My mattress from FBM is set to arrive tomorrow. I've read that some people air out the latex for 24 hrs, some for a week, some not at all. Is there a recommended amount of time? How much is it likely to smell (ie - should I clear out a room and plan on not using it until the mattress is aired out?). Thanks so much!

hi wifecat,

i got my FBM latex topper a couple of weeks ago, and it had almost no smell at all. I aired it out for about a day, and then it was fine to use. I have heard of their toppers having quite the bad odor, but mine was fine. FBM recommends that you air them out 24-48 hours, generally.

when i got my Sensus memory foam topper from overstock.com, i was glad i had an extra room to air it out in--it stunk!

--ecat

Hi Wifecat, I can tell you my experience with smell on the latex that I received from FMB was not good. I received a 2" topper and a 6"core. The 2" topper smelled 3 or 4 time stronger than the 6". I sent the 2" topper back after about a month (for other reason) and it still smelled awful. I guess some of their foam lays around longer aging getting rid of some of the smell, really I don't know. The 6" core wasn't all that bad. I would plan on airing it out 24 hrs or so if possible. One of the sales girls there told me if possible outside is best, she was so right. I left the 6" core on my sun porch with overhead fans blowing on it for serveral days. The smell for me was unplesant but tolerable after airing,but for my wife that wasn't the case. I guess it depends upon your smell sensitivity. It made me wonder if some of the washing stages were cut short in the topper. Anyway the people at FBM are good to do business with, the product can be a little suspect tho.

Bear

Wifecat,

If you do air it out, be sure to not expose it to sunlight as ultraviolet 'breaks down' latex.

Philip

Philip wrote:
Thank you! I had no idea!

Wifecat, I believe if needed, a few days in sun light will not effect your latex. Breaking down rubber would be a slow process. Anyway FBM told me to take mine outside.

Bear

The mattress and topper that I purchased from FBM did not have an odor and I didn't air them out. I didn't even know this was recommended. 

I have a latex mattress from Sleep EZ and a topper from Sleep like a bear and neither had any off gassing or odor and needed to no airing out.

I received my Talatech topper (1") from SleepLikeABear yesterday afternoon, and am airing it out. The latex smell is not strong or offensive, but I figured that I might as well air the topper out for a day. I'll probably put it on the bed tonight.

-Catherine

I got a one-inch Talatech 24 ILD topper from SleepLikeaBear.com and the latex odor (something like vanilla, but it's not really vanilla) was strong when I unwrapped it. Very nice quality foam, good price and great service.

I aired it out in the back of my car (a hatchback) for three days, took a couple drives with the windows wide open. Sunlight came in but the UV portion was filtered out by the hatch window. This helped some, and, hoping the rest of the odor would gradually disappear, I put it on top of my 3" dunlop medium-firm latex pad (a clearance item from foamsweetfoam.com which had no smell at all) to complete my DIY latex/spring hybrid king bed.

A month later the odor remains, doesn't seem to have dissipated any more. I've aired it out a couple more times. In fact the odor permeates my down pillow, and I have to take the pillow off the bed and air it out every couple days.

It's not so bad that I can't sleep with it, but definitely aware of it. My wife doesn't seem bothered by it. Keeping my hopes up that, with time, the smell will vanish, but at the rate I've observed, it will take months.

L.I. makes an excellent  product (Talatech) but that smell they infuse the latex with is really awful. After six weeks I returned the mattress but the smell lingered on. I had to wash my down comforter and air out my feather and down pillows to remove the odor that had permeated everything. For months after I would walk in the house and catch a whiff of that creme brulee smell of L.I. latex. It really turned my stomach. They really ought to tone it down or offer an unscented version for those of us who prefer a fragrance neutral environment.

Different manufacturers may introduce some kind of artificial scent in a latex product to disguise the faint rubber smell it has naturally. I bought a Natura latex topper which was made by Dunlopillo, and happily it had no artificial smell added. Whether the latex you order will have any nasty odor depends on who manufactured it. That's why some have said the latex they bought from FBM smelled fine, and others had just the opposite experience.