What do you buy when you can't afford an organic mattress?

[ellairiesmom]

We need a twin mattress, but unfortunately cannot afford anything organic or along those lines. We have had Naturpedic products in the past & been happy & I have found the No Compromise Twin online with free shipping, but to pay $599 for a mattress right now seems crazy when we are struggling so much.  It stinks because we both agree that for something like a mattress that one of the kids is going to sleep on, a couple or few extra hundred $ over the course of several years is nothing.  But it's just coming up with it now.  We could charge it but we are trying hard to keep the credit cards clear while income is questionable.  

I was thinking Ikea, but figured I would ask here to see if there were any other affordable suggestions. 

So when organic isn't an option, what is the next best thing?  

[treeoflife3]

If getting a natural matress is truly important to you, organicgrace.com has a 'build your own' option where you can buy 2 inches at a time.  2 inch twin is 240 dollars.  http://organicgrace.com/taxonomy/term/121  If you could spare that much each month (or save it over a couple months time) you could have 6 inches plus the 125 dollar 6 inch cover to hold the three pieces together in less than half a year.  Granted, that means you have only two inches to sleep on at first but if it's for a kid, they might not mind.

Otherwise I've always seen ikea recommended here.  I personally have no experience with them but others have recommended it time and again.

[Vancouver Mommy]

In Europe and Canada Ikea mattresses do not contain chemical fire retardants. In the US, Ikea conforms to US standards and contain the same chemicals as any other mattress. Being in Canada, we chose the Ikea sultan for my son and are very happy with it. No chemical smell whatsoever, but the latex is not 100% natural and the outside is not organic cotton.

We were recently in the middle of this decision and all I can tell you is that it's complicated. A bit of research into different types of latex is probably the best place to start. Organic wool is also a natural fire retardant, but again, is very expensive. If I'd had about $2000 to spend on a twin bed I could have had whatever I wanted, but that my reality at the time.
 

Another option is to get some sort of "topper" to go on the mattress as a barrier between you and whatever harmful chemicals it may contain. Wool is a nice choice and keeps you from getting too warm or too cold.

Sorry I can't be more helpful.

[taubel]

We bought twin size futons from whitelotus.net.

They're filled with cotton and wool with a cotton cover. No foam. It's not organic, but it's all natural. There are no chemicals. We supplied a doctors note and they made futons for us with no boric acid.

We've had one of them for about 5 years and it's still in OK condition. My son sleeps fine on it. But I can feel the futon slats through it.

They also seem to create a lot of dust.

I would have preferred a better organic mattress, but we couldn't afford them either, especially with three kids.

Good luck finding something!

[bobcat]

I haven't tried these, but I heard about it in a Multiple Chemical Sensitivity discussion....

http://www.offgassing-mattress-wraps.com/mattress-wraps.htm

It is a wrap that things like smells, chemicals, etc can't permeate. So you are wrapping your current mattress. The wrap is not made of PVC or any kind of bad chemical. It's basically just #2 plastic (from what I remember), which is considered inert.

I am saving the link for when I get pregnant, and at that point, I'll probably try to wrap my current mattress.

The one thing is that supposedly they do have a plastic-y feel to them, so they may make a crinkle-y noise or have that feel. But I guess it's the price you pay. I don't really consider that a deal-breaker.