Wool mattress protector and allergies

Hi,

Thanks for this site, it’s been very helpful. I think I am going to pull the trigger on a Presto mattress from memoryfoamcomfort and am deciding what to do for the mattress protector. I really like the idea of the St. Dormeir but I have allergies to dogs, cats, dust etc. and am concerned spending all the money on a mattress protector I can’t use. Does anyone with allergies have any experience with a wool mattress protector?

Thanks

From what I understand, wool allergies are entirely different from allergies to dogs and cats, A wool allergy is a reaction to the protein in the lanolin. Commercially refined lanolin is found in lotions so a more likely correlation to a wool allergy is sensitivity to creams and makeup with lanolin than to the dander of dogs, cats,etc.

Everyone I hear of who buys St. Dormier’s wool pad likes it. However, since it is washable, the wool has been chemically treated with a process call superwash to keep the fibers from felting in the washing machine. This process when on a sweater or something worn next to the skin often can cause itchiness (not to be confused with an allergy), however since their pad is underneath a layer of cotton fabric, the wool will probably not migrate through or be noticeable.

Hi Winnipeg85,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum!, eh! :slight_smile:

You’re welcome.

As you’re probably aware, Memory Foam Comfort is a member of this site which means that I think very highly of them and that I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency. I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to purchase a mattress from them.

It sounds as if you have allergies to the dander from pets, as well as dust mites, so I’m not sure if you’re wondering if people with these allergies are commonly sensitive to wool, or if you are actually sensitive to wool, or if you’re worried about the potential of dander to get trapped in this mattress protector. I’ll try to answer all of these possibilities.

Wool allergies or sensitivities are generally contact allergies or sensitivities and it would be unlikely that they would be an issue in a mattress protector where the wool was covered with a cotton terry cover. There is more about wool allergies or sensitivities in post #2 here and in post #4 here , and there is also a link in that post #4 to a good article about wool allergies/sensitivities.

If you are truly allergic to wool, which is very rare, there are other mattress protector options you may wish to consider, or even an allergy encasement. There is more information about dust mites and allergies and methods that can be used to control dust mite populations or other allergens that are related to mattresses in post #2 here and in post #3 here . There is also more about allergy encasements in post #2 here that may also be helpful. This may be information with which you are already familiar.

I hope that’s helpful.

Phoenix

Hi diynaturalbedding,

Thanks for chiming in and your feedback – I appreciate it!

Phoenix

Just for a little piece of mind, I did a rudimentary count on the number of St. Dormeir pads we have sold @ our Edmonton store alone, over 2500 to date. Never had a wool allergy reaction.

If the lanolin has been removed (which applies to most washable wool) and there is no direct contact with a scratchier wool there is nothing to react to. Wool is simply made of Keratin, the same protein our own hair is made of.

If someone is in direct skin contact with wool that has no lanolin, the only potential irritation is mechanical which is caused by rougher (higher micron) wool.

Legally, all wool in the United States is required to have its lanolin removed in the washing process to be commercially sold. However, the proteins can still cling to the fiber, despite washing. People with true wool allergies (though few) will be allergic to wool inside cotton. I have seen it happen. Usually a wool allergy is noticed when congestion or coughing starts instead of a dermatitis approach like what you see with, like you said, the coarse or high micron count of wool.

Hi [email protected] and diynaturalbedding,

Thank you both for your contributions and feedback!

Since it was brought up, I thought this would give me a chance to add a few things here, as I get a few questions about wool and it gives me the opportunity to add this information in an appropriate thread.

I’m often asked about the importation of wool, and I had a very nice discussion with a DVM at the USDA and the importation rules are listed in 9CFR 95.18 here.

Basically no bloodstained wool can come in. Wool from countries free of foot and mouth disease (FMD) may be imported with no restrictions (obviously you would have to have documentation showing that the wool originated in and shipped from a country free of FMD). Wool from countries affected with FMD does have additional restrictions as we discussed. You can find a listing of countries USDA considers free of FMD here.
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Additionally, Customs and Border Protection has guidelines regarding the degree of contamination with manure that is allowable – if the wool is “lightly” or less than 20% contaminated, and coming from a country affected with FMD, it can enter if accompanied either by a declaration from the exporter verifying the wool is sheep body wool (i.e. obtained from live animals) or a government certificate bearing the seal of the proper department of the national government and signed by an official veterinary inspector showing the therein-described wool was taken from animals slaughtered under national government inspection, in a region and in an abattoir in which is maintained an inspection service determined by the Secretary of Agriculture to be adequate to assure such materials have been removed from animals, found at the time of slaughter to be free from anthrax, foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), and rinderpest (RP).

Regarding lanolin, I’m not aware of any requirement that all wool sold in the United States to have the lanolin removed, and in fact you may speak with any knitter and they’ll tell you there is plenty of wool available with lanolin. Additionally, many wool suppliers and manufacturers specifically clean their wool in such a manner to preserve as much lanolin as possible for maintaining the soft feel lanolin helps to provide. One example would be the Frankenmuth Woolen Mill here.
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Besides the contact issues discussed and linked to earlier that some people have, the reaction to the wool alcohols that are the principle component of lanolin (and that still may be present in small quantities even after the wool would have been processed for lanolin removal) are found with some people. This article discusses this in greater detail.

Phoenix

Thanks for the amazing feedback. It gave me more confidence going ahead, then less and then a bit more again. Hopefully it works out, they’re expensive and final sale.

Hi Winnpeg85,

I’m glad you found the information helpful, even though I added some items that were a little off-topic. Thanks for letting me expand upon your question a bit!

Phoenix