By Gail Marsh
Many RVers switch out the original bed mattress that comes from the RV factory and purchase a memory foam mattress or “bed-in-a-box” as a replacement. A foam mattress might be more comfortable. But it might be dangerous, as well!
Hazmat?
A hazmat team wearing full-body protective gear entered a home near St. Louis, Missouri. The team was called in to clean up a fiberglass hazard caused by a mattress. Yes, a mattress. The entire home was filled with tiny shards of glass released from the mattress when a young mother removed the mattress cover. She wanted to wash the cover and since it featured a handy zipper, she had no reason to suspect any danger.
Fiberglass everywhere!
Once disturbed by the removal of its cover, fiberglass dispersed immediately into the air. Helped along by the HVAC blower, the glass bits were soon everywhere. Fiberglass was found throughout the home: in the toys, on the furniture, in clothing, pillows, curtains, everything! The glass fibers irritated family members’ eyes and throats. The glass shards caused tiny cuts to their skin, too, causing itching and irritation. The entire family of five had to leave their home until the mess was professionally cleaned.
Fiberglass in mattresses?
It turns out that many manufacturers routinely put fiberglass into their mattresses. Why? Fiberglass makes the mattresses more fire-resistant. The Consumer Products Safety Council has received numerous complaints about fiberglass inside foam mattresses and recommends that consumers check the mattress contents tag before ever removing the cover.
A solution
Not every foam mattress has fiberglass inside. However, I recently checked the foam mattress that we bought to replace the RV factory original. Turns out our replacement mattress contains 64% glass fiber! I immediately bought a new mattress cover. I used the new one to “envelope” the foam mattress, along with its cover. When needed, I can safely remove this mattress cover and not risk the fiberglass nightmare.
Don’t make the costly (and hazardous) mistake others have made. Do not remove the mattress cover! Even if the cover has a zipper. First, make sure you know what’s inside your mattress and take precautions to stay safe.
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How would it even be safe to sleep on a mattress with fiberglass in it? Breathing fiberglass causes lung issues. Mattress cover or not, I’m checking my mattress. If it has fiberglass, it’s gone! Thank you for this article.
Good information, we’re about to buy a new mattress for our new TT. But come to think about it, I’ve never even SEEN a mattress with a zipper on it.
Having worked in the manufacturing of fiberglass for 43 years. The drama here is quite silly. At this rate If you only knew the variety of products made of fiberglass you probably couldn’t sleep at night.
Thank you for your warning report. Those mattresses should have their own big bold warning labels on them where they can’t be missed seeing.
At this point and age in my life, it is too late to worry about fiberglass. I have rolled around in the stuff long enough it should have killed me by now.
Don’t be so sure. Many doses are cumulative so reducing exposure is always a good idea.
For how long can a cover made of pretty much anything keep some of the tiny, sharp glass fibers from penetrating through to the outside?
I found a very comfortable wool mattress topper. Wool is naturally fire resistant so they don’t have to add any toxic fireproofing chemicals to it.
Wow! Thank you, Gail! Fiberglass in mattresses is a bit concerning. Thank you for sounding the alarm!
Reposting this article seems a good idea. Totally guessing here, but also seems like someone somewhere would have filed a class action lawsuit if this was as bad of an issue as the article implies. I didn’t check so maybe someone somewhere did!
Thank you for the warning, Gail! Happy new year and safe travels! 🙂