<p>Spiker - I don’t know whether The Moms are bonkers are not. I know I lived in dorms 4 years and no one ever agonized over Mattress Issues for me, and I slept fine. So, I’m not getting into it myself. Remember, with the wonders of the Internet, it is Never Too Late To Shop. If you, or my DS, just can’t tolerate the mattress, BB&B and all its cohorts are just a click of the mouse away. And … you’ll have the fun of receiving a package!</p>
<p>Spiker:</p>
<p>This mom is not in shopping mode. S and I talked and he does not need anything new except some more clothes (disclaimer: he’ll be living close to home and can always go shopping on his own or ask us to drive him). He’s going to wait until he sees his room to decide on decorations and talk with his suitemates before he decides on fridges, etc… As for mattress toppers, he’s the reverse of the princess and the pea.</p>
<p>Arrite …2 sensible Moms!!</p>
<p>Will definitely be sending the chain ladder. My D has it in her room now (at home) because she is on the 2nd floor and she will be taking it to school.</p>
<p>Spiker – my daughter has lived in dorms at two colleges without any kind of mattresss topper – just a thick mattress cover – and never complained. This is, however, a kid who has slept through numerous tornado warnings, thunderstorms, jet plane landings, earthquakes, . . . you get the picture.</p>
<p>I asked my D about one and her feeling is that she doesn’t think she will need one. I also don’t remember my Mom spending any amount of time worrying about how I would sleep on my dorm bed. And as much as I try to remember now I don’t recall complaining.
I also remember moving into my first off campus house and buying a used old mattress for a very low sum and handling it all on my own. It was lumpy and had buttons. I think we do take way to much care of our kids, me included in that statement.</p>
<p>mom60, I agree, but I went shopping with S last week (to get his approval of the idea) and got one of those toppers since he has a benign spine tumor and back pain. Thought it might help. The question is will it go on the mattress when he arrives? If it smells it might go in the trash knowing him. I will forewarn.</p>
<p>Pillows - I highly recommend the buckwheat hulls - conforms perfectly to your head and neck and supremely comfortable.</p>
<p>Spiker, add me to the list of parents who draws the line at making sure there’s sheets on the bed, or at least available. I dn’t have the psychic energy for the rest of that stuff!</p>
<p>News flash! Sorry to resurrect an old thread, and y’all’s kids probably have their mattress toppers already, but mine doesn’t, and I was doing the last bit of research before ordering him a custom-cut fire-retardant foam mattress from the website I listed above, so I called them. Once AGAIN the most amazingly helpful, knowledgeable, and clear explainer talked with me and told me something new.</p>
<p>He says that while most of these foams will smell when new, the odors actually dissipate <em>faster</em> with use, that is, compression of the foam makes the smells go away faster: he recommends some form of immediate use, rather than leaving it in the garage for a couple weeks to “air out”. He mentioned that another trick to making the odor disappear faster is to leave the foam UNCOVERED during the day if possible: he said we all rush to put sheets and blankets on them, but that “seals in” the odors. His recommendation is to not put sheets on them at first, but leave them to air out during the day, sitting on them when possible, and perhaps sleeping on them for a couple days in a sleeping bag or wrapped in a quilt. While this isn’t always practical, he says this is the fastest way to remove any residual odor from these open-cell foams (which he notes absorb odors from their environment, so if there are cats or cigarettes around them, eventually the foams will absorb those odors somewhat).</p>
<p>And there you have it: your chemistry lesson for the day. (At least I assume that’s chemistry in some form.) Maybe this will be useful for someone <em>next</em> fall. :)</p>
<p>Did you ask him what the chemical is? I know that some fire retardants are carcinogenic–which makes the spector of squeezing the smell out with your body weight a little scary to me–I think if I were to use one, I’d still opt for the non-contact airing out.</p>
<p>Some brands smell a lot less than others. Our Isotonic mattress pad and our Tempurpedic pillows had MUCH less smell than our off-brand mattress pad.</p>
<p>Yes I noticed that <a href=“http://www.selectfoam.com%5B/url%5D”>www.selectfoam.com</a> had memory foam mattresses and toppers which met the CA133 code. I am really worried that Danny is going to be messing around and something bad will happen with that. I mean i heard of a couple out in washington that just burned to death on their mattress because someone left a cigarette burning. and you know how these college students can be. In any casethey assured me that their beds were safe so we ordered one for his dorm room this fall.</p>
<p>Beth</p>