If you are chemically sensitive generally, or if you know you are specifically sensitive to:
• Nylon
• Polycotton blends
• Latex
• Acrylics
• Other pure synthetics
you should avoid using synthetic, latex or synthetic blend bedding, mattresses and pillows.
You are unlikely to be able to use any of the anti-dust mite bedding covers and systems available which use synthetic or synthetic blend materials. Use instead a pure cotton or pure wool mattress cover or undersheet which will protect in part against dust mites.
Do not dry-clean bedding. Do not buy bedding which cannot be washed, unless you have multiple allergies and have no option.
You also need to take care when choosing bedding of natural fibres. Be sure to check:
• Covers
• Fabric treatments and finishes
With pillows and duvets, check that covers are not made of synthetic or synthetic blend fabrics. With sheets, duvets and pillowcases, avoid any labelled ‘Easycare’ or ‘Crease Resistant’ since these will have been treated with a chemical, usually a formaldehyde resin, which can cause reactions. You can buy unbleached and untreated pure cotton sheets; sources are given below.
Sources for Indian cotton bedspreads and candlewick bedspreads which are untreated are given below. To comply with fire regulations, pure cotton mattresses must be treated with fire retardant chemicals. Cotton wadding for mattress and futon fillings is invariably treated with boric acid. This can irritate if you handle the powder itself, but it does not give off fumes and does not cause sensitivity reactions. It is well tolerated by people with chemical sensitivity.
Pure cotton ticking, used for the mattress or futon cover, also has to be treated for fire retardancy. Water soluble phosphate salts are often used on mattress and futon covers and these do not cause sensitivity (although they can cause irritation to fabric production workers if handled excessively). Back coatings and other chemicals are sometimes also used, and these sometimes cause sensitivity. A variety of chemicals can be used – some are well tolerated and others are not: they are often specific to one fabric manufacturer, made to their own formula.
The mattresses supplied by the firms named below are all well tolerated by chemically sensitive people, and are as low-hazard as you can obtain within current fire regulations. Some of the futons made by the firms listed below use back-coated covering fabric, which is more likely to give problems. Check what fabric has been used before you buy a futon.
If you are very highly chemically sensitive, you may be better off keeping an old mattress rather than running the risk (however remote) of reacting to a new one. If you do buy one, air it very well before use and do not throw away the old one for a few months, or even longer, before you are sure you tolerate the new one.
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