Offgassing and Mold???
Oct 8, 2013 1:20 PM
Joined: Sep 27, 2013
Points: 27
Reading through the threads in this forum, I have with no small amount of horror, read stories about people who have purchased beds with good faith, only to find that after some period of time, that MOLD has taken over their bedding, to the extent that it was negatively impacting (and rightfully so) the health of the person sleeping on the bed.  Assumptions below:

  • I don't believe I have read anything from anyone who had a traditional innerspring mattress that developed a mold problem.  Yes it might be possible that given "high humidity" or storage problems, etc, that anything can develop mold, but I don't believe under normal wear and tear, that traditional innerspring mattresses create a problem
  • There have been a number of reports, both in this forum and others, where Sleep Number type of mattresses can develop mold.  This IMHO is the result of pumping humid air into a bladder and developing condensation and mold.  But for any reason, mold seems to be a problem, even if the vendor "makes it right".
  • Memory foam is purported to sleeping hot, and again, for whatever reason, seem to be a more accepting environment to mold.
  • 100% Natural Latex has not had reported mold problems.  Synthetic May or May NOT???

Questions:

  • Are my assumptions above, for the most part true?
  • One older reply indicated that the "offgassing" of their foam mattress was unacceptable, to the point where "dryer sheets" had to be deployed to mask the odor.  Later the mattress developed mold.  I assume this was either memory foam or synthetic.  Am I overlooking the obvious that ALL foam is subject to molding and/or offgassing?  Many people realize offgassing as an acceptable problem.  If you survive through a limited period of time, it eventually works itself out, but inevitably, the view was worth the climb.
  • My wife would not be able to tolerate 1-6 mos of offgassing.  She is particularly susceptible to this type of odor and could drive us to a more traditional mattress.
  • Mold would be completely unacceptable to my wife.  The last thing she needs, given her infirmity, is dealing with mold.
  • We are looking, for support issues, at getting a Natural, Organic, foam mattress.  Should I be fairly confident that this direction would not introduce the above problems into our bedroom? 

I am not suggesting that all memory foam, air, synthetic latex is going to mold.  I am not suggesting that all memory foam and synthetic latex offgasses, but I will tell you that if anything CAN go negative, it will do so in my household.

Recent Posts