Firm, plush, or soft feel? �Firm,� I said to the 1-800-Mattress guide as I lay on a Simmons Beautyrest. �Thought so,� he said. �New Yorkers like firm. Soft only sells in the suburbs.� That was the simplest thing I had to consider in my journey through modern bed-land. A lot has changed since the days when a bed was just some springs buttressing iridescent quilted polyester. Mattresses of the moment are made of foam, latex, and sometimes coils in a mind-numbing array of combinations. The original foam is Tempur-pedic, the solid-memory foam developed by nasa and made famous by its infomercial; now there are legions. Tempur-pedic is one of the firmest beds you can buy and a best seller in New York. (Note to shoppers: This time of year, as white sales abound, Macy’s lists a California King Rhapsody mattress set at $3,799.) Converts like that unshakable feeling�one person can get up without the other inhabitant feeling the weight shift (it’s called �motion separation� in the mattress business).
Memory foam is also hypoallergenic, since dust mites can’t live in it. But most of the foam beds I tested felt like warm quicksand, and the way they slowly rose up after I rolled off was slightly creepy. My favorite of the lot was from the Italian company Magniflex, whose �geoethic� line of beds have layers of plant-based memory foam ($1,399 to $5,399 for a queen). Magniflex cuts channels into their foam so air circulates. As I reclined my way through the Soho showroom (59 Crosby St., nr. 646-330-5483), I felt supported but not swallowed. And the delivery is smart; the mattress arrives rolled up a like a rug and vacuum-packed, which makes it a lot easier to lug up to a sixth-floor walk-up. Then there’s latex, which can be natural (made from rubber) or synthetic. It has bounce, so it feels closer to a traditional coil mattress, and manufacturers often layer various densities to �build� a bed�firm on the bottom, soft on top, and so forth. The rule of thumb here is the more natural latex involved, the higher the price.
A mid-priced queen like the Stearns and Foster Julep, which has a puffy �Euro� pillow top, costs $1,799 (Sleepy’s, 157 E. 57th St., nr. 212-421-3090). I found Ikea’s $899 queen-size natural latex quite satisfactory and�in this time of gargantuan, 21-inch-deep pillow-top giants�appealingly slim. (Ikea Brooklyn, 1 Beard St., nr. Otsego St., Red Hook; Hybrid beds made up the majority of the mattresses I tried. By and large, they felt exactly the same�an inch more latex here, a firm pillow top on a soft mattress or vice versa. Some even had a core of inner springs, each nestled into their own fabric pockets. I sunk happily into the Empress Exceptionale by Simmons at 1-800-Mattress ($3,499 for a queen, 369 W. 34th St., nr. 212-239-0127), made with springs covered in latex plus memory foam and a pillow top. But it is so enormous, I can’t imagine getting it into my New York apartment. Which is one of the problems with beds today. Some salespeople I spoke with reported a supersize backlash.
1-800-Mattress just introduced a house brand of shallower, cheaper mattresses with old-fashioned coils ($599 for a queen Classic Gem). They’re also two-sided, which many mattresses aren’t anymore, meaning they can be flipped periodically, thus lengthening their life span. I admired the thriftiness, but after trying all the pillow tops, the throwbacks felt too springy. If I were going to replace my ten-year-old embodiment of old technology, I’d buy the David from OrganicPedic by OMI at ABC Carpet & Home’s organic emporium ($3,395 for a queen, 888 Broadway, at 19th St.; 212-473-3000). Three layers of pure organic latex, customizable to your preference: firm, soft, medium. And the cotton cover is removable, so if the top latex layer seems saggy after a couple of years, you can just replace it for $850 instead of buying an entirely new mattress. Vit OvalSollefteå PendantXbedroom LightingBathroom LightingTors BedroomDy DaycareSpreads DiffusedDtech WorkspaceHängeleuchtenschirm IkeaForwardIKEA - SOLLEFTEÅ, Pendant lamp shade, , You can create a soft, cozy atmosphere in your home with a paper lamp that spreads diffused and decorative light.
O.K., first of all, do not sleep on the mattress and get it out of your living area as soon as possible.I am not going to tell you that your mattress is toxic or carcinogenic. I simply do not know enough about the chemistry IKEA used to make that mattress. Here is what I do know:Your mattress is almost certainly an open-cell polyurethane foam. That means it is a polymer composed of three components, a polyisocyanate, a chain extender, typically a di-alcohol or a di-amine, and a cross-linker, typically a tri- or tetra-functional alcohol or amine. In addition, there is a blowing agent (to make the foam bubbles) and a catalyst. They may have added other ingredients to make the foam more uniform and reproducible.Let's talk about the ingredients in order: The polyisocyanate is the really worrisome chemical. It is a sensitizer and if there is any unreacted material present, you could easily develop a rash. However, generally these materials are high molecular weight and have essentially zero vapor pressure--so this is not what you are smelling.
However, the polyisocyanate is made from low molecular weight isocyanates and if the pre-polymer is not properly reacted, these isocyanates may be present in your mattress. The only reason I even bring it up is that you describe the mattress foam as "sticky". That may indicate incomplete reaction, either of the polyisocyanate or in the production of the polyisocyanate and in that case you might actually be at risk of contacting some of the unreacted isocyanate. That would be bad. Use gloves when handling the mattress--kitchen rubber gloves will do. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is lowest total risk, I would give this a 4.The chain extenders are also, quite probably completely reacted, and while a di-alcohol is probably not worrisome, di-amines can also be sensitizers. Again, if you had not described the mattress as "sticky" I would say that the likelihood of you being exposed to these materials is minimal. Even now, the likelihood is actually very small. These are also fairly high molecular weight materials with no appreciable vapor pressure.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give this a 1.The cross-linkers are also generally reacted into the polymer matrix. Same considerations as above, except that these tend to be lower molecular weight so may have a higher vapor pressure. On a scale of 1 to 10, this would be a 2.The blowing agent may be carbon dioxide, water, or HFC. Risk from the blowing agent is probably a 1.The rest of the stuff: There are lots of other chemicals added to memory foam during manufacture. has an excellent article: that discusses a variety of additives: http://www.Read Tips, Reviews & Research on the Best Mattress Types/are-memory-foam-mattresses-safe/What I suspect, from your description is that you are smelling either ketones (acetone or methyl ethyl ketone) or methylene chloride. The presence of these materials would also explain the stickiness you are feeling as they are plasticizers for polyurethanes and will make the polymer feel sticky. What I would do: Contact the store and arrange for the immediate return of the mattress.
There is no way this mattress should be outgassing at a detectable level.It is unfortunate but many cheap mattresses have this problem. Especially the mattresses made in China. I’m most certain that Ikea mattresses are made in China and their quality of materials and manufacturing when it comes to mattresses can be quite shoddy. The smell is most likely the cheap foam and fire retardants used. Many cheap made in China mattresses have this odor problem.By the way, $349 for a memory foam mattress is dirt cheap, and I would not take my chances on such a thing. You are better off investing $100-$200 more and get yourself an Otis futon mattress which can also be used on a platform bed.Or if you are looking for something on the cheaper than $400, you can go with a Gold Bond futon mattress. Otis, Gold Bond and Mlily are reputable American based manufactures. Their mattresses are quality and don’t smell toxic. Keep in mind that any new upholstered furnishing such as a mattress or sofa will always have a new factory smell, similar to new car smell.