Mattress Forum

One thing I forgot to mention in my above post is that I was definitely leaning towards the flobeds encasement due to it making the whole bed much more fire resistant, since the wool is sewn into all 6 sides. This may not seem like a big deal, but I have several firefighter friends who are constantly warning me about stuff like this. Unfortunately though, it does come at a price. Just another thing to consider.

As far as wool being flammable, so is steel. That doesn't mean wool can't pass the burn test on its own. See: http://www.popsci.com/node/9344

Many online retailers claim their wool filled encasements have passed the fire requirements without the use of chemicals like flobeds: here: http://www.flobeds.com/burntest.htm and here: http://www.flobeds.com/PleinAirWool.htm

"FloBeds was the first mattress company to use wool (and no chemicals) to pass the new Federal Fire Resistance standards. We have wool on all six sides of the mattress."

They do this by compressing a thick wad of wool inside their encasement. Now some say they're lying to us, but I do believe they'd be open to some pretty hefty lawsuits if proven, which can be easily done via some simple lab tests. I'm guessing that they're telling the truth.

Here, to answer some of your questions, (especially since you are making people believe steel is as flammable as wool....)

http://www.strobel.com/wool_burns.htm

"As you can see in all the proof above everything organic burns, there are no natural, chemical free, or nontoxic mattresses that comply with the federal regulation. They all contain toxic chemicals. Your only choice for a chemical free mattress is by prescription."

"Cotton burns at 255 degrees and untreated Wool burns at 600 degrees. The open flame test is 2,000 degrees for over a minute. It is scientifically impossible for a blend of untreated cotton and wool to pass the test."

Silica is not considered a chemical- therefore someone can say there are no chemicals.

“They do use a sand based material mixed in with their wool to help meet the flame retardant standards.”

Sand is Silicon (Si) which you can see on the CPSC table of chemicals used in beds When you melt sand it makes glass. This is the Silica Glass or simple glass that is in the fibers of “inherently fire resistant fibers” that they call viscose, Visil, or FR Rayon. It is an extreme respiratory hazard and known to cause illness and cancer. "

Formaldehyde is the most common FR chemical used in beds today, wool has a higher burning point than formaldehyde.  

The 1633 CFR regulations do not require beds to be flame proof, they just require a certain rate of heat release and rate of how fast the fire spreads.

If you took the same piece of wool and tried to light it on fire from the top down it would self extinguish; the fire on these tests is applied to the surface of a mattress not the underside. 

No company has ever claimed that wool does not burn, but the laws have never required beds to be completely fire proof to begin with.  

tjstogner,

Please re-read my original post, as I never insinuated that wool is AS flammable as steel. I was just pointing out that almost everything IS flammable, and that just because it is flammable, it doesn't mean it can't be used as a fire retardant.

FWIW, antimony is a very commonly used fire retardant used in firefighter gear, and is also flammable: http://www.speclab.com/elements/antimony.htm  "BURNS WITH BLUISH-WHITE FLAME WITHOUT VOLATILIZING"

I used steel in my previous example, because most people aren't familiar with antimony.

"In conclusion 100% pure wool processed properly will perform very well as a FR barrier for CFR 1633 compliance. However it is a very expensive way to achieve it. Ultimately bedding manufacturers and their customers must decide whether it is worth the additional expense they must pay for an all natural solution for compliance to the law."

Interesting article there; thanks for the link.

From another article (Polyurethane Foam Application and Design in Mattresses) by the same author (Steve Holder) on that same site:

"...The temptation for manufacturers is to use cheaper less durable foams to achieve price competitiveness. There is a large risk here, since consumers cannot be fooled by these compromises made by bedding manufacturers for very long. In other words when consumers realize that the new mattress they recently purchased fails to hold up and loses it comfort performance, it may well come back to haunt those manufacturers who compromised the quality of their products by substituting cheaper poorer performing components. There is much evidence of these compromises being made, by the greater use of lower quality lower density polyurethane foams being used in mattresses today. Polyurethane foams as low as .8 lb – 1 lb density foams are being used in many mattresses today. These foams are formed with very weak polymer bonds and are mostly made up of foams formed with weak hydrogen bonds which will lose more than half of their IFD rating very shortly. Also, these foams are subject to compression set or collapse, bringing about massive body impressions in new mattresses in a very short period of time. It is very important for all legitimate bedding manufacturers to understand the destructive effects to the bedding products they are putting their reputation on. A better understanding of this very important component will not only enable manufacturers to build superior products, but also build better more durable products for their customers."