bedroom furnishings for the chemically sensitive

October 27, 2003

> I'm in need of a new bed. I know that w/a prescription you can get a

> chemically-free mattress. Does anyone have any experience with

> these? Any advice on which companies to consider or avoid?

>

> Although I'm only looking for a bed at this point, it made me wonder

> if chemically-free carpets exist? Also, are there better types of

> paint to use?

I have a chemically sensitive neighbor who uses wool carpet, but it had to

off gas 9 months before she could move in. I'll have to ask her what kind of

bed she uses.

>

> Oh, BTW, I attended a WAPF function in the DC area this weekend which

> was catered by Chef Umlauf (he caters the WAPF conferences). He

> mentioned that he's going to be the chef for a new (not yet opened)

> *NT* restaurant in Buffalo. The restaurant will have an attached

> store with grass-fed meats and already prepared NT foods. Wouldn't

> it be great to have one of those in every town?!

That's great news! Portland, OR has a restaurant called Higgins that uses

local organic produce and grass-fed beef from the same farm i get it. I hope

to eat there for my upcoming birthday.

Elaine

>

October 27, 2003

> I have a chemically sensitive neighbor who uses wool carpet, but it

had to

> off gas 9 months before she could move in. I'll have to ask her

what kind of

> bed she uses.

Thanks, Elaine. I'd be interested in what bed she has and how

satisfied she is with it.

October 27, 2003

We're in the process of replacing our bed with a nontoxic one. It's

been a ton of work because (1) there are no stores in Atlanta that

sell what I'm want, (2) a good bed is REAL, REAL expensive!-think

around $2000.00+, and (3) yup you will need a doctors prescription

for your bed if you opt for no flame retardants.

So with that in mind here's some of the info I've found that might

help you.

These are three sources I've talked to in our process and feel they

have very high standards:

Furnature in Boston: http://www.furnature.com/

Heart of Vermont: http://www.heartofvermont.com/

Healthy Home: http://www.healthyhome.com/ShowPage.asp?

page=default.asp

There are other places that I think also have high quality bedding

but I haven't talked to them personally. Testing a bed before we put

out that amount of money has been what's held us back at this point.

We're about to drive to Asheville, NC to a the closest store I know

of that has bedding to finally make a decision!

If I was looking for a cheaper option I would consider buying a

futon (or often called maton) with a core of natural latex.

Furnature sells those and they are much cheaper. Lifekind also sells

them. I think you will still need a doctors prescrition unless the

bed has a wool encasement (some do). Wool will act as a natural

flame retardant. (For cotton I think the prescription is worth the

hassel to keep the retardants out of your bed).

I would also place the bed on a wooden slate system instead of metal

springs to reduce electromagnetic problems. Wood slate systems are

way more popular in Europe than here but they becoming much more

common here.

Also check out this month's Natural Home magazine. They have a

bedding article. And check out this article from their archives:

http://www.naturalhomemagazine.com/current-

issues/archive/2001/septoct01/mattress.htm

Lynn

October 27, 2003

I tried the " air " bed approach and while comfortable, I didn't like

all the artifical foam they use. After three years, you can still

unzip the top layer and the foam still reeks.

Our approach to having a chemical-free bed was to go with a stack of

wool-only mattress " pads " from http://www.shepherdsdream.com/. (The

last one I bought from them smelled of the old factory they've

recently moved into, but that faded soon enough...) All-wool beds

are not the " cushy " innerspring / foam sleeping experience we're used

to, and they do take some getting used to. Some folks put latex

under the mattress on the slats to add some spring.

Shepherd's Dream also sells a wood-filled comforter. I am much

happier with it than I ever was with down comforters. Their wool

pillows are not as supportive as I would like, but paired with a

buckwheat hull pillow, they do a good job.

Having spent quite a bit on the wool mattresses, I didn't want to add

to the bill with expensive bed frames, so we built our own.

We built a simple frame from unfinished lumber (2x6 outer frame with

a 2x4 inner frame, on which rests 1x4 slats, supported by 4x4 posts

cut into legs). It's not totally metal-free, we used giant screws to

hold it all together, at least it doesn't have all the innersprings

and metal frames everywhere. Someday I'll finish these out with

padded rails and wall-mounted headboards such, but they're functional

for now. I try to remember that when I sleep, " my eyes are closed " ,

so the " look " is much less important than the functional comfort of

the bed...

We've done this dyi bed stuff for our kids too. The nice thing about

building your own beds is the flexible design. The kids begged us

for " bunk beds " but the height issue scared me, so we got them to

accept a " higher " bed and all we had to do was replace the original

legs with longer ones. Because they play under the beds now, rather

than finishing the legs with paint or whatever, I just wrapped some

brightly colored fabric around them to help them avoid any

splinters / sharp edges. Happy kids, less-worried parents.

Some very chemically-sensitive folks have problems with the natural

outgassing of unfinished wood. If that's your situation, I would

check out the sealer products from www.afmsafecoat.com. We've used

several of their products and have been quite happy with them.

October 27, 2003

> Testing a bed before we put

> out that amount of money has been what's held us back at this point.

> We're about to drive to Asheville, NC to a the closest store I know

> of that has bedding to finally make a decision!

>

Lynn,

Thanks for all of the info; very helpful. I'd be interested in

hearing your experience w/the store in Asheville after you get back.

What store is it? What types of beds did they have? What did they

feel like?

Buying a bed is expensive and personal (one type doesn't fit all!),

but I need a new one and I want one without chemicals!

October 27, 2003

> Our approach to having a chemical-free bed was to go with a stack

of

> wool-only mattress " pads " from http://www.shepherdsdream.com/. (The

> last one I bought from them smelled of the old factory they've

> recently moved into, but that faded soon enough...) All-wool beds

> are not the " cushy " innerspring / foam sleeping experience we're

used

> to, and they do take some getting used to. Some folks put latex

> under the mattress on the slats to add some spring.

How can you know if you'll get used to it and like it?! That's my

dilemma. It sounds great, but I hate to spend the money and then be

unhappy.

How long did it take to get used to it? Do you *really* like it

now? Is there anyway to try them out ahead of time?

> Shepherd's Dream also sells a wood-filled comforter. I am much

> happier with it than I ever was with down comforters.

I've never heard of a wood-filled comforter! I love down ones, but

am allergic. The wood in them is chemical-free? (i'll have to check

the website.)

Thanks for your help,

November 28, 2003

Hey! I tried the shephersdream bed to... It was my first try at better

bedding. I put the wool pad over my water bed mattress. It worked for a

while but it seemed to shed allot. Right thru the flannel sheets. I loved

the comforter to although my husband was always to hot under it and did not

think it stood up to it's claim of keeping everyone comfortable. I also was

disappointed with their pillows! And also became concerned with the issues

of baby's sleeping on wool after reading about Dr. D's cot death study.

http://www.criblife2000.com/matrescovr.htm Since we have just moved to our

new " mostly " chemical free home we bought some mattresses from white lotus

futon and just made our bed into a platform bed with some plywood and 2x4's

" should have sealed the plywood but haven't gotten to it yet " And we seem to

like it but you have to flip it allot and it's heavy.... One thing to

remember is that you can only get a " truly " chemical free mattress with a

Dr.s prescription. Otherwise they still contain fire retardants " which is

what my family has a problem with " Anyway, just my experiences! It's

nice to hear others are also concerned with how their family sleeps! So many

things besides food play into health!

Message: 10

Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 18:05:34 -0000

From: " cfletcherb " <fletcher@...>

Subject: Re: bedroom furnishings for the chemically sensitive