Non-toxic mattresses

Formaldehyde myth in mattress foams

Misinformation is rife when it has been passed down through decades. The majority of mattresses use PU or polyurathane foams.  They are complex chemical mixes that are made through various processes including blowing carbon dioxide or other gases through the mixture to create foams of different densities and feels.

Previous processes when PU foams were first created may have use a small amount of formaldehyde but all modern processes have foregone with the use of the chemical. In my opinion it would be expensive for any manufacturer to continue to use formaldehyde in modern day foam making processes when there are much cheaper and faster methods to create PU foams.

Millions of people sleep on polyuerathane foams every year. All new mattresses will have some degree of off-gassing, and these can contain VOCs or volatile organic chemicals. These are in very small quantities.

Most of the time formaldehyde is actually used in woods or the glues and adhesives used to stick the wood together. That’s why it’s not a good idea to cut up certain heavily processed and manufactured woods as the wood dust is definitely not good for your health.

Many times wooden pallets are made up of these composite woods which is why we don’t generally recommend people use wooden pallets as their bed base for their mattress, that’s not even excluding the fact you will get plenty of wooden splinters.