Memory Foam or Foamy Memory?

I can only imagine what could come later if the customer forced into the production process. Can;t you see people being ask to sort out the 1 in 4 billion parts of allowable forgien matter in their food. ( GET THE BUGS OUT YOUR SELF IN OTHER WORDS)

Thank you. The question for you would, it seems, be: Have you slept on memory foam? And, if so, for how long?

Anyone else have any input about the original question. Apropos responses genuinely appreciated.

First let me say I'm not a chemist.

But I have worked at a foam mattress factory and the chemicals they use are quite nasty.

I remember being told that the main chemical to be worried about was, I think TDI, which I believe is from the isocyanate family?

I was also told that the remanents of this chemical remain in the mattress, in minute quantities and that the mattress should always be allowed to 'air' thoroughly before use...

As the mattress is always wrapped up in polythene its up to the consumers to air out the last of the chemical... In the factory the foam blocks are allowed to 'air' in huge ventilated warehouses before being ready for wrapping and despatch.

I doubt very much that their is anything to worry about and the caution is just there to be on the safe side...

Having said all that, that was my experience of 30 years ago and its probably all changed now!!

John.

Thank you, Electroman, for your very practical comments, and your frankness as well. As I remember isocyanate is a constituent in insulation board--like R-Max; but it might have been isocyanURate. Pretty good insulator but not good to be around if it catches fire. Your mention of plastic packaging echoes what the sellers, such as Sealy, say and recommend about the memory foam. The thing that intrigued me was: if the noxious gas continues to escape from the pads when compressed and sealed in a package (where the gasses would be trapped until unsealed) what's to say it doesn't continue to emanate out (even though more slowly and less concentrated) for who knows how long after the noticable concentrated odor is gone? And if compressing the pads for packaging exacerbates the escape of noxious gasses, might not compression from lying or sitting on the pads also cause further escape over time--escaped gasses that could, say, accumulate under a blanket or comforter? Manufacturers don't say anything about the advisability of using the pads with some kind of covering or mattress bag but--funny thing--they do advertise and sell such things in conjunction with the pads! I'm not really expecting you would have any opinion about all this, but hopefully someone out there might. Again, thank you for you reply.

Cheerio.

I think the chemical was something like Toluene disocyanate or something....

I only remember it because we had to have regular drills in case of a spill or a leakage. The gas given off by this chemical was odourless and lethal, worse still was that if you were affected the symptoms might take 24 hours before causing breathing difficulties...

Needless to say the safety drills were impressive! When working near the foaming plant you always had to carry a gas mask around which had a few minutes of air so that if the ventilation fans and their backups failed, the sirens sounded and you could escape - pretty frightening stuff!

In the ventilation warehouse, about 100 yards long, there were emergency exits in the wall every 10 yards, the reason was that if the fans stopped you would still be only a short distance to an escape exit!!

As I said that was a long time ago and things must have changed now.

John.

What are you taking and can I have some? Is it bugs? If so what kind and where can I find them?

The residual compound is very unlikely to be TDI. This is used in the production of many polyurethane foams, but is reactive and is used up. It is certainly a concern during the manufacture of the foam. Any smell is likely to be residual substituted amine compounds used as catalysts, they have an earthy smell. They diffuse out rather rapidly from an open cell foam. You also run into them as part of that "new car" smell which is released from the seating and dashboard foam in a new car.

I have purchased several memory foam products online for presents and for myself. The items I have purchased were Soft Sleeper Memory Foam products and the best price I could find were on www.amazon.com When we received them there was a slight odor but this odor quickly dissipated when aired out for a few days. There are no EPA bulletins regarding the end product referred to as visco elastic polyurethane foam. I have not purchased a Sealy Memory Foam product but I am sure it is the same type of visco elastic memory foam and the only difference is the brand name. I have found quite a bit of information regarding polyurethane foam on a website run by the Polyurethane Foam Association at www.pfa.org It seems to me that polyurethane foam is used in everything we use in everyday life.

I.E. Carpet Padding, Office Furniture, Home Furniture, Automobiles, Ear Plugs and the list goes on.

The bottom line is that visco elastic polyurethane foam is widely used and considered safe by the EPA so there should be no immediate concerns; however, remember polyurethane has only been around for about 60 years and it took several thousand years for tobacco to be considered a carcinogen. CAVEAT EMPTOR

I purchased a Tempurpedic Rhapsody mattress. The earthy/sorta-nutmeg smell was overwhelming when it came out of its' plastic wrapper. I aired it out for 8 days (with fans and hepa filters assisting) and then slept on it for two nights before sending it back in (paranoid?) fear as my skin felt sunburnt after sleeping on it. I don't know what it was off-gassing, or when the scent will finally somehow dissipate from the room where the mattress.

But clearly these chemicals were not good for me. I found this site as I searched for insight on how long I should let my replacement Sealy mattress "air out" before sleeping on it.

Question: doesn't "air out" mean that the chemicals emanate- turn into a gas from the solid- and then where do they go? Does this process mean that in fact all that 'stuff' from my Tempurpedic that made my skin burn is now sitting on the clothes in my closet and the carpet on the floor of bedroom where the bed was? Because it's been a few days (with fans and hepa filters) and it still smells like Tempurpedic poison in there....so now I'm worried about sleeping in there on my replacement Sealy.... Your thoughts, if any, chemists?

-Gerry

Sorry, not a chemist; but I wonder if the burning might not be indicative of a personal allergy or sensitivity to the product. Of course, in the former case you would have had to have been exposed--knowingly or unknowingly--to the product on at least one prior occasion (to develop antibodies). Just a thought.

I share all these concerns. My wife aired it out for 1 day (per the instructions) then put it on our bed. She claimed to "not smell anything", but to me the smell was noxious. This morning i removed it for more airing out.

EPA has warnings out about showing curtains and other chemical based products that you come in contact with 10 minutes a day. With a mattress, you're in contact with it 7+ hours a day, and for belly sleepers like me, breathing less than 3 inches away from the mattress.

I don't want to read the EPA alert about this next year and say I told you so (to my wife). If I can't remove the odor completely (which it sounds like I won't), it's going back to the store. And even if i do remove the odor, I'm not comfortable with it (no pun intended).

I asked Serta for a MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet), which companies are required to create, which lists all the chemicals used in producing a product. Frankly, i'm not even sure they are required to create one for a solid, maybe just liquids and gases?.

But I asked anyway, and here is Serta's reply:

===========================

There are no chemicals used to treat Serta mattresses. To make Serta mattresses flame resistant, a densely woven cotton layer is built into the bed beneath the outer quilted layer. This fabric prevents fire from reaching the most flammable parts of a mattress, the wood frame and foam. A small amount of boric acid is fused into this cotton layer as a fire retardant. This helps delay the spread of flame into the mattress and gives people more time to escape and call for help.

Like citrus acid, boric acid is everywhere in nature. It occurs naturally in foods like fruits, vegetables and nuts. In fact, it's such an important part of a healthy diet that some vitamin supplements add it to their products!

A person ingests, and benefits from, boric acid when eating an apple or a salad, but has virtually no contact with it when sleeping on a Serta mattress with FireBlocker.

Because new materials are used when manufacturing mattresses and foundations and then they are packaged immediately following production, they need to be aired out for 24 hours before using because the packaging of the mattress may cause the fabric to absorb the fumes given off by any products used in the manufacturing process.

If after a few days, the odor still exists, please contact the store location from which the mattress and box spring was purchased. They will start a warranty claim for you. You will need to have the original sales receipt and the law tags for both the mattress and the box spring. I apologize for the inconvenience.

==========

My initial response to this is that, yes, they probably don't "treat" the mattress with chemicals, but the mattress itself is probably made with lots of chemicals. Carefully chosen words here?

Any chemists out there that can shed some light on this?

Memory Foam MSDS http://memoryfoamreviews.com/private/memory-foam-material-safety-data-sheet-msds Plenty of Google results... http://www.google.com/search?q=memory+foam+chemicals

I purchased a Tempurpedic 10" memory mattress about two years ago. It did have an odor and I believe it lasted about a week. I am happy with the mattress and recommend it for a good night's sleep.

One thing that I will mention--while it is good for sleeping, it is not as good for activities. Enough said.

10 inches?! Couldn't a body's face get smothered...as in permanent sleep?

That thing you mentioned--perhaps a case where, the thicker--not the better? Now, nuff said.

I just returned a memory foam mattress yesterday. The smell was overwhelming and it gave me headaches and diarreha. There is an old thread (http://www.chem-tox.com/guest/guestbook.html) that has some very scarey stories about memory foam - one poor woman pays out $200 a month in medications to treat asthma she's certain developed from the outgassing of her memory foam mattress. Bottom line for me, even though I did find the mattress amazingly comfortable, I will not risk my health, even if all the naysayers are just a bunch of hysterics. Perhaps my mattress would have 'aired out' sufficiently, eventually, to not make me sick. But I'm not going to take the risk. No thanks.

I'm going through a process of decision this week--and this moment, after buying a sensus memory foam topper. The amount of nasty gas that this thing is throwing off is literally amazing. And now, a full week after getting it, I feel like crap. Coincidence? Maybe. But my throat has a strange discomfort, my eyes a slight burn. I mean, it's so oddly vague and such weird sensations, like the swollen feeling in my sinuses (and in the glands under near my arm pits), that I have to believe it has some connection with the memory foam off-gasses. Windows have been open in every room, a fan and an air filter being used, but I just came online to read a little, since--wow. I feel lousy. Clearly, even if the noxiousness dissipates, it can't be good for us. But here's this fifty pound, stinking pink thing on my living room floor. The idea of sending it back is a big, and costly, task. Just getting it back in the box would be a challenge (and one I'm sure the sellers are well aware of). So...again, here I am. Trying to figure this one out. So to anyone considering buying memory foam...you might want to really think it over. Think about how you feel about petrochemicals in general. Would I like a petrochemical slab to sleep on? Suddenly, using simple common sense...I'm starting to feel like an idiot...who will probably end up out a couple hundred bucks. We'll see.

I purchased a Serta stratfford mattress two weeks ago. I emanates a strange musky mildew smell that permeates the mattress cover and sheets. Lots of strange dreams but no other problems at the moment. After reading online it seems normal for these new mattresses to outgas themselves. This cant be healthy for me. How long must i put with this before i take action to return it?

What you are smelling is not out gassing, as you described t is mildewy therefore it is mildew. Ok here is the common sense take on it fibers both natural and man made+sealed plastic bag+humidity=you got it sport mildew.

Now that you mention it, my new tempur-pedic smell could be categorized as a mildew/chemical smell. BOTH!! I am with Gerry. I just bought one a week ago. I haven't been able to sleep on it yet, due to my throat hurting and headaches every time I go in the room. I have towels shoved under the closed bedroom door to keep the smell out of the rest of the house, with the windows wide open all day long. It is simply ridiculous. I bought one of the very first mattresses that came out in 1992 through my ex-husband, a chiropractor. It was heaven. AND NO SMELL, PERIOD! No headaches, nothing. We divorced and he took the mattress. I bought a knockoff several years later, and the smell was terrible, exactly the same smell I am experiencing now. You can never forget that smell. It stays with you. I had headaches, migraines, burning eyes, fatigue, sickness....for over a year. They said the smell would go away in a few weeks. It did not. This tempur-pedic is going back. The downside is that I am going to lose a lot of money. The return where I bought it is terrible. Won't go into details. I am so pissed. None of the models in the store smelled, and I was misled. I called the tempur company and they said they hadn't changed the way they process. I don't believe them. I think they use cheaper and harsher chemicals than they did in the beginning. And the mattresss are FAR more expensive now. In any case, I don't trust them after having three of these. The first was great, but big money eventually wins out and people lose. Mine goes back, and I am going to eat the loss which is not good because I am not rich, but I don't want the illness. I would recommmend anyone that has bought one of these recently to send it back. They DO MAKE YOU SICK. I have been there. I will buy a latex bed instead.

I bought the serta open cell polyurethane foam topper (about $160) sold at target about two weeks ago. I must say it is way better than the typical closed cell memory foam due to the neutral effect on body temp. However I am concerned about the outgassing, I still smell it. I have had some dizzyness, although I can't prove the connection. I love the way it feels but I am thinking of returning it due to health concerns. I just have this feeling its one of those things that won't hurt you in the near term, instead it will kill you over a 5-10 year period!

I wish I could find information to convince me other wise.

A very interesting point...about the plastic bags, that is. I brings to mind the widespread problem that arose nationwide (US) in news reports during the nineties, when mold spore contamination of plastic bags, due to improper storage and handling, led to significant loss claims for new electronic equipments packaged in those bags. There was, it was reported, to be more stringent "industry" attention to proper storage and handling of the bags. I remember—this was just before the plastic bag problem was widely publicized—coming home from a one-month vacation tour to find my brand-new Xerox multifunction machine covered in mildew. It was only after returning the machine for exchange, and seeing the news reports, that I understood what had happened; and that I was apparently not alone...

So, I agree, it is likely that not all mfrs got the word; and that the bags intended to keep moisture (and fungus) out, actually brought the fungus in...waiting for moisture when the mattress was unwrapped.

nonsense!

musty smells are caused by aldehydes.

is this more likely to be formaldehyde (which is used in the production of this type of foam)

or some other aldehyde produced by a mould or fungus?

(consider that: formaldehyde inhibits the growth of moulds and fungi, polyurethane is not good food for this sort of growth, the manufacturing process does not use water, and the foam is vacuum packed shortly after manufacture)

matt

I bought a tempur-pedic a couple years ago. The smell was awful. The guy

in the store said to walk on it. I worked like crazy to get the smell out for

about a week. The smell got to where it could barely be noticed but was

still there months later.

Now I have all kinds of neurological symptoms: tinnitus, memory, fatigue, headaches.

Don't know if the mattress caused it, but I suspect it could have been a factor, along with all the other chemicals (flame retardants etc) around.

I wish I knew what chemical it was coming out. Where's a mass-spec when you need one? We still use the mattress but I sometimes wish we didn't (although comfort wise it's hard to beat for sleeping).

For anyone with a memory foam bed or topper, please read:

This is only my opinion. Get rid of your memory foam bed immediately. Don't ask questions or fret over the money you spent. The smell everyone mentions relates to the toxic chemicals that you are currently breathing and will continue to breathe. Just because the smell lessens has no bearing on the chemicals being present. My wife is suffering with a debilitating neurologic condition (Trigeminal Neuralgia), and we have been to the emergency room several times over the past two months. Do a great deal of research to choose bedding that will not compromise your health. Be careful because all non-organic beds are treated with chemicals, especially after the new fire standards were put into place.

I purchased a Simmons Beautyrest three weeks ago and a strong chemical small continues to issue forth from the mattress. I pull all sheets and mattress pad off each day to let it air out with a outdoor vented fan running in adjacent room (it's middle of winter). I must change the sheets daily because the smell builds up under the comforter and in the fabric. Upon waking, my nightclothes smell like the chemical. I am assured on the Simmons website that they do not use PBDE (two forms banned in Europe) or Boric Acid (roach killer) as flame retardants to meet the law passed July 2007. They are not obliged nor will they tell me what chemicals they are using instead. I have no idea whether I'm smelling viscoelastic polyurethane foam or chemicals, or something else. I've had migraine off and on since the mattress was purchased. What I will say is that this situation is stupid and ridiculous. Most of the chemicals allowed by the Consumer Products Safety Commission as flame retardants are known toxins or under-studied. In all cases, they are not studied for children under 5 years of age. The chemical industry is behind this and the law should be over-turned immediately. I am completely unable to get accurate information on what's causing this smell, its source, and the likelihood it will ever go away. The mattress retails for $999 and I have no recourse at this price (but maybe the floor or couch). This is wrong.

I read memory foam (nasa type) has toluene in it, which is more carcinogenic than benzene (gasoline for your car). I can smell it and I'm very sensitive. First I thought it was mold/must, then when I checked into the ingredients that make up memory foam..I realized it is toxic. Volatile organics such as toluene do not readily offgas in synthetic materials. When they do offgas it travels into your carpet, cushions, mattress etc. Putting things out in the sun (may take 10 days or more) may help before using.

You are wrong. Toluene does not smell musty. Stating poorly researched asumptions as facts helps nobody.

The smell you are describing is an aldehyde, formaldehyde being the most likely as it is used in the production of the foam.

Toluene is very volatile and therefore does disipate very quickly, if there is any to start with, and it is more likely to be in tiny amounts in glues used to bond layers together rather than in the foam itself.

Toluene isocyanate is used in the production of polyurethane foams but not toluene.

Common table salt is sodium chloride. Sodium is a metal which can explode in contact with water, chlorine is a poison gas. I don't live in fear of my salt shaker - how about you?

Matt

hi ive just been given a memory foan topper

it says the gasses arent toxic tell that to my two cats who now dont sleep on my bed and me a horrible strange throat and all over itch when in bed . the smell was so bad i had to get out of bed and fold the bloody thing up and stuff it back into the box then sleep in the spare room

on phoneing company she said some people are more sensative than others personally she cant smell them i said well you must be dead and there should be a goverment health warning .

she advised me to wash the cover for some reason that makes it smell less i think not but it will lessen your chance of getting a refund at the shop where you purchased it

i cant wash it anyway as the reason ive got it is a slippped disc and i cant stand long enough to get it out of the cover far less wash it and hang it out to dry then put it back in

im know going to get my brother take the thing back to where it came from .

i dont want something that leaches chemicals into my bedroom

i have two memory foam pillows purchased in sweden and they had and have no smell whatsoever although i do have a strange rash at the back of my neck which with hindsite has occurred since using these pillows so there getting the heave too

ive lost all sense of taste today as well coinsedence ??? i dont think so petrochemicals damaged my senses yes def

memory foam? forget it????yes

About three weeks ago, I bought a 2" memory foam mattress topper from Target. After sleeping on it for a week (and it was very comfortable), I became ill. I thought I was getting the flu. My eyes were irritated, my throat slightly sore and I was achy and fatigued. I might add that I am a very happy, high energy person, normally. I was beginning to wonder if I had some sort of auto immune disease. I removed the pad from my bed two days ago, and I'm feeling better each day.

The Serta tag says that it meets California flame retardant laws. I love the comfort of a memory foam topper, so I'm investigating all-natural, organic pads. They are expensive, but will be worth it if they don't make you sick!

The Simmons representative refused to respond to our request for a company representative to verify off-gassing problems, claiming that we would have had to notify them within the first two days. This after being told by the salesman to air the mattress out for several days before sleeping on it (which we did). Three months later and we are still experiencing respiratory and neurological symptoms...

I am now collecting testimony from mattress customers for a class action law suit regarding mattress off-gassing. No exaggerations please. If you have experienced health problems and are willing to record a legal deposition, please respond with your contact information and a description of your experience to

mattress.lawsuit@gmail.com

Anthony Marx, Esq.

Simmons rejected my claim of Chemical Odor on my Beautyrest purchased mid May 2008 from Sleepy's. Two weeks of airing it (24x7) was fruitless. I am in the process of running a Formaldehyde Test and VOC Test on the Mattress. Depending upon results I will forward same to CPSC, EPA and CDC. Then I will junk it and buy Organic. Simmons refuses to tell what Fire Retardant they use. I believe it may be Melamine Resin, created from Melamine & Formaldehyde.

We had a similar experience with toxic odor from our new Beautyrest Montaque lasting over three weeks. Even bought carbon blankets to try to absorb the odor. Now I'm suffering from a severe autoimmune reaction to the memory foam, complete with enlarged lymph nodes, stiff and painful neck, asthma, tremor, rash, etc. We'll probably toss it because we don't trust that any other Sleepys mattress will be less toxic. The rep at Simmons was completely unhelpful, claiming that they follow government standards for formaldehyde emissions (which I think are non-existent). Can you tell us more about the tests you are running-- how can we obtain them? Are you thinking about joining a class-action lawsuit if we can find one?

My Simmons Beautyrest Balthasar, purchased 5/14/08, is also unusable due to chemical odor. Three plus weeks of continuous ventillation has not eliminated the odor. Chemical test's run on 6/4/08 & 6/5/08 show elevated levels of Formaldehyde & Vinylidiene Chloride (VC). Simmons refuses to acknowledge this as a problem. The VC is a Fire Retardant (FR). The Formaldehyde may also be, if they are using a Melamine System for Fire Retardant. Simmons will not disclose their FR systems. So, the odor can be from uncured foam, or the particular FR system they may be using. I am currently persuing this issue with the CPSC. I feel anything short of "Full Chemical Disclosure" before purchase, is a deceptive business practice. I would never have purchased a mattress, without chemical disclosure, had I been aware the FR law changed July 2007. Although it was feasible to run tests on vapor producing chemicals like Formaldehyde & Vinylidine Choride, it is too expensive to analyze the other potential Fire Retardant standard chemicals like Antimony Trioxide. In a nut shell they win, I will be purchasing an organic mattress with doctors prescription and junking the Simmons Hazmat. I also encased the mattress in a full encasement and purchase 3 Smeeleze Formaldehye absorption pouches and 2 Smeeleze VOC absorption pouches. Odor is still detectable.

The Formaldehyde Test came back with a reading of 0.076 (ppm) for a closed room after airing mattress for three weeks. The EPA max level allowed is 0.1 ppm. But the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease registry has recommended Minimum risk Levels (MRL's) that depend on the duration of exposure as follows; MRL=0.04 ppm (1-14 days exposure), MRL=0.03 ppm (14-364 days exposure), MRL=0.008 ppm (365 or more days exposure). My reading after three weeks of airing exceeds all MRL's. The Vinylidine Chloride measured 0.07 which is within the ACGIH limit of 5 ppm for an 8 hour period. It is also within the cancelled 1989 OSHA limit of 1 ppm. It exceeds however the California EPA Chronic Reference Expsure Level which at .02 mg would approximate .005 ppm. It also begs the question of what other chemicals are being used. Vinylidine Chloride on several sites like "people for clean beds", is cited as not meeting fire standards without the addition of other chemicals like Antimony Trioxide. I will advise you if I get a response from CPSC giving me their take on acceptable levels. Depending what state you are in, you should be able to find an environmental lab that can perform these tests either through test kits or direct measurement. As I pointed out to the CPSC, my sealed room test results are lower then I would expect my direct contact absorption with the mattress to be. Bear in mind also, that the testing I performed is not an attempt to get compensation from Simmons, they already rejected my claim and say my mattress is what they normaly produce, rather it's to register a final claim with Simmons and the CPSC that their mattress FR methods are unsafe, hopefully reducing future health claims.

Thank you for the information and for your test results. I appreciate that you are registering a complaint with the CPSC. Until more people speak up, the public is going to continue to be unwittingly exposed to cancer-causing chemicals as they sleep. As you mentioned, your test results measured only a few of the hazardous chemicals in the mattress. In 2005, Walter Bader, owner of the "green mattress" company Lifekind and author of the book Toxic Bedrooms, sent several mattresses to an Atlanta-based lab. A memory-foam model was found to emit 61 chemicals, including the carcinogens benzene and naphthalene. There is a good possibility that these chemicals may be responsible for some cases of sudden infant death syndrome and childhood asthma.

As for my situation, I had good news after sending a strongly worded email to Sleepys (I threatened a class action lawsuit and described my flulike and neurological symptoms after two nights of sleeping on the toxic Simmons mattress, which had a memory foam plush top). They agreed to give me a full refund and have removed the sickly smelling mattress. I am now looking at organic cotton, wool and latex mattresses. I notice that natural latex mattresses have a rubbery odor and am wondering if the offgassing can be at all harmful.

My test results measured 64 chemicals, including benzene and naphthalene, but problem levels only involved Formaldehyde, Vinylidene Chloride, Toulene and Ethyl Alcohol. The Ethyl Alcohol was excluded, as I tracked it back to a bottle of perfume left in the room. The mattress is the sole source of Formaldehyde, Vinylidene Chloride, and Toulene.

Thank you for the clarification of your test results. I appreciate the accuracy of your statistics, which provide scientific evidence of the hazardous levels of cancer-causing and neurotoxic chemicals in the Simmons mattress, with chronic exposure (and what could be more chronic than sleeping on it 8 hours per night for the next ten or twenty years). I will be interested to hear the response of the CPSC.

Hazard Summary-Created in April 1992; Revised in January 2000

Vinylidene chloride is used as an intermediate in chemical synthesis and to produce polyvinylidene chloride copolymers. The primary acute (short-term) effects in humans from vinylidene chloride exposure are on the central nervous system (CNS), including CNS depression and symptoms of inebriation, convulsions, spasms, and unconsciousness at high concentrations. Low-level, chronic (long-term) inhalation exposure of vinylidene chloride in humans may effect the liver. Animal studies indicate that chronic exposure to vinylidene chloride can affect the liver, kidneys, CNS and lungs. Human data are considered inadequate in providing evidence of cancer from exposure to vinylidene chloride. The most recent cancer classification for vinylidene chloride can be found on IRIS.

Best approach is to file your problem with the Consumer Products Safety Committee (CPSC) at the following URL : http://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx They approved the new Fire Law.

Sleepy's called and would like to remove my mattress, and give a full refund, to which I agreed. Very honorable of them.

I bought a Dormia memory foam mattress at Sleepys. Your experience with getting a refund from Sleeepys caught my eye. How long did you have it before you returned it and successfully got your refund? They are telling me that since it's more than 21 days, I can't do anything, but I want to return this extremely smelly and presumably dangerous mattress. Thanks.

I just purchased a Serta Stratford Plush Queen mattress. After sleeping on it one night I woke with a headache and nausea and my eyes have been burning all night. The store I bought it from won't take it back and Serta was very unhelpful. They said to air it out for 7 days to a month. So, I just bought this mattress and have to sleep in the living room for a month! Even then, it may not correct the situation. I'm in a bind since I don't have the money to purchase another mattress at this time. I am willing to be involved in a class action suit.

Patti Kaygi

Denver, Colorado

MY wife boought the mattress topper from Costco. She couldn't stand the smell. I outgassed it for two weeks by leaving it in my hot car. Of coarse I had to drive with the windows down. After 2 weeks the smell was tolerable, but as soon as you lay on it, more smell comes out.

We have used this product now for about 3-4 months and my wife now has significant body wide symptoms of arthritis. I, who had no symptoms before can no longer open a bottle of soda with my right hand from the pain.

This is of course anecdotal in the scheme of themes, but perhaps this will help connect some dots. Or not.

PR in Albuquerque

Hello, this is response to the general subject. Here's my situation.

For years I was poor(common problem). Couldn't afford new bed, added toppers to my very nice handmade cotton batting filled, cotton canvas cover futon,bought in "flush" time. At the time, it cost a reasonable 200-300 dollars, and has been mostly comfy.

This was perfect for me, a nature gal, but the problem now is, the mattress is old and compacted, uncomfortable( and probly ,sorry to be gross, has dust mites.)

So as interim solution, I bought a memory foam topper, about a hundred bucks at local dept. store.

First out of bag, compressed, they said air out 48 hours but smelled so badly that i put outside on top of my greenhouse, where it promptly turned yellow in the sun.

I also bought a poly fill( or maybe cotton?) mattress pad/bag, which i put it inside, feeling that the poly fill is more inert, and definitely doesn't smell. I can still smell this gassy petrochemical smell coming through it, but it is much less. Still , it is there, which is not the case with the futon.

This is only a temporary fix for me, as i feel that, yes, all petrochemical products were not designed by nature to be ingested in any form( they are a chemical gas/soup), and I am making it my mission to find a better natural solution asap.

There are natural mattresses, and on first search, they seem to start at about 1700 dollars, currently out of my range.[p)] I am fine with natural material futons, they just need to be replaced and cleaned more often, are cheaper than mattresses, and don't include adhesives, which are an additional out gassing substance.

I recommend this to anyone experiencing problems, futons can be gotten used to and can be added to with natural topper for those needing softer.

Good luck, good health, our body is not a car, L.H.

Last December I bought a queen sized natural latex mattress from sleepy's. (Branded as Vera Wang) While supremely expensive new(+$5000), I bought the showroom model for a more reasonable $1300. The natural latex is soft yet springy and any offgassing was totally absent upon purchase. (the showroom model had been in the store for ~1 month). I got exactly what I paid for and couldn't be happier.

As a lifelong asthmatic, I was very cautious about getting into any synthetic foam yet could not bear to sleep on a coiled spring mattress. I have actually seen an improvement in my nighttime breathing (and sleeping). I couldn't, and still can't, stop talking about how happy I am with my purchase, and my parents just bought the same mattress, also a showroom model.

In general, I think it is true that you get what you pay for. With a mattress that you will spend 7+ hours per night for the next 10 -20 years, product quality has to be the most important factor during purchase. With natural latex, I was also told that the mattress itself should last nearly 20 years. (no coils to wear out or hammock)

Unless you know you have a personal allergy to latex, a natural latex mattress may be a viable substitute for memory foam. It costs more, but that is because the they are harvesting raw latex from trees. (Better than industrial chemicals in my book...)

Here's a quick solution to the outgassing problems which are detailed here: After a good airing out, wrap the memory foam component in thin-mil polyethylene painters' tarping; and then put all of your usual bedding over the encapsulated culprit.

None of the volitiles will make it out through the poly tarp sheet; and what does seep out under the overwrap will be imperceptible and well below threat level.

Cheers!

Does anyone know if the new "biogreen" or "green organic" memory foam mattresses (one company is Ecomfort) contain toxic chemicals? The websites report that they are "soy based" , which could mean a small percentage of the product is soy, and the rest is the same old toxic stuff. One company- Essentia, I think, claims 100% natural, with lab results showing no VOC's. They of course are more expensive than the othr biogreen/green organic memory foam made mattresses. If anyone has any info., I would appreciate it. Thanks, K

I too am interested in knowing about Essentia. Costco has a weekend special on these matresses, and I'm just about due for something new. Any help would be appreciated. Essentia is made in Canada, and the foam is not imported from China. Their web site makes a lot of claims regarding the benefits of it's memory foam matresses, vs. others, and I would like to know if anyone has experienced this first hand. Thanks!

Serta should be sued for releasing this trash. You all are insane for trying to dumb yourselves down into believing this matress is not bad for your health. Anytime there are side effects to a mattress, there might be a cause for concern. Wow, air out your mattress so the toxic chemicals dont hurt your health. Insane. I bought one of these mattresses and it stunk up my entire apartment. I had the pad airing out in my room with the door closed and she comes in the living room and says *whats that smell wow* We slept on it that evening and she woke up saying she had a horrible nights sleep because the fumes were terrible. I didnt smell anything but i did come to work the next day high as a kite spitting up all kinds of phlem. I returned this product and i wont be buying another. I'll settle for a goose down mattress. Memory foam will kill you. You have to breath it, then keep it out of the sunlight so it doesnt catch fire and burn your house down. The price of a goodnights sleep? No.

Hello:

I can tell you from experience that I would NEVER recommend a memory foam anything to anyone. Memory foam can outgass over 60 chemical VOCs and can have horrible health effects.

Take a look at this page they linked hundreds of testimonials from real people who had serious illness and allergic reactions to memory foam.

http://www.purerest.com/FAQ/Adverse-Effects-Testimonials-to-Memory-Foam

Memory foam is changing, check this out

http://www.worldinteriordesignnetwork.com/news/utopia_mattress_wins_nontoxic_certification_091102

We bought a NxG mattress, Beautyrest, and it has a vague odor that accumulates as your body heats up the mattress. The odor is less obvious when it's cool. I also notice a bit of tingliness on some areas of my skin, but I'm having a hard time figuring out whether I should be patient and just let the foam eventually "cure." Some scientific information would be helpful.

My son and I had memory foam pillows. I noticed a few questionable allergy symptoms but didn't pay any attention and was not aware of people having problems with memory foam. I suddenly developed chronic hives, especially on my head, and an irregular heart rate (PVC's). This went on for several weeks without a clear explanation from an allergist and a cardiologist. In the middle of the night, after waking up to severe itching on my head and putting hydrocortisone all over my scalp, it dawned on me that it was the worst where my pillow touched my head. I tossed the pillow out of bed with almost immediate relief and the hives were gone within 24 hours for the first time. I also believe my irregular heart rate was related. It took longer to go away completely but improved significantly with 24 hours of removing pillow. It was the worst in the morning after sleeping on the pillow. I actually went to the ER with a run of PVC's in the middle of the night while sleeping on the pillow. I was having unexplained dizziness, tightness in my chest and PVC's (irregular heart beats) for several weeks prior to removing the pillow. I am healthy and have no cardiac risk factors and my echo was fine, except for PVC's. All of these symptoms gradually improved after getting rid of that pillow. I feel so thankful to have figured out the likely link to the pillow. I began looking on the internet to see if there were other people who had problems. I found this site and was amazed and frightened, while reading it one night. The pillow came in a 2 pack. My son was sleeping on the other one. The next morning he woke up and told me he had the strangest dreams and woke with his face down in his pillow. I immediately took the 2nd pillow away from my son. He loved the pillow and was unaware I was having concerns. I explained it wasn't worth the risk. He also had been having a red splotchy rash unexplained rash on his face. I pointed this out. Reluctantly, he agreed. The rash was gone the day after getting rid of the pillow. He said he was no longer having the strange dreams. I can't help but wonder what might have happened if we continued to sleep on those pillows. I see people buy them and have to bite my lip to not run up and warn them. I never realized how little protection the government provides on materials in our environment.

complain to Consumer Product Safety Commission immediately. My skin is burning. See my comment on 7/27/2010

I bought a Tempur-pedic mattress. From the very first night I felt like I was being drugged, the sleep was not restful and I awoke more tired than when I went to bed. I began to have flu-like symptoms which got worse. Within two weeks I was so ill I almost couldn't go to work. I sneezed at work and got a nose bleed. Hadn't had one in years. My symptoms were nausea, headache, mental confusion, lack of energy. I googled on toxic fumes and Tempur-pedic and a number of websites popped up with similar stories. Engineers in the field call it the "Chemical Flu." It is known, but the public doesn't know about it. Some people, such as myself, react strongly to the VOC's emitted by these mattresses. I feel lucky that I reacted so quickly and returned it. With the mattress out of the house, I am getting better every day. However, I wonder about people who don't react so quickly. They may not be able to make the connection that the new mattress they bought is what is making them ill. Six months later, are they diagnosed with Fibromyalsia or Chronic Fatigue syndrome?

I am only posting this for one reason. Please be aware that that this type of mattress does emit toxic fumes. BE AWARE!

Although I am one who is somewhat chemically sensitive, there should be more provided to the general public that people have died from exposure to these mattresses. If my experience is any indication, I wonder what it is doing to those less sensitive. If others are only slowly sickened, the connection to the mattress is never made. If this is the case, the general public is being sickened by these products, and we are none the wiser. Again, folks, BE AWARE!

Hi all, My boyfriend and I recently got a sleep science mattress from Costco and share many of the problems everyone is talking about 1. the mildew chemical smell is just awful it did not go away after two days. It's been a month now and still strong. I also had to throw away pillows since the mildew/chemical smell permeated to them as well. 2. We both had really strange dreams the first couple of days we slept on the mattress 3. He has gotten a bloody nose in his sleep. 4. we just moved in together to a new apt. I have a cat that i brought with me that he is allergic to. we decided to test things out keeping the bedroom closed at all times and keeping it clean etc. At first we thought that the asthma and awful wheezing and breathing was because of the cat allergy. But we are currently undergoing a test and he is sleeping on the couch breathing easier and not using his inhaler nearly as much as he had in the bedroom....... the cat sleeps in the same room????!!!!!!! 5. I have rheumatoid arthritis. (i'm in my early 30s) Since we moved in my arthritis got bad. I have not had a problem in a long time. My fingers got much more swollen then they have in at least a year. There could be no association between the mattress and this but it really makes me wonder.

We rec'd our Stearns and Foster innerspring bed (model Queen's Gate ultra firm) from Sears on 7/21. I noticed some chemical smell during the day while it was airing. I did not know that new beds must be aired. I just left it unmade to show it to my husband when he returned from work. At bedtime, we made it up for sleeping. I woke up about 4 hours later smelling these horrible chemical fumes. Much worse than when we had gone to bed. All the bedding smelled of it; my eyes and face burned. My mouth and tongue tingled. My body smelled of it on the side touching the sheets. I normally sleep on my stomach but could not because I could not take a deep breath due to the chemical fumes. I tried to sleep on my back (very uncomfortable for me) the rest of the night. The next night was no better. The following day we removed all the bedding to let the bed air. We put two fans blowing on it. I could no longer sleep on this bed, although my husband was not as bothered as I was. He thought it smells very bad but did not have the physical reactions I did. I am obviously more bothered by chemicals than he is. (Am I the canary in the coal mine?) I am now sleeping on a sofa in another room while we discuss with Sears what they will do. Unfortunately, our computer is in the room with the Stearns and Foster bed, and I can feel the effects of the outgassing right now as I type, so I will leave it here. I have reported the incident to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

I think it is outrageous that companies can be allowed to sell products so dangerous without warnings. No one in any store told me about this problem. The beds in the stores don't smell. This is our 4th bed, and none of the others ever had this chemical fumes problem.