Hello,
I truly appreciate your website and all of the help you offer on here. Purchasing safe mattresses for my children is my goal. I had been trying to research your page (and others) for several weeks…now I have a child in the hospital and 3 others at home and just no time to do so. I really just need advice on what the safest, toxic-free mattress brand(s) there are in the U.S., at an affordable price (I live in West MI and if there isn’t someone local that can special order something for me, I will pay for shipping). I try to live an organic lifestyle, with food, household cleaners and anything we put on our body…but understand that a mattress does not need to be organic to be safe/toxic-free. I feel that a mattress may need to be somewhat flame resistant though for during fires (correct??). That is one thing I haven’t had time to fully research yet. I want twin mattresses that that will grow with my toddlers so that I do not have to repurchase one for each of them again. Please offer some of the safest (and comfortable, yet supportive) brand recommendations!! Thank you very much for your time, Phoenix and anyone else willing to help!
Hi SAFE4Kids,
The question of “how safe is safe enough for me” is specific to each person or parent and their individual sensitivities, circumstances, criteria, beliefs, and lifestyle choices (just like some people may choose an organic or even a vegan diet and would consider other diets to be “unsafe” for their children) but post #2 here and the topics it links to also has much more information about mattresses and children and “safe” materials including a link to some general guidelines for children in post #2 here. It also includes a number of links to the better forum posts and topics about mattress and children as well which also include more information about many good options for children which would be well worth considering.
I personally think that some combination of latex, natural fibers, and innersprings can all make good and “safe” choices for a child and if budget is a major consideration then polyfoam that is CertiPUR certified can also make a good lower budget choice as well but just like buying clothes for your children or deciding on the type of diet you feed them and are most comfortable with this would be a choice based on the parent’s “best judgement” and their lifestyle choices. A latex comfort layer is also a very durable choice so a mattress that uses it in an appropriate firmness level can maintain its initial comfort and support well into their teen years and would still be in good enough condition to add a topper as they grow and develop more adult proportions if they need some additional softness and pressure relief to extend the useful life of the mattress.
I’m not sure where you are in west Michigan but the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in the Grand Rapids area (subject to the quality/value guidelines here) are listed in post #273 here. If you are further south then there is also a forum list for the Portage/Kalamazoo area in post #2 here and for the South Bend/Fort Wayne areas in post #4 here (with some overlap between them).
All mattresses (including children’s mattresses) need to pass some very stringent fire regulations before they can be sold to the public but it’s also possible to purchase a mattress that doesn’t meet the regulations with a prescription from a health professional that is licensed in your state (a doctor, naturopath, chiropractor etc). There are also some very “safe” methods of passing the fire regulations as well that will pass the fire regulations and don’t require a prescription (see post #2 here and post #4 here).
I don’t have any specific suggestions because there are too many variables and specific criteria involved in choosing a mattress that are unique to each person but I would be very cautious about brand shopping because you are buying a specific mattress not the brand and all manufacturers have access to the same or similar components and materials. Most of the more heavily advertised and most commonly available brands that you would recognize are the ones I would avoid anyway (see the guidelines here) and many of the better manufacturers are smaller and are only available locally or regionally (or online). The name of the manufacturer on the label also won’t tell you anything about whether a specific mattress is suitable for a child or whether there are any lower quality materials or weak links in the design. There is more about the risks of brand shopping in post #5 here and post #12 here). I would focus much more on the materials inside a mattress (which are important to know anyway) than I would on the name of the manufacturer on the label.
Phoenix
Hi Phoenix,
Thank you for all of this information.
I contacted a company that you highly recommended, Buis Mattress, in Holland MI. (from your post #273). Although their website says differently, Marc said that he really only makes 2 types of mattresses - the one he recommended was the soy-based polyurethane mattress. However, I have not heard good things about soy-based polyurethane (see Is Your Plant Based or Soy Mattress Eco Friendly? | MyEssentia.com as an example). Would this be something you’d recommend or is there a better option? I apologize, but I do not have time to research this more and each post on here actually makes me even more stressed about purchasing mattresses for my children - so, which exact type of mattress/materials would you recommend as being the best for children (that’d last from toddler to teen years - hopefully) that is both safe (no harmful chemicals) and supportive? This is all too confusing for me. You’re the expert, I trust your judgement. Thank you!!!
Hi SAFE4KIDS,
There really isn’t much I can add to the links I included in my last reply.
If a material has been certified by CertiPUR (in the case of polfoam) or by Oeko-Tex or Eco-Institut (in the case of latex or natural fibers) then for most people it would be “safe enough” unless you would have a specific reason to choose otherwise. The only material that I would avoid for younger children in general is memory foam.
You can read some of my thoughts about Essentia and some of the misleading claims they make and some forum discussions with them (as well as some of the FTC issues they have had about their claims) in this thread and this thread and posts #3 and #4 here). I certainly wouldn’t treat the information on their website as a reliable source of “fact based” information.
While I do recommend the members here “as a group” and I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, and transparency … I don’t make specific recommendations about either materials, mattresses, or manufacturers because these are primarily preference choices and each person can have their own criteria and beliefs that for them are “right”. My goal is to provide the “fact based” information that can help you understand the pros and cons of your choices so that you can make an informed choice that is best for you … regardless of whether anyone else would make the same choice.
I can certainly help you to narrow down your options, help you focus on better quality/value choices that are available to you either locally or online, help you identify any lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress you may be considering, act as a fact check, answer any specific questions you may have along the way that I am able to help with, and help with “how” to choose but only you can decide which specific mattress is the best match for you and your child based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Unless you have a specific reason that you can clearly identify to avoid certain materials based on your own personal beliefs and lifestyle choices … most people would be fine in terms of safety with materials that have a reliable certification for harmful substances and VOC’s that would be “safe enough” for them.
Phoenix