<p>I knew the day would come when, like Pinocchio, I would become real. Here on cc I am finally asking an important question. </p>
<p>I am dying to get my D an extra-long twin mattress cover with “slow-recovery” foam. But the fireman, didn’t he say in that really long thread that it’s bad for fires? Fumes and everything? Is that true? My D is in a spanking new dorm, so I imagine that the fire protection is good. She is on the second floor. However, if it’s fumes I guess I’m stuck.</p>
<p>Do I have to go with the all-cotton microbial cover instead?</p>
<p>You’ll see there is something called “Code Red II” which is fire retardant; none of the other materials appear to be. Now to see if I can find a memory foam topper made out of Code Red II…</p>
<p>Well, since research on this topic is not on my priority list, I went with the cushy regular cotton one. Sign me up as a MeanMom. :D</p>
<p>We are a Tempurpedic family, though, and I am waiting to get his pillow until we arrive there, where I will go to Brookstone for The Real Thing. Partially redeemed? :o</p>
<p>I have investigated and made the phonecall to a very VERY helpful and knowledgeable man at foamorder.com (the site where I found the MSDS sheets above). Here is what he says.</p>
<p>Memory foams and other toppers do meet a standard called Cal-117, but eventually they do burn. Code Red II fire retardant (FR) foams meet this Cal-117 standard and also a more stringent standard called Cal-133, although eventually anything will burn under worst conditions.</p>
<p>Normal bed toppers are not usually produced in FR foams, although there’s no reason why these couldn’t be produced. At the bottom of the left side of their website, under “Industrial”, there is a link for F.R. Foam. If you select that, you first choose a shape: for a bed mattress topper, choose “Square or Rectangle”. The depth/height for an extra-tall twin, he said, is usually 80", the width 38" or 39". (I used 39.) Mattress toppers are typically 2" or 3" – heavier people would likely want 3" thickness. Click on the price quote button at the bottom and you’ll see a list of densities (priced similarly). He suggests Soft for a mattress topper, and says there is NO NEED to purchase a Dacron wrap for this purpose. My estimate came out to about $125, but of course there would be shipping from SF to wherever.</p>
<p>He says it takes about 2 weeks to get the F.R. Foam and get it cut to size. If you want to purchase online and ship to another address, there is an authorization form that will display for you after the purchase, which you’d need to print, sign, and fax back to them.</p>
<p>I am going to see if I can talk my kid into this alternative. It’s a bit more pricey than what I was looking at earlier, but not a lot more, and I’d feel better about it.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with this company, I just found their info interesting and the guy on the phone DEFINITELY very helpful.</p>
<p>So let’s get into the details. My darling D has allergies to dust mites. Every morning you know when she wakes up because there’s profound sneezing coming from her room. This is even with an air cleaner in place and a mattress cover. I was going to try and combine the memory foam with the tightly woven cotton cover to reduce dust (I cannot believe these words are even coming out of my fingers…). Looks like that’s inadvisable and I should optimize mattress cover first and foam topper second. </p>
<p>Before the Internet was this kind of behavior even possible?</p>
<p>And more importantly, have I come to the correct conclusion? Mootmom, your research abilities rock.</p>
<p>Alumother: We always knew you were Real, you just had to believe in yourself! </p>
<p>My S also has allergies, has been approved for an A/C unit and will get new serum testing soon for his shots. He should be healthy until Spring since mites are not his issue but pollen is a serious problem in the South in pine world.</p>
<p>We bought an off brand two inch memory foam topper for his dorm mattress. We will see if this was wise! The egg crate to me is better than without it but somehow a cheesy feeling as a mattress pad. Better for short term camp mattresses I am guessing. </p>
<p>I couldn’t bring myself to buy the Tempurpedic mattress pad for long twins…the price was so exhorbitant, even though I do think Tempurpedic is a bit better than the competition in feel. If the Tempurpedic company got smart they would market for dorm beds and go on and publically reassure us about fumes and burn rates etc and also drop that price point by a lot and they would sell like hotcakes to all dorm kids. </p>
<p>We opened his BB and B memory foam version up and spread it across the LR couch for a couple weeks. A Sunbath might also be nice for it and the smell is gone now…they all include a “the fumes will pass” message but why not get yours out in the sunshine or fresh air before leaving for college. I just put it under my husband tonight for an experiment so we can “try it out” and see if we want one for ourselves. </p>
<p>Alumom, wonder if those mothball looking ball things that absorb moisture would also be a deterrent to mold and dust mites in your D’s room. I saw them in BB and Beyond as odor and moisture absorbant things.</p>
<p>There is definitely a difference in odors among brands. DH and I got an off brand 6 zone memory foam topper and it smelled terrible for about two weeks! But finally the smell dissipated (in the basement!) and it is quite comfortable. Then we bought an Isotonic memory foam topper at BB&B for DS, and the odor was very noticably less. I believe it meets the Callifornia fire safety code. I was able to air it out on top of a bed. Additionally, our Tempurpedic pillows had virtually no smell when they were new.</p>
<p>I remember reading somewhere that off brands are often “bad pours” of foam and may have problems such as excess odor, oily staining, short size cut, etc. I guess sometimes you get what you pay for!</p>
<p>My D suffers from a severe dust mite allergy also. Hers manifests as excercise induced bronchial spasms and terrible hives outbreaks. She takes a daily pill (Zyrtec) to mitigate its effects. Last year (her freshman) we provided her with both an egg crate topper and a knock-off memory foam topper, which used together, proved to be very comfortable. We subsequently encased it all, along with her pillows, in those anti-dust mite covers, which seemed to help tremendously. Of course, dust mites are happiest in extreme heat and humidity, all of which prevail in early September in the Philadelphia area. Her dorm is not air conditioned, so it will be interesting to see how she fares early on.</p>
<p>I’m not terribly concerned about the flamability of the mattress toppers. The dorms all have sprinkler systems to guard against fires, and they conduct regular fire drills. Smoking is forbidden in all buildings on campus. In any case, there are any number of very flamable materials in your average dorm room, all of which create toxic smoke. The smoke usually kills long before flames reach the body. It’s the smoke that concerns me.</p>
<p>If the allergies are severe, wouldn’t it be better just to bring or buy one’s own mattress?
I’m all for a cleaner environment. So, what all do you do to keep the environment cleaner and allergy free in these situations?</p>
<p>I have hesitated to post because I’m certain that what the fireman posted is very true, and a seice to us to mention - BUT at the same time, i kind of agree with Poetsheart - if the fire gets to the bed, its a little too late - and what about the pillow, the cushions and the 500 other flammable things in the room? I just wonder if the money and effort might be better spent going over fire safety concerns before you leave on move-in day, and buying your kids one of those roll-up escape ladders if they are on the 2nd or 3rd floors and have a window. Just a thought.</p>
<p>We bought my daughter a fiberbed, and got one for our mattress as well - cheap, synthetic featherbed. We like ours, it is not too hot, we’ll see how she likes hers, it is less expensive than the one for my bed, and I wonder if it will bunch up.</p>
<p>My BBandBeyond Long Twin offbrand topper slept quite well last night in its trial run. We aired it out a couple weeks, so I think I can recommend it. The smell was not that bad to start out but Tempurpedic seems to me to be best. Just not hundreds of dollars best.</p>
<p><<<SEVERAL ENVIRONMENTAL advocacy groups, including the Childrens Health Environmental Coalition (<a href=“http://www.checnet.org%5B/url%5D”>http://www.checnet.org</a>) and the Environmental Working Group (<a href=“http://www.ewg.org)%5B/url%5D”>http://www.ewg.org)</a>, have raised concerns about a flame retardant commonly found in mattresses made of polyurethane foam (which would include memory foam). These chemicals, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), build up in human and animal fatty tissues and have been linked to disrupted brain growth in lab animals. Scientists measuring the concentration of PBDEs in humans have found that body burden levels in North America have risen exponentially over the past few decades and are much higher than those found in Europe, where some countries have banned PBDEs. Studies suggest that these chemicals escape as a gas from certain plastics and polyurethane foam, and then adhere to dust that can be breathed by humans or enter the food chain by contaminating water and soil. (For details, see the 6/20/04 Los Angeles Times article This Is the Toxic Substance You Cant Avoid.)</p>
<p>The European Union already bans penta PBDEs, the kind that are added to foam in cushions and mattresses, and California will ban them in 2008. If youre worried about the effects of these chemicals, or any of the other chemicals used in standard mattress manufacturing, you may investigate other options.>>></p>
<p>I think the issue with foam is not so much that is flammable–think of all the books and papers in a student’s room–, but that, as it burns, it releases noxious fumes.</p>
<p>Yes, it was the fumes. D will go without foam. Luckily she is in a new dorm so with any luck the mattress is new. And besides, if she is a princess best to find out now…</p>
<p>MOMS !!! ok I get the allergy thing but what’s with the bed toppers, mattrress covers foam things and egg crates??? are the college beds really racks…or are you just having separation anxiety…please answer this question because my Mom is totally not in a shopping mode…and we’re leaving for Ohio next week !!!</p>
<p>The same toxic fumes concerns can probably be raised about the carpeting and window coverings in most domitories, especially if they have been treated for stain resistence. In fact, a mind boggling number of plastic/petroleum-based products exist in the average dorm room (not to mention, your average home), that perpetually “off-gass”, and release toxic fumes in the event of fire. The dangers of smoke inhalation have never been contingent upon the chemical additives found in modern products and conveniences. Fire produces smoke, which when inhaled in suffient volumes, is fatal in and of itself. One could drive oneself totally bonkers worrying about the toxicity of mattress toppers and other things with which we might send our kids off to college. We just found the most ridiculously comfortable bean bag chair for D to take back to school this fall. It’s filled with millions of tiny styrofoam pellets. I’m sure it’s burn residue could produce smoke images of the skull and crossed-bones in the air. But there’s no way to eliminate the risks that we incur along with the comforts and conveniences of modern living. The world prior to the invention of plastic wasn’t totally safe either.</p>