Zinus Fiberglass: What’s The Deal?
Do Zinus mattresses contain fiberglass? The short answer is yes. Zinus mattresses contain fiberglass. When I asked them directly about it, they described it as “silicon fiber”, which is the same thing. If you’ve read any Amazon reviews of Zinus mattresses, you’ll find the one star reviews full of comments and images of it: Zinus Fiberglass is a real hot topic.
So just how much of a problem is it, and can you actually buy a Zinus mattress and enjoy it? Read on for all the answers about your Zinus Fiberglass concerns.
- Why Do Some Beds Have Fiberglass?
- Where Is The Fiberglass Inside The Mattress?
- Is Fiberglass In A Mattress Safe?
- How To Spot A Mattress That Has Fiberglass
- What Mattresses Have No Fiberglass
- Is It Alright To Buy Zinus?
Just Want A Fiberglass Free Mattress For A Great Price That’s Also Made In The USA And Has An In-Home Sleep Trial? Here You Go:
- Pressure Relief - Our T&N Adaptive foam is engineered based on customer feedback, and provides pressure relief where you need it most. An open-cell structure provides a flexible sleep surface that adjusts to you as you move throughout the night.
- Support - The T&N Original Mattress is ideal for back and stomach sleepers. We complemented the T&N Adaptive foam with a base layer of supportive foam to prevent sinking into the mattress.
- Cool Sleeping - Our open-cell cooling technology foam works with the heat-conducting graphite and cooling gel-infused in our T&N Adaptive foam to wick away heat and moisture for a deep, restful sleep.
- Versatility - We designed our mattress to be compatible and complementary with most frames and foundations including: traditional frames, box springs, platform frames, slatted frames, bunky boards, and adjustable frames
- Questions - We pride ourselves on customer service and urge you to reach out to us directly if you have any questions at any point, our expert customer service team will be available to help you through any of your hesitations, problems or questions
Why Do Some Beds Have Fiberglass?
All mattresses sold in the United States are required to contain a fire retardant under Federal Law. Fiberglass is used inside of mattresses as a cheap solution to providing a fire barrier without the use of harmful chemicals. That is not to say that ALL mattresses contain fiberglass, but it’s certainly common.
Chemical fire retardants were sometimes used in mattresses until it was discovered that some of them were harmful to human health, and are no longer used (look for Certi-PUR US or similar certifications for reassurance your mattress does not contain these chemicals).
If your mattress ended up on fire, the idea of the fiberglass is that it melts in on itself without burning, forming a protective layer or “sock” around the mattress. Memory foam mattresses are made using chemical foaming processes, so without any fire barriers, they’d be infernos of flame within one second so a fire barrier is really important.
Where Is The Fiberglass Inside The Mattress?
The fire retardant layer of a mattress needs to surround the foam to protect it from being engulfed in a catastrophic wave of flame.
If you’re buying a mattress that has fiberglass in it, you’ll find it woven into an internal cover layer. This is exactly where you find it inside a Zinus mattress.
- Zinus has its stretch knit cover, which is the surface you lie on, then a thinner, internal fabric layer that encases the mattress foams
- There is no fiberglass in the outer stretch knit cover, so you you’re not sleeping directly on it
- The fiberglass is woven into the thin layer encasing the foams
It’s absolutely critical you DO NOT remove ANY cover from a mattress that uses fiberglass in the internal cover, more on that further down the article.
Is Fiberglass In A Mattress Safe?
The answer here is yes and no. Let’s look at it from both perspectives.
YES: Fiberglass makes for a great fire retardant. It’s a budget friendly option that allows companies to produce cheap, fire safe mattresses without using toxic chemicals in their fire barriers.
NO: If the fiberglass gets out of the mattress, you’re going to end up with the fine strands of it all through your bed, your bedroom, your house. This can cause itching, irritation, and even small cuts. The fibers are so fine it will be nearly impossible to fully clean them up once they escape.
This means that if you do buy a mattress with fiberglass, you can be assured you’re getting a good fire barrier, but you’re going to have to be VERY CAREFUL to remember to never remove the cover.
Further to that, since fiberglass is usually found in the cheaper mattresses, you need to think about how durable the cover is. If the cover rips or breaks down, you will end up with fiberglass contamination despite your best efforts. Your best safeguard against this issue is to use a mattress protector on top of the mattress (which you will want to do anyway).
How To Spot A Mattress That Has Fiberglass
There are two basic ways to spot a mattress that has fiberglass inside it:
- It has a non-removable cover
- It is a budget priced mattress (I’d say around up to $600 for a King. When you start getting towards $1000 for your mattress, that’s when I would expect them to use something else as their fire shield)
You’ll notice that many of the budget mattresses on Amazon have non removable covers. This, combined with their price point, is a dead giveaway that there is fiberglass inside as the fire barrier. If you see a mattress that has a removable cover, you can relax a little.
What Mattresses Have No Fiberglass?
There are many mattresses out there that don’t use fiberglass OR toxic chemicals in their fire barriers. They often come at a higher price point, but you can still get a great mattress without fiberglass for around $1000. These mattresses tend to use materials such as organic cotton or organic wool as their fire retardant: these are known for their slow burning properties (and are great at regulating your body temperature when you lie on them). Here are my picks:
- Memory foam with a range of price options: Puffy (click here for a full review)
- Tempurpedic: the original memory foam mattress
- A latex mattress with a wool fire barrier that’s cheaper than other latex models: Latex For Less (click here for full review)
- A hybrid mattress made with 100% natural and organic materials: Avocado (click here for full review)
- A double coil system mattress that also has natural materials in the comfort layers: Brentwood Oceano (click here for full review)
Is It Alright To Buy Zinus?
So that brings us back to Zinus. It’s constantly at the top of Amazon’s top seller list so it’s a popular budget mattress that suits many people. I think it’s a good budget option if you want something for a spare room or for a couple of years. I don’t think you’ll find a similar mattress at this price point that doesn’t have fiberglass to be completely honest with you!
If you buy it knowing it contains fiberglass and do not remove the cover, you should have no problem. Even better if you cover the mattress with a protector, which you should do anyway.
Last update on 2022-12-10 at 17:04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
