Terribly Confused about Flame Retardants

[phoenix]

Hi HermitageBrewing,

I was considering going with some sort of latex core with an organic cotton topper - the reason being that many people are allergic to latex and there’s no way to know if our baby will be or not (same with wool). That combo may wind up costing about the same as a regular bed, but I’m thinking it would give a good mix of supportive and pressure relief. That said, I’m not sure if having a few inches between you and a latex pad is okay with an allergy.

You can read a little more about latex allergies in post #2 here. True latex allergies are very rare and most latex “allergies” which people talk about most often are contact sensitivities which aren’t a concern with mattresses both because the surface irritants are washed away, because there is no contact with the latex (even with just a cover), and because latex foam is made differently from other dipped or solid latex products (such as gloves, condoms etc). Latex allergies are not a significant issue in the mattress industry.

Phoenix, the zip code for Chapel Hill is 27514. The problem I’m running into is that no one in NC is willing to make a mattress without flame retardants even with a prescription. Maybe it’s a state law? Any help with local manufacturers (I called the original mattress factory and carolina mattress guild already) would be excellent.

The better options I’m aware of in the Chapel Hill area are listed in post #6 here. There are many manufacturers that are not set up to make mattresses that have no flame retardants “one at a time” so it’s more a matter of the willingness of the manufacturer than a matter of state law. In general this would be an option with a smaller manufacturer or a more specialized manufacturer.

Also, I did look at Post #21 for a list of online retailers, but I didn’t see it mentioned as to which ones use wool or silica as a fire barrier.

Many of them that make latex mattresses use wool as the fire retardant and the information is usually on their sites but if you need more specifics or the fire retardant information isn’t on their site then a phone call will fill in any missing information that you need. They will gladly give you any information about their products that you may need.

Phoenix