Safe Baby Mattress on a Budget? Ask Annie

Dear Annie,
I am pregnant with my second child, and as much as I want to buy an organic wool mattress for my new baby, I can’t afford it. I bought a mattress and am outgassing it on the porch, hoping that all the smells will be gone. Is that OK? –Sara, NY

Dear Sara,
It is great that you are aware of toxics in baby furniture, an important first step. My suggestion for you is to air the mattress out like you are doing, but to also to make a cotton barrier cloth cover for it. Barrier cloth is a very tightly woven material consisting of a 440 thread count that blocks most fumes and dust mites. Just make sure to wash the barrier cloth frequently.

When I was getting my daughter’s nursery together I found a used mattress for sale at a garage sale because I knew that it would be fully outgassed. I then covered it with a barrier cloth. I felt quite satisfied that she was sleeping on a non-toxic mattress with those steps.

While you are buying the barrier cloth, get some extra to make a safe car seat: Chemical Dangers in Car Seats.

Read more: Home, Ask Annie, Children, Health & Safety, cotton, crib, mattress, Nursery, outgas

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

LMj S.

11:39PM PST on Feb 23, 2012

good tips, thank you for sharing.

send a green star

Chris R.

9:11AM PDT on Nov 5, 2011

Thanks!~

9:10AM PDT on Nov 5, 2011

Joe R.

6:47AM PDT on Oct 21, 2011

Interesting.

Tim C.

1:07PM PDT on Sep 25, 2011

thanks, Annie

1:04PM PDT on Sep 25, 2011

thanks

KS G.

6:29PM PDT on Sep 2, 2011

Thanks for the article.

Liz N.

5:12PM PDT on Sep 24, 2010

Exactly right, memory foam????
Well I would tag his post as inappropriate but he is long gone I'm sure. But I will certainly remember the Sterling Sleep System and make sure I pass the word how non eco friendly and irresponsible their employees are as well.

Eric G.

4:07PM PDT on Sep 24, 2010

Our babies and children should sleep with healthy, chemical-free, PBDE-free mattresses & bedding -- not toxic memory foam mattresses, or other chemically ridden mattresses and bedding (even if you now label them "eco-friendly" for whatever far-stretched reason).

Please understand the intent of this article and the posts of the concerned parents here rather than blazing through and tagging every "eco-friendly" or "natural" internet post buzzword in order to copy and paste a promotion for your chemically-ridden mattresses or bedding products.

For those looking to keep your children safe and healthy with a mattress that has no toxic chemicals or fire-retardants, I suggest Earthsake. Earthsake uses organic PureGrow wool (from local American farms) as a natural fire-retardant in their mattresses & bedding:
http://www.earthsake.com/kids.html

Earthsake is a great place to find healthy, American-made natural baby and kids mattresses/bedding - all made with local organic ingredients and no chemicals!

Charls L.

4:47AM PDT on Sep 24, 2010

eco-friendly mattress The Sterling Sleep System creates the best comfort mattress through a truly intelligent sleep system, options include a waterbed mattress, an innerspring mattress, a memory foam mattress, and a latex mattress.