Should You Ditch Your Chemical Mattress?
Commentary: Good night, sleep tight—don't let the volatile organic compounds bite.
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susan greenfield and her girlfriend Llina Kempner couldn't wait for their new memory-foam mattress top to arrive. For months, they'd heard friends rave about how the high-tech material molds itself to your body. But when they unwrapped the three-inch-thick pad in their Manhattan apartment, they noticed a strong, acrid odor. "My nose and my lungs were miserable," recalls Greenfield. For the two nights Kempner slept on the mattress top, she felt nauseated. After Greenfield, who is chemically sensitive, had an asthma attack in the middle of the night, the couple returned the mattress pad. But its stench lingered in the apartment for weeks.
Reactions like Greenfield's are relatively rare, but you, too, might lose some sleep when you find out what's really inside your mattress—memory foam or not. The place where you spend one-third of your life is chock-full of synthetic materials, some potentially toxic. Since the mid- to late '60s, most mattresses have been made of polyurethane foam, a petroleum-based material that emits volatile organic compounds that can cause respiratory problems and skin irritation. Formaldehyde, which is used to make one of the adhesives that hold mattresses together, has been linked to asthma, allergies, and lung, nose, and throat cancers. And then there are cotton pesticides and flame-retardant chemicals, which can cause cancer and nervous-system disorders. In 2005, Walter Bader, owner of the "green mattress" company Lifekind and author of the book Toxic Bedrooms, sent several mattresses to an Atlanta-based lab. A memory-foam model was found to emit 61 chemicals, including the carcinogens benzene and naphthalene.
There is no proven health risk from the substances in mattresses, however, mostly because tracking their long-term effects is virtually impossible. Heather Stapleton, an environmental chemist at Duke University, says there's simply not enough data to determine whether low levels of these chemicals will eventually make people sick. "It's the dose that makes the poison," she says. "If they're not getting out, maybe it's not a problem—but we don't know. There are plenty of lab studies that show that these compounds are harmful. It's just a question of what levels people are exposed to."
Still, more and more consumers are seeking out mattresses made of natural latex, organic cotton batting, and organic wool. Sales of California-based Vivètique's latex mattresses have increased by 40 percent annually for the past five years—they now comprise 45 percent of the company's total sales. And they are even sold by discounter 1-800-Mattress.
It's hard to say whether you should ditch your conventional bed in favor of a green one, since you'll likely have a tough time figuring out exactly which toxins are lurking under your covers. Take, for example, fireproofing chemicals: Pentabde, a member of the polybrominated diphenyl ether (pbde) family of flame retardants, was used in some mattresses before 2004, when it was phased out. (Pentabde is now known to be toxic to the liver, thyroid, and nervous system.) So let's say that just to be on the safe side you toss your pre-2004 mattress and buy a new one. Problem solved? Maybe not. Last July, the Consumer Product Safety Commission began to require that all mattresses sold in the United States be able to withstand 30 minutes of exposure to an open flame.
Mattress makers aren't using Pentabde anymore—but it's not clear exactly what they are using to meet the new standard. Major manufacturers such as Simmons, Sealy, and Tempur-Pedic won't divulge their flame-retardant formulas, which are considered trade secrets. A Simmons press release touts a "proprietary blend of char-forming, intumescing, flame-resistant components." Tempur-Pedic vaguely states that its products "consistently meet all safety standards." A best guess at what's in today's mattresses comes from Ryan Trainer, executive vice president of the International Sleep Products Association, an industry group. He says most companies use "various types of barrier fabrics" such as cotton treated with boric acid or rayon treated with silica—both relatively benign chemicals—as well as fire-resistant materials such as modacrylic fiber (which contains antimony oxide, a carcinogen) and melamine resin (which contains formaldehyde).
With a doctor's prescription, people who are chemically sensitive and have allergies can order a mattress that doesn't pass a flammability test. But organic-mattress companies have found a simple way to fireproof: wrapping their bedding in a layer of wool. Their prices aren't so warm and cozy—a queen-size latex model from Virginia-based Savvy Rest starts at $1,599. But if you're having nightmares about your mattress, and it's time to trade in your well-worn Posturepedic anyway, it might be worth it.
Susan Greenfield was a fan of organic mattresses even before the smelly memory-foam pad showed up—she's slept on one for 15 years, says she "loves" it, and describes it as "very comfortable but very hard." Hey, whatever helps you sleep at night.
Illustration: Gordon Studer
What is it with people and wanting to blame everything on someone else..? I have NEVER heard of anyone getting sick from there mattress. It seems that everyone wants to find SOMETHING, ANYTHING to be the victim of..? Here is a story fo two Lesbo's with Chemical Sensativity, and you want us to feel SORRY for them..? HAHAHAHA...
Get a man, and maybe he can cure you of all yoru troubles..
BIll
Wow, way to be intolerant. Your statements reek of ignorance. Is everything untrue if you've never heard it before?
Thank you Mother Jones for reporting on issues that don't always make it to mass-media. Sofa's are notorious for carcinogenic fire-retardants too. These days just about everything is awash in harmful chemicals.
I am not intolerant, just speak the truth. You qualify intolerant as, anything that differes from your narrow, socialist opinion. And no, i don't think something doesn't exists just because i haven't heard of it, but it just seems strange that MILLIONS of people have been sleeping on mattresses for generations, and now you have "Chemical Sensativity", and you choose to highlight it with Lesbo's and not June And Ward Cleaver... Don't you think you might get more sympathy from the REAL american families if you used a NORMAL couple to highlight your issue..?
BIll
Check the statistics, Bill. REAL American families aren't all made up of Ma, Pa, and 2.5 kids anymore. While I do agree that we've developed a culture of victimization, you seem to be playing into it by suggesting that people who are different from you are somehow threatening your "normal" way of life.
Because really, most chemicals aren't evil. You'd be surprised at the sorts of stuff emitted by flowers, fruits, and vegetables, the chemicals that give them their characteristic smells and tastes. Lots of smells are due to benzene derivatives - vanilla (vanillin) and cinnamon (ethyl cinnamate) immediately come to mind. Lots of others are due to a class of compounds called terpenes - lavender, rose, mint, pine, musk, etc. Most of these are relatively poisonous - some are deterents to keep animals or insects from eating them. I could go on but it's late and my flavor chemistry books are in lab. Heck, I once unintentionally made an ester that smelled exactly like green apple - delicious. Anyways, the point is, most of these compounds are, in large quantity, poisonous, and sure, they might make you pretty sick - if you drank a whole glass. But at daily exposure levels, I'm more worried about eating undercooked meat and driving a car.
Walnut trees (genus Juglans) exude a chemical called juglone that inhibit other plants in the vicinity, minimizing competition. Red ant bites hurt so much because they secrete formic acid (hence the ant family name, Formicidae). Speaking of acids, vinegar is just a dilute solution of acetic acid. And capric and caproic acid smell like goats (genus Capra).
Thank You VERY MUCH..!!! I am so tired of people spouting fourth JUNK SCIENCE and so many in the Liberal community beleiveing ANYTHING that sounds like they are victims of the Corporate MAN..!! It is refreshing to hear a REAL chemist...:-) Maybe you can post more often and tamp down all this hysterical crap.
Bill..
HATE speech...? Are you off your rocker..? Saying Lesbo is not more hate speech than when a gay person calls me a "Breeder"..!! Pointing out someones proclivities is not hate speech.
This is a real problem, you think that saying a word that you don't agree with is hate speech, SORRY..!!! It doesnt work that way, This is still america, and i think the Constitution still gives protections to us Breeders, not just the other group that you think is sooooo special.
BIll
To conclude, I'm glad we're moving toward a more sustainable, cotton and other organics lifestyle as oil prices make these more attractive. In the mean time, lets not try to make people feel like they're going to die if they sleep on a mattress purchased at K-Mart. It's likely there will be some organic fibers that will attract molds that would not be attracted to synthetics.
Please get a dictionary and work on your grammar. It is difficult to not dismiss your ideas when you write or should I say right like an uneducated doofus.
Sorry, but I can't just take their word for it if they aren't going to tell me what's in it. We ended up paying a $200 restocking fee that was poorly disclosed upfront (sure, you can bring it back if it doesn't work out for you!)
The fact is that the display models have already off-gassed, so you can't get a good idea of how bad it really smells until you invest a pretty penny. We also bought a $140 pillow that we couldn't return, even though it smelled so bad I couldn't sleep on it.
I dealt with it for 2 weeks thinking I could live with it if it would help my husband's back problems. Well, when he started crawling out of bed in pain after 3 weeks, we decided it wasn't the miracle mattress it purports that it is.
Your a troll, Bill. In case you don't know the word, it means someone who posts just to cause trouble. Truth doesn't matter to a troll, nor consistency, nor even logic or sense.
The timer is running on you, Bill. It won't be long, before no one will even bother responding to your rants, because it's becoming more evident by the minute that sense has no sway with you.
My advice to everyone else: cut to the chase. There is no reason to respond to someone who can't see reason.
Bye, Bill.
----
kill your tv.
Yes this article gives incomplete information. It's not an article in a science journal and a long list of chemicals and concentration data would not be appropriate. However the small minority of the audience for whom that level of data would actually be meaningful, can of course do further research if they wish. Or not.
Note however that this article does not come to the conclusion that this is definitely a cause for concern. It makes the point that we don't know, even if you had the list of chemicals and concentrations in front of you, studies don't exist to tell what if any effect long term exposure has.
As to your comments about the off gassing of apples, chestnut trees, vanilla, etc: We don't spend a third of our lives with our faces pressed up against these things breathing their off-gassing. Yes, lots of natural chemicals are harmful in sufficient quantities. Many are harmful in small quantities. We've learned to avoid these. We have thousands of years of experience with natural substances.
The point that pro-chemical types miss when they make their "natural substances are chemicals too" argument is that we don't have anything close to the same historical and cultural experience with the many man-made chemicals that have heedlessly been incorporated into our lives. This is where the natural vs artificial bias is actually very sensible and pragmatic. In fact, our scientific experience with how many substances in the natural world really are harmful, should give us all the more caution with the man made ones.
You're not the first chemist I've come across whose chemicals-are-good bias is downright unscientific.
Can someone tell me what this discussion has to do with politics? Seems to me a lefty like me can enjoy a foam mattress or not. And the same with a righty. Some folks need to find a hobby...
Essentia is the only company in the world who makes a natural memory foam.
There are some who say that the mattress industry pushed for the legislation to require the flame retardants with the goal of driving out smaller firms who cant afford to retool. These FR chemicals have toxic effects at levels which may be achieved by accumulation in the body due to repeated exposure: antimony, boric acid, formaldahyde and other mutagens.
Check out the latest from the "radical" Bush administration Consumer Product Safety Commission on the subject if you don't believe me:
http://www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/FOIA/meetings/mtg08/chemicals11_13.pdf
The real problem is that, in order to protect a relatively small number of idiots who smoke in bed (not you Bill, right?), the new legislation really does potentially put millions of people at risk of long-term health problems that will be very difficult to tie to the flame retardants. This lack of common sense is what Bill should be up in arms about.
We are considering organizing a class action lawsuit.
Then there is also stress, anxiety and insomnia to name a few issues I have had around this humiliating couple of months.
I find it utterly disgusting that you would even consider posting Bill's response. It's a shame that in this day and age we still reside amongst these ignorant, ill-informed and prejudiced individuals. Did I forget uneducated? Unfortunately, there are people like him who use a reference tool such as your site as their forum for hatred and some kind of self-serving soapbox. This site is rightfully utilized by people of all backgrounds, regarding a myriad of issues, simply to share their experiences as to assist others. So thanks, Bill, for being the closed minded biggot that you are - I am once again reminded that there is still a lot of change that needs to occur in our society in order to move forward, progress and continue evolving. And, just for the record, I am a married heterosexual who truly hopes that Bill is not a BREEDER, g-d help us all if he is.
It's led me on a very intense and frustrating research into the world of VOC's, MCS, and PCB's, air filters, mattress pads et all.
One of the things I have learned along the way is that there evidently are things that can be applied to the off gassing mattresses which can make a difference for the people (like me) who sunk too much money into them and are stuck with them without hope of refund.
One such technique involves buying mylar space blankets, taping them together with overlapping seams, and covering the entire mattress with it, so that it effectively doesn't breathe at all. You then apply a few blankets atop that and cover with your sheets like normal. My wonder about that is...what happens to the gasses building up? Does it decompose the mattress faster?
Another technique that uses similar thinking is to do the same with vinyl lined canvas.
Another technique that has a different concept is to use carbon filter type blankets to wrap and drape over the mattress on the top and sides. Cover these with a few more blankets and then add sheets like normal. The carbon filtering blankets absorb the offgassing material and then you put them in the sun several hours to clear off the gas every six months.
I have explored just about every option in mattress covers that I can come up with, needless to say...and the standard allergy encasing is still breatheable so it's minimal as an offgassing blocker.
I'm currently thinking of doing the mylar and then also adding the carbon blankets on top of them...and then go for an organic bed topper...as well as having a VOC clearing air filter in the room I sleep in. For the price of all those things, I could have ordered a whole new mattress set that was non toxic. Drat. Oh well...guess this is part of the learning curve.
And so, I'll continue to bark up the chain of communication on this and see how it's handled. However, I do plan on contacting the US Consumer Product safety Comission at 1.800.638.2772 in the end to document the concern. It's my way of not playing dead to the democratic consumer process.
We are talking a $2,000 investment here. It's going to be hard to walk away from, darn the day we walked into Sleepy's, what a stupid thing to do...
Yes as with just about all journalism the article was lacking in scientific specificity. But it has helped put us in touch here with other info so that's good.
I think actually that the generally superficial and patronising tone of even serious articles is of a piece with the government forcing us to have probably carcinogenic chemicals in out furniture & bedding because of a minuscule fire risk. We are dumbed down and woefully unaware.
UPDATE: I talked to the East Coast office of the Sealy Mattress company...their customer service branch...and when I mentioned my concern I was told that my symptoms were 'very rare' and they 'never' get calls of this nature, and that some 'new smell' was normal...when I asked how long I should allow the mattress to air out (like they say in the papers that come with it) before the smell went away, the woman replied, 'there isn't a certain amount of time...it's different for everybody...if you buy a new car it takes about 6-7 months to have that smell go away, right?"
I said "Are you saying it could take 6-7 months to have my new mattress smell go away?"
To which she hastily replied "No ma'am, I'm not saying that." (tone of voice changed to serious) It was a rough conversation after that. She proceeded at that point to tell me that there was nothing that they could do for me and I would have to take the issue up with the store I bought it from.
The store I bought it from said they had customers in the store and couldn't take time to help me and would I call the main branch customer service line.
I did, and found the first person willing to try to do something about this...she regarded Sealy's response as 'unnacceptable' called herself to ask them to inspect the mattress. And so now, a third 'independent' party inspector is scheduled to come to my house to determine if my nose is too sensitive, or if there really is a defect with the mattress. The visit is scheduled for two weeks away. By then, it will have been a full two months of unused, $2,300 mattress set investment quarantining my entire bedroom.
Like you, I am frustrated. The living room floor is getting overrated. (It's no longer like a fun slumber party camped out in front of the TV, no matter how much I try to get OK with the idea.) Trying to look on the positive side, I see how I bought myself a $2,300 course in "safe home/safe bedroom options 101".
http://www.organicmattress.net/index.html
http://www.ahappyplanet.com/ahpstore/organic%20mattress.html
http://www.lifekind.com/catalo g/default.php?cPath=101&osCsid =8mlevb1nd6hed609aa0kfu31s7
OK, ya'll, hope those links help. Enjoy your happy bedroom shopping.
The only 2 person that slept on my son's new bed was me and my son and we both ended up in the emergency room with a $20,000 PLUS medical bill.
No doctors could figure out what was happenning so I literally wash down my son's room thinking it was mold. While I was laying in bed, I notice fumes coming from the mattress and instantly ran to my computer to check if "Mattress can make you ill".
Sure thing, I found out the U.S. Congress passed a Law IN 2006 to treat all mattress made in the U.S. with "non Flammable Chimical" (Boric Acid). This chemical almost killed me and my son as it constricts our breathing passage causing us to gasps for "air/oxygen" while we slept (only happens when we actually lay on the mattress). This feeling that we experienced was very close to death as you find yourself gasping for air as your body doses of to sleep. My feeling is that my heart actually "stops beating", feeling semi paralyzed and I'm struggling to stay awake. I felt like there was 500 pounds of weight on top of me and can't push it off my chest.
This is a scary feeling and I'm scared to sleep!!! I finally threw out the mattress and felt a little better only that I think the damage to my lungs is
permenent and I'm still seeking medical help.
Soomething needs to be done and millions of people through out the U.S. CAN MAKE AN IMPACT.
CHEMICALS ON ANYTHING CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS. U.S. CONGRESS NEEDS TO KNOW THIS!!!
My personal feeling is...if U.S. CONGRESS THINKS THE NON-FLAMMABLE BEDS IS GOING TO SAFE LIVES...there will be more people who will die from this chemical and not know that they were actually sleeping on their "DEATH BED".
I KNOW...I FOUND OUT ON MY OWN
1 - other interesting article on mattress off-gassing here:
http://articles.mercola.com/si tes/articles/archive/2000/11/0 5/victory-over-sids.aspx?CommentPosted=true#commentmessage
EXCERPT: "Common, ordinarily harmless household fungi such as Scopulariopsis brevicaulis and certain microorganisms consume the phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, added as fire retardants and plastic softeners.
In consuming the chemicals, the fungi emit the heavier-than-air neurotoxic gases based on phosphine (PH3), arsine (AsH3)[4] and stibine (SbH3). These gases are about one thousand times more poisonous than carbon monoxide, which can kill a person in a closed garage with a running engine. They are about as toxic as Sarin, used in the 1980s Iran-Iraq war and in a Tokyo terrorist subway poisoning in 1995.
In probably the worst environmental disaster of the 20th century, these toxic gases have killed about one million victims of SIDS worldwide."
and 2 -
if a new mattress isn't in your budget, there are mattress wraps that claim to contain the off-gassing and keep it away from you. ie here - http://www.eves-best.com/mattress-wrap-for-offgassing.htm
My plan of empowerment: After dragging the mattress out in the sun and leaving it there for three days and nights in the blistering summer heat and light, I will bring it back in to cover it with the plastic envelope, charcoal blankets et al. During which time I'll HEPA vacuum the offgassing particles off the carpet in my bedroom, wash down the walls with a vinegar rinse, and turn on high a HEPA, ION, CARBON and ULTRAVIOLET air filter in the room.
If that still doesn't work, then it's the scissors. I will cut off the outer layer of the mattress which is flame retardant fabric, including the foam cushion topper which I've learned is also a large culprit in offgassing formaldehyde, and proceed to recover it with a different material (as I know how to reupholster), and then recover with the plastic and charcoal, et all.
If that still doesn't work, then it's donation, I'm afraid. (I have tried to sell it to no avail.) I'm sure it will benefit a homeless shelter greatly. And in doing so, will serve out it's destiny as a bed to someone who can feel good while lying on it.
A bit of irony in conclusion of this chapter: the man who sold me the mattress sent me a thank you card recently, thanking me for buying a mattress from him.
I think I'll be sending him a card soon. But it won't say Thank you.
I may regret this outburst of feeling, but right now, I must be honest and say it's REAL.
I called the mattress company since I hadn't heard back from the inspectors in two weeks. They have denied me any further recourse saying the third party inspector found no defect with the mattress itself. Their conclusion is that I have a sensitive nose.
I asked 'what about the fact that your mattress is causing me sickness?'
She responded 'there is no defect in the mattress.'
The denial from them is absolute. She said I've reached the end of the line for what they can offer me. I asked, 'what am I supposed to do with a $2,300 investment that makes me sick?'
She replied, 'if you don't like it, and this is just a suggestion, you could sell it.'
Well, I'll end my blog on this line here. From here, there will be nothing else to report. I'll either sell it, cover it, tear it apart to decrease the foam content and reupholster it, or I'll donate it.
Thanks for reading. Hope it's been useful to someone out there. Blessings to you all.
I posted the mattress for sale on Craig's List, but had no response. I live in a big city, Los Angeles, and thought there would be no shortage of customers. But I had qualms about transferring this problem to someone else. I originally purchased the mattress thinking it would relieve my partner's back problems, but he got sick as well from the off gassing. We experienced severe headaches, fever, dizzyness, difficulty breathing and crackling voices.
After moving the $ 1800.00 mattress (no box spring) to the garage where it still is, I purchased a queen size air mattress and put it on top of my platform bed, the kind with wooden slats. I have never slept better. So that is my solution for the time being. I will have nothing in my house soaked in chemicals. I have tried to be as careful as possible in the past with few modern day contraptions. I have wicker furniture for instance and things like that.
Now, as for my partner, who is on a cross country trip now and sleeps in national forests instead of motels, always believed in less is more and buys what he needs from thrift stores. He injured his back on a fishing trip to Alaska and I thought it would help with a good mattress. Maybe this is how we were meant to find out about American made mattresses. I am from a European country where none of this would be allowed.
My friend also believes the reason he looks so young for his age and is very healthy, is due his lack of desire to aquire as much as possible (the American dream) and has lived a simple life with little stress. He buys things at thrift stores ,clothes and beddings for instance, which by then have been washed so many times they are free of factory problems. His regular bed is a futon. My friend is a modern day Henry David Thoreau and we need more like him.
He is going on 59 and looks 20 years younger. I may post a link later to an essay he wrote about modern day Thoreaus and simple living, which included a recent photo of my friend.
A link to an essay about simple living written by my friend. I took the photo of him this spring in the Mohave desert in Califirnia. He is 58 1/2 in this photo. Maybe simple living is the only answer. If the link does not work google "Douglas Herman Archives". I believe it is the third down on the list.
I've resorted to local flyers and I may do a newspaper ad. I find it's an ethical qualm as well...do we want to give a stinker to someone else to suffer with? And if I do, how do I offer the protective covers with it without raising their alarm at purchasing it?
My recourse at this point is to sell it to someone who won't notice the problem because they are not as sensitive as I am. There are tons of people buying these mattresses who don't think they have problems from them. I'd like to find one of those people who will actually enjoy it, or else, what's the point?
As my friend says, the healthier we get, the more our bodies notice these things...The muddier the pool of water, the less mud gets noticed when it enters in.
Either way I am learning that if I have an interior conflict over selling it, that conflict energy will be on the ad and it won't sell. So, I must get clear that it gets to be OK and that the mattress does have a sleeping destiny out there for some lucky couple or person who wants it and who it will actually be OK for. I must free the mattress to it's destiny like I free insects by transporting them out of the house...with compassion. I feel this is the best way for me to reverse whatever bad energy I've put on the mattress as a result of my troubles/trauma with the manufacturer and store customer service.
Sorry to wax philosophical here, but I really am taking a look at this concept lately.
Dibuthyl, phthalate, styrene butadiene, pesticides, polyurethane, polyester, foam poly fibers, antibacterial sprays , phthalates dioxane ,hydrocarbon, fungicides, pesticides herbicides , defoliants, acetaldehyde n-hexanal, toluene, diisoryanate, benzene limonene, tri methyl benzene, catalysts,carbon disulfide, voc's, glues, flame retardant ,foams, glass fabrics, acrylics, chrome, vinyl thermoplastic fibers, nylon polypropylene, nitrobenzene, styrene, boric acid, synthetic batting ,ethylbenzene, octate, formaldehyde silcone sulfa cants, cyanide, dyes .
PBDE’s changes a child's intelligence and memory and increases hyperactivity, damages hearing learning and flame retardant passes through the placenta and is absorbed by the new born. The federal EPA, has jurisdiction over the chemicals but has made no move to regulate these poisons.
-source is from Dahlia at Nirvana Safe Haven (she sells organic products for non toxic homes)
Just a FYI to those of you who live in warm climates and can do that.
Yesterday I sold the Tempur-Pedic through Craig's list. I had been stored in my garage since early May. Took a fifteen hundred dollar loss, and will write it off to one of life's lessons learned. Btw, the air mattress I have been using in the meantime give no problems.
If the Essentia mattress gives us the comfort of the Visco foam without all the chemicals and breathes better, then we will be happy campers.
I am glad that companies are taking initiatives to sell us better, healthier products. I know many of these products are more expensive but historically consumer trends towards cheaper products have all come at a cost...cost to the environment, cost to people's health and also at a cost to people's livelihoods when the demand for cheaper prices drives companies outside the US and Canada putting people out of work.
Organic does not mean nontoxic. Those who sell organic alternatives to chemical synthetics sometimes imply that their product is nontoxic by virtue of it's organic source. Remember that arsenic, cyanide, and hemlock are all organic.
The synthetic materials used to produce foam are highly combustible the fire retardants are necessary for these substances to be used at all. They actually act as accelerant, much like pouring gas on the bed.
Cotton, wool, feathers, bamboo may smolder and produce smoke that might kill you but at least you wont be covered by a gluey, melted mass that will not release from your skin and will continue to burn deeply where ever it touches you even if you do get out of the fire.
http://www.offgassing-mattress-wraps.com/mattress-wraps.htm
hard to find these things :\