that may be important to them. These types of issues are complex and are generally specific to each person and their individual sensitivities, circumstances, criteria, beliefs, and lifestyle choices.
There are many mattress manufacturers and some retailers that sell or can make a mattress that doesn’t have a fire barrier with a doctor’s prescription but it would also be a good idea to make sure that any of the other materials in the mattress are also less likely to be the cause of your experience since it may not have been the result of the fire barrier in either one or both of your mattresses
There are also manufacturers and some retailers that sell natural latex mattresses that use wool for the fire barrier that would also be very unlikely to cause any issues with sensitivities although they tend to be in higher budget ranges.
I’m not sure where you are in Iowa but there is a list for the Des Moines, IA area in post #6 here and for the Cedar Rapids area in post #4 here and for the Omaha/Lincoln, NE areas in post #2 here and for the Sioux Falls area in posts #2 and #3 here, and for the Fairfield/Ottumwa area in posts #1 and #2 here and for the Champaign/Springfield/Peoria areas in post #2 here and for the Kansas City area in post #2 here and for the Chicago, IL area in posts #2 and #4 here and for the St Louis area in post #6 here and for the Minneapolis area in post #2 here and for the Milwaukee area in post #2 here which I believe includes all the manufacturers and retailers I’m aware of in and around the Iowa area that will give you a good starting point and a number of manufacturers or retailers that you can call and talk with to find out whether that they sell or can make a mattress that meets your criteria.
Phoenix
there is a coil mattress place in chicagoland, mygreenmattresses.com. right now they are having a 50% off sale. in my mattress search i spoke to a woman named kathy who works there who was extremely nice. she actually was so nice that after our discussion she thought their mattresses would be too firm for me. but if you have an allergy like you describe, they are worth talking to. i hope it isn’t too firm for you! also maybe consider a 3" wool topper for pressure relief… get one with with a zipper so when the wool batting flattens you can replace the batting and re-loft it yourself or have someone nearby do it. diynaturalbedding will make it for you (their prices are great and the quality is great). you can send it back to them when it needs a refluffing (you would pay for shipping but i bet they would get you a discount on shipping. i don’t think it would be for free), or you can get the pattern and either do it yourself or again have someone nearby you do it. but you might have to do it every year or so, and the wool gets pricey. the wool loses its loft after several months. and might stop offering enough pressure relief too soon for how much you are paying. i think diynaturalbedding has a “show room” at someone’s home in indiana. they definitely have one in minnesota. If you find you can tolerate latex, they can help you with that too. they only carry dunlop. i can’t tell you how wonderful deborah is, but i’ll try. she is wonderful!
and do you want to avoid 100% natural/organic dunlop latex too? it’s like 98% natural. someone can correct if i’m wrong if there is an actual organic dunlop whose fillers which i think amounts to like 2% are as clean and pure as the dunlop latex?
i wish you the best of luck!
Hi mattressmaven,
There is some 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
An organic certification requires that the natural latex content is no less than 95% of the latex (not 98%) and that any additional chemical inputs and other criteria meets the standards that are summarized here.
There is also more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here but all of the latex you are likely to encounter (either Dunlop or Talalay that is made with either natural or synthetic rubber or a blend of both) will have a reliable certification such as Oeko-Tex, Eco-Institut, or Greenguard Gold and based on actual testing I would consider any type or blend of latex to be a very “safe” material in terms of harmful substances and VOC’s.
Phoenix
not to hijack the thread but does foam mattress make your arms go numb? i have that currently and didnt put the two together? i just thought its from putting my arms under the pillow and sleeping on them? also is it the chems in the mattress or the chems they use to make to help with fire safety thats the problem?
thanks!
Hi rosscrossell,
I split your post into a new topic of its own.
No foam itself would have nothing to do with it. Your arms would be going numb from a lack of circulation which could be caused by your sleeping position (elevating your shoulders by sleeping with your hands under your head when you are on your back for extended periods of time would be another example), a mattress that is too firm (foam or otherwise), or a pillow that isn’t keeping your head and neck in good alignment.
No … even if your mattress has fire retardant chemicals (and most mattresses use an inherent non chemical fire retardant barrier to pass the fire regulations) … it wouldn’t cause your arms to go numb.
Phoenix
THANKS for the explanation. i figured as much!