Flame Retardatants in Couches and Mattresses Flame Retardants in Couches Keep in mind that these companies use toxic foams, glues, fabric finishes and possibly particle boards. Companies selling green upholstered furniture generally do not use flame retardants. Always ask, but I have not found one that does. For a list of totally green, non-toxic sofa companies see my post on non-toxic furniture. There are many companies making organic or natural fiber carpets, such as wool. And for rugs, some good options include cotton, rattan or jute. Carpets should explicitly state that they use all natural materials. I go over the greenest carpet companies in this post. Conventional types from big box stores contain a long list of chemicals including flame retardants. However, many big box stores now carry carpets with the Green Label Plus certification which means the carpets emit low levels of VOCs. Always ask about FRs, since these are not considered VOCs.I have a post on window coverings with chemical-free options.
Flame Retardants in Insulation HBCD is typically used in polystyrenes, in concentrations of up to 1% in EPS, and up to 5% in XPS. TCPP is typically used in polyisocyanurate foams (up to 10%). There is no EPS or XPS insulation without flame retardants on the market currently. Almost all spray foams made in the US contain FRs according to Treehugger, usually TCPP () Natural insulation options in . Apple phased out brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in 2008 but uses "safer" unspecified flame retarding chemicals. Motorola is BFR-free and Sony has phased it out of some products (). How much these can leach out of electronics is not clear. With furniture, it is when the particles become dust bound that they become the biggest problem. Flame retardants become mobile in dust as opposed to gas. So keeping a dust free home is of utmost importance. HEPA vacuum is the best way to deal with the dust if you have conventional furniture, carpets and curtains.
The Nilfisk brand is recommended by the experts. You can also add a HEPA filter (or even better, this one) to a Shop-Vac. (High-efficiency filter bags are also needed to catch all the fine dust.) (which some people say has a plastic smell), and . A decent one that is a more affordable is this . I have heard pretty good experiences with Honeywell considering the price.The following blog post was written by Rachel Koller, a long-time WTC volunteer, on her experiences while shopping for a new mattress for her daughter. When my daughter turned 3 we knew it was time to get her into a twin bed. This was a challenge not because we worried about her wandering around in the middle of the night without the confines of a crib, but because it involved buying a new mattress, and we are picky consumers. We have “lofty” goals when buying furniture: avoid chemical flame retardants, and protect indoor air quality. We also believe that a mattress should be comfortable, durable, and affordable.
Would this be too much to ask? I know the best options out there use natural materials, like wool, cotton, and natural latex. But they are spendy – starting at around $700 for a twin, and I wanted to see if there were options that were less expensive, but still addressed my chemical concerns. First I went to Ikea, hoping to find an affordable solution. I wanted a mattress immediately, not one that would have to sit in our garage offgassing for 6 months before it could come inside. This means avoiding PVC, polyurethane foam, and memory foam. The lower-priced Ikea mattresses had enough synthetic materials that they didn’t pass my sniff test. I could have purchased their Sultan Erfjord natural/synthetic latex combo but it still cost $699, and I’d rather support a smaller USA based mattress company at that price. My husband and I had been sleeping on a natural latex mattress from Soaring Heart Natural Bed Company for years, so I knew they might be an option for us.
Straight from Ikea we drove to their shop in Seattle (where they make all the products), and found a kids cotton/wool futon that was appealing. The only downside is that the cotton is treated with boric acid powder for flame retardancy. They do make an organic cotton version without any boric acid powder, but it is double the price. We ended up with the kids cotton/wool futon – spent $365 on the futon, then more for the cotton mattress pad and wool pad (to protect from the inevitable accidents). For alternative mattress protection, we did buy Ikea’s PVC-free mattress protector which is cheap and effective, with the idea we’d use it as backup while my daughter is learning to potty train through the night. Something I really love about Soaring Heart is that they can rebuild or “fluff” your futon in the future, right in their Seattle workshop. It’s a product that can be refurbished as needed, instead of heading straight for the landfill when it gets tired. The futon worked for us because 1) my daughter is petite, and they said people under 150 lbs won’t feel the bed slats under the futon, 2) I’ll make the effort in the summer to air it out in the hot sun (which makes a big difference in keeping it comfortable), and 3) we believe that unlike parents’ bodies which are prone to aches and pains
, kids’ lithe bodies can do fine on a firmer surface. The bottom line is, everyone has their own idea of what defines a comfortable mattress – soft, firm, springy… and that influences a purchase. If money were no object, I’d jump on the all natural materials mattress with no chemical flame retardants, but for those on a budget compromises must be made. Hopefully someday we’ll have many more options for affordable, chemical-free mattresses. Till then, the Soaring Heart cotton/wool futon will work for us, and my daughter happily jumped into her new big bed! Here at WTC, Staff Scientist Erika Schreder also sleeps on a Soaring Heart mattress, while Field Organizer Anna Dyer sleeps on a Naturepedic mattress.One of the biggest complaints by owners of memory foam pillows and mattresses is the unpleasant, and potentially unhealthy chemical smell. Memory foam is manufactured using polyurethane and several other chemicals, so it isn’t surprising that it emits a chemical odor.
This “off gassing” of volatile organic compounds is a common and well-documented property of memory foam pillows and mattresses. The fumes are often compared to those experienced in a freshly painted room. If you are experiencing this odor, the good news is you may not have to endure the smell for long. The bad news is that some of the chemicals used in memory foam aren’t entirely benign.Many memory foam mattress owners report that the off gassing period ends after a number of days.(1) Of course there are many factors which influence this including the product, the type of foam, the sensitivity of the person, the room ventilation and more. Even if the initial odor goes away, it is natural to wonder if there are health issues related to off gassing.Most people do not report any health issues resulting from their memory foam pillow or mattress. However, there are various reports of headaches, nausea, and allergic reactions resulting from the odor produced by memory foam. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you’ll want to avoid sleeping on the foam during the initial off gassing period.
You can leave the pillow or mattress in a well-ventilated area for a week or two and see if that helps eliminate or reduce the odor and symptoms. If after several weeks, the issue persists, it is probably time to consider an alternative to memory foam.Many many people use memory foam products without reporting any side effects or related health issues. That said, there are various reports and studies which indicate that memory foam may be somewhat toxic. Reports include carcinogenic chemicals and formaldehyde gas. To manufacture memory foam, chemicals are added to polyurethane to make it more dense and viscous at the same time. Additional chemicals are required to make the polyurethane flame retardant. One of these, Pentabde (of the polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) family), was used until 2004. Pentabde is now known to be toxic to the liver, thyroid, and nervous system.(2) A study in 2000 specifically found mattress emissions to be toxic to the lungs of labratory mice.The long-term effects of memory foam and its toxicity is not fully understood, but there clearly is some reason for concern.
Aproximately one-third of your life is spent in close contact to your sleeping surface, so it is important to consider you and your family’s health when selecting a pillow or mattress.Are you interested in the support and comfort provided by memory foam, but want to avoid that chemical smell? There are several natural pillow options for those looking for a new pillow. Of course, our favorite is our buckwheat hull pillow. Besides being natural and chemical-free, buckwheat pillows are a great alternative to memory foam for a couple of other reasons.Memory foam is not breathable and this can result in a hot and sweaty pillow. The shape and particulate nature of buckwhat hulls leaves a lot of air space in your pillow between all of the hulls. This airspace allows warm moist air to escape, leaving your pillow cool and dry.While a memory foam pillow conforms to the shape of your head, the overall shape and thickness of the pillow is fixed, making the pillow less adaptable to your sleeping position.