Is Your Mattress Dangerous? Fiberglass in your mattress

… Unfortunately, If It Contains Fiberglass, The Answer Is ‘Yes’

As you know, since you’re a faithful reader of this space, asbestos is ugly and dangerous.  But just in case you’re one of the more than two dozen people worldwide who is not YET a faithful reader of this space, here’s a brief review.

Asbestos is an ugly rock, and while it was illegal in the US for a brief time long ago, it is perfectly legal to import products containing asbestos today.  Tons of asbestos are imported every year, often incorporated into building materials, such as pipe insulation, floor tiles, and wall boards.

And while asbestos isn’t dangerous as part of those products, if the products are damaged (by something as simple as a broken-pipe flood or small house fire), the asbestos breaks up into microscopic shards that get into everything, including your lungs, and (after prolonged exposure) can cause incurable diseases.

So, yeah, asbestos is ugly, and it’s dangerous.

So why do manufacturers use it?  Simple: It’s helpful in meeting codes related to fire resistance, and like most ugly rocks, it’s cheap.

Back in the day, even your mattress contained asbestos.  After all, people were far more concerned about dying in a burning bed than they were about succumbing to (then-obscure) lung diseases like mesothelioma.  It wasn’t until later, back in a later day, that the dangers of asbestos became known and people stopped buying mattresses containing asbestos.

But regulations – including new ones – still demanded a certain level of flame retardant to be included in mattresses.  So what did manufacturers turn to?  Fiberglass.  Why?  Because it checks the flame-retardant box, and, like asbestos and ugly rocks, it’s cheap.

But wait!  Like asbestos, fiberglass fibers can also be released from your mattress, and they do pretty-much the same thing asbestos shards do: They get into everything, including your lungs!

If you look, you can find horror stories about people whose entire homes were destroyed by fiberglass fibers from their exposed mattress fillings, and there are too many unfortunate tales of people who became sick and died because of exposure to fiberglass.

(But don’t look for those stories.  They’re depressing.  Just take my word for it.)

If you think your mattress might contain fiberglass, check the label (you know, that one they tell you not to remove, so you remove it right away).  If that doesn’t work, look up the manufacturer, and do a little research.  And if you do have a fiberglass mattress, you’d be well served to consider replacing it.

There are manufacturers turning out nice mattresses which check the fire resistance box without containing risky materials like asbestos or fiberglass.  You might spend a bit more, but you’ll end up concluding that your health and peace-of-mind are worth it.

Meanwhile, if you’re concerned that there are fiberglass fibers floating around your place, give us a call.  We can refer you to a pro who can test your air, and if there’s a problem, it’s possible it can be abated in much the same way asbestos particles can be removed.

Your mattress isn’t really trying to kill you.  It’s just lying there.  But the fiberglass inside that mattress is possibly dangerous to your health.  Check it out!  And if there’s a potential problem, give your friends at Asbestos Abatement, Inc. a call.  For less than you might think, we can get you and your property on the road to recovery, and to a better night’s sleep.