Just purchased a new Futon - and the mattress stinks of chemicals!

[LiekOMG]

Does anyone have any experience with this? Its an all cotton mattress and is brand new. However, the mattress smells like chemicals, similar to moth balls or insect repellant. I spoke to the store I purchased it from and he assured me that all mattresses have this smell and that it would go away in a week or two. Its been a month and the smell is still there. I haven't even been able to sit on it yet because the smell is so strong it burns my eyes and gives me headaches. Its currently in another room that no one uses just "air-ing out", although its not doing much.

Does anyone know whats up? I went down to the store and all the new mattresses had the same smell. Yet I can't imagine that thousands of people buy these things and no one complains of this smell. I can't really return it anymore and i'm not sure what to do.

 

[Kev]

i just put a blanket over mine. it took several months for the smell to go away. didyou get one of those el cheapo walmart ones?

 

[lozina]

fire retardent chemicals probably.

just have to leave it to air out for a few weeks

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: Kev
i just put a blanket over mine. it took several months for the smell to go away. didyou get one of those el cheapo walmart ones?

Yeah, I got one there and it smelled of wood and box with a hint of salvation army smell.

Febreezed it a few times and now it smells like happy.

 

[teckmaster]

yes, they all stink from being wrapped in plastic. just let it breathe and it will go away. At the store I work at, we usually use febreeze on them to hide it.

 

[LiekOMG]

Originally posted by: Kev
i just put a blanket over mine. it took several months for the smell to go away. didyou get one of those el cheapo walmart ones?

Nope, not from walmart. I've already had it sitting in another room with the cover off for nearly a month and the smell is far from gone.

 

[ondarkness]

I usually love new prod smells.

 

[frankgomez75]

febreeze it a few times and let it dry...
and yes that smell can take a few weeks to fade away.

 

[zoiks]

Its most likely formaldehyde. You shouldn't die from it.

Most likely to give headaches at the most.

 

[alm4rr]

vacuum it

 

[SagaLore]

Sounds like they oversprayed it...

Lightly dust it with some baking soda, let it sit, then vacuum it off real well. Be sure to do that on both sides of the cushions.

 

[Conky]

Burn some hair and then the smell won't bother you in comparison.

 

[Ornery]

I had that problem with our new mattress set. If I remember correctly, I used a box fan to speed up the stink removal. I get a headache just thinking about those types of odors as well as perfume and cologne.

 

[Conky]

If you can put it outside in the sun for a couple hours that will do wonders for making it stink less too.

 

[JLGatsby]

Febreze FTW

 

[jadinolf]

Got summpin against chemicals?

 

[ovannie]

I have returned sooo many mattresses because of the toxic "off-gassing" problem. The chemicals caused wheezing, headaches, palpitations and it permeated every inch of my house and the furniture, clothes and caused an asthma attack in a guest. It can be smelled on my skin even after 2 or 3 showers a day. There are dozens of forums online about this horrendous problem. I would love to be able to afford an organic cotton product, but they run in the thousands of dollars! Right now I am sleeping on a "Flex Steel" couch (from the 60"s ?) I found at my local" Habitat For Humanity" store. It is just like brand new and must have been kept in one of those living rooms used just for show. My pillows are all poly material (no foam).
The manufacturing companies are aware of this problem, but say their hands are tied. Tempurepedic said this is one of their biggest complaints and next is the MOLD problem caused by the excessive heat and sweating caused by the foam. I would love to have the good old innerspring mattresses that were used for hundreds for years. Please don't let these products destroy your health as you can see from the off-gassing forums. Good luck..

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[dbk]

Cant u just air it out by just leaving it out for few days?