Hi. I bought two 1" talalay latex toppers from Foam by Mail and they feel great, but they smell horrible. It was oppressive. I put them outside for a week to air out, and at the end of the week I could smell them from 10 feet away. I decided to leave them out through the rain and let them dry out. The smell is still oppressive. I bought them in early summer, about June, and it still smells so bad I don't want to use them. Did I get a bad apple, or do all latex toppers smell? Should I buy some new ones from someone else?

I'd say you got bad ones.  I haven't personally bought any FBM latex, but I have seen the pictures, compared with quality latex, and I wouldn't buy that stuff.  One of the distinguishing features of quality latex such as from LI is the high quality standards in the manufacturing process.  LI puts their latex through five wash cycles following manufacture.

My latex bed (10-11" of latex) had a slight odor (although when I got it apparantly I described the smell as strong) which dissipated almost immediately.  By the time I'd had the bed a few days I couldn't smell a thing.  I just got a replacement layer a week or two ago, and this was practically odorless.

MattFaunce wrote:
As Kimberly has indicated, she and I both have latex from FloBeds who does business exclusively with Latex International.

Her bed is made out of blended latex. Mine is made out of 100% botanically grown natural latex. I recently acquired from FloBeds a core of blended latex. Blended latex, at least Latex Internationals blended product is composed of 70% synthetic (read that petroleum-based) and 30% natural latex.

The 100% natural latex has a very noticeable sweet cookie dough odor. I found this smell quite pleasant. But it does dissipate over time. The blended piece of latex also had this sweet cookie dough odor, but to a lesser degree than the hundred percent natural. It also had a very slight chemical smell. But in a very short period of time, approximately three or four days, the slight chemical order was gone and the slight cookie dough odor was diminished to such an extent that you had to get your nose right down next to it to smell anything at all.

So again I agree with Kimberly, you need to be careful who you're buying your latex from. First of all, with many sellers of foam, the term latex is misused far too often. You really need to deal with the better quality suppliers in order to be sure that you're getting a first class product.

I would write foam by mail an e-mail(that way you have a record of your conversation with them) and complain about this odor. See what they will do about it. Your description just does not sound right for latex. But you need to do some research regarding latex so that you will know what you are talking about, and more importantly you can then tell whether they know what they are talking about.

Many of the better quality sites such as FloBeds, SleepEZ, Savvy Rest, and Habitat have a great deal of information about latex. Habitat may have the most information on 100% botanically grown natural latex, they certainly have the most videos on the subject, read these sites and what you can find here at "what's the best mattress.com" before you re-contact Foam By Mail.

Some of us here are pleased with our latex purchases from FBM and haven't had this type of problem.  I have a 6" base and 3" topper and don't recall any odor.  I set up the bed as soon as the shipment arrived and had no need to air out the latex beforehand.  If I were you, I'd either call FBM and ask to speak to the owner/manager or write a real letter (not email, just my preference) explaining the situation. I would acknowledge missing the 30-day return period (see  below), but explain that I was trying to solve the odor problem independently since I was otherwise pleased with the toppers. I would also let them know that you've posted the problem on this site seeking advice. Maybe they will give you a full or partial refund or a free exchange.  I'm not sure why you waited six months or put the latex outside, since it is known for being fragile when exposed to the elements, but I wish you luck in resolving the problem.  Let us know how it works out.

From FBM website:

30-Day Guarantee
-Our latex mattresses and toppers have a Guarantee of 30 days after the ship date. The product may be returned for any reason in factory condition for a full product refund minus any shipping fees. Offer not valid for in-store pickup and subject to a 25% restocking fee. Offer also not valid if product is resized or reshaped.

Beanie wrote:
So figure out your cost to ship it back to them, subtract what they paid to ship it to you, and subtract the 25% restocking fee.  Probably not worth the trouble of packaging it, & driving it to the shipping store.

MequonJim wrote:

True. But I would argue that since the product was defective -- not simply being returned due to personal preference -- the restocking and shipping fees should not be charged. It's worth a try.

People have very different sensitivities to smell and the smell of a latex foam mattress or topper is no different.  Yes, they all smell to some degree and I doubt that your's is defective.  I have Talalay foam that is many years old and if uncovered it still smells a bit.  One thing that I suggest that you try is to put your topper on your bed with covering.  You may be surprised at how much your bedding can cut down the smell.

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. I live only about 10 miles away from FBM, so I picked them up. So according to their return policy, I couldn't return them. I'll compose a letter and send it to them but I don't expect much. ... Hmmm. Not sure what to do... --Matt

Matt,

Their return policy is one of the worst in the industry.  Pretty sad.  Good luck to you.

Hi Matt,

If they won't help with an exchange or return, here are a couple of things you might want to try:

1. Encase the pieces in a good allergy mattress protector. That will seal in the smell as much as possible. If you could stand to sleep on plastic, you could first wrap them in light plastic which would more efficiently seal in the smell, then cover with an allergy zip-around cover. And then as someone else suggested, cover with your bedding on top, perhaps even several layers, such as a heavy mattress pad (and maybe some kind of mattress topper) and then more than one sheet.  The more between you and the smell, the better I would think.

2.  Note: this one is experimental and rather extreme, and I don't know if it will hurt the latex, but if you find you absolutely cannot use the pieces anyway and are willing to risk possibly having a detrimental effect on the latex: Gently hand wash the pieces in  solution of mild soap, warm water and white vinegar (maybe 1 part vinegar to 4-6 parts water). Rinse with plain water, gently squeeze out excess and leave to dry (would probably take quite a long time to dry, depending on where you live).  If no improvement, wash again, this time add baking soda to the soapy water (maybe 1 small box to 5 gallon bucket of water). Rinse as above.
    Alternately, before tryng the vinegar and/or baking soda (must do separately by the way), try just using soapy water and then rinse. You could also add a few drops of some peepermint oil if you aren't bothered by that. Latex can be washed. It should not, however be exposed to UV light for long periods of time as it will cause the foam to disintegrate (I understand that briefly it would be okay).  You could also try these methods on small samples of latex, if you have any or can obtain any from where you got your bed, before risking the process on your bed.

Suggestion #2 is based on my experience with other things.  I have not tried it with latex as I had no problem with the 100% natural latex in my Flobed. I am extremely sensitve to smells and in fact quite allergic to many chemicals and fragrances. This is one reason I went with 100% natural talalay latex form LI (through Flobeds), i.e. because their samples did not bother me whereas some other samples did (inc. some Dunlap samples and beds) and they use an extensive washing process in their manufactuing (I am not bothered by the natural rubber smell nor the vanilla scent, which I would just as soon they didn't use but it dissipates petty quickly and does not smell "chemically" at all). Note that I am only refering to their 100% natural talalay; I couldn't possibly sleep on any brand of blended due to the synthetic component. I have no experience with the company you got your latex from.

Vinegar, baking soda and natural peppermint oil can neutralize some chemical and/or smells. but as I said, it would be experimental with latex.  You might want to call around to some manufacturers or even other bed places to see if anyone has any other ideas. Good luck!

Linda

push for an exchange or return. 

natural latex does have a slight smell to it, but if it is REALLY noticeable it is probably because it got wet.  if you get latex wet and it stays wet it will smell really bad.  so actually do not attempt to wash this piece just in the event they might exchange it for another piece of latex as it may make it only easier for them to not return it.