# If I can't afford an organic mattress...



## anudi01 (Aug 11, 2004)

Well since my 4 yr old and my 2 yr old are in bed with us, we're going to have to expand. I'm planning on a sidecar situation with a crib I rec'd from my sister. It desperately needs a new mattress. I can't afford an organic mattress right now, even though I'd love one. So if not organic, then what???

Thanks!!!

...off looking for a smile with 3 cosleeping kids!!!


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## Rumba (Dec 3, 2007)

The non-toxic mattresses are all pretty expensive and I think there is a new law that they all have to be sprayed with flame retardant no matter what they are made of. I found an organic mattress on craigslist for about 1/3 the cost of new.

Good luck!


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## prettypixels (Apr 13, 2006)

The mattress/SIDS link is all made up by a guy named Sprott who sells mattresses.







: I find it incredibly horrible to pray on parents fears of SIDS, personally! That said, when we bought our new (NOT organic) mattress, it did have a smell to it. My husband couldn't barely smell it at all, but I could, I had to let it air out for a few weeks before I could sleep on it. So I recommend airing out the mattress and getting a good mattress cover. A waterproof mattress cover is a must anyways with kids/babies and a good one will help keep any smells away from you and your babes.

Good luck!


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## dillNY (Aug 15, 2007)

I'm not worried about SIDS, but I do think there are lots of crappy chemicals. I was able to get an organic crib mattress, but my mattress isn't organic. Try airing it out first, especially if you coukd leave the new bed in a separate room for a few weeks, and open the window as much as you can. Once upon a time I read about how the majority of gases come out in a short period of time, but have no idea where I read that.

Also, getting a wool mattress cover is great for natural waterproofing, but I think those are horribly expensive for an adult bed. We have one of the plastic-y kind that your whole mattress zips inside. Le Babe gets organic wool, but we just have to get him in that crib, and I have no idea when that will happen!


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## SublimeBirthGirl (Sep 9, 2005)

I never even knew about organic mattresses til really recently. I have a select comfort (sleep number) bed.


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## deditus (Feb 22, 2006)

I don't know what your budget is, but we have a PureTouch natural latex mattress that we are very happy with. We got a queen set on sale for under $1000.
http://www.thebeddinggroup.com/Puretouch.htm


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## Kimmiepie (Dec 21, 2006)

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## TonyaW (Dec 5, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *anudi01* 
Well since my 4 yr old and my 2 yr old are in bed with us, we're going to have to expand. I'm planning on a sidecar situation with a crib I rec'd from my sister. It desperately needs a new mattress. I can't afford an organic mattress right now, even though I'd love one. So if not organic, then what???

Thanks!!!

...off looking for a smile with 3 cosleeping kids!!!

You can wrap a non organic mattress in something that prevents the outgassing. If you do an online search I am sure you can find more info.


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## Kimmiepie (Dec 21, 2006)

My question is, I have heard that if they are organic there is more chance of having dust mite problems/fungus etc.

But then this says it's a problem with the treated ones too!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7...?dopt=Abstract

What would I need to do to minimize that risk?


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## TonyaW (Dec 5, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kimmiepie* 
My question is, I have heard that if they are organic there is more chance of having dust mite problems/fungus etc.

But then this says it's a problem with the treated ones too!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7...?dopt=Abstract

What would I need to do to minimize that risk?

A latex with an organic wool top minimizes dust mites and fungus issues.


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## Kimmiepie (Dec 21, 2006)

Quote:

A latex with an organic wool top minimizes dust mites and fungus issues.
Thanks. If I couldn't get the latex and only a cotton/wool mattress, would putting something over the top still help?


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## Pumpkin_Pie (Oct 10, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TonyaW* 
A latex with an organic wool top minimizes dust mites and fungus issues.









: That is what I have, and I also have a dust mite cover and wool mattress pad to help with accidents on it as well. I couldn't really afford it, but I ended up buying a totally organic king sized bed shortly after DS was born. I just wanted it to be the healthiest sleeping environment I could possibly have, and I LOVE our bed now.


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## Kimmiepie (Dec 21, 2006)

Pumpkin pie- where did you get your dust mite cover and wool pad?


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## Pumpkin_Pie (Oct 10, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kimmiepie* 
Thanks. If I couldn't get the latex and only a cotton/wool mattress, would putting something over the top still help?

You can definitely get a mattress wrap that would keep most of the dust mites out. It is basically a very tightly woven cotton sheet that wraps either all the way around your mattress and zips up, or it goes over the top and wraps around the edges like a fitted sheet. They are pretty pricey, but totally worth it when you think about all of the little buggies that can live in a mattress.


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## Pumpkin_Pie (Oct 10, 2006)

This is where I bought the dust mite cover, and this is the mattress pad I bought, although someone over on the co-op boards a few months ago found a website where you could buy the wool fabric and make your own mattress topper for a fraction of what one normally costs. I will see if I can find the link for you.


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## Kimmiepie (Dec 21, 2006)

Thanks! Wow, these things really add up!

I'm thinking my dh would be more inclined to purchase some sort of topper for our bed rather than a new mattress. I just want to make sure that I'm not wasting money on a topper if it's not going to help with the off-gassing or what not. I have health problems that seem to stir up at night and I'm wondering if it's the bed..so I don't want to waste the money on a topper if it's not going to help that much. kwim?

Thanks for finding that link for me, very interested in that!!!


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## ameliasward (Mar 13, 2006)

If you're not totally set on a mattress, you could get a futon mattress. I've been looking at the futons at White Lotus (whitelotus.net) for my daughter. She currently sleeps on an organic crib mattress but my budget won't allow me to buy an organic adult mattress. You can get the futons wrapped in wool, which is a natural dust mite barrier. I believe that the wool also acts like a fire retardant so they don't have to be treated with all those yucky chemicals. I think someone mentioned on a different post that they had good luck with Gold Bond also, so you might want to check that out.


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## *Karen* (Jul 28, 2006)

Wrap it. Read this about wrapping. If you can't get an organic one, wrapping is just fine. I am going to wrap my king sized mattress. Here is where to buy the crib sized ones. The larger ones you will have to make yourself.
HTH.


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## Kimmiepie (Dec 21, 2006)

I've seen that site for wrapping, and I know there was another thread discussion on this. I"m wondering if the plastic is as safe as an alternative as wool or something??

And my dh was trying to find out where to get 100% polyeurethane (sp?) and he couldn't find anything.


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## Enudely (Jul 2, 2005)

ing:


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## Kimmiepie (Dec 21, 2006)

Quote:

although someone over on the co-op boards a few months ago found a website where you could buy the wool fabric and make your own mattress topper for a fraction of what one normally costs. I will see if I can find the link for you.
Any luck? I did a search here and on google and am not having any luck.


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## anudi01 (Aug 11, 2004)

I ended up buying an organic one from organicgrace.com. Decent price and great customer service!! Highly recommended! And buy the way...it is so nice, I wish I could sleep on it.


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## Kimmiepie (Dec 21, 2006)

Quote:

I ended up buying an organic one from organicgrace.com. Decent price and great customer service!! Highly recommended! And buy the way...it is so nice, I wish I could sleep on it.
That is the one we got for ds!! (well, it's coming in the mail) But we're trying to figure our bed out now.

I saw this place that has these latex mats http://naturalamerica.stores.yahoo.n...ulabedpad.html and he says you can make a mattress out of them using those and batting, but I'm not sure how to put it together. I've emailed, but no response yet.


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## Twwly (Jan 30, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kimmiepie* 
And my dh was trying to find out where to get 100% polyeurethane (sp?) and he couldn't find anything.

I've had no luck finding out where to buy the sheeting for regular beds. DS is on a twin and we're on a king. I've read it's specifically 5ml food grade polyethylene plastic sheeting. I've emailed some plastics manufacturers but they all sell industrial quantities. Don't really want to have to buy 30 BabeSafes and McGuyver them - there must be a better way to stop the off gassing.


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## tubulidentata2 (Aug 6, 2006)

This place sells the polyethylene sheeting for queen/king-sized beds: http://www.eves-best.com/mattress-wr...offgassing.htm

We bought some from Home Depot and wrapped our mattress when we started co-sleeping with DD. It was a noisy, wrinkly, plastic-y disaster. We are now trying to figure out how to afford a king-sized mattress that isn't toxic (and that doesn't cost $500 to ship), so we may end up revisiting plastic land.

Has anyone here wrapped the mattress in polyethylene and then put an organic topper on it to avoid the plastic feel? We are considering this.


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## Kimmiepie (Dec 21, 2006)

Quote:

Has anyone here wrapped the mattress in polyethylene and then put an organic topper on it to avoid the plastic feel? We are considering this.
That's a great idea!! They only offer queen/king at that site right now though...we would need full.









The only concern I have about this, is that doesn't plastic leach too?


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## Pumpkin_Pie (Oct 10, 2006)

Sorry, I totally forgot about this thread. I did find the link for the wool fabric to make a pad for your bed. It was from Shepherd's Dream. You can get the "Blanket Wool Textile" for $35 a yard and just cut it to the size of your mattress. Sew on some straps to go under the corners of your mattress, and you have a great, nearly waterproof pad.


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