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Off / Out Gassing & Initial Odor of Memory Foam Mattresses →
Based on Data From 5,650 Actual Owners
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last updated January 27, 2011
What You Need To Know
Mattresses with memory foam have a tendency to "off gas" or "out gas" volatile organic compounds (VOCs) when the mattresses are new.
This means that the beds may initially give off an invisible gas which often has a chemical-like odor.
According to our collected data, at least 15-20 percent of memory foam mattress owners report off gassing / initial odor of some noteworthy degree. (See chart below.)
About 5% report a strong and persistent off gassing / initial odor.
Amount of off / out gassing reported by owners
Health Issue?
Our research shows that off gassing is usually just an annoying odor to those owners who notice it. Some owners, however, report feeling ill as a result of it. Reports of headaches, nausea, eye and throat irritation, sweating, sleeplessness and asthma resulting from the off gassing exist but occur in less than 1% of memory foam owner experiences.
Mattress off gassing is temporary in the vast majority of cases. It can last from a few hours to several weeks. Consequently, illness claimed to be caused by memory foam off gassing is almost always short lived. The symptoms tend to diminish as the off gassing diminishes or when the owner avoids being the same same room as the mattress during the off gassing period.
Owners sometimes deal with the issue and any illness it may cause by putting their new memory foam bed in a well-ventilated room, spare room, covered patio, or garage until the odor has mostly diminished.
Domestic Vs Imported / High Density Vs Low Density
A widely held belief is that American-made memory foam off / out gasses less than imported foam, namely foam from China. Our research based on actual owner data tends to suggest the opposite; domestically made memory foam has significantly more off gassing reports than imports.
The above data may possibly be explained by the fact that higher density memory foam, which tends to be domestically produced, often off gasses more than less dense foam, which is often imported.
Brand Comparison
The graph below shows how some popular memory foam mattress brands rate on the off gassing / initial odor issue. Again, those brands that perform better on this issue tend to be lower density / imported.
| Brand |
Percent of memory foam mattress owners reporting at least some off gassing / initial odor |
|
