Healthy mattresses for Ikea bunk bed frames

We have Ikea bunk beds, and we don't have the Ikea mattresses. Instead, we bought cotton twin-size futons, which have worked great.

thanks zinnemama--that's encouraging. Were your cotton mattresses slightly different in size than the Ikea ones? The cotton mattresses I'm thinking of getting are 8 inches deep, while the Ikea ones are 6 1/2 inches (don't want my kids rolling off the top bunk!), and the length discrepancy is about a 5/8 inch which might not make a difference, as long as we can squeeze the mattress in. (The Ikea frame says the length is 74 1/2 inches, and Ikea mattress dimensions are, 74 3/8 x 38 1/4 x 6 1/2; Earthsake twin mattresses are 75 x 38 x 8)

And while we are on the topic, a question about borate powder--one brand of cotton mattress, Earthsake has a "natural cotton" (but not organic) version that is more affordable than their organic mattresses and they use borate powder (boric acid) to meet fire resistant standards. They told me that it is a naturally occurring substance non-toxic to humans. Ever heard of borate powder and it's toxicity?

Hi again zinemama,

In my mildly sleep-deprived state I missed that it was futons rather than mattresses you used--great idea! Any advice on types of futons for comfort and back health? Our kids (and myself and baby for the last month) are on queen size futons now and they aren't that comfortable, so I'd want to find futons that feel better.

Thanks for any more advice!

lisa t

We get our futons at white lotus (www.whitelotus.net) They are a good quality and are very helpful when you call.

HTH

I never actually measured the Ikea mattresses. We knew we wouldn't be able to haul them back from Seattle to Portland on the top of our car, anyway, and well, we like futons!

As for what kind to get, we just went to a local store, talked to the people, lay down on a few futons, and picked something that felt comfy. I'm still sleeping on the queen futon I got 15 years ago, but let me tell ya, futon technology has changed since then. The kids' futons are way more comfortable than ours! They fit perfectly on the bunkbeds and we've never had a problem with them. (We have Ikea's smallest, most basic bunk bed).