We had to buy the whole family new mattresses after a disasterous move to the West Coast that left our old ones full of mould. (long story) In Canada the organic or non-fire retardent ones were out of our price range. We too found that Ikea doesn't heavily advertise their chemically safe products so my husband e-mailed the company to find out what was safe and what wasn't. I kept the email, but I have no idea how to post it on this site.

The gist of it was that the only country in the world that won't allow non-fire retardent mattresses and living room furniture is the US. So they make special products for this country. In Canada and elsewhere, every single cushioned product is fire retardent free, formadyhyde free, and also organic. They just don't tell you straight out in the store which seems vastly silly to me.

We were able to buy new mattresses that we could sleep on immediately without any treatment whatsoever. That stunned us as even groceries don't pass that level of safety.

I wish you good fortune with finding out if your Ikea store can get you something that is safe for you.

I don't know about anyone else, but I cannot stand to spend too much time in IKEA - especially the self-serve warehouse area. The VOC's from the laminate furniture make me very ill, and usually bring on a migraine. This does not seem like a very eco-friendly company to me...

Here's the letter I sent to IKEA...

I need information about the chemicals applied to your mattresses and futons.  I have very serious chemical allergies but I need a new bed and need a solution.

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to write to us. We appreciate your interest in our products and your concern for safety and the environment.

IKEA International made a voluntary decision to abstain from the use of brominated flame retardants and antimony-compounds in 1998. The phase-out of these chemicals was completed in 2002. Today, all textiles, mattresses and upholstered furniture sold by IKEA stores world-wide are free of PBDE and antimony compounds.

In Canada, the SULTAN mattress series has not been treated with flame retardants. Only mattresses sold in countries where there is strict fire legislation, at this time, the United States and the United Kingdom, have been treated with organic phosphor or nitrogen-based flame retardants.

In countries without fire safety regulations, IKEA's requirements are based on the Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish standards. IKEA ensures that these standards are met by choosing the right material for the product, by the design of the product, by good production control and by product testing.

Also, the following chemical substances are banned or restricted by IKEA:

1. No known carcinogenic substances are allowed in the products.

2. Tinorganic compounds are not allowed. (These substances are active in disrupting the hormone systems of animals and humans even at low concentrations.)

3. Freones (Chlorofluorocarbons, CFCs and HCFCs) are not allowed in the production of polyurethane foams. (To avoid depleting the ozone layer.)

Regarding emissions of volatile organic compounds to the indoor air, and in the absence of clear legislation in this area, IKEA follows strict limits based on a German guideline. Measurements cover both the short-term and the long-term emissions from products.

For Arylamines, IKEA has a ban on such substances, which can cause skin-irritation and some of which are classified as carcinogenic.

IKEA has banned the addition of Phthalate plasticizers to mattress-foams (using the list of substances banned by the European Union, applicable for children's products, such as bite- rings and pacifiers). Similar requirements are relevant for latex used in mattresses (based on the environmental requirements of the European latex-producing industry).

With regards to textile covers of mattresses:

As a general rule, IKEA does not allow any addition of Biocides to the products. No use of Pentachlorophenol (PCP) or Lindane is allowed in the products. Tinorganic/Organotin compounds are banned by IKEA. Azodyes which can release carcinogenic arylamines are banned in all IKEA textile articles. There are strict limits equal to max 100 ppm on Formaldehyde (skin contact textiles). Flame retardants cannot be added, with the exception of those markets (UK and the USA) where legislation regarding fire safety makes this usage necessary. However, even on these markets, IKEA has a ban on the brominated flame retardants, PBDE and similar chemical compounds.

Should you have any further questions regarding our products, please do not hesitate to contact us by phone.

Store phone numbers are available online at: http://www.ikea.ca/ms/en_CA/ikny_splash.html

Best Regards,
IKEA Website Customer Service

Well this is very encouraging news to hear! We are currently living in Spain, and while I drool over the gorgeous products that Debra has discovered- especially the organic bedding options - we are not on a budget that allows for them, alas. As we are about to move our 2 yr. old son into his own "big boy bed", I have been terribly worried about what sort of exposure to awful chemical flame retardants we might be giving him with the purchase of a conventional mattress. Additionally, Spain (unlike many european countries like Denmark, Sweden, Finnland, Germany and Holland) is hardly at the forefront of eco-consciousness or alternative living, so even finding out this kind of information is difficult if not impossible, as most people haven't even started asking these kinds of questions yet. But as IKEA is accessible here, and always affordable, I am greatly relieved to know that we can safely buy our son his new bed there AND sleep with a clear conscience! Meanwhile, the organic options remain at the top of my Wishlist....

In general I love IKEA... but I have my doubts... we bought a mattress and couch ( along with lots of other furniture) It felt like couch and mattress had some sort of protective oil or chemical agent that did not agree with me... may have been just me... but I'm curious if they put any type of coating to protect the fabric... it seemed to wear off with age, but at first I couldn't stand it. We love the items we bought, but I didn't feel comfortable... especially the oil on the couch ( it was leather or fake leather)... anyway... this is something I wondered about as well... thanks for the posting... ed-

Thanks Debra for being persistent and gathering this info.

hello,

i got the same standard form letter about their fire retardants from ikea. the only line that they advertise does not have fire retardants is their sultan line in Canada. However...when asked how these beds meets Canada's flammability standards for mattresses...this is the response I got.

"Thank you for your reply. The IKEA product range is subjected to
comprehensive tests and complies with the strictest applicable laws and
safety standards, and we have detailed regulations on the use of chemicals
and other substances in the manufacturing process. If one country tightens
its rules, we introduce these new regulations on all IKEA markets, whenever
possible."

In short...no answer...except stating that their products must meet even the strictist of standards which would be the California standards.

The interliner of the Sultan mattress...the only mattress line that they claim is not treated with fire retardants...is supposively 100 % cotton and fire retardant...how is 100% cotton fire retardant?

Ikea avoids answering this question.

As far as all cushions in Canada ...lots of foam manufactures choose to fire retard the foam even though its not a requirement...possibly because they also export to the states.
All foam in Ikea's furniture has been treated with fire retardant.

Ann

Ann,

I emailed IKEA also. I asked, very directly, if there were ANY chemicals used in their latex mattresses, of any sort, and stated only that I had severe chemical allergies. I got the same form letter back from them that you did, and it certainly did not seem like a straightforward, simple answer to me. When I asked them, I indicated that I would have been happy with a yes/no answer, followed by the (what I would presume to be) short list of the chemicals therein. When I have some free time I may call the company to see if I can get a straight answer from someone.

email I got from an Ikea CSR when I asked about toxicity from their flame retardant materials in their mattresses:

Thank you for your reply. We are glad to hear from you again.

We have not received an inordinate amount of health complaints regarding our mattresses. However, there is a small percentage of customers who are very sensitive to such chemicals, causing them to ask for details regarding our mattresses.

Mattresses manufactured or imported on or after July 1, 2007 must meet the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) flammability standard known as 16 CFR Part 1633. The mandatory standard is designed to reduce the severity of mattress fires ignited by open flame sources such as candles, matches and lighters.

Protection from cigarette ignition has been in place for more than 30 years known as 16 CFR Part 1632. The purpose of the 16 CFR part 1633 regulation, is to provide time for discovery of a fire and time for your family to escape before the fire get out of control.

Although this is an added layer of protection, consumers still need to keep in mind that increased fire resistance does not mean there is no fire risk. CPSC urges consumers to follow these important fire safety tips:

• Never smoke in bed.
• Do not allow kids to play with candles, lighters, matches or smoking materials.
• Do not fall asleep while a candle is burning.
• Extinguish candles before leaving the room.
• Have working smoke alarms on each level of the home and inside every bedroom.
• In case of fire, call 911 from a safe location.

You can obtain the mandatory flammability standards from the CPSC Web Site at www.cpsc.gov for further information.

We use organic phosphorous/nitrogen containing compounds, applied to an inter liner fabric. We are also using a fibre fire barrier made of polyester/viscose batting that have a fire-resisting property. For mattresses we do not need to use FR in the polyurethane foam. This construction has been used since the fire legislation California TB603 started in 2005.

IKEA does not offer a mattress without such chemicals as we are required to manufacture them to meet the above standards.

If you should have any additional questions, please let us know. We will be more than happy to assist you.

Best Regards,
Neil
IKEA Customer Care Center

For Michelle - I suspect that the high VOC level in the warehouse area is more from the cardboard packaging than the laminate furniture itself.

A room full of new IKEA cabinets didn't bother me at all. We had stacked all the cardboard packaging in another room. That bothered me a lot. I had a similar reaction when we had a huge pile of moving boxes. Fortunately most of our moving boxes were second hand, so had outgassed a lot already.

I know this blog post is a little old but I'd like to share a recent experience I've had with an Ikea couch my girlfriend and I purchased.

I put the couch together and assumed I didn't need to wear any protective apparatus. Making a long story short, I started to get a severe,shortness of breath. Just couldn't completely inhale. Being around the couch made things worse.

After a while, the couch became like Kryptonite to me. If I sat on it ,my sleeping was fitful because my inability to breath properly kept me awake. As I realized it was the couch and nothing but ,creating my health problems(I am normally bull like in constitution) I attempted to wash everything the couch was made from. It just seemed to make matters worse(possibly releasing some buried chemicals).

After I had taken the couch apart to clean,a friend mentioned that I should have a look at my eyes. I did and to my surprise they were swollen and awful looking. A week later,I developed a lesion on my eye.

Throughout,the stress of this all had taken it's toll on my relationship with my girlfriend. We discussed getting rid of it and all the ramifications of that. I put a call into IKEA and got a response from someone high up but with a very defensive posture. Sounded like fear of legal action. I said I'd be happy if IKEA would just come and take the couch away and refund my money(shipping it would have cost $300 and the nearest IKEA is 5 hours from me). She said she couldn't promise anything but would try.

I hadn't heard from them and needed to do something and my girlfriend was starting to think the reasons I was staying away from seeing her(she had the couch at her apartment) was for other reasons than trying to feel well. She started to complain of what she called 'a throbbing of her thyroid' and when I kissed her,she tasted like what ever was bothering me( a very hard to describe taste and odor accompanied all of this). She likely,in her small,weatherized for the winter at this point,heat up high, apartment was starting to ingest whatever this stuff was.

Finally today someone called from IKEA and said to move forward I would need to have doctor's information and earlier I was told I would need to have the couch analyzed.

Well last week after all this,my girlfriend got rid of the couch and spent a bundle on an organic futon from 'White Lotus' but not before finally saying good bye after weeks of instant messages and emails hoping to save our relationship.

Take these chemicals seriously...as seriously as if your love depended on it. This experience has cost me hundreds of hours of my life, at least an additional thousand dollars in attempted repairing of the situation(I tried having custom foam cut,bought latex foam,dry cleaning,gallons of natural detergents and solvents,a new sofa cover from IKEA ,not to mention lost work) and a person in my life that is irreplaceable. -Keith

Hi,
We bought Ikea mattresses for our cabin and I cannot sleep on them because of the strong chemical odor. I thought the smell would go away with time, and so we didn't take the mattresses back within the 90 day grace period so it is too late to return them. We don't go to the cabin often but it has been a year and there is still no way I can use the mattresses.

The chemicals coming from the mattress cause me to get a migraine and asthma-like symptoms. I've never had asthma before. We bought them at the store in Renton, WA.

My brother just bought 2 Ikea Vika Amon particle board tables and they send me into a coughing fit if I get anywhere near them. They smell horribly toxic to me and it is definitely not from the boxes which my brother recycled already.

We called Ikea about the table tops to ask about returning the tables - they said they haven't heard anything about the tables smelling bad, maybe I just got a bad batch.

My husband can smell the chemicals, but he does not get a physical reaction. I thought Ikea was careful about what they put in their furniture, but I now believe it is a whole lot of marketing hype.

I came here looking for information on what IKEA does to meet fire-retardant standards. I was thinking (hoping) that the wool or latex might be considered fire-retardant enough in itself (apparently the super-expensive natural bedding sites can get away with this, but I can't afford them.) Looks like I can't count on IKEA, sadly. Not sure what to do, my mattress is in terribly shape, but there's nothing I can buy that wouldn't make me sick that I could afford, seemingly.

As to IKEA supposed environment-friendliness -- we bought kitchen cabinets in I think 2001, terrible amount of formaldehyde in the particle board. We didn't realize it until we got it home, hundreds of miles away so I decided to wait for it to off-gas. Took forever, but it did eventually. But I vowed never to buy anything chemically-treated there again.

Fast-forward to this year, I bought some dressers advertised as "solid wood". So excited about this. Turned out they have particle board in them as well, which made me very ill. I had to go to Home Depot and buy material to replace the chemical-laden parts.

Ikea uses a salt based fire retardant in their mattresses. And FYI if you get a FOAM mattress,from ANYWHERE, it's going to have that sulfur rotten-egg-like smell... that's just how foam is made.

There are all kinds of salts. One example are the Aluminum salts used in deodorants suspected of creating a myriad of problems to the biology. I assure you it's not table salt which many assume when they read the word 'salt'. When a substance is referred to as a 'sulfate'(rotten egg smell;Epsom salt for one,Magnesium Sulfate) this composition is also a salt. I can list volumes of deleterious salts and those harmless depending on the concentrations. Even sleeping on a mattress infused with (if it could be used as a retardant and with a quantity necessary for fire retarding) table salt would cause problems over time,just as easily.
All foams are not alike however and there is a water based,low off-gassing foam that is available called Ultracel and doesn't use chloroflourocarbons and methylene chloride used in most foam and the villain as far as the 'smell' ('off gassing')we associate with ...I guess the absence of smell.
Not sure of the exact process and chemistry,though,that the person above is referring to concerning associating the 'rotten egg smell' and this off gassing in your average foam mattress.