Chemical free mattresses

[lovemyfamily6]

Now that I'm hearing so much about the bad stuff in mattresses, plus our old spring mattress is killing mine and dh's back, and we need to buy four twin mattresses for our boys, we need to figure out what to get.

We need one twin soon because our baby is getting our oldest son's bed and we're getting a new one for him. When the twin boys are dry all night, we'll buy a new one for them.

I got info from both LifeKind and SavvyRest. Both seem great, but SO expensive. I know you have to pay for quality though. I'm interested in IKEA mattresses. I've heard that they don't have PBDE's. Does anyone know if they're decent mattresses? Do they still have nasty chemicals in them? They would be so much more affordable than LifeKind or Savvy.

Are there any other mattresses or other options that you know about? This whole topic is overwhelming. I'm positive we can't afford to outfit the family in organic mattresses though because it would run us about $10,000!

[RubySlippers]

I was just coming here to post something similar, so I'm subbing!

[sbgrace]

Me too. Hubby and I have horrible and old mattress that is killing my neck and back. And then my boys need to transition to twin beds. Which means two (wood, not chemically treated) beds and two mattresses. And in looking I'm completely overwhelmed by the cost. At least for one of my boys we can't do wool (allergy and dust mite allergy) and I'm concerned about natural rubber too because he's so allergic. And we simply can't afford those anyway I think.
For the boys I'm looking at http://www.naturepedic.com/productsM.php these. Or maybe a cotton only futton but I'm concerned about comfort and wear on that (and dust mites..though I can cover it). The naturepedic uses silica though; I'm still looking on that. I can only find stuff about breathing it....not sure how you would breath it through the mattress cover. But this is certainly not free of everything. This is so hard for me.

For us I'm in dispair of finding something affordable for us and comfortable and safe. For hubby and I I'm checking into Gold Bond futon mattresses; someone here got one that said no fire retardants.

[Naturepedic]

Naturepedic Mattress

Hi all, I am a Naturepedic rep. I would like to provide some helpful information as we have been getting some questions about silica in the last few days.

Silica is a natural mineral that comprises about 70% of the Earth's crust. Clay, rocks, sand, etc. are all made primarily of silica. Silica, in and of itself, is not harmful.

However, Silica can be harmful only in the form of very fine particles that are inhaled. Breathing in such fine particles is the source of the problem. This does not only apply to Silica of course, but to many other small particulates. Naturepedic products do not contain any loose or powdered forms of silica. Rather, the silica is permanently bonded to the fibers. This method is the best way to meet fire regulations without the use of dangerous chemicals or allergenic wool.

All Naturepedic mattresses are GREENGUARD certified. This means that they have been extensively tested under the strictest conditions for any emmissions or offgassing. Go to www.naturepedic.com/greenguard.php for more information.

I hope this was helpful. We are always available to answer any questions. Naturepedic was founded by parents and grandparents precisely to provide better and healthier products. We have done a lot of research on this topic and we are happy to share it with you.

Jason
Naturepedic

[M&MsMom]

Hello Naturepedic rep!
I bought your mattress for my daughter's crib and am very satisfied. Now I need a twin or full-size mattress for my 3-yr old. I want it to last and be comfortable until he's an adult. He has no allergies (yet), so I am considersing organic mattresses with a natural latex core, wool and cotton. The info in your site does not say these materials are bad, they only suggest ithe possibility of allergies. Do you have any data to show your mattresses are indeed safer from an allergy perspective?
Also, my son does leak and wet the bed at night, so I was considering your 2-in-1 mattress, but doesn't that mean any allergen or dust mite protection from the plastic side no longer applies (due to the exposed side?

[M&MsMom]

Would also like to know what feedback your're getting regarding the comfort of your mattress for older kids. I'll call your company, but this info could be useful to the rest of the moms here considering twin beds for their growing toddlers.

[Attached Mama]

I have done a ton of research on organic mattresses! Still haven't been able to afford one but we are hoping to do so soon. I've also visited the organic mattress store in PA and tried some out. Here is my 2 cents worth...

Don't go with an all cotton futon/mattress if you want something for long term. Cotton compresses and takes body impressions horribly. It may be a good short term option for a young child tho. If you do use it, get organic as other cotton is loaded with chemicals -remember cotton uses about 25% of the world's pesticides. That being said, I do know one family where they all sleep together on a Q sized organic cotton futon and like it. But it's very very hard! Sort of like sleeping on a lightly padded floor. I personally prefer something softer.

If you want a bit longer range option for a child than a cotton futon, but still can't afford a mattress, the 4-6 inch latex mattress toppers are a great option. I had one company try to tell me that they weren't supportive enough for a child's spine, but I don't buy that at all. After all, hard is supposed to be better and humanity slept on straw and animal skins and other hard things for millenia w/o the back trouble people have today. Other companies have told me that these mattress toppers are often bought for children and are sometimes even bought to be college dorm mattresses for students - in place of the skeevy ones that are there. You can get one for well under $1000. I think the mattress store in PA had the twin sized one priced at $400.

Shop around. There are so many options. It's really worth taking a few hours of google time. There are smaller companies out there who are making virtually the exact same mattresses as the larger companies and they are selling them for far, far less. You can get mattresses that are nothing but latex (cheaper) or ones that have a pillow top of wool and cotton (much more expensive). The ones with just latex tho tend to be not so breathable and if you live in a hot climate or sweat a lot when you sleep, you will want to put a wool blanket between the mattress and sheet.

Be wary. If the person you talk to can't answer your questions or you get different stories from different people or the company has relocated a lot that could mean trouble. There is one small company out there owned by one or two people that has gyped a *lot* of people. I don't honestly remember the name of their company tho. They were going to give me an incredible deal, but I couldn't get answers from them. Felt like I was dealing with someone incredibly unprofessional. I started asking around - other companies - and heard "That's fine if you don't buy from us. There are other good companies, but don't buy from that one".

As for pillows - we bought organic wool ones. They compress a *lot* too. Too hard and flat for me after a week, but perfect for our 2 yr old. I want to try a kapok one.

Oh, and the beds are all very comfortable. They really do range from soft to firm so it's good if you can try one out. You can get the 3 layer beds where you can exchange a layer for hardness/softness, but those tend to be more expensive than others.

Hope a bit of that is helpful. I know there is an MDC mom who owns a mattress co and had good prices. Also the mattress co in PA (just google them) just came out with their own line and had reasonable prices on those - and I thought that was the most comfy one they had. It was also the least expensive they had!