freaking out about bed off gassing (not flatulence)

[kfillmore]

We have a Sleep number bed. I like(d) it. Almost two months ago we found mold inside. The company sent us all new foam air mattress etc. The problem is they still smell. Smell bad. I am so worried about toxic smells. I am afraid of poisoning me and the baby (I am pregnant). Also baby is going to sleep with us. The company says it is non toxic and to put dryer sheets to absorb the smell ( I find that hard to believe-cover up maybe). I guess most mattresses are flame treated and have some foam. This mattress is also now mold treated. People survive, right. I am so worried. Also we cannot afford another mattress (also this one is comfy to me)
katharine

[concadmom]

Air it out

Your post made me laugh, because my hubby always gives me a hard time about passing gas when we go to bed, and making the bed sheets toxic! I cannot help it if pregnancy makes me gassy!

We got a new mattress one year ago, and I remember it smelled bad at first too. I changed the sheets frequently, and I aired it out during the day I changed sheets (left sheets and mattress pad off for the whole day). I also ran our ceiling fan during those days to try and circulate some of the air in there.

Our mattress has a plush top, so we cannot flip it over, but we did also frequently flip the top to bottom and vice versa. That is also supposed to help the life of your mattress.

I'm sure it will all be fine by the time baby arrives.

[j_p_i]

LOL, I thought you were posting about passing gas in the bed too!

I'd suggest airing it out as well, and maybe a little febreeze?

[boscopup]

I also was expecting the "other" gas.

I think leaving the sheets off during the day and opening windows/running fans should help a lot. It may only take a few days or so?

[kitkatsmama]

i know that tea tree oil will neutralize toxic paint fumes, perhaps if you mist your mattress with some TTO?

[nighten]

Air it out -- take the sheets off, prop the mattress up if possible. Put a fan on it. Get an air purifier and put it in your room, if you have one or can afford one.

I would not spray anything wet on it, personally, unless it's a very very light mist type thing, and is accompanied by fan/airing out. Especially with your previous mold issues.

Also get a really good, thick mattress pad to put over it to help potentially lessen off-gassing later after baby's born. While the only thing that will totally block the off-gassing is a mattress wrap, there are some people who've complained these can contribute to mold growth. So I'm not sure if there is any way to win in this situation honestly, since you (like me) can't afford an organic mattress for your bed.

There are some things that can help, including airing it out as much as possible, and getting a good pad to cover it (check TJ Maxx or Marshalls/Home Goods if you have any of those stores -- they a have good deals on all cotton/natural ones sometimes).

In the meantime, is there another mattress/bed you can sleep on until this one's not giving off such strong fumes?

[nukuspot]

My husband has a pillow made out of the same material. Pillow #1 smelled so bad I couldn't sleep. I returned it to the store and got pillow #2 (the same) and that one was also chemically smelling. I went back to the store and opened all the pillows, and out of the 5 on the shelf 2 had NO chemical smell to them. So now we are both happy with pillow #3. Since I personally had the bad experience with the memory foam/sleep number chemical smell, I know what you are taking about. I personally didn't think that even a small pillow that off gassed that much was safe (IMO) for me. If I was in your case I would contact the company and ask them to trade it for a new one that did not smell. Cite the baby as a concern. And dryer sheets just mask a chemical smell with another chemical! How dare they use that as an answer for your logical concern.

[Haselnuss]

I've heard that a polyethylene mattress cover will block toxic gases (make sure it isn't any other kind, though, because it may not only fail to block them, but give off toxins of its own!)

Here's a link about it:
http://www.johnleemd.com/store/more_crib_sids.html

[nighten]

The food grade polyethylene does not have any off-gassing of its own. Again, here's info on it:
http://www.offgassing-mattress-wraps...ress-wraps.htm

But it can supposedly/potentially contribute to mold growth inside the mattress, if there is moisture present before mattress is wrapped, since it traps everything inside and there is no airflow allowed. So that's a tricky one. It's worth looking into for sure though.

I agree with PP to contact the manufacturer and cite the pregnancy (but not the cosleeping concern as that can open a legal CYA door for them that I would just avoid honestly).

But I'm assuming that will get you nowhere (sorry, I'm jaded like that these days ).

Anyway, in the meantime, keep airing it out. Spraying it with anything might make it non-returnable? I don't know. I wouldn't volunteer that info, if you have already.

[moonglowmama]

My cousin has a daughter that has had severe health problems due to toxins in their home. She has told me that you can "bake" stuff for several days to release the toxins.
This was in the context of cabinets, flooring, etc. but it might apply to mattreses too.

If you want to bake it, you would put in the garage or outside for a few days to a week to let it do the majority of its off-gassing out of your home. You would just need to sleep on another bed during this process. She got the information from a place in Dallas that specializes in healing from toxins in local environments (home, work).

eta: If it smells bad, it is bad. That new car smell or carpet smell identifies a product you want to avoid.

[nuwavemomma]

Originally Posted by moonglowmama

eta: If it smells bad, it is bad. That new car smell or carpet smell identifies a product you want to avoid.

I agree. If I were you, I would probably put it in the garage for quite a while to air out and try to score a used mattress off FreeCycle for the meantime. I wouldn't be messing around with that. Sorry, that's a crappy situation.

[fruitfulmomma]

"try to score a used mattress off FreeCycle for the meantime"

I would be careful about that... Don't know about elsewhere but Colorado has had an infestation of bed bugs in the last year and you never know what you could be getting inside a used mattress. We picked up a couple from a motel that was remodeling over the summer and my kids ended up with a weird rash on them. We threw them away after just a couple of days.

[nuwavemomma]

Originally Posted by fruitfulmomma

"try to score a used mattress off FreeCycle for the meantime"

I would be careful about that... Don't know about elsewhere but Colorado has had an infestation of bed bugs in the last year and you never know what you could be getting inside a used mattress. We picked up a couple from a motel that was remodeling over the summer and my kids ended up with a weird rash on them. We threw them away after just a couple of days.

Yes, I would definitely get an allergen-barrier mattress cover and look for one listed as "barely used" or "guest room" etc.