Does anyone have any familiarity with a mattress brand called Silver Rest. I’ve come to find out it’s a chinese import.
Here is the foam description:
2" Green tea infused and aerated memory foam
2" Convoluted bio-based bamboo charcoal foam
4" Bio-based bamboo foam
I believe the base is a polyurethane foam.
I’m wondering if this is possibly a toxic mattress being its from China. I got it from a children’s furniture store in Los Angeles, was told it was made from some “soy” based materials. I’m a little skeptical. These mattresses are cheap cost about $300 for a twin that I got for one of my children.
Depending on the age to some degree … I would be very reluctant about buying any memory foam mattress for a child. I don’t believe it would be a good choice for any child as long as they were still growing but for very young children it can actually be dangerous and I strongly advise against it.
There are several reasons for this but the most important are …
-Children have less developed immune systems and can be more susceptible to harmful substances and VOC’s (offgassing).
-Children … especially when they are very young … need a mattress that allows for free movement.
-Children need a sleeping surface that is more supportive for the spine.
-The mattress microclimate needs to be breathable.
-If the child is too young to move or turn with some “strength” there can be a danger of impaired breathing or suffocation if they are on their stomach face down in the mattress.
Memory foam truly is not a good choice for young children.
While adults can do better with memory foam … even here there are some guidelines that should be followed to make sure that you know what you are buying and that you can lessen the risk of buying memory foam in a very confused market that will supply you with lots of misinformation.
If you haven’t slept on memory foam before for long enough to know that it is suitable for you and your individual needs and preferences, make sure you read about the pros and cons of memory foam and spend lots of time in the store testing different types of memory foams and construction options (recovery speed, density, breathability, temperature response, layering choices, support systems) before you buy anything.
These 4 suggestions should help to eliminate most of the poor choices in memory foam.
Never buy a mattress that includes memory foam without knowing whether the foam has been certified by CertiPur, Oeko-Tex or a reputable testing agency for both chemicals and offgassing or at the very least has been manufactured in North America. If the outlet you are looking at doesn’t include this information and/or won’t give it to you with a phone call (or if this information isn’t publicly available) … pass them by. There are too many who do to spend any time here.
Never buy a mattress that includes memory foam without knowing the density and layering of the memory foam layers. Density is a main indicator of the quality and durability of memory foam while the thickness and layering of the memory foam is a key part of how suitable a certain memory foam mattress may be for your weight, body shape, and sleeping positions. If the outlet you are looking at doesn’t include this information and/or won’t provide it to you with a phone call (or if this information isn’t publicly available) … pass them by. There are too many who do to spend any time here.
Never buy a mattress that includes memory foam without knowing the type and quality of the support layers underneath it (either an innerspring, polyfoam, or latex foam). The support layers play a key role in how well a mattress will keep you in alignment and in the feel, performance, quality, durability, and value of a mattress that uses memory foam in the comfort layers. It is just as important as the memory foam itself. If the outlet you are looking at doesn’t include this information and/or won’t give it to you with a phone call (or if this information isn’t publicly available) … pass them by. There are too many who do to spend any time here.
Use the least amount of memory foam that is suitable for the pressure relief you need and never buy any memory foam mattress which uses memory foam which is under 4 lbs (unless it is a thin layer under an inch or so in the quilting) unless you are only considering memory foam comfort layers and there are no other alternatives because of more severe budget restrictions. There are too many good options that use 4 lb or higher even in the lower budget ranges to use the lowest grades of memory foams under 4 lbs density which will not be as durable as higher density foams.
This will eliminate most of the lower quality or “unknown” memory foam choices and save you a great deal of time which can then be spent looking at or talking to memory foam outlets or mattress manufacturers that are transparent about their materials and knowledgeable about what really makes a memory foam mattress suitable for each individual.
Memory foam is just a layer on top of a mattress and like all comfort layer materials, there is a wide variety of different qualities and types and layer thicknesses that can significantly change the performance of the mattress.
This mattress certainly doesn’t meet these guidelines and I personally wouldn’t consider it even for an adult. The “soy based” foam is polyurethane foam which has replaced a small part of the petrochemical polyols (one of the chemicals used to manufacture polyfoam and memory foam) with plant oil. It is a small step in the right direction but only a very small step and most of the foam is still petrochemical based. I have personal experience with the “toxic” symptoms that can happen when a memory foam outgasses (bought from Costco) … and its not pleasant at all. You are wise to be skeptical
