Why Choose a Non-Toxic Mattress

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Why Choose a Non-Toxic Mattress by Ashley of MyHeartBeets.com

I’ve been sleeping very well, you guys.

I got a new mattress several months ago and I couldn’t be happier with it. It’s a non-toxic mattress and today I’m going to tell you why we decided to make the switch.

After moving to a new (but very old) home last year, I decided that I wanted a new non-toxic mattress. I did plenty of research and came across the company: intelliBED. Today, I’m sharing my experience with intelliBED in this blog post – the good AND the bad.

First, I want to say that choosing a mattress is a personal decision. Unless you’re rollin’ in dough, a non-toxic mattress is a big purchase (a few thousand dollars) so if you’re thinking about buying this mattress, you should definitely take some time to make a decision, you know, sleep on it. ? SORRY. You know me. I couldn’t resist throwing in a pun… okay, all seriousness from here on out. One thing you should know is that intelliBED has offered to give my readers who are interested a discount on ANY of their products including their mattress and full disclosure, I’ll get a commission too. 

To get a 10% discount on ANY intelliBED product, use the code: MYHEARTBEETS using this link or tell them the code when you call

I am 100% about being authentic and up front with you guys. So if you have questions, leave me a comment and I’ll answer it as best I can. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll do my best to find out. 

Here’s what you need to know if you’re considering buying an intelliBED.

The mattress I’m using is NOT organic. According to the company however, it is non-toxic.

What’s the difference? An organic mattress is usually made of organic materials like hay, feathers, wool, cotton. These materials can break down quickly, which means these mattresses will likely need replacing more often. A non-toxic mattress like intelliBED is made out of a rubber material that helps to evenly distribute weight and therefore hopefully reduce pressure on your back and hips.

So why didn’t I go for an organic mattress? To be honest, if I had the budget to replace a mattress every few years, an organic mattress is an option I’d seriously consider. But mattresses are expensive and so I want a bed that’s going to last and I just can’t see an organic mattress lasting me more than a decade (if anyone reading this has had an organic mattress last them longer than a decade, please let me know). My mattress comes with a 30-year warranty (10 years full and 20 years prorated).

Why buy a non-toxic mattress?

I opted for a non-toxic mattress because I wanted a bed that would provide me with full body support while still using the cleanest mattress ingredients available. We spend so much of our time in bed with our faces sometimes buried into our mattress and pillows that it only makes sense to want to sleep in a clean environment.

When Roby and I first got married, we bought a memory foam mattress from overstock for a couple hundred bucks. It came rolled up and after we unrolled it, it smelled AWFUL. We put the mattress in the guest room and left it there for over a month until the smell finally became bearable. I didn’t know then, but that smell was “off gassing.”

“Off gassing” is a chemical smell – it’s from the chemicals that mattress companies add to their beds to make them resistant to stains, dust mites, fire, etc. IntelliBED uses a fire blocker made out of glass fiber strands and the rest of their materials are hypoallergenic and do not off-gas. When we first got the intelliBED, there was absolutely no smell and I don’t know about you but I’d rather sleep on a bed that doesn’t stink.

This mattress isn’t soy-free.

So you might be like “um Ash, I don’t plan on eating the mattress….” And I get that, but this is something I want you to be aware of. Why does this matter? Well, there IS a material in this bed called “soy foam” which is similar to the foam that you’ll find in a regular mattress. According to intelliBED, there are several inches of polyurathane foam that make up the bed. It’s the polyurathane foam that has the soy foam in it. Typically, polyurathane foam is made with petroleum based chemicals but intelliBED says they actually pay more for their foam, which replaces 10-15% of the petroleum chemicals with soy. So while it is still petroleum based, they say they try to buy the cleanest foam they can. They tell me that in their 15 years, they haven’t had anyone complain about having a reaction to their beds.

So what is this mattress made of? 

Before I tell you what’s in it, you should know what’s not in it. IntelliBED is free from memory foam, boric acid, natural latex foam (many people are allergic to latex) and an air chamber (can promote mold growth). *Some beds do use a special form of latex (talalay) which the company says has been processed to remove the protein which causes allergic reactions.

The bed is made up of: 100 percent cotton cover, innerspring, 2-3 inches of foam as mentioned above and 2-3 inches of Intelli-GEL® which is a copolymer rubber gel material made from food grade mineral oil. The gel has been used in hospitals for serious wound care support for burn victims and for curing bed sores. Because fire blockers are mandated by the government, intelliBED uses a silica based fire blocker rather than boric acid, which is a chemical that many other companies use.

The kid-size beds do not use foam and that’s because kids are light enough so that when they lay down on the gel, they basically float on it.

It takes some time to get used to.

The first few nights I slept on this bed, I thought something was wrong. It was like I was floating on the bed but not necessarily in a good way. It was almost like I was sleeping on an airbed. This bed is firm, but not uncomfortably firm. It was just very different than what I was used to. After all, for the past several years I had been sleeping/sinking into my memory foam bed. I wanted to give the new mattress a fair shot and after about a week, I realized that I couldn’t go back to memory foam. My neck pain was practically gone (it’s completely gone now) and my back no longer aches. I can’t say for sure that the bed fixed those two problems but I haven’t made any other changes in my life other than switching out my mattress. I’m pretty sure that this mattress forces me to have good posture while I sleep (now I just need a chair that forces me to do that when I’m awake). I think that I toss and turn less than I used to and this mattress also keeps me perfectly cool throughout the night.

How to Save on your intelliBED even if you’re on a Budget:

When you order, make sure to use the coupon code MYHEARTBEETS to save 10% on your order.

IntelliBED offers a 60-day trial period so you can try the bed out to see if it’s right for you. One caveat: if you decide to return the bed, the company will not return the shipping fee: $269 or the cost of the mattress protector: $90. There’s no extra fee to pick up the bed for a return though. Also, pillows and sheets are non-refundable.

They also offer financing: 12 months 0% interest or 60 months with interest. This way you don’t have to pay everything up front.

On a tight budget? If you can’t afford the bed yet, you can always buy a mattress topper to give you a bit more cushion between you and your current bed. They’ll still give you the 10% discount!

And for the next month, intelliBED is offering my readers special gifts if you decide to get a queen bed or larger! Just make sure to use the code MYHEARTBEETS 🙂

  • 10% off your order
  • 2 intelliPillows (a $299.90 value)
  • 1 Set of Bamboo Sheets (up to $189.99 value)

OR

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Alright, that’s a wrap. Goodnight!! Sweet (non-toxic) Dreams!! ?

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Hi, I’m Ashley. Thanks for being here! I truly believe that food brings us closer together. Gather around a table with good food and good people, and you’ll have the ingredients you need to create some happy memories. My hope is that you find recipes here that you can’t wait to share with family and friends.

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Comments

  1. Marley says

    Hi Ashley,

    I want to go the non-toxic route, so I wondered if you are still enjoying your Intellibed? Also, do you have an opinion on the Eco Terra mattress (just wondering if you researched it as well during the initial phases of your shopping)?

    Thanks,

    Marley

  2. Michelle Henry says

    Great post! I appreciate you mentioned it takes a few nights to get used to it. With most new mattresses this is the case and it’s a good thing! Thanks for sharing.

  3. Margaret says

    Someday I’ll be able to afford non-toxic bedding. I need a mattress topper though, so I may check them out for that. With MCS I react to so many things 🙁 Thanks for hosting the pillow giveaway!

  4. Katherine says

    This sounds really interesting. I switched recently to just a latex topper on top of slats to give me a firmer bed and reduce allergens in the bedroom. It’s helped a lot.

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