Is getting an organic mattress pad good enough for protection from mattress off-gassing chemicals?
The prices of organic mattresses start at $700 that is not little at all. Is buying a regular mattress and an organic mattress pad/topper good enough protection from the chemical off-gassing? Or is buying a proper organic mattress the only way to go organic?
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Tags: mattress pad, organic mattresses, topper
The only real chemicals that outgas would be the glue and any solvents they used to clean the parts.
My mother has Multiple Chemical Syndrome, which means she has a severe reaction to almost any chemical smells. Needless to say, it’s hard for her to go shopping, but from her experience, we’ve all learned that most things outgas on their own within 1-2 years. I also know from that experience that a topper wouldn’t prevent anything on it from outgassing… it might actually make it take longer (because it doesn’t get sufficient air on the top part that’s covered), and you would still smell the fresh bed smells from the bottom (which isn’t sealed off).
If you want to outgas a new bed faster, put it in a room with a good air purifier and leave it in there for a while… it should be mostly outgassed in a few months or so if it’s an otherwise empty room. We once made the mistake of having a spare freezer in the room we were outgassing some furniture and the freezer started outgassing…. it stunk in their for months!
Anyway, if you’re worried about the chemical odors, go for a smaller company or one that makes them in-house so you can specify you don’t want too much glue or chemicals in it (which isn’t an option in most areas)…. or just get a bed that’s been in a non-smoking environment for a couple years. Good luck!
[edit]: Sorry, I should have clarified… the "air purifier" we used to help the outgassing was an ozone generator, and it does help to outgas faster. Our experience (both with and without it for identical items) and our research before buying it says so.
Hi Hogie. The first answer has some good information in it, but you cannot increase the rate of out-gassing of anything by use of a room purifier. The purifier does nothing to the mattress, it merely helps to remove the chemicals that are already in the air (if it is an appropriate type of purifier – most aren’t).
I recently looked at new mattresses and also found that pure cotton/organic mattresses are expensive. I decided to go with a 100% organic cotton futon. This cost me about $600 vs. $1500 for the standard style of mattress. Futons are not for everyone, but I love mine.
Best wishes and good luck.
No the pad will not be enough to prevent the mattress from off gassing or the chemicals invading your body.
if your mattress is more than 3 years old most/all the chemicals have already of gassed and it is not a problem but if you buy a new mattress and don’t want chemical exposure than, yes, organic or all natural pars is the only way to go.
If you are considering buying new mattress and getting an organic pad, there is no real sense to that. The new mattresses out there (except an organic one) are full of chemicals and off gas horribly.
What about just getting a simple low end organic mattress that you can build. There are several companies out there offering latex building mattresses that do not cost $1700 and you a build with your budget.