Need help in deciding how to proceed on mattress issues

[phoenix]

Hi nflicker,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum!

I am a new member and this is my first post. Thank you very much for all the detailed info on your site!

You’re very welcome. I’ll do my best to be of assistance.

In February I made a mistake and bought an expensive mattress (Aireloom Atlantic Dream).through a local chain retail store After the first week, I developed nausea, diarrhea, and hives… The mattress had a strong smell so I stopped sleeping on it temporarily and used a fan and open windows to air it out for a couple of weeks. The smell did dissipate somewhat and I went back to sleeping on it due to lack of other good sleeping options…

I’m sorry you seem to be having some sort of a reaction to your new mattress. Some people unfortunately are more sensitive to the odors that accompany different foams and fabrics than others.

At the time I bought it, I was told that it was the greenest mattress in the store.

As you’re probably already aware, that statement has no real meaning. “Green” isn’t a standardized term for evaluating or testing mattresses. The only reliable way to assess the “safety” of different materials in more general terms is based on lab tests and the certifications they have for harmful substances and VOCs (regardless of whether they are organic or natural or synthetic or “green”) so that you have some assurance than the VOCs are below the testing limits for the certification. If the materials in a mattress or the mattress itself has a reliable “safety” certification then for most people they would certainly be “safe enough”, regardless of the type of material or the name of the manufacturer on the label, or a salesperson calling it “green” or not. But even with a certification, it is no guarantee that you will avoid being sensitive to that material.

When I complained about the smell I was told that the mattress contains boric acid, (implied to be innocuous)

I have no idea whether or not your mattress uses boric acid as part of meeting federal flammability guidelines (and this is information that Aireloom generally doesn’t share so I’m not sure how your retailer would know if this is indeed the case), as most brands use a non-toxic inert rayon/silica fiber layer to pass federal flammability guidelines 16 CR 1632 and 1633. Even if boric acid was used, the LD50 level of Boron#10 for example (@3765 mg/kg) is similar to the LD50 level of table salt (with ingestion which is the most toxic type of exposure) in terms of its toxicity so again the specifics can make the difference.

but no glues like other well-known brands in the store.

There is some good information about different types of adhesives here and some information about some different types of latex adhesives here . Again, Aireloom doesn’t share much information about the meaningful specifics of their mattresses, but even if your mattress used a water based adhesive then it wouldn’t be something that would generally be of concern.

I don’t know what other toxins may be lurking in this mattress. I am still experiencing hives and have a history or autoimmune disease, so I think this mattress is likely bad news for my long-term health. Also, I would like to buy a non-toxic mattress - probably an organic mattress.

I’m sorry that you have a history of having an autoimmune disease, and I understand how that can make it extremely difficult for you when coming in contact with different materials, much like people with multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS). “Toxic” is a term for poisonous substances that are produced within living cells or organisms, although the term is often bandied about on many sites “reviewing” mattresses that do more of a disservice through “fear-mongering” to those looking for good objective information about the materials used within a mattress.

It seems to be that you are sensitive to something within your new mattress, whether it is from inhalation of an odor or VOC, or from contact with the covering of the product. Most people that are looking for a “green” or “non-toxic” (toxicity is dose-dependent) mattress or materials are usually concerned more with “safety” than whether the materials have an actual organic certification and they usually aren’t aware that an organic certification isn’t the same thing as a safety certification.

There is more information about the three different levels of organic certifications in post #2 here and some of the benefits of an organic certification in post #3 here.

There is more about the different types of organic and safety certifications such as Oeko-tex, Eco-Institut, Greenguard Gold, C2C, and CertiPUR-US in post #2 here, and more about some of the differences between organic and safety certifications in post #2 here and there are also some comments in post #42 here that can help you decide whether an organic certification is important to you for environmental, social, or personal reasons, or whether a “safety” certification is enough, and what those certifications can mean to determine whether the contents of any particular mattress are “safe enough” for you.

Also, the comfort layer makes me feel like I am sleeping IN the bed (vs. on top of it), which I find uncomfortable. I would like to return the mattress - primarily because of the health issues. The local store/saleman/DM cannot authorize a return, but will allow me to exchange it for a different model (for a fee) but other options in the store sound like they will be even more toxic… I can call the chain’s HQ customer service to request a refund, but have little hope that I will be successful.

Without trying, you’d have no idea whether or not the store’s headquarters might be able to accommodate you, so I think it certainly would be worth your time to phone them and see if they could be assistive with your particular situation, stating your unique circumstance and that you seem to be particularly sensitive to something within your mattress (your mattress contains polyfoam, memory foam, latex and a silk/wool/dacron layer for the comfort components). It certainly would be worth a call, in my opinion.

I have also considered trying to sell the mattress itself. A friend suggested doing an exchange, not opening the wrapping when the exchange is delivered and selling the new one to try to recoup more of my expense. I would appreciate any suggestions with regard to these options or any others regarding how to get rid of the mattress without losing my investment of $3,000+…

There have been examples of people doing this and selling their items on various local online sites. If you do this, keeping the item in the plastic would be helpful in getting as high of a price as possible, but anyone purchasing the item from you would also realize that they are getting the item from you without a warranty, so this could negatively impact the value.

Has anyone had success in returning a mattress for health issues (that can’t be proven)? Should I just try to sell this one or to sell an exchange/replacement?

Mattress warranties don’t cover an individual’s sensitivities to the materials used within a mattress, but I would still place a few phone calls to the HQ of the chain with which you are dealing and politely ask for their assistance, and if that didn’t work you may even wish to reach out to Aireloom directly and see if they would be willing to assist you in some manner. While you’re not dealing with a warranty defect of the product, these companies still might be willing to work with you.

I hope the information I listed is helpful to you, and I’m looking forward to learning if you are able to achieve any results with phoning your retailer or Aireloom about your current situation.

Phoenix