When you’re shopping for mattresses or bedding, beware of products described with terms like “antibacterial,” “odor controlling” or similar terms. They may have been treated with one of the more hazardous (and common) chemicals found in home products today—triclosan.
What is Triclosan?
Triclosan is an antibacterial chemical ingredient that can be found in various household cleaning products, toothpastes, and sanitizers.
Triclosan & Your Health
Triclosan is associated with a number of negative health effects. It is toxic to the liver, and at low doses, can increase the proliferation of breast cancer or other cancer cells. It chemically mimics thyroid hormone while blocking normal hormones in the body. It even raises the risk of developing hay fever and food allergies.
It’s also extremely harmful to the environment, because it damages marine algae that are responsible for much of the earth’s photosynthesis, and it can negatively affect healthy bacteria in soil.
You may have heard that antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers (most made with triclosan) are contributing to dangerous antibiotic resistance in the population—and that they’re not one bit better at getting rid of germs than ordinary soap and water!
Bedding, Chemicals, & Bacteria
The bottom line on keeping bedding clean and odor free is not to rely on added chemicals. Just wash your bedding regularly with an eco-friendly laundry soap and “odor control” won’t even be an issue.
It’s worth pondering that using so many antibacterials wasn’t even on consumers’ radar until clever companies advertised the “sanitize everything” idea to death—and spooked many people into believing that all germ exposure is dangerous.
In fact, exposure to bacteria is exactly what helps children develop healthy immune systems. That doesn’t mean we should ditch household cleanliness or common-sense hygiene, such as always washing hands thoroughly after using the bathroom or before eating. (Using triclosan-free sanitizers on shopping-cart handles is a smart move, too.)
But triclosan added to mattresses, mattress pads or sheets? Time to boot this chemical from your bed. Check out Savvy Rest’s organic bedding for a start, and sleep triclosan free.
Explore our best-selling layered mattress options
The Tranquility is made just like the Serenity organic mattress, but with two 3″ layers of natural, organic latex.
The Unity Pillowtop has four 3″ layers: it is simply the 3-layer Serenity organic mattress with the Harmony latex topper on top.
Our flagship organic mattress. Customizable for any body type with personalized combinations of Soft, Medium and/or Firm.
