Eco mattresses filled with recycled plastic bottles - safety question

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I'm about to buy a new mattress for DD. As it's a shorty bed, options are a bit limited.

The options that fit into my budget that have decent reviews for comfort both are sprung but topped with eco filling - fibres made from ground down plastic bottles.

I'm a bit iffy about this - we know that some plastics release harmful toxins hence reusable bottles now being 'BPA free' etc.

I'm interested to know what others think of this. Will all the responses here be along the lines of 'Are you receiving help for your anxiety OP?' or, more usefully, can anyone who really understands this stuff reassure me that it's fine!?

Bump

I will say is that we really can’t avoid plastics any more. I have a memory foam mattress. My takeaways come in plastic. Meat in plastic. Fruit and veg in plastic. At least your mattress is recycled. Make sure you air it out really well when you get it. We can only ever try our best.

I have thought that - that plastic is generally unavoidable.

Also I realise that most people (including me!) are sleeping on mattresses that contain foam or plastic and goodness knows what was in them thirty years ago.

I wish it hadn't occurred to me to wonder what was in the mattresses!

Absolutely OP. No shame in wondering about it! I would say that in terms of eco-friendly-ness, this is as good as it gets really. In the same way, I still re-use any takeaway boxes and I use my veg/fruit bags as smaller bin bags. I can't find a way to completely avoid using it, and I have accepted that there might be minimal risks involved so I might as well try to reuse and recycle where possible. So far I haven't died from the memory foam in my mattress, or from the microwave in plastic meals my mum gave me as a child, and I don't plan to! As long as the mattress you're looking at adheres to British safety standards I would say the risks are very tiny.

I had a similar dilemma when we replaced our mattress recently - liked the idea of recycled material, less keen on the idea of sleeping on plastic (memory foam or traditional). In the end we got a wool-filled mattress instead. I'm sure the plastic isn't dangerous but I understand you feeling a bit dubious about it!

Thanks. I've had a quote to make a custom size mattress from one of the UK's wool mattress companies. It comes in at £330. I could probably stretch to paying that but because it's bespoke it's non-returnable and I'm very nervous about buying an unknown product not knowing whether it will suit DD at that price with no return. Most people seem to love wool mattresses but I read a review where two different people had reacted to the wool mattress and that has put me off a bit as I can't afford a mistake at that price (the other mattresses I'm looking at are £110 or thereabouts).

I have a wool based futon mattress (unsprung) and I love it. But what makes it great is having sprung slats on the bed frame underneath so it’s not a ‘dead’ feeling. Might not be an issue for you daughter if she’s small but it’s worth thinking about if she isn’t immediately keen. I found they transformed the feel of it and gave more cushioning to my hips. IKEA have some at a god price.

Re the bottles, I would personally avoid them and stretch the budget to all natural fibres if at all possible.

Not sure if you have seen this but this is the children’s mattress from the same company that made mine. It’s £275 in a narrow single www.cottonsafenaturalmattress.co.uk/collections/featured-products/products/childrens-mattresses also has no chemical flame retardants, but the natural materials, weave of the covers and design make it naturally flame retardant. Fully certified of course. Any good?

Assuming they can make a short custom mattress for you 🤞

This is the company I got a quote from. The small single is the right width but not the right length hence needing the custom size which adds £60. I actually think the price they’re charging is fair it’s just that I can’t afford any mistakes at this price.

It’s useful to hear a personal review of one of their products though. The website portrays the company really well but as they don’t have any negative reviews showing it’s hard to tell if they just choose not to show them.

Ah! I have spoken to them a couple of times with technical questions a couple of years and found them helpful, but I had already bought mine from a friend who didn’t use it.

They have a polyester free option but I assume they would have mentioned if they can make it in a small bed size.

We’re looking for a new mattress too and comparing the options is hurting my brain 🤯

Hope you find something you’re happy with. It’s so difficult when you can’t try them first isn’t it

I've bitten the bullet and ordered a mattress from Cottonsafe. Now just crossing my fingers that we're happy with it when it turns up!

Fingers crossed it’s just what you need 🤞

babymattressesonline.co.uk/

Used this company for a couple of non standard sizes, they do lots of different styles. Good service and cost effective. Would recommend.

Hi did you end up getting a mattress from cottonsafe. If so which one and we’re you happy with it?

i have the same questions about recycled plastic bottles

I did end up getting the cottonsafe mattress (which is stuffed with wool rather than plastic bottles).

I'm pleased with it. DD finds it comfortable and I'm content that it's one of the better options for mattress fillings health wise so feel like I've done what I can.

My only gripe is that in order to get the waterproof mattress protector like the company say you should, you'd have to get one with plastic it in which is what we were trying to avoid in the first place!

They also don't sell custom size mattress protectors so I now have a custom mattress and no way of getting a protector that will fit properly.

For now we just have DD's old waterproof bamboo mats from her cot laid on top of the mattress but this isn't ideal and wouldn't withstand a major vomit incident.

Blooming minefield!

Mattresses that are made of recycled bottles can contain phthalates (endocrine disrupters). I would avoid mattresses like Silentnight as well as the Emma mattress which contains fiberglass. The best affordable option I've found so far is a natural latex mattress on Amazon which is shipped from Thailand (Talalex I think it's called).