Sciencemadness Discussion Board

The joy of buying a mattress and other things

Morgan - 22-3-2016 at 07:35

I bought a new mattreess with a slight/moderate chemical smell so I placed it in the garage and am planning on trying it out in a week. It's just a shame there has to be so many chemicals in mattresses and ran across some related stories when researching the topic. I feel sorry for people that work in stores that smell like Harbor Freight or certain shoes stores where the chemical smells are so strong.

http://dynamics.org/Altenberg/CURRENT_AFFAIRS/CHINA_PLASTIC/
http://www.chem-tox.com/guest/guestbook.html

This was a pretty good video on mattresses and why there are mattress stores on every corner. And if you'd like to know about the various designs and what crappy quality you might unknowing buy, this talk goes a long way. He used to sell them and learned the hard way. It was really quite interesting what you can learn aoout mattress design. I'd give anything to figure out a cheap way to make a good mattress out of simple non-toxic materials. Several years ago I bought a memory foam mattress and took it straight out of my room just after it was delivered it smelled so bad and returned it asap. I particularly like the fine print in the warranties and his stories from what goes wrong with a mattress due to design flaws.
http://mattresseducation.net/

[Edited on 22-3-2016 by Morgan]

unionised - 22-3-2016 at 13:27

I really hate it when objects smell of things that are not chemicals.
(Think about it...)

chemrox - 22-3-2016 at 14:32

Another lawyer tax. Or "save the children" shit. I really dislike the cleaning products isle. I avoid it as much as I can and have been known to wear a respirator at the supermarket. I should mention ear buds. Why do they make you want to leave by playing oakie or disco crap?

Morgan - 22-3-2016 at 19:01

When most people say a "chemical smell" they are referring to an unnatural, perhaps unknown odor or compound I suppose. Yes all things are chemicals but strange foul-smelling voc's come in a variety of stenches sometimes hard to define if you haven't run across them before - thus the vernacular.


October 31, 2014
I am writing to advise of items with the horrible chemical smell. One is plastic- a pair of "Everlast" training(boxing) gloves I purchased for a Halloween costume. When they were delivered, the driver commented on how the box had made his truck smell. I left them outside in the sunshine for 10 days. I closed them in a bag with Baking soda all over. I wiped them down with vinegar. I sprayed them with Febreeze. Nothing worked. I am going to try and return them. The other is clothing- a pair of leggings purchased at Bed Bath Beyond. These I washed and dried 2 times. I returned them. Both items were made in China. All I can say is...YIKES!
http://dynamics.org/Altenberg/CURRENT_AFFAIRS/CHINA_PLASTIC/

chemrox - 23-3-2016 at 10:49

Did the leggings have a fish oil smell? I've run into this, especially with silk items. I bought a silk T-shirt that had that smell. It went through several hand washes and the dry cleaners too. It never completely lost the offensive odor altogether but it decreased over time. The haberdasher said it was something they used to "finish" the product. I have no idea what that means. (Does typing ahd in place of had indicate ads or crappy typing skill?)

chemrox - 23-3-2016 at 10:51

Quote: Originally posted by unionised  
I really hate it when objects smell of things that are not chemicals.
(Think about it...)

Do I have to? Yecch!