Question from sttlove
I am in the process of buying a non-toxic crib mattress for my baby. I am not sure if I need to replace my first-born’s twin mattress. He is sleeping on a Ikea mattress that is made from polyurethane foam. The mattress is six years old. At the time I bought it, I was unaware of the dangers, now I feel incredibly guilty. My question is: After 6 years, is this mattress still toxic?
Debra’s Answer
It’s LESS toxic, but I can’t say with certainty it is NOT toxic.
If there is one thing that is important to do for a newborn, it’s a nontoxic mattress. Exposure to toxic chemicals during those early months can affect their health later on in their lifetime.
Applying the precautionary principle, better safe than sorry.
One of the worst problems with conventional mattresses is they have to apply fire retardants to pass the government-required flame tests because synthetic latex/foam is made from petroleum and highly flammable. Look for a mattress that uses only wool for fire retardancy.
Hi Debra,
I found your website as I’ve been trying to find non-toxic rugs. I’m looking at a rug from IKEA that is 100 % polypropylene with a “latex” backing. How toxic is the latex (which I can only assume is synthetic latex)?
Also, in looking for rugs and considering their toxicity, I’m became worried about the other furniture in my home. My son has a good non-toxic crib mattress, but he’s been spending most of the night in my bed. My mattress is 3 years old and from IKEA (HESSTUN spring mattress). It has High-resilience polyurethane foam (cold foam) as it’s comfort material. How bad is this? Is there a safe IKEA mattress I could replace this with? I’ve been worrying so much about the rug purchase when in reality, we spend much more time in bed!
Thanks!
Anna
Polypropylene is not particularly toxic. Latex also is not particularly toxic, but many people are allergic to it. I oersonally stay away from it because I cannot tolerate the odor. In general, I also stay away from most petrochemical materials, which synthetic latex would be. That said, I know that synthetic latex is used in many mattresses (that doesn’t make it safe, just a note).
I haven’t looked at every IKEA mattress, but so far I haven’t found one I would recommend. See Debra’s List: Beds & Bedding for my recommended mattresses.