Avoiding a firestorm in your bedroom: The Fibreglass Mattress Fiasco

Everyone needs a mattress, and everyone’s budget is different, which explains the huge range of mattresses on the market! While there are perfectly serviceable low-cost mattresses out there, there are some you need to pay a little more attention to.

Making headlines in New Zealand this year was a local family that discovered, after ongoing health issues, that their mattress contained fibreglass. The mattress was also advertised as having a removable and washable cover, and when that cover was removed… well, a fibreglass fiasco ensued.

So what is fibreglass, and what’s it doing in mattresses? Ironically, it’s all to do with safety. Here’s how it breaks down.

Fiberglass 101

Fibreglass is what it sounds like: fibres made of glass. Glass (silica plus other materials) is melted and extruded into thin fibres, which are then processed further depending on the intended use. Fibreglass is light, very strong, and a good thermal insulator, so those thin glass fibres could wind up being anything from ceiling insulation to a boat hull!

Why is there fibreglass in my mattress?

Because fibreglass is an effective insulator, cheap to produce and flexible enough to be woven into fabric, it shows up as a fire-retarding barrier in some foam mattresses. Typically, a ‘sock’ woven with fibreglass is pulled over the foam layers to provide a protective barrier, and the whole thing is encased in a fabric outer cover. While not all foam mattresses are fibreglass mattresses, a recent analysis of 210 US-manufactured mattresses by Naplab found around 20% contained fibreglass. So it’s not uncommon.

What’s the benefit of adding fibreglass to a mattress?

Mattress foams and synthetic fibres are extremely flammable. So much so, most countries have regulations or compulsory standards regarding ignition resistance in foam furniture and bedding.

Manufacturers need to do something to ensure foam mattresses don’t immediately go up in flames if there’s a fire. However, this can take many forms: using naturally insulating materials like wool, minimising the amount of foam used in mattress construction, adding fire-retardant chemicals to the foam itself, or wrapping a barrier around the foam – like a fibreglass sock.

New Zealand doesn’t have specific regulations concerning mattress flammability, although a very comprehensive feasibility study was conducted in 2003 and is well worth a read. Instead, local manufacturers voluntarily comply with international standards on flammability, and all of our foams are rigorously tested before mattresses are assembled.

How to tell if your mattress contains fibreglass

Definitely don’t remove the cover. Not even if it says it’s removable and washable. Not even if it comes with a zip.

The first place to check is the label. If it mentions any form of fibreglass, including glass fibre, glass wool, glass-reinforced plastic, core-spun glass fibre, or Continuous Filament Glass Fibre (CFGF), be wary. Go back to the retailer and ask them to confirm that it’s not a fibreglass mattress.

Check out the manufacturer’s website. As a result of the ongoing bad press, many are very explicit about what they’re using instead of fibreglass. Be careful though: while the components may have changed, problematic materials may still be present in older mattresses.

Check online. Fiberglassfree has a comprehensive list of fibreglass mattresses, and Naplab is another helpful resource. If you’re interested in connecting with other consumers, there are useful online forums including the Mattress Fiberglass Support & Awareness Group and r/Mattress.

So what happens if the fibreglass escapes?

Mattresses are generally encased in a sturdy outer cover that keeps all the insides inside, so fibreglass exposure mostly happens when that cover is removed, allowing any loose glass fibres to disperse. This may also happen through patches of wear, or tears in the fabric cover – though some unlucky people have experienced fibreglass mattress contamination even with the cover on and in good condition.

Because the fibres are so fine and easily aerosolised, they spread quickly. The simplest way to determine the extent of the problem is by shining a bright torch around the area and looking for the telltale sparkles.

But even before you go hunting for fibres, you may experience health symptoms that indicate something is amiss. These can include respiratory difficulties, blood noses, conjunctivitis, or skin irritations and blisters escalating to infected rashes and lesions!

I was exposed to fibreglass from my mattress. Am I doomed?

Rashes and lesions are bad enough, but could fibreglass exposure be even more sinister?

Investigation continues into glass fibre exposure, but not all experts seem concerned. It is, of course, strongly recommended that you limit exposure to the fibres, try not to inhale them, and definitely avoid getting them in your eyes. But while another silicate fibre, asbestos, is an acknowledged carcinogen, the EU and US have concluded that ongoing exposure to fibreglass probably doesn’t pose the same risk, as the fibres don’t break down the same way, and are less persistent in biological tissues. The arguments are ongoing however.

While this is encouraging, it’s not much comfort if you’re in the middle of a mattress-related bedroom contamination!

Decontaminating a fibreglass disaster

So what should you do if you have a fibreglass mattresses, you’ve removed the cover, and you’re experiencing symptoms or finding fibres?

Unfortunately, there’s no quick fix. Decontamination is going to take a bit of time.

Ditch the mattress

While you can theoretically re-encase the mattress in a new, uncontaminated cover, you’ll probably want to get rid of it rather than risk a recurrence. In NZ, fibreglass isn’t considered a hazardous material, so you won’t have to call in specialists to dispose of your mattress. Instead, give your local transfer station a call and check that they’re equipped to deal with it before dropping it off. Definitely don’t donate it!

Vacuum all the things

Once you’ve disposed of your fibreglass mattress, put on your PPE, chuck a HEPA filter in your vacuum, and clean everything –  probably several times. Every surface needs to be vacuumed, then wiped down with soapy disposable cloths, and re-checked.

Wash what you can; bin what you can’t

Any contaminated clothing, bedding, and soft furnishing needs to be assessed. If anything’s too heavily affected, it will probably be easier to get rid of it than to wash it and potentially contaminate your machine and spread the fibres to other items.

Know when to call in the professionals – and your insurance company

While DIY will be cheaper, it’ll almost certainly be less thorough than a professional job. Unfortunately, the price for a full professional clean (not to mention the cost of replacing furnishings, carpets etc!) won’t be pretty. Unless you have a spare $30k put aside for decontamination, you’ll probably want to get your insurance company involved in this one.

Choosing a mattress without fibreglass

Of course, you can avoid this headache entirely by buying a mattress that is guaranteed 100% free from fibreglass. That means doing your due diligence, conducting your research, checking labels and contacting the retailer or manufacturer if you still have questions.

Or you could simply buy a NZ-Made mattress, which won’t contain fibreglass because it doesn’t need to.  At Sleepyhead, we don’t use fibreglass or hazardous flame retardants in any of our consumer mattresses – not even our 100% foam mattresses – so that’s one less thing to worry for you to worry about!

Questions or concerns?  Not sure what’s in your mattress? We highly recommend heading into your local NZ-owned bed store and chatting with a sleep expert – they’ll put your mind at ease.