Tell us, what exactly are the toxic gasses that are being released?
There’s no need for opinions about the usefulness of forum comments with this question.
From Sealy.com
FIRE-RETARDANT MATERIALS
Sealy chose to use only environmentally friendly fire-retardant materials to meet the new U.S. Code of Federal Standards, Title 16, Part 1633, Standard for the Flammability (Open Flame) on Mattress Sets. By design, Sealy’s fire retardant materials have inherent re-retardant properties. As a result, no chemicals, including halogens or harsh metals, are used in Sealy’s fire-retardant materials.
“No chemicals” - they’re not trying to leave themselves any wiggle room there.
And just in case you want to learn more about “inherent re-retardant properties” there’s Firegard.com where they make such fabrics for the mattress industry.
Fear mongers… meh.
Sealy got back to me:
That is pretty amazing. I never imagined a company has the technology to outgas foam before shipping their products. It must be some top secret stuff, I’m sure all manufacturers of foam would love to get their hands on this tech. -face palm (not to mention the spelling/grammar in the response). After this, I’m not overly confident in their products to say the least. I suspect they consider me a typical sucker.
No, if anything, what makes you a “typical sucker” is that you lend any credence to the idea of “outgassing” in the first place.
Really? There is plenty of science backed study to conclude outgassing of VOCs occurs from a variety of materials and can have negative effects on an organism.
This might be enlightening to watch: HBO Original Documentaries: View All | HBO Official Site
Sealy’s fire-retardant materials are made from chemicals. Unless somehow they’ve built a bed that is a vacuum.
Or their virtual mattress is a pure energy levitation force-field. I’ll be that would be even niftier than a waterbed!
This is a fallacy. It is possible for something to harm you without killing you immediately, or even without the harm being immediately apparent or traceable to that specific cause.
It is a virtual certainty that there are people right now dying of a cancer, where the underlying DNA replication error was directly caused by exposure to a carcinogenic chemical in their mattress. These people don’t know their specific case of cancer was caused by their mattress, and neither does anyone else. That doesn’t mean the risk doesn’t exist.
“Doesn’t immediately and obviously kill you” is a pretty low bar to set for product safety.
The reason boric acid is used to kill household pests is that, while it is very effective against insects, you can dust your whole house in it and it won’t harm humans. If you sprinkle it on your food every night, you’ll eventually get sick, though you’ll start vomiting rather than drop dead with no warning. Mere environmental exposure is non-hazardous.
You might drop dead with no warning. 15-20 grams can kill you if taken internally.
I can’t imagine how you would eat 20 grams of boric acid without knowing it or vomiting halfway through, but let’s agree that you shouldn’t try.
I’m virtually certain you have no evidence justifying such a conclusion.
Nice combination of username and post, though.
Obligatory theme music for the thread.
I’ve purchased two foam mattresses over the past five years or so. The first one I had a allergic reaction to the minute I lay down on it - sneezing, watery eyes. I unfurled it in the guest bedroom for a couple of days and all was fine. The second one had a chemical smell that dissipated in less than a day, but it didn’t provoke an allergic reaction. I believe I may have directed a fan on it to speed things up.
They also sell all-natural teak bedframes - that they don’t touch except to “polish”. Yeah.
Then comes the good part:
**
“To highlight the beauty of natural solid wood, we have specifically selected teak wood with naturally occurring splits and knots, making each piece beautiful and unique.”
**
In other words - the scraps nobody in their right minds would consider furniture grade.
I once saw a showroom for “All Wood” furniture - a solid rosewood bed with integrated nightstands. Absolutely gorgeous wood - and not a single corner was even close to square. And this was the showroom. What do they ship?
Something about solid wood brings out really strange ideas of craftsmanship.
The evidence is basic mathematics. If you have a sufficiently large sample size, it is a statistical certainty that very low probability events will occur.
This is one of the main arguments that James Randi, et al, use against people who claim that certain events are proof of paranormal forces.
well yeah its also the " a large amount of anything is poisonous".
Factory workers exposed to similar gases got sick, but they were exposed to clouds that formed a mist in the air…