There came a point when our then 6 year old just couldn’t fit the length of her toddler bed any more.  I hesitated to purchase a new bed for her for two reasons:

1. Washing toddler sheets every night was exhausting and I couldn’t imagine washing a twin sized set of sheets every day and then drying those sheets in our lukewarm dryer.
2. All mattresses are toxic (Or so I thought).

However, her 7th birthday was rapidly approaching and all she wanted was a new bed.  I can’t blame her.  I wanted a new bed too after spending 6 plus hours a night on our 16+ year old mattress.

Like most fools educated people, I looked to Google to show me the safest mattress on the market.   I watched countless videos, read tons of reviews, and found sleep elusive because the search for the perfect mattress had opened Pandora’s box regarding the toxicity behind the mattress industry, all in the name of producing comfort that won’t burn in the event of a fire and created cheaply in a laboratory.

And even the mattresses my health conscience friends were purchasing, failed to convince me of being natural, safe, and most importantly, free from “ingredients” that wouldn’t irritate Naomi’s lungs.

I had just figured out the perfect trifecta that supported her lungs and kept her free from pneumonia — after acquiring it every fall the first 5 years of her life.  I didn’t want to disturb that balance by bringing harmful chemicals into her bedroom.

Enter The Clean Bedroom

On our way to Whole Foods one day, my son spotted a sign for The Clean Bedroom.  We thought that was an interesting name and went home to research what exactly this store was all about.  Come to find out, The Clean Bedroom was everything I had been looking for.

The kids and I decided to stop in and check this store out — because it seemed too good to be true.  But ya’ll it became an answer to prayer.

In fact, as I was going through my Instagram I came across this post where I wrote,

Words can not express how stinkin’ excited I am about today’s turn of events. The hunt for an organic twin mattress is over! You see, Omi (my 7 year old as of tomorrow) has always struggled with respiratory issues each fall and spring. I have long dreaded the day she needed a big girl bed because of the serious off-gassing and chemical exposure of traditional mattresses. I have feared the chemical exposure would only perpetuate her respiratory issues. I’ve only found organic mattresses online — but never locally!! Until today. I’m officially excited to have a non-toxic mattress for my daughter that is safe for her to sleep in each night. Tom from @thecleanbedroom called me this afternoon to let me know he found a twin mattress perfect for my girl!!! So excited!!! But shhh she won’t know until her #7thbirthday !!!!

Why Did We Purchase from The Clean Bedroom?

The Clean Bedroom did all of the legwork for me and offered transparency about their products.  I actually took some of these statements from their website ONLY BECAUSE they really described our experience at The Clean Bedroom.

• Their prices were fair.
• They research every brand they carry, testing the mattresses and bedding to be sure they meet rigorous standards for purity and construction.  (This is incredibly important to me, which is one reason we ALSO use Young Living products.)
• Their extensive product knowledge helped us select the mattress and bedding that is right for our daughter.  (Tom, our salesman, has been in the mattress industry over 20 years.  When I asked him HARD questions about his competitors, he had a response that wasn’t canned but authentic.)
• Tom worked to find the right solution that led to our customer satisfaction, not just the sale of a mattress. The Clean Bedroom in Indianapolis truly wanted to help us find not just a solution, but the right solution for our little girl. They listened.  They recommended. We decided.

Why Is An Organic Mattress So Important?

Like I said, our daughter struggled with respiratory issues for 5 years until I found the right trifecta to support her respiratory system like a boss.  I didn’t want to trigger a relapse in her health because I opted to purchase a cheaper mattress.  We chose an organic mattress because it honestly made sense considering that we mostly eat organic, we have eliminated chemicals from our home, and clean air is really important to us.

Did you that most mattresses are created from made-made materials, many of which are petrochemical based?  These mattress are highly flammable due to the fact they are made from the same oil that we fill our cars with.  This oil is toxic though it works great for our cars.  Think about it, if you sleep on a foam mattress, you’re spending a third of your life sleeping on oil. If the salesperson says it’s natural because it comes from the ground, remember it’s still made from a petrochemical.

In the United States, mattress companies have to meet the U.S. Fire Code burn test.  This means that mattresses need to be treated so they don’t ignite in a fire, which is a good thing, right? However, the chemicals used to treat mattresses so they are flame proof are highly suspect. No long-term studies have been done to see what effects these chemical treatments may have on humans. Information stating they are safe is provided by the mattress industry, backed up by a vague statement from the FDA.

Our largest organ, our epidermis or skin, absorbs toxins that it comes in contact with and our lungs breathe in the airborne vapors. When you purchase a new petrochemical mattress, that mattress will off-gas and the smell can give you headaches, irritate your lungs, disrupt sleep, and potentially interfere with your endocrine system.  I dare you to research some of the chemicals in mattresses such as: Methylene dianiline / MDA, Vinilideine chloride, Methyl benzene, Dimethylformamide, Acetone, Methylene chloride, and Formaldehyde to name a few.

A toxic mattress didn’t seem like a good birthday present.  It could have been a birthday present that would forever change her life . . . for the worse.

Feel Good About What Your Kids Sleep On

• Organic mattresses are made with materials found in nature, using resources that encourage sustainable farming throughout the world.
• The cotton is grown without pesticides.  Because whether you like it or not, what is used on the plant during the seed to production process ends up in the plant and in your home.
• The wool from sheep  that is used to cover the mattresses is raised on organic farms.

What Did We Choose?

We chose to have Omi sleep on the Obasan Fundy  1.0 6 inch organic rubber mattress.  Here are some stats about this mattress:

• It is 6″ of GOLS-certified organic latex from the milk of the rubber tree, or Heveabrasiliensis tree, in SriLanka and cooked using the dunlop process. Due to the material destabilizing quickly, the rubber is molded into sheets on the same day before it is shipped to Canada.
• The benefits of using Hevabrasiliensis? It has superior durability and elasticity, retention of shape and firmness, excellent heat and moisture regulation, superior air circulation and it is dust mite resistant. It is also naturally anti-bacterial and insect-repellent (which is INCREDIBLY important to us because we once had bedbugs and managed to get rid of them naturally).
• It has a removable organic cotton jersey cover.
• It is recommended for children up to 150 pounds.
• All Obasan organic mattresses pass the flame test in Canada and the USA (BECAUSE the organic wool serves as a natural flame retardant.  The wool is quilted inside the cover of all of The Clean Bedroom mattresses.
• It is handmade in Canada.

What Questions Should You Ask Before Purchasing a Mattress?

1. What percentage of the latex is actually rubber?   It should be 95-97%
2. What materials in the mattress are organic? Often it is just the outer cover. You’ll get a healthier night’s sleep on a mattress made with materials that are all certified organic or all natural throughout the bed.
3. How does the mattress meet the U.S. Fire Code burn test? The answer should not be a list of elements you have never heard of or can’t pronounce. Look for wool, or silica which is sand and baking soda. Yes, those elements self-extinguish when put to a flame.

Because We Liked Her Mattress So Much . . .

Because we liked our daughter’s mattress so much . . . we actually ended up purchasing a new mattress for ourselves.  It has been a blessing for us during my husband’s healing from having a herniated disc and arthritis.  But that’s another story for another day.  Sweet dreams until then!

We did purchase our mattress locally at The Clean Bedroom at 1776 E. 86th Street in Indianapolis, Indiana.  However, don’t despair!  You can purchase your mattress anywhere in the US by calling (212) 764-3232.

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