Natural Mattresses and the New Fire Code
August 29th, 2008 -- Posted in Natural Mattress | No Comments »When shopping for a new Natural Mattress, it’s imperitive that you look for a mattress that complies with the new Mattress Safety Standards, safety code 16 CFR 1633 which went into effect July 1, 2007. This code was designed to save lives.
Some mattress manufacturers use toxic chemicals to retard fire, such as PBDEs, boron or antimony. This creates a different kind of hazard.
Natural mattresses, if truly made from organic materials, should be compliant and meet the fire code standards. Make sure you ask. Mattresses made with wool and cotton should meet this standard.
From the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission:
New Federal Mattress Standard Expected to Save Hundreds of Lives, Prevent Thousands of Injuries
Mattresses manufactured on or after July 1, 2007 must meet the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) flammability standard. The mandatory standard is designed to reduce the severity of mattress fires ignited by open flame sources such as candles, matches and lighters.
Find more information here: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/560.pdf
Some Natural Mattresses are only available with a prescription from your doctor, so make sure to find out the laws.
