Celebrate freedom from toxic chemicals and petroleum in your bedroom.
Did you know the mattress industry is not required by law to disclose the chemicals that are in your mattress? Yet we spend almost a 1/3 or more of our lives on our mattresses and usually we are half naked. Human skin is absorbent so the toxins from flame retardants and formaldehyde in the adhesives are absorbed through your skin and inhaled into your lungs. Your mattress may be the cause of restless nights or health problems.
DECLARE YOURSELF free from the lack of transparency and demand to know what is in your mattress. If you’re ready to toss or better yet RECYCLE your old one, you can purchase a non-toxic mattress that is free from dangerous flame retardants and has third-party certifications such as Greenguard that verify their safety. Additionally, you can check the validity of manufacturer’s claims based on certifications for certain raw materials such as Certified Organic Cotton.
A few weeks ago, I was in a national chain store that sells products for people’s backs and I asked the sales staff exactly what was in the Tempur-pedic mattress because of my asthma. They told me it was “proprietary” but that I could be “assured it was safe”. How comforting and NO THANK YOU!
Your mattress can emit dangerous VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) into the air in your bedroom and your home for weeks and even years after you purchase it. Some of the short term symptoms have been associated with some mattresses are: rashes, headaches, breathing difficulties and blurred vision. Other people have reported side effects such as fatigue, nausea, and difficulty concentrating.
In 2006, a study was performed on memory foam mattresses in which chemical emissions were collected over a 96-hour period. In total, memory foam mattresses emitted 61 VOC chemicals and traditional innerspring mattresses emitted 39 different chemicals. In addition to known chemicals such as formaldehyde and toluene, some of these chemicals are solvents. They are found in the adhesives used to bond together mattress layers and wood frames. A few that were identified are: styrene, isopropylbenzene, limonene, trimethylbenzene, nitrobenzene, ethylbenzene and dichlorobenzene. Many of these chemicals are listed as Class C carcinogens or are classified as harmful by the EPA, the California Health and Welfare Agency, and the International Agency of Research of Cancer (IARC). Yet, we take these mattresses to our bedrooms unaware that our health may be jeopardized because we have never been made aware of the potential risks.
I had a very nice innerspring mattress before I knew anything about the chemicals in mattresses and I used to wake up every morning with a little rattle in my chest and I never knew why. That rattle disappeared when I switched to an all natural latex mattress.
Over 70,000 chemicals are on the market today that have never been tested for safety and they are showing up in our bedrooms and our bodies. Fortunately, there is currently proposed legislation to require testing for safety before a chemical is released into the market. One way you can help is by supporting the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 through the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families organization.
If you want to know more about mattresses, we invite you to attend our next workshop called, “What is a healthy mattress and how to shop for a mattress” this Saturday, July 10th at 9:30 am at New Living at 6111 Kirby Drive, RSVP to jennifer@newliving.net 713-521-1921.
Jennifer Touchet
