We just got our SleepEZ 7000 natural firm-medium mattress in full size.  I noticed when I was setting up the bed that there was a LOT of latex dust.  Some small pieces also came off of the edge of the mattress.  Is this normal?  I am a little concerned as I may have breathed some of this in.  I always read that they washed these things a tone of times befoe they leave the factory.  The full size also looks like it was glued together.  Is this normal?  I am wondering if SleepEZ cut out mattress in their store and that is why there is latex dust.  I vacuumed up with a HEPA vacuum, but still a little concerned.

 

A little disappointing for me as I had researched this to death.  This bed is for one of my boys with Asthma.  I am worried that the latex dust may irritate his allergies.

Here are some pictures:

           

    

          

Has anyone else noticed this when setting up your latex mattress?  Cause for concern?  There is a color difference between the two pieces of latex that are glued together.  wondering if this is all natural latex like I ordered if some blend was included?

Take a look at my shirt.  All of the little white specks are pieces of latex.  Is this normal?

Thanks,
Matt

When latex foam is cut there is a lot of dust flying around and it wouldn't surprise me if some of this was still on the mattress layers when it was shipped. LI usually ships in 6" cores so to get a 3" layer someone has to cut it somewhere along the way. While latex dust normally shouldn't present a problem, especially when it was inside a mattress, in the case of allergies there is a small possibility that even small amounts could aggravate the more sensitive tissues. Normally I wouldn't worry about it but you may want to vacuum it first.

As far as the glueing, normally a full size doesn't need gluing. You may want to call Shawn and ask why it was glued and what was used. There is "good glue" and "bad glue" when it comes to latex layers. The dust and the glue don't indicate what type of Talalay was used since both the blend and the natural come in 6" slabs (the blend is sometimes 5.6") and both could be glued in certain cases. Shawn has a good reputation and I am pretty sure he would give you a straight up answer.

Phoenix

Here is a late followup. 

I called Shawn and he said that LI only ships Twin XL's.  He said to get a full (double) size they need to cut them and then glue them.  He said the glue is a water based latex glue.  This is good.  He said that the latex "dust" should not be a problem. 

My boys have been sleeping on this for a few weeks now.  They still said it was too hard.  (medium over firm).  I called Shawn and had him send me a soft layer.  He said that he would send a topper to try.  He said the topper is the same as a mattress layer.  He said to just put it on top and see if they like it better.  If they do then I can take the soft layer out of the topper cover and try it in the 7000 mattress.  He said at that point I have three options: Return the layer I don't want with the topper cover, keep the topper and use it as a topper, Return the mattress cover and have it altered to fit the now three layer deep mattress.

I am supposed to get the topper next Monday according to UPS.  I will let you know what the boys think and what ultimately happens.  I think if I start swapping layers I will just wear a painters mask, vacuum and try not to worry about it.

LI has two different mold sizes depending on where they come from. The fabrication facility that supplies the west produces twin XL molds. The facility that supplies the east produces queen molds. Anything bigger than the mold has to of course be glued. The western facility is also the one where most of the 5.6" blended cores come from (as opposed to 6" blended cores).

While it doesn't talk specifically about the mold sizes here, this is a really interesting article about how LI rebuilt after the fire and a bit about the fire and their automation and production processes itself. I have to say I admire what they did afterwards and it's hard to imagine how they must have felt given that they thought the fire was out.

http://www.automationworld.com/feature-773

Phoenix