Mattress Forum

Dr. Gloom here. The bad news is mold is very difficult to remove. Actually, impossible. You can try to kill it back with various mold treatment solutions, but they are not 100% effective. Bear in mind any kind of moisture you add to clean it out with will provide a breeding ground for future growth. Generally, what people consider "removing" mold is just cleaning the surface spores off. They form kind of network or tentacle type growth patterns that move deep into the underlying surface, and those remain, where the absorbed moisture from the cleaning solution spurs further growth. This is what happens when people use bleach spray, for example, thinking they are killing the mold. They are killing surface spores, but providing addiional breeding media for the growth underneath, and it will come back.

The best you can do, honestly speaking - and yes, I have studied mold professionally a bit - is to cut out the affected area, and considerably more extensively around that area, because there is more in the areas where you don't see it appearing on the surface. The experts I was trained by said, for example, if you have mold on a patch of wood about 1 foot square, you need to remove a one-yard section around it to eradicate most all of the tentacles. Then patch in a replacement of clean material.

Also be aware that mold is a toxin - some more virulent forms than others. It needs to be treated carefully, possibly wearing breathing masks and definitely gloves, and discarded in a sealed bag, if you want to be sure of avoiding any effects. Some people (and other animals) are more sensitive than others, of course. The trouble is, when you work around mold, the spores disperse into the air surround. So it would be best to do the surgery outdoors - out of your bedroom, definitely.

Mold spores are everywhere. They are microscopic and virtually deathless. They can survive in spore form for many years until they land on a suitable surface and sprout.

They are part of life on this planet, and their job is to digest matter and return it to the biosphere.

But when I say organic - it's very broad. It includes virtually anthing with any kind of carbon in it - which is just about everything there is, including drywall, concrete, paint - virtually anything. But they really like organic materials which I gather are tastier and easier to digest.

The conditions they thrive in are: dark and moist.

So anytime you have anything that sits in a moist and dark condition, mold is likely to grow.

The proliferation of mold in residential settings is a huge problem, particularly given modern building materials and building methods, which tend to trap moisture indoors. Once it is detected, it cannot really be removed without stripping out the affected materials, and that gets expensive in a hurry.

That's why most homeowner's policies now include a mold exclusion, and if the policy was issued prior to the mold exclusion, the insurers run screaming from the room.

Ed McMahon had a $5 million mold claim on one of his McMansions a few years ago and won it. He argued that the mold made him sick and even killed his dog.

No one is immune from mold. All we can do is try to keep things dry and let the sunshine on them now and then. It wouldn't be a bad idea to put your mattress and platform in the sun and try to make sire they are thoroughly dry through and through.

Just wondering - were you using a mattress protector?  I just bought a memory foam bed, and want to do whatever I can to prevent this.
 

Slight correction - Wool actually absorbs moisture but it doesn't get "wet" as quickly. In fact, it can hold up to 30% of its weight in moisture. The way it works on a mattress cover is it wicks up the moisture and holds it so it can evaporate from the loft of those fibers instead of seeping through into the underlying material. That's part of the beauty of wool. It is more resilient than, say cotton, which absorbs a lot, but loses its resiliency, and lets the rest of the moisture pass on right through. Cotton tends to pack down more than wool fibers do when it gets wet. But both natural fibers are breathable and allow air into them so evaporation can take place. The thing about synthetics is that they don't "breathe" so if moisture gets into them, it runs right through, if it's porous, or runs off if it's not. If moisture gets trapped inside a synthetic casing or barrier, there is no escape. That's why air mattresses also have a problem with mold growing inside. In something dense like latex, there is no opportunity for airflow to get in there and assist with evaporation. If it's a memory foam or sleeps "hot", then naturally there will be more moisture from perspriration being absorbed into the open cells of the foam that make it "give." So that is why it's a very good idea to have a breathable layer on top  that can absorb moisture before it gets into the foam. The natural action of air flow through moisture in wool can provide a cooling effect on the skin through evaporation. Natural fiber sheets help, but they're usually too thin to do much in the way of moisture absorbtion and evaporation.

the same thing happened to my memory foam mattress. We called Macy's and they sent an inspector out to my house.  After the inspection a representaive at macy's called me and told me that this is a know issue and they offered to replace the mattress at no extra cost. She told me that sometimes the manufacturer ships the matrress to the warehouse. sometimes moisture gets soaked up in the warehouse after they unpack these.

What to do?  Warranty issue obviously.  Have them pick it up and replace it.  No one should get stuck with a new moldy mattress.

Has anyone heard of a class action lawsuit going on with this?  There should be if not.  Everyone who purchased the MemoryWorks matress by Sealy need to know they are sleeping on a moldy bed!!  There are so many health problems that stem from mold exposure.  Now I feel like we need to clean our bedroom fully, shampoo & disinfect the whole room, maybe get new carpet & throw away all our bedding.  It's going to cost us more than the bed itself.  We bought the bed on sale, now to get a new bed will cost us more than we originally paid.  I'm so frustrated. We are not giving up in this, & I hope you don't either.  

Actually the warranty says it needs to be used with a supporting foundation or the warranty is void. You can use any other foundation just fine as long as it is supportive.

HI Cyndihall,

 My husband and I also bought a memory works matress form macy's in may of this year. I noticed in August that there were some ants crawling on my bed skirt and when I lifted my bed up there was mold on the matress, box spring and my new bed skirt. We also ordered the "Worry No More" warranty plan from them so I knew that nothing could have spilled and soaked threw the matress. I called Macy's and the sent us out a new bed and gave us a gift card to buy new bedding. Our new bed came and we put our new bedding on it and last week I checkud under the mattress just to make sre no mold was growing again, and sure enough, MOLD was forming again. In the same spot as the last time. My husband and I are so confused as to why this is happening. I was so relieved when I read your comment and realized we are not the only ones. I am going to call Macy's this week and demand my money back, I don't want another bed from them if it's just gonna turn moldy in 2 months. I have Asthma and so do my kids and this is a horrible thing to have in the house. I am so irritated to have to go through this again. Also, when I called Macy's the first time to tell them about the mold the representative told me she had never heard of this problem before. Thank you for sharing... Best of luck to you and your new matress..