By John, Certified Holistic Health Coach
In January of 2018, instead of making the usual resolutions that we’ve given up on by the end of the month, we decided to break it up by dividing some big goals into manageable chunks.
Each month, we invite you to overhaul one aspect of your life to reduce toxins, improve health, and increase your peace of mind. Our promise is that these changes will be easy to implement, helping you avoid resolution overwhelm.
If you’re just joining us, you’ll want to check out:
- January’s mini resolution on upgrading junk foods
- February’s with a medicine cabinet detox
- March’s on improving indoor air quality
- April’s five ways to clean up your cleaning products
- May’s on making your yard non-toxic
- June’s water safety tips
- July’s guide to natural skincare products
- August’s with seven ways to have a healthier pet.
September’s resolution is for those of you who are worried that your existing bed might be dangerous and want to get a toxin-free mattress.
You might be worried about some well-known contaminants, such as flame retardants, phthalates, and other VOCs. We’ve written and frequently updated a comprehensive Safe Mattress Guide, but maybe you still feel confused.
Below are the three scenarios we encounter most often when helping our readers find the best toxin-free mattress for their budget. If none of them fits your situation, comment below and I’ll be happy to help!
If you….
1) …want to have the safest toxin-free mattress on the market, and aren’t so worried about cost…
As of this writing, there are only three mattress manufacturers that have top-notch, independent, third-party certifications for their products. We categorize these mattresses as The Best Stuff, and they are:
- Soaring Heart
- Naturepedic (Use code Gimme15 for 15% off on Naturepedic’s site).
- My Green Mattress ($125 off mattresses twin and larger and 15% off the Emily crib and accessories with code gtgs at checkout.)
(At Gimme the Good Stuff, we all sleep on Soaring Heart mattresses ourselves, as we found them to be the most luxurious in terms of comfort.)
2)…are worried about your mattress but can’t afford the ones recommended above…
The following four mattresses, while they do not have the very best certifications of non-toxicity, contain no chemical flame-retardants and seem to be fairly committed to non-toxicity.
What if these are still too expensive?
If you don’t like these four options, or the price is still too high, the next six mattress brands also do not have chemical flame-retardants, but they have even less reliable/rigorous certifications than the ones listed above.
3) …have a toxic mattress but cannot afford to replace it at all…
First, don’t bother trying to wrap the mattress to trap the toxins inside. Our extensive research shows that there is no non-toxic wrap or case for a mattress that can block toxic flame-retardants and VOCs.
Instead, if you are stuck with your potentially toxic mattress for the time being, you can do the following to significantly reduce your exposure to its problematic chemicals.
Invest in a high-quality portable air filter. Running one in the bedrooms will do a lot to not only reduce toxins (particles and VOC’s) from your mattress but will also knock back many other toxins found in your home. Having one on wheels will make moving it from a bedroom to a living area much easier. Start with kids’ rooms first if you’re worried about their mattresses—as you probably know, tiny bodies are more sensitive to a range of toxins! 
$995.00Buy Now
Get a good true HEPA vacuum cleaner and use it daily in your bedrooms. Older mattresses can contain chemical flame retardants that shed from the mattress throughout its life. They are tiny particles (as opposed to a gas) so they constantly fall to the floor and are easily spread into the air throughout your home. Vacuuming daily with a true HEPA machine is
the best solution. Don’t sweep; that will just spread the dust around.
Make sure the rest of your bed is toxin-free. Invest in some good natural pillows, organic sheets, and perhaps even a safer bed frame.
I hope that this helps simplify the process of buying a toxin-free mattress. (Here is another post on making your bedroom a true sanctuary from toxins and radiation.)
Feel free to ask questions below, and for more about why conventional mattresses are so dangerous, and what makes some certifications better than others, read our Safe Mattress Guide.
Stay sane,
P.S. We have codes for discounted rates on two of the mattresses mentioned above:
- Use code SAVE50 at checkout for $50 off on LifeKind’s website.
- Get 5% off your entire order at Metta Bed with code GOODSTUFF at checkout.
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Related posts:
Toxin-Free Grandparenting: How to Support Your Children & Protect Your Grandchildren’s Health 
Sneaky Toxin Alert: BPA-Free Bottles & Sippy Cups 
50% Off Home Detox E-Book 
12 Little Ways You Can Help Save the Earth 
What to Consider When Considering a Mattress: Our Top Five Concerns for Buying a New Mattress
Dora says
Hi, I’m just wondering why you don’t recommend the avocado mattress? I thought it was greenguard gold certified, which is better than naturpedic? I’m confused! Thank you! Dora
John Goss says
Hi Dora,
Green guard Gold is an ok certification but GOTS and GOLS certificates written in the name of the manufacturer are the best available. Naturepedic and Soaring Heart have those. Few others can make that claim.
Jackie says
While I love the way this is separated into the categories, the third option is frustrating because if we are not able to afford a new mattress, we are also not able to ford an $800 air filter or $400 vacuum. Are there any other cheaper options for air filters or vacuums that you would consider to be effective, or are those the only that you all have found? Thank you for writing this post, but if there are ANY other options you researched, I would love to know about them.
John Goss says
Hi Jackie,
We too wish that the best options were more affordable. If the solution to ridding your home of toxins is to spend $2500 (more or less) on a new mattress or $800 on an air filter, the air filter is obviously more affordable and considerably less expensive than even many quality mattresses…toxic or not.
We are currently working with a manufacturer who will likely soon be able offer a more affordable, quality, fully certified latex mattress. Check back into our site to see how that develops. It might take a few more months until they roll it out.
I did recently come across a more affordable vacuum cleaner that claims to be true HEPA. I cannot attest to the general quality of the machine. Often times the cheapest things are the most expensive because you have to buy them over and over and over. 🙂
Check it out here. https://amzn.to/2QSl9f6
Thanks
Jolene says
Was the new fully certified latex mattress ever released?
Deana M says
Hi John. I love your site but I have to tell you, your Safe Mattress Guide is INCORRECT. I did A LOT of research on all of the mattresses mentioned in your guide. I contacted every one of these companies and I have all certifications in hand. Here is what I discovered:
1.) My Green Mattress, Savvy Rest and PlushBeds all have the SAME: GOLS, GOTS, Oeko-Tex and GreenGuard Gold certifications. They all belong in your 2nd category.
2.) White Lotus and Metta Bed only have GOTS and Oeko-Tex. They do not have GOLS or GreenGuard Gold. They belong in your 3rd category.
So. Your 2nd category should be:
My Green Mattress
Savvy Rest
PlushBeds
And your 3rd category should be:
Avocado
Brooklyn Bedding
Coco-Mat
Eco Terra
Essentia
Metta Bed
White Lotus
* Please update your Safe Mattress Guide with accurate information. Some of your readers may not have the time to do the research that I did and purchase a mattress that may not be the best for their needs.
Lina says
What about Brentwood Home mattresses? I bought one about a year ago for my toddler, so I’m really hoping they fall into at least the third category.
Megan says
Which of these two is better white lotus or savy rest regarding pillows?
Suzanne Weaver-Goss says
My favorite is the white lotus kapok with a zipper! https://gimmethegoodstuff.org/store/white-lotus-organic-kapok-sleep-pillows/
Erin says
I’m really curious if you have ever looked into Happsy organic mattresses, and if so, what you think of them. About a year ago, my husband and I were desperate to swap out our toxic mattress with the cleanest one we could afford because our baby had outgrown his side-car co-sleeper (an untreated wood BabyBay with a Holy Lamb Organics bassinet mattress) and had started fully co-sleeping with us. We really wanted to get a Naturepedic or a Soaring Heart, but we couldn’t afford either, so after a lot of research we ended up getting a Happsy. It’s a bed-in-a-box mattress, but is made with GOTS certified organic cotton and wool, and GOLS certified organic latex (at least that’s their claim). For a “budget” mattress, we’ve been really happy with it, but I wonder if it’s really as clean as we think. Thank you for all that you do — we love your blog and your guides!
Christine says
We are looking for a full size mattress for a murphy bed. I understand latex wouldn’t work as it would be too heavy and may sag when the mattress is stored in the upright position. It has to be 10 1/2 inches or less in height and less than 65 lbs.
Any suggestions?
RINA says
Has anybody ever looked into cozypure mattress? They seem pretty transparent and safe.
Christine says
Do you have thoughts on joybeds.com?
Lynn says
Bought an Avocado mattress w plush topper after much review and the bed is way too firm for a side thin sleeper 5-8” 124 lbs. the worst customer service ever as well. Abhorrent. I’m looking into Joybeds which isn’t certified but a non foam bed. I think I’m fine with Latex. Any thoughts on non latex beds?
Lynn says
Sorry typo above I meant to say I’m done with LATEX. There are toxic catalysts used to make latex rubber and the feel isn’t to my taste.
Melanie says
Hmmm. Well I can’t afford to replace my mattress for a 3rd time. We had to chunk 2 of them after significant mold exposure. We moved out of mold, chunked, bought new one, moved right into a moldy apartment. Had to chunk again. And the first one was only a year old to begin with. All our bedding except mattress is non toxic. Even our paint in out house is low voc. We have true HEPA with activated charcoal filters in every room. I just sprinkled baking soda on mattress as some sites said this could help. Then HEPA vacuumed it. I’ll keep hunting for alternatives. I would pay the price for these mattresses if I could but sadly, not an option. There’s got to be a better way than spending thousands of $$$ on a green mattress especially to those who lost about everything and already replaced so much already. I mean if activated charcoal can capture it in an purifer, surely a mattress protector, pad or something can be put on the sucker. I’m just going to have to think outside the box here and keep ventilating the bedroom.