Where can I find a non-off-gassing, non-latex mattress in St. Louis?

August 3, 2009 9:10 AM

Where can I find a non-off-gassing, non-latex mattress in St. Louis?

It's time to replace our long-suffering 15 year-old mattress. I have serious concerns about exposing myself and potential future chitlins to flame retardants and other chemical off-gassing from a new mattress. Hubby prefers the feel of a coil spring to a latex mattress.

Where in St. Louis or surrounding (I'll drive as far as Springfield, Illinois) can I find an adult-sized non-treated 100% cotton (or wool-wrapped cotton) inner-spring mattress? I understand that the purchase the former, I need a prescription; this shouldn't be a problem. The mattress doesn't need to be organic but it does need to be chemical free.

I purchase a lot of stuff online, but a mattress is something I really want to try out in person before I commit.

posted by muirne81 to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

Out of left field: could you buy any mattress and then let it outgas in the garage, or somewhere other than where you sleep? Not sure how long the process takes, but the added benefit may be that since the garage door could be open whenever you wanted it to be, you'd get more of a breeze, which would perhaps help.
posted by mdonley at 10:26 AM on August 3, 2009

I believe traditional futons are stuffed with something like cotton and/or wool. There are a few good futon stores in town, one of those might be a place to start. You could put a futon on top of a box spring, not sure how that would feel exactly, probably pretty close to a regular mattress.
posted by Antidisestablishmentarianist at 1:24 PM on August 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

I live in St. Louis, and just to address a side issue: I wouldn't suggest going the futon route. I slept on a futon (actually, a stack of two futons atop a flat futon frame) for most of the first year out of college, and all was fine and dandy—until I realized I was developing a deep indentation on one side of the mattress. "No problem," I thought. "I'll flip it."

I flipped it. Instant sleeplessness, due to unmovable lumps in all new (and all wrong) places, and within a week I was on the hunt for a "real" mattress. At that point I actually bought one used from a good, trusted friend who'd only slept on it for a year, and thus avoided the off-gassing problem altogether.
posted by limeonaire at 8:18 PM on August 3, 2009

Response by poster: Unfortunately, off-gassing in the garage is not a possibility (space, mice, etc.). The only place we would be able to do this is on the back porch & I think that might upset the neighbors a bit. :)

We had a decent futon at one point as a guest bed though we eventually realized it was more like a guest torture device. We experienced all the same lumps and bumps and dents (and non-support) as Limeonaire.

Is there nowhere in STL that sells these mattresses?

(Mefi business types--this sounds like an opportunity for you)
posted by muirne81 at 8:28 AM on August 4, 2009

I had a high quality traditional futon and it lasted years and years with nary a lump. Maybe it was the quality of the ones you had? Anyway, good luck with your search.
posted by Antidisestablishmentarianist at 7:30 PM on August 4, 2009