Trying to find a mattress with no off-gassing, please help!

I have an unusual medical condition which makes me extremely sensitive to smells and other sensory input, to the extent that I can smell odors at a much lower threshold than the average person. The effects are enough to create severe nausea. I am trying – in vain-- to find a new mattress that does not have off gassing, and am having a very difficult time.

Tempurpedic memory foam, which I initially tried because of the desire for less motion transfer, was horrible for me and made me very ill. I next tried Simmons Beautyrest Recharge Worldclass, which was an innerspring but still had a layer of memory foam. Still feeling ill. I’ve gone from store to store in search of a mattress that does not contain memory foam, and this has proven very difficult. I’ve tried out a mid-priced Sealy plushtop without memory foam but does have other types of foam, but the new ones in the store still have a fairy strong-- albeit different- smell.

So far, the only mattresses I have been able to tolerate with regards to smell are the extremely low-budget, entry-level, firm mattresses by King Koil and Sealy, which don’t seem to gas as there is no foam. The problem is that the comfort and support that one might normally like to see in a mattress is somewhat lacking in the low-budget entry level models.

Reading online, I see that something like natural latex might be an option for me, as there are no chemicals, but there still might be off-gassing, though a different type of smell. I’m a novice with regards to that possibility. I’m reading about these other types of natural “fibers” in combination with innerspring, but when I go to local retailers, all I see is foam, foam, and more foam. I don’t know where to find such mattresses.

I have so far tried, and returned, 3 different beds, and am getting desperate. I could really use some good advice about what materials to look for - and avoid- in a mattress, and how to actually find a non-foam mattress that still has a decent level of support and comfort in a local store. Please help!

Hi Tim,

Almost all materials will have some degree of “new” odor or emit VOC’s to some degree even though in most cases they aren’t harmful to most people. For those that are most affected by the smell of new materials though (or to VOC’s that have no odor or that have very low levels that wouldn’t affect or even be noticeable to most people) I think that for the most part (at least out of the most common materials that you would find in a mattress) … memory foam would probably be the least desirable material followed by polyfoam and with latex, springs, and natural fibers being the “least offensive” of all.

At the very least I would make sure that any memory foam or polyfoam was CertiPur certified for harmful substances and offgassing and that any latex was OekoTex certified (which is the case with almost all of the latex you will encounter) although that doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t be sensitive to the smell of any of these.

You could also ask a retailer or manufacturer to air out the mattress for a few weeks in a warehouse so that the initial smell was significantly reduced before you take delivery.

I would also focus on following the steps in the tutorial post here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that will help you make the best possible choices … and avoid the worst ones. In general it would be better to focus on independent manufacturers or better retailers in your area who can tell you the specifics of every layer in a mattress they sell so you can avoid materials that have higher odds of affecting you.

Post #4 here along with post #2 here and post #2 here may also be helpful in helping you decide on which materials that you are comfortable with and which you may wish to avoid and to help you answer the question of “how safe is safe enough for me?”.

These would have some polyfoam in them although they would be in lower amounts and there probably wouldn’t be any memory foam. At least it’s encouraging that polyfoam doesn’t seem to have the same effect on you as memory foam.

There are three main types of foam that are used in mattresses which are memory foam, polyfoam, and latex foam. It will be difficult to avoid foam completely because mattresses that only use innersprings and natural fibers tend to be in premium or even ultra premium price ranges and also tend to be firmer than mattresses that use some type of foam in the comfort layers (you can see some examples of innerspring / natural fiber mattresses in post #4 here).

If you let me know your city or zip I’d also be happy to let you know of any options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area or retailers or manufacturers that are more knowledgeable and transparent about the materials inside the mattresses they make or sell.

Phoenix

Thank you Phoenix, That is quite helpful guidance. Upon your advice I tried a different store and was directed to testing out 1) an innerspring with soy based foam, 2) a hybrid spring/memory foam bed that met the Certipur standards, and a 3) Talalay latex mattress.

I found the talalay latex to be a bit springy/bouncy for my sensory sensitivities. As for the other two: the soy-foam inner spring was extremely comfortable, and had no detectable chemical smell on the showroom floor, but when checking one that was fresh out of the warehouse (1 week), some off-gassing was noticable. The hybrid memory foam that was certi-pur certified was not as high on my preference list comfort wise- but I could detect no odor, even in the one still sitting in the warehouse (housed still in plastic bag only a few weeks). This leads me to some answers, but also more questions:

  1. is certipur memory foam “good enough” or are there still chemicals that could be affecting my health? I gather from your other posts that this may, indeed be the case.

  2. Can I trust in the observation that a mattress on the showroom floor does not have a detectable odor, even if one right from the warehouse does, that in time it will not emit anything that will make me ill? It seems like every store clerk, no matter which store, when I ask how long a given mattress has been out, says 4 mos. I am suspicious of the apparently stock answer, but I can’t help but wonder-- how long would I have to air it out before being able to use it?

  3. If the Talalay latex was too springy for me, is there another type of latex mattress, which I assume is healthier than even the certipur memory foam, that “feels” more like a traditional mattress?

Finally, I would appreciate suggestions for local retailers that might help me choose a mattress that does not aggravate my health condition in North Central Florida, primarily Gainesville and Jacksonville.

Thank you!

Hi Tim,

It would be “safe enough” for most people criteria but there may be batches of foam that have a stronger odor than normal or weren’t fully cured and there may also be some people that in some cases seem to be more more sensitive than the Certipur testing (or could be reacting to some of the non foam materials in a mattress) so it’s still possible that some people may still have some sensitivity issues. The same is true of latex because even though issues with latex would be very uncommon, some people may still have a latex allergy (type I latex allergy) or react to some of the chemicals or substances used to make the latex foam (Type IV latex allergy) or may even be sensitive to the smell of some types of latex (Dunlop has a more “rubbery” smell and Talalay has a “sweeter” smell) even though it isn’t harmful based on some very stringent OekoTex testing.

In most cases any odors are usually gone to levels below most people’s detection within about 2 weeks but different batches of foam can take longer or shorter and may be left to air out for longer or shorter before being used in a mattress and there are also some people with conditions such as MCS (multiple chemical sensitivities) that may let a mattress offgass and air out for a year or so before they are comfortable using it. Some people are not comfortable using any polyfoam or memory foam at all, some people are not comfortable with memory foam (which is a more common issue for more sensitive people) but fine with polyfoam, and some people wouldn’t even consider latex that contains any synthetic rubber even though it has passed the same testing protocol (usually OekoTex) as 100% natural latex. Each person is different so there is no standard answer that applies to all people or circumstances.

There are two main types of latex (Talalay and Dunlop). Talalay can be made with either all natural rubber or a blend of natural and synthetic rubber while Dunlop is made from either all natural rubber, all synthetic rubber, or a blend of the two. You can read more about the different types of latex in post #6 here.

Dunlop is a little less “springy” than Talalay (see post #7 here about the difference between them) and synthetic Dunlop would be a little less elastic and less dense than natural Dunlop so it may be the closest of all to regular polyfoam although there is a wide range of differences in each latex category in terms of “feel” and firmness.

Some of the better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Gainesville area are in post #2 here and in the Jacksonville area are in post #7 here. I don’t have a list of the specific mattresses carried by each manufacturer or retailer on the various forum lists (which would be outside the ability of anyone to keep up with in a constantly changing market) so I would call the ones you hope to visit and talk with them about what they have on their floor in your budget range and about whether they carry mattresses that have the materials that you want to test and meet the criteria that are important to you.

Phoenix

HI Phoenix,
Thank you again for a very useful post. Going off of your recommendation I called around a couple of local retailers and ended up at two of the retailers that you recommended in your link, which then led me to only 2 possible mattresses that were memory foam Certipur certified.

I have discovered that I really don’t like the feel of memory foam mattresses, but I can’t find any retailers that carry dunlop latex locally, or any innerspring mattresses that are certipur certified, so here I am looking at memory foam again- but hybrids so I get more of the innerspring feel I am used to. These were the two I found, but I still feel like I am lacking some information.

  1. Mlily USA, which claims to be Certipur certified for all their mattresses (I ended up liking the Energize hybrid). 1" bamboo infused memory foam, 3’ visco elastic memory foam, 7’" high resiliency base foam. A nice bonus is that the fire retardant layer was not chemical based but rather glass fiber. Antimicrobial, hypoallergenic claims on the website. But I had a couple of concerns. Red flag #1 - Made in China. Red flag #2- it still smelled!!! Red flag #3 - The website claimed “our memory foam mattresses are made with toxin-free polyfoam” which left me wondering-- does that mean the memory foam part is still toxic, and that there was just less of it? Apparently this company replaces part of the petroleum with castor plant oil, and the remaining petroleum is essentially covered with bamboo and aloe vera to make for a more “pleasant” smell.

  2. Carolina Mattress Company - Cool Coil Medley. Another hybrid. Finally, I find something with no obvious odor, even brand new, and its made in the USA. 2" convoluted natural latex (what’s convoluted latex?), 1" cool breeze gel memory foam, 1.25" plush soy foam (is soy foam safer?), 875 individually wrapped coils, soyfoam encasement. No info about fire retardant layer. I couldn’t find any more information on the website, and I only have verification that its certipur certified from the sales person, not the actual product. I’m not sure if there is other information I need to gather about this company/mattress to determine whether it is “safe enough”, or whether I simply let my nose be the judge!

Any additional suggestions of things to look into would be helpful. Because of an ongoing health issue, I need to order an unusual size that would end up a special order, which means no returns/exchanges, so I am trying to make sure I have not missed anything!

Thank you!
Tim

Hi Tim,

Most of the North American foam manufacturers are CertiPur certified (you can see the list here*) but many mattress manufacturers that use CertiPur certified foams aren’t registered with CertiPur even though the foams they use are. You can see the list of manufacturers that are registered with CertiPur here*. If I was comfortable with polyfoam and memory foam in the first place (and there are many people that aren’t for either health or personal reasons) … I would also be comfortable with North American manufactured foams. Certipur certification (or a similar certification) would be more important to me if the foam was manufactured outside of North America … especially in Asia. For those who are chemically sensitive or who want to avoid “chemicals” for personal reasons … memory foam would normally be more of an issue than polyfoam or latex.

ADMIN NOTE: *Removed 404 link|Archived Footprint 1:certipur.us/pages/for-industry/find-a-foam-supplier/|Archived Footprint 2:certipur.us/pages/for-consumers/find-products/

There is some “bad” foam made in China and there are better foams as well. At least with foams that are CertiPur certified you have some reasonable assurance that they are “safe”. I would also keep in mind that smell and safety are not necessarily related because some of the potential VOC’s that can be most harmful don’t have a smell at all. Terms like “toxin free” really have no meaning because the chemicals used to make foam are toxic if you were to eat them. The goal is to make sure that they are safe for the use for which they are intended (sleeping) and that the polymers are stable and that any VOC’s are within a reasonable level of safety. Salt is made of sodium and chloride and chlorine can also be harmful if it isn’t chemically combined with something else. You can read more about so called “plant based” polyfoam or memory foam in post #2 here. They are still just polyfoam or memory foam that have had a small portion of one of the many petrochemicals used to make it replaced with a plant based chemical derivative.

What a mattress smells like has little to do with its safety. Carolina Mattress Guild is on the list of CertiPur certified mattress manufacturers so you have some assurance that the foams they use are CertiPur certified.

I would also want to know the density of all the foam layers in both mattresses so you can make sure that they don’t have any “weak links” in terms of durability.

If you can’t return a mattress then it becomes particularly important that you have done some careful and objective testing using the testing guidelines so you can come as close as possible to predicting your actual sleeping experience in terms of PPP. I would also make sure that you know the density of all the foam layers so you can identify any potential “weak links” in terms of durability.

I believe that some of the Golden mattresses use Dunlop in the comfort layers and SavvyRest has Dunlop options as well. Some of the others on the list may also have some mattresses with Dunlop comfort layers but you would need to call and ask them what they carry on their showroom floor.

Phoenix

Your local mattress store might be willing to sell a floor model - a friend of mine who has a similar problem did this - she could not stand the scent of memory foam or latex or any other smell really- she told her local mattress store and they worked with her getting a relatively new floor model that had aired out - she took of the cover and washed it before sleeping on it and all was well…I find that the memory foam from dreamfoam / brooklyn bedding doesn’t smell for long - maybe a tiny bit initially but after 2-3 days i can’t detect anything - my latex pillow still has a slight scent after 2 weeks but the mattress and toppers - nothing …

My quest for a mattress continues… two new questions emerge that I am hoping to get some insight into.

I located an organic bedding store at which I was finally able to try an all Dunlop latex mattress. Given that it was a 100% organic bedding store, all of the products were comprised of some combination of organic cotton, wool, natural Talalay and/or Dunlop latex. The problem was that it was nearly impossible for me to properly test out the one I had come for (dunlop latex) because just as with traditional chemically-laden mattress stores, the smell was highly nauseating to me. Understandably, it was a small store, but unfortunately, that made it impossible for me to discern what was creating the odor that was making me ill. I’m wondering- of organic cotton, wool, Talalay and dunlop, which of those components are the most likely to smell? Furthermore, if natural dunlop latex carries its own smell, which I am told it does, does it ever go away and how long would that take?

My other question has to do with memory foam. Although my most immediately noticeable problem seems to be with odors, given my health I would like to also have a mattress that is on the “safer” side in terms of potentially harmful chemicals. I am wondering-- if given the choice between a traditional inner spring mattress with some polyfoam that is not Certipur certified, compared to a memory foam mattress (or memory foam/innerspring hybrid) that is Certipur certified, which one would be considered “safer” from the perspective of noxious or toxic chemicals?

Thanks for any insights.

Hi Tim,

Some people are very sensitive to certain odors whether they are harmful or not and you are certainly not the first person to encounter this. You can read a little more about the smell of latex in post #2 here that may help you identify what you are sensitive to. Depending on the store they may also be able to provide you with a sample of their materials that you can take home with you to see if you are sensitive to one of them in particular. All materials will have some smell and it can also vary from batch to batch or product to product if the material is natural but if I had to guess (and guessing is somewhat dangerous because other people’s experiences or sensitivity to certain smells may not apply to you) I would probably “rank” the likelihood of where the smell you are reacting to may be coming from in order of probability as Dunlop latex (a more rubbery smell), Talalay latex (a “sweeter” smell), wool (a more “musty” smell), and cotton (very little smell).

CertiPur is a testing protocol that tests polyfoam and memory foam to certain criteria (see here*) but the testing is based on samples only and there can also be a variance between different batches of the same material. There is also plenty of anecdotal evidence that even with CertiPur certified materials that some people may still be sensitive in some cases. It’s also true that a lack of CertiPur certification doesn’t necessarily indicate that a specific material has VOC’s that are more than the CertiPur testing standards or CertiPur certified materials and some materials that aren’t CertiPur certified may have less VOC’s than some that are tested … it’s just that you don’t know. Tempflow for example uses a type of memory foam in their mattresses that have been independently tested for VOC’s and are very low (they will provide the testing results to their customers) even though they aren’t CertiPur certified (see post #9 here). Unfortunately there really isn’t a way to know which material is “safer” or tolerable to you outside of testing results or your own experience. Based on experience and anecdotal evidence … I would say that memory foam is more likely to cause issues than polyfoam which in turn is more likely to cause issues than latex. Natural fibers or innersprings would be the least likely of all. Foam that has gel added to it is probably less likely to cause issues than non gel materials because the gel itself has lower VOC’s but this would also depend on the percentage of gel in the material and all of this is very generic and not specific to any particular foam or batch of foam.

ADMIN NOTE:*Always check CertiPur site for the latest guidelines available

Post #2 here and the posts and sources of information that it links is a good starting point that can help each person answer the question of “how safe is safe enough for me?” but it’s a complex issue that has no clear or definitive answers that apply in every case.

If you know that you are looking at materials that have high odds of being “safe” then samples of the materials may be a good way to find out if you have specific sensitivities to any of the materials they use (or their smell) that a certification may not cover.

Phoenix