Natural mattress - elitist or worth the money?

[kimnt]

I am contemplating replacing our beds with natural latex mattresses. It's a huge investment. We can't really afford it, so we would have to really save up or use gift money our parents give us occasionally. It's hard when you really don't NEED the mattresses - the old ones are perfectly "good" - just full of chemicals. Sometimes I feel quite elitist when I want to buy a natural latex bed, though. I think of my extremely frugal in-laws who have been sleeping on their conventional bed for something like 40 years (or more). MIL even patches up her bedsheets instead of buying new ones . My own mother thinks they are a waste of money, and doesn't believe in worrying about those chemicals. Are these "luxury" items only the rich can afford? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
-Kim

[dogmom327]

Here's how I look at it: We (DH, DS and I) sleep on it for anywhere from 6-12 hours a day (12 hours for DS). That's a lot of time to spend inhaling chemicals a few inches from your face with very little air circulating in between. We ultimately don't know what the effects of this are. How many "common" conditions" such as diabetes, cancer, fatigue, etc. are really caused by chemical exposure? I'd rather error on the side of caution.

Shop around for the mattress. We were able to find a local store that had a close-out deal (they had gone to a different brand) and we got a $2500 mattress for $1k (king, 100% latex). I totally understand the money being tight--that deal was the only way we could afford it.

[Red]

where could I learn more about mattresses? Mine is 24 years old and lumpy. I plan on gettng a new one this summer. I could manage $1000, but not more.

What are the advantages of latex? How long do they last? Do I need a box spring, or would a platform do?


Darn, I never even thought about bed chemicals!

[dillonandmarasmom]

Totally not elitist. Nope.
I would fork out lots of money, if I had it, to replace ours. We spend 8-12 hours of our day on that!

[askew]

I have never slept better than on our latex mattress. Seriously. I got it because DS is tiny and I did not want to expose him to the chemicals in mattresses. It was soooo worth every cent. It is clean and organic, allergen free and totally forms to your body. Just make sure you get natural latex and not synthetic latex.

[airmide_m]

Sooooo worth the money!! We are tightwads in general but the Savvyrest mattress was an important investment to us.

After about 2 years of research, we bought ours through an MDC mama who owns http://bowernaturalbedding.net/home.html and she gave the best customer service I've ever experienced in my life!

If you want to learn more about latex mattresses check out this thread: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...=692712&page=2

[Arwyn]

If you really can't afford it now (and do look around for a deal), maybe not just yet. Do any of you show signs of chemical sensitivities? Do you have sleep problems? Frequent headaches? Sick often? Have a little baby on it, or plan on TTC soon? It may be worth it if your health is being affected.

I think that, like many health matters, our whole society is elitest. Bedding free from hazardous toxins should be a basic no-duh type deal, not something that costs hundreds or thousands of dollars extra. It is priced like a luxury item, which costs it out is many persons' range, but it's not something you should think about the same way you would, say, a vacation in Cancun.

[barose]

(Subbing)

We're on the search for natural mattresses too. I'm chemically sensitive to mostly perfumes, artificial fragrances, cleaning products, carpet especially new and some other substances. I feel that its totally worth the investment.

We're thinking of just getting a platform bed frame with a mattress to lower the cost of a mattress + box spring.

We sleep on queen (not looking to get anything larger for our small bedroom).

I would love to order one online, but we would like to try it out first. There are a few stores in the area that carry them (various brands). Let me know if anyone is in the Bay Area and would like some links (or have some to share).

I cant wait to see the other responses to this thread. :

[acannon]

: We're thinking about getting a large futon.

[Red]

I'd like to check these out. Could someone give me a few popular brand names so I'd know what I was looking for?

[delphiniumpansy]

We cannot afford it either. Nor can we afford a vacation anywhere, much less Cancun. I asked our naturopath about and she said if we are sleeping fine on older mattresses and our backs are ok and we are not having any allergy problems, there is no reason to replace the mattresses now. When we have the money and the old mattresses are beyond their lifespan, we will replace with with natural ones. Same for flooring. If they are not causing us any trouble, they are done offgassing, then they are not hazardous to our health and we do not need to replace them before we can actually afford it.

So, we will wait until we actually have the money for this. And, we put mattresses on the wish list with other things and they are weighted. So, they are actually below a lot of other home improvement things.

So, the point is, if your old mattress is not causing you any problems, you do not need to replace it yet unless you have cash for it. The mattresses are no longer toxic when they are done off gassing and that happens as soon as you can no longer smell them.

[barose]

Originally Posted by acannon

: We're thinking about getting a large futon.

Sleeping on a futon in my teens literally killed by back. Its good for guests or anything thats very short-term, but not for regular sleeping IMO

[acannon]

Really? Hmm. I thought it would be better because my LO wouldn't have as far to fall if, by chance, he rolled out of bed (he could sleep inbetween us, though) and (mostly) because it's cheaper. Would it be possible to get a futon to start out with and then get a bed frame to put the mattress on later?

[barose]

Originally Posted by acannon

Really? Hmm. I thought it would be better because my LO wouldn't have as far to fall if, by chance, he rolled out of bed (he could sleep inbetween us, though) and (mostly) because it's cheaper. Would it be possible to get a futon to start out with and then get a bed frame to put the mattress on later?

They are low to the floor, but they are not comfortable. I have an even harder time sleeping on the floor (mattress or no mattress). Maybe you guys have a higher tolerance than I do.

[jennymamame]

Yes!

You can't afford to not sleep natural... it's so good for you. If you want to cut costs wrap your mattress in an allergy bag - I think Target has them - and purchase a natural pillow top mattress cover for a couple of hundred dollars. That way the chemicals in the old mattress are a little contained at least and you have the natural comfort of a better product.
I wouldn't, however, suggest that you do this for baby. Baby's lungs are NOT developed enough to deal with the toxins, only pure organic cotton/wool and natural rubber will work there. Our bodies are so trashed anyways with toxins that we can handle a little.....

[jennymamame]

oh....

ourgreenhouse.com has really good prices on mattresses.

[C.Arden]

ok, I think I'm finally convinced that the cost is definately worth it. I've been debating for a few months now. Thanks for the good links!

[Sustainer]

An organic mattress is definitely worth the money! You and your children spend 1/3 of your lives in bed. If you're on a non-organic mattress then you're breathing in toxic fumes all night long!

Originally Posted by dogmom327

How many "common" conditions" such as diabetes, cancer, fatigue, etc. are really caused by chemical exposure?

:

Originally Posted by Arwyn

Bedding free from hazardous toxins should be a basic no-duh type deal, not something that costs hundreds or thousands of dollars extra. It is priced like a luxury item, which costs it out is many persons' range, but it's not something you should think about the same way you would, say, a vacation in Cancun.

:

[lovemyfamily6]

For me it would be worth it. I've had respiratory issues all my life. I'm 30 and spent from age 2 on having at least six rounds of antibiotics per year. When I was 27, I had a new doctor who questioned my file and sent me for a CT Scan. All of my sinuses were impacted. I had sinus surgery in '05 and have only been on antibiotics one time since then (and that was within a month of the surgery when the doctor said it was a possibility). But I was still stuffy and didn't have a sense of smell. In January, we bought a natural latex bed for dh and I and a new twin for our oldest (we'll buy new twins for the other three when they go to kindergarten). Within a couple weeks, I was noticably less stuffy. Last week, I could smell things!! I haven't smelled things in years. That's the only change we've made that could have done it. Totally worth it to us!

[airmide_m]

I don't have links to all the studies right now but you can probably easily find them. The theory (which I 100% believe) is that crib-deat/S.I.D.S. can be caused by an off gassing mattress. You can either get a completely natural mattress (The brand we went with and trust after 2 years of research is Savvyrest, purchased through Bower Natural Bedding which I linked above) or you can wrap your mattress in a certain kind of plastic that prevents the off gassing.

An older mattress is actually way LESS safe than a new one. There are a certain type of bacteria that grown in the mattress (I think especially in the flame retardant). They feed off of bodily fluids (sweat, spit-up etc) and the longer the mattress has been used, the larger the colonies will be, and the more off gassing they will do.

As adults we may not be able to smell anything, and may not feel any effects. But babies have so much of a lower tolerance, plus if they sleep on their tummies their noses are RIGHT next to all of the toxic gasses. New Zealand had a massive campaign to educate about this and has not had a single SIDS death on a properly wrapped mattress in years.

Some people don't believe those theories but for me they make a lot of logical sense, and I figure it's one of those better safe than sorry things.