"green & eco" mattresses .?

[nickclifford]

hi everyone ... looking for suggestions for natural as possible chemical free mattresses ideas ... I've thrown out the original 1970's foam so have a fresh slate .. a twin sized latex mattress is about $700.00 ! so i'd have to cut that down to fit the narrow bed frame platform in the middle twin bed layout of the '72 Sovereign ..

hoping for more economical ideas !

thanks

nick

[kstewart23]

I have been looking at Rocky Mountain Mattresses, they have natural Latex and even bamboo covers. They also do mattresses for RV's, I am thinking about the 9"Talalay Latex with a bamboo cover. I came here to see what others had to say about the support of this mattress, as it comes in soft medium and firm support.

[switz]

Used a custom shaped 8" Rocky Mountain mattress in the 25FB cross frame queen position with the Airstream 600 thread sheets. They fit perfectly on this thickness and would have been very loose on the stock 7" mattress.

Installed twin 8" rocky Mountain mattresses in the Classic with the Airstream 600,thread sheets.

In stalled a 10" custom shape Rocky Mountain mattress in the 23D with their sheets. The top sheet has a bottom pocket so it will not pull up and out.

We also have the 12" King Rocky Mountain mattress at home. We like their mattress products. Their sheets feel good but are a sloppy fit.

[nickclifford]

thanks for the feedback.... guess this isn't a big conversation piece ! A good night sleep is very important wherever you are probably more so when travelling with strange sounds / noisy campsites etc ! But just because I'm "camping" doesn't mean I want to compromise and sleep on a cheap mattress that's been dunked in fire retardant chemicals and nasty off-gas smells etc !

[JCWDCW]

You've limited possible solutions by specifying Chemical Free. We simply bought a queen 8" foam mattress from a local foam mattress supplier. Worked out really well for $300 CAN. Not sure what makes a Chemical free foam since you need some kind of gas to foam the Urethane or Latex. Our mattress was not sold a fire retardant. Not judging here; just commenting on the lack of responses that you might expected.
JCW

[spelunkus]

Hi,

I am also currently looking for an organic / chemical-free mattress. I also had to buy a chemical-free mattress for a house 4 months ago, so I already went through this process, minus the size restrictions of an AS mattress.

There are a handful of vendors that make organic / chemical-free "regular" mattresses and futon mattresses (usually cotton, wool and/or dunlop latex). You probably already know this, but they generally are much more expensive ($2000+ for a queen) than conventional mattresses. The market prices reflect a combination of legitimately higher production costs (low volume, made-to-order by humans, better quality materials) and price gouging, just like with Airstreams, organic food, etc. etc.

You can get a regular mattress for $1600+ (some have springs, some don't). If you want a queen you'll have to either work something out with the manufacturer so they can custom cut it, or buy the mattress, open it up and re-sew it. If you want a spring mattress that will be harder .

Otherwise you can get an 8" futon mattress, which will be easier to open up and re-sew yourself, or you can find a manufacturer that will make a custom sized one for you.

Good resources for how to think about mattresses, and how to find a good vendor:
https://gimmethegoodstuff.org/safe-p...des/mattresses

There is also The Futon Shop, which sells a variety of non-toxic options and will custom cut one for you. Look at their various options.
http://www.thefutonshop.com/All-Natu...ure/p/767/6652

I got some pricing back on wool/cotton/latex 8" futons in 60x75 (for my 25' FB EB) for $950. That is about as cheap as they get. Other similar options are $1400-1600, probably because the wool is organic and for these it's not. I would have ordered one already but I'm waiting to hear back on whether they dip their sheep (the wool is not treated once sheared but I believe they dip their sheep before that, and the dipping "sauce" usually isn't that friendly).

Your other option, if you just want "less toxic" is to get one of those new low-VOC mattresses made by Casper, Leesa, Tuft, etc. Those are still PU foam, but they are on the safer side than traditional mattresses, and some of them use a flame-retardant "sock" that goes around the bed instead of the terrible PBDEs they were using before. They don't have springs so you could probably cut them open and trim.

Finally, one other vendor I liked (when I bought my house mattress) is PJ's Sleep in Los Angeles. They actually make a line of their own organic mattresses, which have all the same certs as the other guys, and they were the most reasonably priced. I am not sure how far they will deliver.

http://www.pjssleep.com/ORGANICS/ORGANIC-MATTRESSES/

Note, if you don't want a flame retardant on your mattress/futon (unless you're a smoker who needs it), you can usually have the manufacturer skip that step with an Rx from your doctor. That's an industry-wide flame retardant opt-out trick. If you get a Casper or one of the mattresses with a sock, just take the sock off (though the sock is not treated, it's just made of fiber that will seal itself off when heated).

Good luck!
Matt

[dmusca]

I ordered my daughter an organic mattress from My Green Mattress
http://www.mygreenmattress.com/phone/index.html
It is very firm if that's what you like. I find it too firm but my 3 year old doesn't complain. They were the cheapest I could find and a great company to work with. I called and the owner answered the phone. He was great at answering all my questions. I would call him and see if he can do anything for you. I'm interested in this topic as well bc we will be replacing our very uncomfortable foam mattresses we currently have in the AS and I want them flame retardant free. The foam mattresses we have are even more firm than my daughters mattress. It's like sleeping on a board.

[JimGolden]

Check these guys out:

http://www.thefoamfactory.com/mattress/mattress.html

I've done three beds with their foam. It's a knockoff of the Tempur-Pedic, but it's much cheaper. The pink 5lb foam I like, but it's a little firm. The blue 4lb foam my daughter prefers as it's a little softer.

I made a custom bunk bed for the front of our coach where the bottom is set up like a low sitting couch with an angled back rest. I used 5lb foam on the bottom and 4lb on the back rest. I wanted it slightly firmer for sitting on, as opposed to sleeping on. On the upper bunk, I used the 4lb foam and my daughter really likes it (son is fine on the 5lb foam down below).

I also got a 4" topper of the 5lb foam and put it on top of my bed at home. Sleeps very comfortably.

Just buy the standard size that is equal to or slightly larger than you need. with a sharp chef's knife, you can easily cut it to any size or shape you need (i.e. radiused corners, etc.)

Hope this helps,

[bjmckernan]

Pretty new here, so I'm no expert but this was important to me as well. We love our natural latex mattress at home so I knew we'd stick with that, but budget was also important.

Luckily, since ours was a '67 I realized it had most of the original latex cushions still in great shape. We have a front gaucho and middle pullout couch (both queens). The front gaucho has had some of the old latex cushions switched out to foam, and the ones that were have not fared too well (further solidifying that latex is the way to go).

So we ended up looking for two queen sized organic latex toppers (2-3") to cut to size. I set up craigslist and eBay alerts and found one locally for $10 and one shipped on eBay for $60 (both with organic covers and almost new). We haven't cut them down yet, but it'll be super easy with an electric knife. We may not even have to because they fit nicely right on top with the covers or rolled up and stored behind the gaucho cushions (tip for those with queens, ikea twin-sized DUVET covers fit the queen toppers nicely, usually a few bucks in the as-is section).

I realize this isn't hugely helpful for your current situation, but the latex toppers as-is on the floor were still surprisingly comfortable, and are easier to find or ship than the full mattresses. You should be able to stack two of them (or cut one king topper in half) for a very comfy mattress. Many people do their latex mattresses that way intentionally since you can customize the firmness. I noticed a lot of companies selling new toppers on eBay too with cosmetic imperfections at steep discounts, I'd set up an alert and am almost positive you could find a king one for well under $300 (I've seen them for less than $100 every so often).

Best of luck!

[BoscoMN]

Here is a company we are considering for our bed replacement:

http://www.surroundewe.com/C/6/Mattresses

Wool Bed Company at Kerry Hill Farm in Oconomowoc, WI.

I recently replaced our home mattress and found I got runny, puffy eyes as soon as the mattress arrived so I am looking for an organic solution. They said they can make it to fit our 2015 19' FC.

[DaKs]

We are looking at the Casper. Check them out casper.com
They are small but highly rated.

[nickclifford]

Originally Posted by spelunkus

Hi,

I am also currently looking for an organic / chemical-free mattress. I also had to buy a chemical-free mattress for a house 4 months ago, so I already went through this process, minus the size restrictions of an AS mattress.

There are a handful of vendors that make organic / chemical-free "regular" mattresses and futon mattresses (usually cotton, wool and/or dunlop latex). You probably already know this, but they generally are much more expensive ($2000+ for a queen) than conventional mattresses. The market prices reflect a combination of legitimately higher production costs (low volume, made-to-order by humans, better quality materials) and price gouging, just like with Airstreams, organic food, etc. etc.

You can get a regular mattress for $1600+ (some have springs, some don't). If you want a queen you'll have to either work something out with the manufacturer so they can custom cut it, or buy the mattress, open it up and re-sew it. If you want a spring mattress that will be harder .

Otherwise you can get an 8" futon mattress, which will be easier to open up and re-sew yourself, or you can find a manufacturer that will make a custom sized one for you.

Good resources for how to think about mattresses, and how to find a good vendor:
https://gimmethegoodstuff.org/safe-p...des/mattresses

There is also The Futon Shop, which sells a variety of non-toxic options and will custom cut one for you. Look at their various options.
http://www.thefutonshop.com/All-Natu...ure/p/767/6652

I got some pricing back on wool/cotton/latex 8" futons in 60x75 (for my 25' FB EB) for $950. That is about as cheap as they get. Other similar options are $1400-1600, probably because the wool is organic and for these it's not. I would have ordered one already but I'm waiting to hear back on whether they dip their sheep (the wool is not treated once sheared but I believe they dip their sheep before that, and the dipping "sauce" usually isn't that friendly).

Your other option, if you just want "less toxic" is to get one of those new low-VOC mattresses made by Casper, Leesa, Tuft, etc. Those are still PU foam, but they are on the safer side than traditional mattresses, and some of them use a flame-retardant "sock" that goes around the bed instead of the terrible PBDEs they were using before. They don't have springs so you could probably cut them open and trim.

Finally, one other vendor I liked (when I bought my house mattress) is PJ's Sleep in Los Angeles. They actually make a line of their own organic mattresses, which have all the same certs as the other guys, and they were the most reasonably priced. I am not sure how far they will deliver.

http://www.pjssleep.com/ORGANICS/ORGANIC-MATTRESSES/

Note, if you don't want a flame retardant on your mattress/futon (unless you're a smoker who needs it), you can usually have the manufacturer skip that step with an Rx from your doctor. That's an industry-wide flame retardant opt-out trick. If you get a Casper or one of the mattresses with a sock, just take the sock off (though the sock is not treated, it's just made of fiber that will seal itself off when heated).

Good luck!
Matt

I've been looking at this new generation of internet order foam/latex matresses, i'm thinking best option as i could trim the foam and re stich the cover. But not convinced about how "green" they really are.

[nickclifford]

Originally Posted by JCWDCW

You've limited possible solutions by specifying Chemical Free. We simply bought a queen 8" foam mattress from a local foam mattress supplier. Worked out really well for $300 CAN. Not sure what makes a Chemical free foam since you need some kind of gas to foam the Urethane or Latex. Our mattress was not sold a fire retardant. Not judging here; just commenting on the lack of responses that you might expected.
JCW

that would be much easier I agree ! As a family though, we try to live as "cleanly" as possible ... avoid GMO foods, eat organic etc etc .. we have latex beds at home and use chemical free soaps etc. I'd like the same for my second home but don't have an unlimited budget is the problem !

[nickclifford]

Originally Posted by bjmckernan

Pretty new here, so I'm no expert but this was important to me as well. We love our natural latex mattress at home so I knew we'd stick with that, but budget was also important.

Luckily, since ours was a '67 I realized it had most of the original latex cushions still in great shape. We have a front gaucho and middle pullout couch (both queens). The front gaucho has had some of the old latex cushions switched out to foam, and the ones that were have not fared too well (further solidifying that latex is the way to go).

So we ended up looking for two queen sized organic latex toppers (2-3") to cut to size. I set up craigslist and eBay alerts and found one locally for $10 and one shipped on eBay for $60 (both with organic covers and almost new). We haven't cut them down yet, but it'll be super easy with an electric knife. We may not even have to because they fit nicely right on top with the covers or rolled up and stored behind the gaucho cushions (tip for those with queens, ikea twin-sized DUVET covers fit the queen toppers nicely, usually a few bucks in the as-is section).

I realize this isn't hugely helpful for your current situation, but the latex toppers as-is on the floor were still surprisingly comfortable, and are easier to find or ship than the full mattresses. You should be able to stack two of them (or cut one king topper in half) for a very comfy mattress. Many people do their latex mattresses that way intentionally since you can customize the firmness. I noticed a lot of companies selling new toppers on eBay too with cosmetic imperfections at steep discounts, I'd set up an alert and am almost positive you could find a king one for well under $300 (I've seen them for less than $100 every so often).

Best of luck!

wow ! that hadn't even occurred to me ... I'll try ebay .. many thanks

[spelunkus]

Nick,

It's about what your hard requirements are and what trade-offs you're willing to make. If you want NO VOCs, or at least none outside those naturally occurring in wool, cotton, and tree rubber, then you have to rule out foam mattresses. They off-gas, and not just for the first week (that's a common myth). Will low-VOC foam mattresses with flame retardant socks (not sprays) make you sick? That's equivocal as it's very difficult to test.

If no-VOCs is *not* a hard requirement, then Casper is probably the best bet. They are willing to send you all the certification data and lab numbers, and despite being an industry certification, CertiPUR does seem to have reasonable standards (more on this below). Casper (and some of its competitors) use a sock to pass the flame retardant test, which you can remove.

Otherwise you could go with cotton, wool, latex or some combo thereof. For the ones that are the least "treated", which usually means how the cotton or wool is processed once it is picked or sheared, sometimes they smell a little "more natural". I have not bought one of these yet (still shopping). Some people complain, but people complain about all kinds of ridiculousness, so I don't know how strongly a given untreated wool/cotton mattress will be from one of the half dozen companies that sells them. It likely varies a lot among companies. If you're in a city that has a showroom for any of those, I'd recommend a visit to test comfort / smell / etc. You can also request samples from several of them.

As far as "green" certifications go, what matters is who runs the certification. CertiPUR is run by the foam industry, so it's in their best interest to make certifications that manufacturers can pass. I imagine the limits for various compounds are based not just by what is considered toxic, but also by the lowest amounts they can actually achieve. Otherwise no one would get certified.

Does that mean CertiPUR mattresses are "safe"? No one really knows, and those who want to remove all risk from foam VOCs should just avoid them entirely and not expect an industry standard to safeguard them.

That first link I mentioned (https://gimmethegoodstuff.org/safe-p...des/mattresses) has a good description of how to vet the certifications.

Hope that helps!
Matt

[nickclifford]

Originally Posted by spelunkus

Nick,

It's about what your hard requirements are and what trade-offs you're willing to make. If you want NO VOCs, or at least none outside those naturally occurring in wool, cotton, and tree rubber, then you have to rule out foam mattresses. They off-gas, and not just for the first week (that's a common myth). Will low-VOC foam mattresses with flame retardant socks (not sprays) make you sick? That's equivocal as it's very difficult to test.

If no-VOCs is *not* a hard requirement, then Casper is probably the best bet. They are willing to send you all the certification data and lab numbers, and despite being an industry certification, CertiPUR does seem to have reasonable standards (more on this below). Casper (and some of its competitors) use a sock to pass the flame retardant test, which you can remove.

Otherwise you could go with cotton, wool, latex or some combo thereof. For the ones that are the least "treated", which usually means how the cotton or wool is processed once it is picked or sheared, sometimes they smell a little "more natural". I have not bought one of these yet (still shopping). Some people complain, but people complain about all kinds of ridiculousness, so I don't know how strongly a given untreated wool/cotton mattress will be from one of the half dozen companies that sells them. It likely varies a lot among companies. If you're in a city that has a showroom for any of those, I'd recommend a visit to test comfort / smell / etc. You can also request samples from several of them.

As far as "green" certifications go, what matters is who runs the certification. CertiPUR is run by the foam industry, so it's in their best interest to make certifications that manufacturers can pass. I imagine the limits for various compounds are based not just by what is considered toxic, but also by the lowest amounts they can actually achieve. Otherwise no one would get certified.

Does that mean CertiPUR mattresses are "safe"? No one really knows, and those who want to remove all risk from foam VOCs should just avoid them entirely and not expect an industry standard to safeguard them.

That first link I mentioned (https://gimmethegoodstuff.org/safe-p...des/mattresses) has a good description of how to vet the certifications.

Hope that helps!
Matt

THANKS Matt, great feedback ... I agree with you on foam certifications .. I think I may just bite the bullet and buy two twin Latex mattresses and cut them down myslef ..

[spelunkus]

Nick,

Just a comment on going full-latex... try to sleep/lay on one first. They are the part that makes these chemical-free/organic mattresses REALLY firm, and they are much firmer than the PU foams. I like a firm mattress and even my latex/wool/cotton mattress at my apartment is a bit too firm for me. Maybe you could get full latex and get an organic wool or cotton "topper" that will soften it.

Matt

[65CV]

Latex mattresses aren't all firm. Squeeze a latex foam pillow in a high end department store and you can see how soft it can be made.

Latex foam can vary from pillow soft to rock hard, depending on the density. For a soft topper, use an 18-22 ILD. For a mattress for a 180 lb person, I prefer about a 30 ILD. For a very firm one, consider 44 ILD. IMHO, the most comfortable mattresses have a firmer lower layer with a softer topper.

I use KTT Enterprises for Talalay Latex Foam. The owner is a former board member of the only Talalay Latex Producer in the country.

Disclosure: I am related to the owner.

[spelunkus]

@65CV yeah that is true. My stick house mattress is *really* firm because of the latex, but I guess that was intentional.

I see some organic mattress makers have mattresses that are all latex (with several layers of differing firmness), with just a thin layer of quilted wool on top.

There are also coconut coir mattresses/futons, which I hadn't looked at before. They're more expensive, but The Futon Shop has some that are reasonably priced. They will custom-make me a 60x75 Cocosupport (a firm, not VERY firm, coconut coir + latex + wool combo) for $1500 (http://www.thefutonshop.com/Cocosupp...ess/p/771/7167). I tried one out in their LA store today and it feels more like a spring mattress where your bodyweight feels distributed across the bed, not just directly over the spot where the weight is. I was going to go with that or their EcoPure Latex + Wool (http://www.thefutonshop.com/All-Natu...ure/p/685/6652). That was about $900 at 60x75. Because both of those have wool they don't require a doctor's note to skip the Borax flame retardant.

They have a sale going on now. I know the prices I've been quoted include a lot of discounts from MSRP.

Note, those are both on the firm side. I was planning on adding an existing extra wool comforter that I have on top of it (under the sheets).

Matt

[rodsterinfl]

THANKS Matt, great feedback ... I agree with you on foam certifications .. I think I may just bite the bullet and buy two twin Latex mattresses and cut them down myslef.

Yep, I just did this. I purchased the organic latex and cut it to a radial then used coconut mat and SOME gel foam for the top 9 (had the cut foam topper from before). The mattress is firm but also comfortable. I encased it in an organic cotton zippered mattress cover. The coir was $100 shipped, the latex was $495, the cover $89, The gel foam $60 (divided by two) so $744 for one twin mattress MOSTLY organic and mostly Latex. The other twin is HD foam- upgraded foam mattress that sleeps well. It was $400 for the mattress and $60 for the gel topper and $40 for the cover- $500.