Mattress Forum

Thanks for those links. I've spent the past couple of evenings reading a bunch of stuff about the fire retardants in mattresses but hadn't read either of those pages. I did find a different site that countered some of Strobel's claims but lost track of it.

There is a whole lotta stuff out there on the 'Net, and I'm finding it difficult to find independent science -- that I can understand without a degree in chemistry -- and separate that out from various marketing claims and from the perhaps overly alarmist sites that equate the word "chemical" with "toxin."

I think I am more confused now than I was before. I'm now wondering, for instance:

• Are mass-produced mattresses made before the FR regulation went into effect in 2007 considered safe -- should I buy a friend's 10-year-old barely used guest-bed mattress? -- or are they dangerous because of PBDEs and other FRs that have since been, or are being, phased out?
   
• Are mass-produced mattresses made after 2007 more dangerous because of the newer FRs being used?
   
• If I go with an all-latex mattress and there's a fire, will that latex turn into a giant fireball* if it's not covered with enough wool? (I don't smoke, use a laptop in bed, or use space heaters, but things can happen anyway.)

Meanwhile, I do all this research while sitting at my 20-year-old desk, made of particle board covered with some sort of laminate, wondering how much formeldahyde I've breathed in over the years....

* Short video of small piece of natural latex igniting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbqm_5E6auM

 You suggest that we buy a simmons non pillow top mattress and then add latex toppers . It seems to me that if the underlying structure of the mattresses is collapsable because it is composed of polyeurethane , then won't the mattress soon sag even with the latex toppers ?

You can put lipstick on a pig....

I agree natural is the best way to go. Not all will use boric acid, but they will use one of the other toxic chemicals and there is no way around it currently. Formaldehyde is also used in poly foams as well.

Englander is a great brand as well and get their latex from Sri Lanka. Again it will be either a blended latex or Latex of top of a poly core, but they have been around for a very long time and have a very good reputation. I would have to say Englander is the better of the ones mentioned above from my experiance. Southards is also a blended synthetic latex. I couldnt believe on their innspring mattress prices usign an intro level 460 coil offset innerspring unit on queen sets from $2200 too $4400. I would say they are at the bottom of the list with the ones mentioned above.

100% natural latex really doesnt have much of any smell. The smell will come from the blended latex or the synthetic.
 

Davestro, if in the above statement you're referring to passing the CFR 1633 fire standards, please provide some proof to your statement. I find it very hard to believe that dozens of bedding manufacturers are blatantly lying to their customers in writing about something which can be easily proven by some simple lab tests.

If Strobel really believed the propaganda on its website, it would've already taken legal action against all these companies. There would be very nice civil lawsuits against them for trying to gain a competitive advantage by purposely misrepresenting their products. Business lawyers live for stuff like this, especially when it can be so easily proven, and especially when consumer health is involved.

I do like the fact that Strobel has tried to corner a portion of the market looking for a poison free mattress, but unfortunately they've gone too far by stating: "There are no natural, chemical free, or nontoxic systems that pass the severe open flame test." Their stunt of burning some wool yarn hardly proves the previous statement true. They're just trying to scare people into buying their mattresses.

Not Jim, but the suggestion is not just to not buy a pillowtop. It's to buy a good quality FIRM mattress with a mimimum of foam padding in the top, then add whatever topper you like. To me, this is the most sensible and economical (if economics are a concern) solution. I did just that, and am very happy with the results. Yes, my firm innerspring mattress will eventually sag but I will get much more wear out of it than I would a pillowtop that is nearly guaranteed to sag badly within months, leaving you with an expensive, useless bed that you need to either replace or perform surgery on.

 

In the end I didn't care what brands they carried, how good the reputation was, or pricepoint - and hubby really didn't want a Dunlop core because is tends to smell rubbery.  The retailer carried OMI and Natura - again good brands, but as a consumer I tend to be choosy about the people involved.  For a two hour trip I wanted some answers ahead, they dodged me on all counts other than the standard sales pitch.

So we went with Soaring Heart, local company who made us a lovely mattress, foundation and topper  - - we are sleeping now and getting rest,

So, I don't get to sleep on my right shoulder in any bed out there.  The Stearns and Foster didn't allow it.  It felt pretty plush in the store, but the reality was the construction was cheap batting in the quilt and underneath, likely cheap foams with fancy trademarked names.  The plush feel firmed up noticeably in a few days to a week, then it took on a run-of-the-mill feel.  Good support from springs, mediocre comfort.

I'll skip talking abouty the Serta iComfort because I went a little too soft from the get go and had to ditch that one.

But, after 5 months, this Tempurpedic Cloud is a keeper.  I'd be surprised if the feel changed within the next 10 years.  I had a Tempurpedic Symphony pillow for at least 3 years, and it felt exactly the same as day one.  I've since switched to a TP Comfort pillow.

Yes, I would be concerned about any subtle effects of off-gassing, and yes, the Tempurpedic had a slight odor that lasted not for weeks, but months.  Noticeable when walking into room with closed door.  I don't notice the odor much now and of course hope there's never an affect, but I suppose there's always some affect from anything that smells.

Another time I might try the all natural, no returns route, but still, I'm happy with this Cloud base model because the support is really good and the comfort it exceptional!