Bedding and mattresses, do they make a difference?

[maryb]

The first mattress I got last year was 'natural latex' - and the smell!!!! ye gods it was still strong after 6 weeks.
Make sure the shop has a good returns policy would be my advice.
The best advice I was given was to get natural mattress covers, I have 3 on my mattress underneath my sheet and its been fine.
A firm base is important to give the mattress stability, wooden slats or even better wooden slats which flex. Heaven..

 

[Cornichon]

Mary B I wonder if it wasn't pure natural latex or if they used ammonia or other chemicals to stabalise the rubber (latex) or if the rubber (latex) naturally has that smell? I would be really interested in knowing what brand it was if you don't mind sharing, just for interest. This would be a good idea to test first, I'm glad you alerted me to the possibility of a smell before I invest! An IKEA mattress is off-gassing for sure, as they all contain polyurethane. 100% Wool or organic cotton would be a better option in this scenario IMO as long as there are no allergies to wool or cotton there would not be any chemicals at all.

 

[maryb]

Ah it was a UK mattress firm that made a big deal about their latex being 'natural' I'll never know I suppose.
Have to say the Ikea mattress with the memory foam topper has worked out well - don't know why really if they contain chemicals because honestly I'm like a canary in a mine!!!!

 

[Valentijn]

Ah it was a UK mattress firm that made a big deal about their latex being 'natural' I'll never know I suppose.
Have to say the Ikea mattress with the memory foam topper has worked out well - don't know why really if they contain chemicals because honestly I'm like a canary in a mine!!!!

Some brands use a very nasty fungicide with their products, and I've had big problems with that. But no problems with foam in general. Definitely the most comfortable, and not a whiff of bad smells.

 

[*GG*]

I'm thrilled with my Intellibed. It's a non-toxic, honey-comb shaped gel mattress. The one I got has latex, also:

http://www.intellibed.com/store/products/relief-perfect-latex/

It's temperature neutral and has zero odor, great for someone with chemical sensitivities. You get lots of support, but it feels soft on top. Too-firm mattresses give me fibro flares.

The trouble with Intellibed is that they have such a limited number of locations. You absolutely wouldn't want to buy one without trying it out in a store although they would like you to, of course. I got mine in Austin. Here are locations:

http://www.intellibed.com/store-locations/

Price seems excessive!

GG

 

[Valentijn]

Price seems excessive!

Jeez. $1900 for an extra long TWIN Maybe they last longer or something, but after 2.5 years my "cheap" Ikea foam is still doing great

Oh, and I tried the latex mattresses when mattress hunting, and I really hated the feel. I think a lot of it comes down to personal taste.

 

[Gavman]

Above a mattress I'd look at getting rid of any carpet. I moved into a place with floorboards and have so many less allergies.
I bought a latex mattress from forty winks, I found a good staff member and told her how crap I'd had it. A soft bed is very important for our magnesium drained bodies. I also bought bamboo sheets and pillow case.
People don't realise this but there are lots of wool allergies around, that's why we have cotton sheets and wool blankets covered in cotton or polyester. Bamboo smells alright. Its not the smell that's an issue imo but the allergy response.
The good thing about bamboo is it doesn't need any growth formula cause it grows so damn fast.
My sleep improved a lot in regards to allergies.

 

[Cornichon]

I'm not sure which IKEA mattress you have (mine was totally intolerable) the one you have might be the "green" one which is mostly natural but with 15% synthetic latex. It is not stated what polymer is used in the synthetic latex - the off gassing could be very very minimal (even for us sensitive people). I would like to know what they use in their synthetic latex but this is possibly a tolerable option for sensitive people.

IKEA foam mattresses are polyurethane foam, David Suzuki says: Avoiding synthetic fabrics and fibres derived from petrochemicals, like polyurethane foam, also eliminates concerns about off-gassing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

I'm glad to hear others found natural latex with no odour.

$1900 is indeed excessive for a mattress that isn't even chemical-free.

 

[Ema]

I bought an organic Merino wool comforter from nontoxic.com this year - it was one of the best purchases I ever made.

I just bought a wool comforter, thanks to jeffrez for the idea!

My down one was getting increasingly difficult to deal with as the feathers never wanted to shake around evenly anymore. I had my first night under the new comforter last night and it was awesome! The wool is a nice change and I like it a lot. Hopefully it will be just as comfortable in the summer.

If anyone is interested, I got it at Overstock.com on sale...just do a search for organic wool comforter.

Ema

 

[L'engle]

I got some merino wool thermal clothes and also some second hand wool swaters. I've been switching my clothes over from synthetics and cotton to wool, silk and cotton, plus nylon since it seems better than the other synthetics. My new clothes have made me so much more comfortable I'm thinking about bedding again.

Wool mattresses and sheets are outside my budget at the moment but I'm thinking of other options. For one using old wool sweaters that are falling apart to stuff pillows or to make partial mattress toppers. I've been using cotton sheets and duvet cover, but the layers of padding on my bed plus the mattress itself are synthetic. I'm thinking in terms of improved thermal regulation and reduced toxicity, rather than trying for completely organic bedding at the moment. I tried buying some wool throws second hand today but they all turned out to be synthetic yarn so I won't use them for bedding.

What I am trying is replacing my mattress toppers with a stack of cotton towels. This way there willat least be many breathable layers of cotton between me and the mattress. Cotton towels can be easy to get at second hand shops. I'll let you all knoww it goes!

Update 2 hours later. It didn't take long to determine that the cotton towel idea is not very good. Maybe one for some extra padding but certainly not enough for a complete topper. My next step is taking a huge thick wool sweater and adding this to the towels in the middle to test how the wool is. It might only take 2-3 of these giganto sweaters to make a difference. What I did notice about the cotton is a breathability that is not there with the synthetic toppers.

 

[Cornichon]

Wool mattresses and sheets are outside my budget at the moment but I'm thinking of other options. For one using old wool sweaters that are falling apart to stuff pillows or to make partial mattress toppers. I've been using cotton sheets and duvet cover, but the layers of padding on my bed plus the mattress itself are synthetic. I'm thinking in terms of improved thermal gulaion and reduced toxicity, raher than ying for completely organic bedding at the moment. I tried buying some wool throws second hand today but they all turned out to be synthetic yarn so I won't use them for bedding.
!

Using old wool sweaters and blankets is a really good idea, you could make a whole mattress with those if they are tolerable for you with the twist bed method! love that idea! http://mychemicalfreehouse.blogspot.ca/2013/02/furniture-and-matresses.html

 

[L'engle]

Using old wool sweaters and blankets is a really good idea, you could make a whole mattress with those if they are tolerable for you with the twist bed method! love that idea! http://mychemicalfreehouse.blogspot.ca/2013/02/furniture-and-matresses.html

I've had an industrious hour, piling together every wool sweater I could find in the house and mocking up a wool mattress pad. I've been lying on it for a couple of minutes and it feels quite comfy. This is probably about 15 each of cotton towels and wool sweaters. I can't use these permanently since they belong to family members, but it gives me a sense of the viability of collecting such materials at a relatively low cost.

Another note about wool items is that if they are scratchy, adding vinegar to the rinse water softens them considerably.

 

[Creekee]

My best nest yet:

AIR bags inside a foam cocoon with a memory foam topper. The air mattress has taught me so much about managing pain. I love the feeling of a firm mattress, but I have much less pain when I sleep on a soft surface. The air mattresses are adjustable. More pain, softer setting. Ornery husband, he can adjust his own side. Infinite possibilities.

I also keep a heated mattress pad on the bed. Often pre-heat the bed on cold nights. Slide in and ahhh...bliss.

The air mattress setup is pretty economical, too. Highly recommend!

 

[Asklipia]

An electric blanket acts as an antenna even if switched off.

Since I have no heating in the bedroom (better sleep, and even better with the window ajar), I put a brick in the oven while I cook dinner for about 15 mn. Then wrap it in an old towel and put inside the bed. It warms the bed.
You can put you feet on it when you go to bed!
A hot water bottle works just as well.

It sounds like a lot of work but I haven't done this in the last 4 years. Not that the climate has improved, most probably because I have improved!

 

[Little Bluestem]

I also keep a heated mattress pad on the bed. Often pre-heat the bed on cold nights. Slide in and ahhh...bliss

I really like my electric mattress pad. I turn it on medium high to get the bed nice and toasty before I go to bed, then turn it down to medium low while I am sleeping.

 

[WillowJ]

I also have a wool duvet which I got on a very nice sale. I love it. Wool resists dust mites, so I breathe a bit better (my pillows and mattress are in mite covers). And as has been mentioned, it is better for not getting too hot under covers (I use covers even when it isn't particularly cold, as I get cold when I lie down). I also have a washable wool blanket for when the duvet isn't enough, or alone when I want something lighter (also a fabulous sale).

but the mattress and mattress pad I don't know about. All my joints and everything hurt, and my current spring mattress isn't helping. The wool toppers look really attractive, but they are spendy! Especially the really thick ones like Cuddle Ewe. For now I just settled for a thicker cotton mattress pad. but now I have more ideas... thanks

 

[L'engle]

I tried making a topper out of sweaters last night but my back started to hurt after a few hours. I put the foam toppers back on the bed with the stack of cotton towels as a buffer. I think it was more breathable with the towel layer than the polyfill toppers I was using on the foam toppers. Toppers on top of toppers. My mattress is pretty low end.