When looking for a mattress, it is not a surprise if you lean towards more budget-friendly options. In your search, you may have stumbled upon popular mattress company, Zinus. This brand offers a wide range of budget-friendly foam mattresses at different sizes and thickness levels. Presumably to keep costs low, Zinus mattress use fibreglass as a fire retardant instead of harmful chemicals.

In this article, we explore why fiberglass is used in mattresses and whether this is safe for sleepers. We will also be giving our recommendations for budget-friendly mattresses that use alternative materials instead of fibreglass.

Mattresses require a fire retardant to pass flammability tests. To keep costs low, some mattress manufacturers use fiberglass as it is a cheaper alternative to other materials such as wool or latex. Fiberglass is a reinforced plastic material where glass fibres are embedded with woven material. These fibres are held together with a binding substance and are often used in homes as insulation.

If your mattress were to go up flames, the fiberglass within would melt in itself without burning. This forms a protective layer that prevents the mattress interior, which can be made of highly flammable materials, from catching fire.

In order to protect foam mattresses from being engulfed in flames, a flame retardant layer is must surround it. In Zinus mattresses, there is an internal cover layer that is woven with fibreglass. You are not directly sleeping in this material as there is a knit cover placed on top. The fibreglass is encased within the mattress, so there shouldn’t be any direct exposure.

If left undisturbed, the fiberglass should not be a problem for the sleeper. It is crucial that you do not remove the mattress cover as this could expose you to fibreglass. Zinus state that the cover is not washable so it does not need to be removed. To further protect you from potential fibreglass exposure, place a mattress protector on top of the knit cover.

Fiberglass is used to keep you safe in the event of a fire, especially if your mattress is made up of foam, which is a highly flammable material. Fiberglass is used in various industries from home installations, car components to cooling towers. Generally, if left undisturbed, fiberglass should not pose a risk to you. It serves as a great fire retardant and enables companies to produce cheap, fire safe mattress at a budget-friendly cost, without the use of toxic chemicals.

However, in a mattress, it can be very easy to come into contact with the material – which can cause problems in your home.

In this case, Zinus mattresses have a cover that protects you from the fiberglass within, but there is a risk that the shards will break down over time, potentially coming through the mattress cover and into your skin.

It is incredibly vital that you do not remove any cover from a mattress that uses fiberglass. Doing so, can send tiny fibreglass shards everywhere. It can be very difficult to remove once these fibres embed into your carpets, clothes and furniture. If you cannot remove the fibreglass, you may have to resort to replacing all your furniture to prevent the risk of transferring particles to other belongings.

As well as damage to your home, fibreglass can also harm you. These strands can pollute the air and may result in itchiness and irritation to your eyes, nose, and throat. In some cases, you may also find small cuts on your body.

In extreme measures, the exposure to fibreglass can cause long term health effects and mental strain.

Instead of looking for physical evidence of fiberglass, it is recommended that you check the label of your mattress. If fiberglass is a material used, there should be a percentage content labelled. Additionally, if the label states that you do not remove the cover, this may suggest that there is fiberglass in the mattress.

It is important that when looking for budget-friendly mattresses, you look into what is used as a fire retardant. As it is a cheap material, many companies use fibreglass to keep costs low. Typically, mattresses under £700 are the most likely to use fibreglass. However, this does not apply to all budget-friendly mattresses.

Higher priced mattress are more likely to use alternative and safer materials, such as natural wool, as a fire barrier.                                    

There are many mattresses that do not use fibreglass or toxic chemicals as their fire barriers. Many memory foam mattresses go through safety processes and fire-resistant testing. Quality memory foam is made of polyurethane foam and use harmless chemicals to create that soft, cushioning feeling.

If you’re looking for an alternative to a Zinus mattress, but still want the comfort of a foam mattress, here are some great budget-friendly choices.