Do Ashley Furniture Mattresses Have Fiberglass?

Ashley Furniture, often known as Ashley Homestore, is a well-known global furniture retailer and manufacturer producing its mattress brands, Ashley Sleep and Chime. Ashley offers innerspring, memory foam mattresses, and hybrid mattress models under this brand, and the brand is known for budget-friendly prices.

However, at such low pricing, there have been concerns about inferior quality materials affecting health and mattress durability and whether or not it is a good quality mattress. If you’ve ever looked for a good mattress, you know that it’s not a simple task.

When choosing your next mattress, several factors must be considered, including:

• Mattress sizes and dimensions
• Mattress materials, or the type of mattress it is
• Pricing, or how much the mattress costs
• Mattress thickness

In addition, a bed should not feel uncomfortable and help with body temperature regulation for restful sleep.

We are sometimes so preoccupied with finding the perfect mattress that will endure for decades that we completely overlook avoiding mattress brands that have potentially hazardous chemicals such as fine particles of fiberglass in the inner protective layer that are not only terrible for the environment but can cause serious health problems.

While many mattress manufacturers follow regulations and rules regarding a clean manufacturing process and primarily organic materials, other mattresses include various harmful substances and chemicals to extend their lifespan and protect against flammability. One of these compounds is fiberglass, which is a common fire retardant.

SEE ALSO: Best Mattress for a Lightweight Person

Who is Ashley Furniture?

Ashley Furniture is a well-known and significant furniture maker, including being the maker of several memory foam mattresses and innerspring bed products. They’ve been in business for almost 70 years, so they are well established and are good at producing a range of mid to high-quality furniture.

Ashley Furniture has franchise locations across the United States so you may be familiar with the brand from their many storefronts. They are also attempting to keep up with the times by selling their products on internet platforms like Amazon, along with their own web store.

What is Fiberglass?

Fiberglass is a composite material composed of plastic reinforced with tiny shards of glass fibers. It’s lightweight and flexible, making it simple to flatten into a sheet or mold into any form, such as an inner protective layer of mattress retardants.

Fiberglass is not only weather-resistant and durable, but it is also inexpensive as an insulation panel, making it a popular material in various sectors but particularly common in companies that make memory foam mattresses. Ashley Furniture is included in these new mattress manufacturers.

It is used in various applications, including boats, aircraft, bathtubs, roofs (think the fluffy cotton-candy-looking stuff stuck against the walls of your attic for insulation), and other materials, in addition to a mattress fire barrier.

Fiberglass is seldom utilized in high-end mattresses made in the United States by firms that are open about where their components come from. However, numerous online and in-store retailers sell mattresses that include fiberglass and other potentially hazardous elements.

These mattresses, including many made by Ashley Furniture, are frequently reasonable and have an approachable price tag, making them excellent for those who don’t have the time or money to spend on an expensive mattress since they either need it quickly or have a limited budget. They have no idea that shopping for these glass wool-affected mattresses can result in various acute symptoms such as skin redness and are strongly opposed by health specialists.

SEE ALSO: Softest Mattress in a Box

Purpose of Fiberglass in Mattresses

A fire barrier is required by law on all mattresses. Once, chemical flame retardantsVerified Source Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)Works to control/prevent natural and manmade disasters.View source were used, but as the dangers and side effects of these chemicals became known, they fell out of favor.

Some less expensive mattresses, generally those sold online in boxes, have a fiberglass inner layer beneath the outer cover as a flame retardant. This is because fiberglass is both heat resistant and affordable. Fiberglass is used by lot of memory foam mattress brands.

Though fiberglass became increasingly popular once the toxicity of some chemical fire retardants was outlawed, fiberglass does have its own safety considerations. Natural silica, organic wool, or other sustainable materials are naturally produced and harmless materials that are common alternatives in the best mattresses without fiberglass.

Benefits of Fiberglass in Mattresses

A mattress with fiberglass inside its cover generally serves only one purpose: to keep the mattress from catching fire. The material is commonly used as a flame barrier in memory foam mattresses, though you’ll find it in other types of mattresses, too.

Why memory foam? Memory foam is a synthetic material and a type of poly-foam, which is manufactured from petroleum. Petroleum, as you may know, is a highly flammable material that can cause injury and spread fire to your home.

So if your room were to catch fire, the fiberglass tucked into the outside layer of the mattress cover would melt, essentially encasing the bed’s insides and saving the mattress from going up in flames. That is its primary function.

Some manufacturers that acknowledged using fiberglass in their mattresses, such as Ashley, stated that the fiberglass is tucked away under the mattress’s inner cover, which is a safer alternative. Nonetheless, if your bed has a hole in it, you are putting your house and health in danger.

SEE ALSO: Are Memory Foam Mattresses Safe?

Fiberglass Exposure Risks

Manufacturers of mattresses sold in the United States are obliged by 16 CFR 1632.3 to incorporate flame retardants in their goods. Some manufacturers of low-cost bed-in-a-box mattresses have chosen to use fiberglass since it is fire-resistant and inexpensive, allowing them to keep prices down while increasing profits.

This material is composed of small glass shards that may quickly move throughout your home via the HVAC system and embed in your flesh if the fire retardant layer of your mattress becomes exposed. While not a carcinogenVerified Source National Library of Medicine (NIH)World’s largest medical library, making biomedical data and information more accessible.View source, this material is unpleasant and can induce a range of symptoms.

Manufacturers that use this chemical in their mattresses include mattress covers with plastic sheets and zippers, leading some buyers to assume that they may securely remove the covers for cleaning. However, the fire retardant layers were revealed when they removed the coverings, releasing millions of minute glass shards and other materials from the bed throughout their houses.

In some situations, people may need to use inhalers, and cleaning up the house can cost thousands of dollars to remove the tiny shards from home. It can be made worse if it gets into the air conditioner or other ventilation system.

Rash

A fiberglass rash usually appears as an area of tiny blisters on dry, flaky skin. The inflammation will be red on pale skin. If long glass fibers become embedded in the skin, they may protrude from the surface.

Allergy-Like Reactions

According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, fiberglass exposure can cause:

• Skin irritation
• Irritation or redness of the eyes
• Short-term stomach pain
• Coughing
• Sore throat

Dermatitis

Fiberglass dermatitis is a kind of mechanical irritating contact dermatitis caused by the penetration of tiny particles or spicules of fiberglass into the skin’s stratum corneum.

Scratching or touching the afflicted region might cause fibers to penetrate further into the skin. To relieve irritation and dryness, emollient lotions such as Eucerin or E45, as well as topical corticosteroids, might be used. If more therapy is required, doctors can prescribe it.

Worsened Asthma Symptoms

Asthma and bronchitis are chronic respiratory diseases that can be exacerbated by environmental factors such as cigarette smoke. Fiberglass is one of these environmental elements that irritate the airways and lungs.

Upper Respiratory Illnesses

Those who work with or are exposed to this insulation run the risk of breathing in itty-bitty shards of glass. After some time, such fragments can become lodged in a person’s lungs, leading to various respiratory conditions.

There is no method to eliminate fiberglass from your esophagus or lungs. Still, gradually, it will make its way through your body. The significant risk comes from prolonged exposure, which can result in chronic conditions such as asthma if it is not stopped.

Persistent Breathing Difficulties

A person’s skin, eyes, nose, and throat may get irritated if they touch fiberglass directly or breathe in airborne dust containing fiberglass. Itching, coughing, or wheezing are some of the symptoms that may accompany irritation. However, these reactions are typically nonspecific and relatively transient.

Lung Scarring and Damage

While it is rare, and fiberglass being the cause is undetermined by most studies, there is speculation that fiberglass can cause permanent lung scarring.

A study conducted in 1993Verified Source National Library of Medicine (NIH)World’s largest medical library, making biomedical data and information more accessible.View source found that exposing rats to fiberglass does not result in the development of lung fibrosis or an increase in the incidence of lung cancer or mesotheliomas. As a result, the researchers concluded that exposure to fiberglass dust in humans does not play a significant role in the progression of fibrosis or lung cancer.

Wheezing

Mucous membranes in the airways have a heightened sensitivity to irritants caused by foreign particles. These membranes are susceptible to irritation when inhaled particles are present, which may result in wheezing, symptoms similar to bronchitis, or colored phlegm.

How to Identify a Fiberglass Mattress

On Amazon

Examine the questions and answers on the mattress. Look for definitive mattress brand comments stating that there is no fiberglass. It is best not to rely on other customers’ responses on this one; sometimes people are paid to leave false information, and other times people simply are unaware.

Examine the mattress’s customer photographs. As more people become aware of the fiberglass problem, they photograph their mattress care tags, demonstrating whether or not there is fiberglass in the mattress. You’re looking for “glass fiber.” The “glass fiber” proportion is usually shown as a percentage of the material within or under the cover. It has ranged from 12 to 68 percent in most cases.

SEE ALSO: Best Mattress on Amazon: Reviews and Buyer’s Guide

On a Vendor Website

Contact customer service and directly if the mattress contains fiberglass. Online mattress makers MUST have excellent customer service to thrive, and if you get the run around when asking questions about what’s inside the mattress, go elsewhere. In addition, most quality manufacturers will offer an in-home sleep trial where you can look at and try the materials at home.

Look out for mattresses with detachable coverings (you cannot remove the cover from a fiberglass fire barrier mattress bed). Look also for natural or organic latex mattresses, which commonly have organic cotton and wool as fire barriers.

What Should I Do If My Mattress Is Made of Fiberglass?

You may have learned that your mattress contains fiberglass, or at least have realized it’s a real possibility. First and foremost, don’t worry! The fiberglass is not hazardous and is relatively harmless when safely contained. However, it is annoying and potentially dangerous if it escapes from the mattress.

Here’s how to deal with your mattress to keep the fiberglass in place.

Don’t Take Off the Mattress Cover

Fiberglass is used as a fire-retardant layer above the memory foam beneath the cover. You risk exposing the fiberglass if you remove the ‘lid’ that keeps it covered. Keep an eye on it, inspecting it for holes when you change the sheets on your bed.

Make Use of a Mattress Protector

Fiberglass might elude detection through a hole in the mattress cover. Because they are frequently low-cost mattresses, the cover material may be thinner or less durable than the more expensive ones. Should it leak through, you’ll be faced with the difficulties of cleaning fiberglass off a mattress and potentially throughout the rest of your home.

Cover your mattress with a high-quality mattress protector to prevent holes (and use it to extend the life of your mattress).

Think of Replacing the Mattress

If the prospect of fiberglass in your mattress makes you anxious, it would be worth your peace of mind to replace the mattress. If your bed is more than a few years old, it may be time to get a new bed with fresh comfort materials and a new support system.

When it comes to the best mattresses without fiberglass, latex mattresses are a favorite among many consumers. Because of the focus on producing a natural and eco-friendly bed, manufacturers tend to use flame-resistant wool instead of fiberglass.

However, if you have your heart set on one of the best memory foam mattresses, you can still shop around for one. Many memory foam bed manufacturers are phasing out fiberglass in favor of other materials.

SEE ALSO: How to Dispose and Get Rid of an Old Mattress

FAQs

How can I tell whether my mattress is made of fiberglass?

If your mattress label says XX percent glass fiber, it contains fiberglass. Other potential terms include glass-reinforced plastic, fibrous glass, glass wool, and glass filaments. Your tag should also say, “Do not remove the cover,” because doing so would release the fiberglass particles, causing them to fly everywhere.

Is fiberglass used in the majority of mattresses?

Some mattress manufacturers include fiberglass in their products. Fiberglass is perhaps the last material you’d expect to see in a mattress. However, it is a low-cost option for complying with industrial fire regulations and keeping you safe while sleeping in your gorgeous, comfy, flammable bed. Nectar mattresses and the popular Zinus are other brands known for fiberglass.

However, whether you have a twin mattress or king size mattress, the chances are about equal of containing fiberglass. In addition, many memory foam mattress makers use the same material for temperature regulation and pressure relief.

Is fiberglass used in every bed?

No, because fiberglass is rarely found in all-natural latex mattress models. Instead of fiberglass, some brands will use wool, silica, or plant fibers as flame barriers.

Although this isn’t always the case, memory foam, hybrid, and innerspring mattresses are more likely to include fiberglass. So if you are looking to avoid fiberglass, you we would suggest shopping for a latex mattress. Memory foam and hybrid mattresses can be fiberglass-free, but it can take some snooping to find one.

Hot tip: It does not matter if you purchase a firm mattress or plush soft top layer. Mattress firmness does not affect whether or not a manufacturer will choose to use fiberglass.

Is there fiberglass in Ashley mattresses?

Ashley Furniture guarantees breathable and comfortable memory foam and hybrid mattresses. Nonetheless, some mattresses contain fiberglass. This is an issue common with many bargain-priced mattresses.

Is the Zinus mattress safe to use?

It is CertiPUR® certified, which ensures it is devoid of dangerous chemicals such as formaldehyde and flame retardants. It comes with a five-year warranty. You may choose between mattress thicknesses ranging from six to twelve inches.

However, as of this writing, Zinus does use fiberglass inside their mattresses.

Why is there fiberglass in memory foam mattresses?

Some memory foam mattresses have fiberglass as a flame retardant. In the United States, federal law requires memory foam to be fire resistant for sleepers’ safety. Fiberglass is a low-cost and (usually) non-toxic element in memory foam that meets U.S. federal fire rules. To avoid fiberglass mattresses, some shoppers look at mattresses without memory foam.

Is there fiberglass in memory foam mattress toppers?

To meet U.S. federal mattress flammability regulations, many memory foam mattresses are manufactured with a fire retardant fabric barrier that incorporates glass fiber threads, covering the top layer. However, when it comes to separate mattress toppers with a memory foam interior, they may not have fiberglass.

Some memory foam mattress toppers are even sold without a cover, as they’re meant to be tucked away underneath a mattress protector or fitted sheet.

Conclusion

In light of the debate surrounding fiberglass, getting all relevant information is essential. It is up to you to choose the kind of mattress you buy; therefore, educating yourself on how the mattress feels and all its other features is essential.