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.Product Review: Ikea Memory Foam Mattress When my husband and I decided that we needed a new mattress, a memory foam mattress was the obvious choice. Due to my Fibromyalgia, I can always feel the springs, even on a very good mattress, and although I need a soft mattress for my tender pressure points, I also need good support. Hubby lies on his back or front, whereas I lie on my side, so a memory foam mattress would hopefull solve all these problems in one mattress.
Unfortunately, when we looked at the memory foam mattresses on the market we were shocked at how expensive they were. With those prices, we would have been seriously stretching our budget in purchasing even the cheapest (and far from best) of the memory foam mattresses available in stores or on the internet. Luckily, I saw that in the Ikea catalogue, memory foam mattresses started at just £90 (US$149)! In the UK, Ikea has two types of memory foam mattress: the Sultan FORESTAD (ranging in price from £90 to £140) and the Sultan FURUDAL (ranging in price from £160 to £210). We chose a king-size FURUDAL as this was the top of the range of memory foam mattresses available in Ikea UK. For some reason the FURUDAL doesn’t seem to be available in the US or Canada, but the FORESTAD is (ranging in price from US$149 to US$299). The FURUDAL is a thick foam mattress in 3 layers, with each layer divided into 5 comfort zones, which support your body where it is lightest and relieves pressure where it is heaviest.
The top layer is of memory foam which forms itself to your body and the bottom and middle layers of high resilience foam, makes the mattress hardwearing and prolongs its life, as well as provides more support. It has a cover of 100% cotton and filling of lamb’s wool, camel-hair and silk, designed to effectively absorb and transport moisture and maintain an even temperature. The FORESTAD is in 2 layers: a top layer of memory foam and a bottom layer of high resilience foam. The bottom layer only is divided into the 5 comfort zones. The soft quilted top gives a cushiony surface. My husband and I agree that the mattress is a definite success and we are both sleeping better on it. It took a bit of getting used to because when you first sit or lie on it, it feels very firm. But as the memory foam molds to the contours of your body it becomes amazingly comfortable and even to my sensitive body, never feels uncomfortable. I no longer get pressure points on my hips and shoulders when I lie on my side and my back is always well supported.