We have spent countless hours…make that countless weeks, trying to find the best mattress for our 3 year old (and eventually us). We were considering a memory foam mattress but after looking into the VOC issues, it was ruled out. It also became clear that regular mattresses are also full of chemicals. So, we have landed on latex mattresses and are considering the 12 inch Bamboo Bliss from Brooklyn Bedding. There is a 1 inch wool and Soft Reflex foam layer at the top. It states “chemical free” but it is hard to determine whether that is the wool, or whether it is both the wool and the soft reflex foam. Know anything about this layer and the chemical content?
Our other choice is the 10 inch total latex mattress. I like that it doesn’t have the foam core (poly-yuck), but the price differential is hard to ignore. I feel a tad better about the foam being in the core of the Bamboo Bliss, but if the top layer of the Bliss isn’t chemical free then I think we may have to consider the solid latex.
Thanks for your help!
Hi chemicalfreesleep,
The issues of chemicals in a mattress is complex, confusing, and filled with incomplete and misleading information all over the internet. In most cases the real issue that is the biggest concern to people is “safety” and the question of “how safe is safe enough for me” can only be answered on an individual level because it will depend on individual person’s circumstances, judgement, sensitivities, and beliefs. Post #2 here and the links it includes is a good place to start your research in unraveling all the conflicting information (and scare tactics) you will be exposed to in your research.
Post #2 here also includes links to most of the better posts and threads around the forum regarding mattresses and children that include links to some good sources for children’s mattresses as well.
This means that they don’t add fire retardant chemicals to the mattress and use an inherent fabric instead. They are also CertiPur certified which means that all their polyfoam and memory foam has been tested to CertiPur standards for VOC’s and harmful substances but reflex foam is polyfoam and is made from petrochemicals for those that are more concerned with having any chemicals in their mattress regardless of how safe they may be. No foam manufacturer discloses the actual chemicals used in their foam and even if they did it would take a degree in materials science and chemical engineering anyway to know which chemical compounds represented a safety issue once the individual chemicals are reacted together (Salt for example is sodium and chloride that are combined together and chlorine can be a harmful chemical by itself) so for “safety” issues regarding foam you would really be dependent on the certifications for the foam materials in a mattress.
Phoenix