Hi moms,
As some of you might know, there's a LOT of chemicals lingering in our mattresses and can even cause SIDS in crib mattresses. That said, organic adult mattresses are in the thousands of dollars range and I can't afford to buy 3 different mattresses.
I need one king one for me and my husband, a crib mattress and a twin mattress.
Are there any tricks out there, such as special covers, or certain mattresses that you found that have no flame retardants and/or block the chemicals?
I truly appreciate all and any advice!
Thanks,
I.
Hi Moms,
After much research based on facts, I decided to buy a brand new organic crib mattress after I found it on clearance for $170 down from $400! BUT it's important to keep in mind that by law they all have flame retardants, even if they're organic!
ALSO, while it's better to have a used crib (as long as it's safe and not recalled with no pain chipping), it's actually worse to have a used mattress because more gasses are released with time which also increase the risk of SIDS.
That said, I found these "mattress" covers that have been proven to cover up the chemicals and gasses in the mattresses. I plan on buying one for our king size mattress, one for the twin size mattress, and even a small one for the organic crib.
It states that you should also phttp://www.offgassing-mattress-wraps.com/ut a cotton blanket and a cotton sheet on top. Absolutely no other materials. I think this will help me sleep better at night.
P.S. Don't forget to let all mattresses air outside for a couple of days! I got a new memory foam mattress topper and the chmicals smelled for days! the cover should be good. the websites I used are: for the crib mattress: www.stopsidsnow.com and for the bigger mattresses I went to www.offgassing-mattress-wraps.com. Good Luck!
Good question! I can't wait to hear the answers especially since I'm getting a new mattress this year! You can probably go onto a green forum and ask questions there too.
IKEA phased out PBDE's from their mattresses several years ago. Their products tend to be reasonably priced and can be ordered online if you don't have a store near you.
Gold Bond carries some futon mattresses that are chemical free and reasonable priced. You can even find them on Amazon.com.
PBDE's are added, not chemically bound, to the mattress material. The problem is that over time, the materials break down and the chemicals are released into the air. You might be able to encase the mattress in a chemical free cover but I think it would have to be air-tight.
Verlo then put a wool mattress pad on top of that.
When I had my third child, I bought an organic cotton mattress cover with no chemicals. Less expensive than a mattress, and although it's not waterproof, the cotton is thick enough to keep the mattress dry in case of accidents. Good luck!
We bought a king size wool mattress--it's like a futon, with a wool topper to go over it. we found this company to be the most reasonable in terms of cost, and wonderful to deal with, and made in the USA!
You can learn more about the benefits of sleeping on wool on their site.
I think it is really important what the baby sleeps on because they are sleeping so much. So if you plan to co-sleep for a while, maybe get your king mattress first. If the babe will go to a crib or co-sleeper for a while, get that one first with maybe a less expensive wool topper for your mattress.
While the idea is a bit off-putting to some, if money is really tight, I would look around on Craig's list for gently used mattresses. Mattresses that are a couple of years old, even if used only a few times as a guest bed or what have you, have had time to "off gas" and will not present a tremendous toxic load for your family. It is not hard to find mattresses that are a few years old but barely used.
I think it is a great idea put forth by another mom to also get an organic cotton mattress cover to protect your mattress. You can also put a towel down under it where the babe will sleep and to catch milk leaks.
Good luck!
