mouldy bed, what can I do?

Tim_Deegan

This post is from the top of page 2 of the above thread:

yllibin wrote: »

We bought our Sensaform Panache mattress less than a year ago. From day one it was hot and sweaty, even when changing down from a 13.5 to a 4.5 tog quilt. More recently we have both developed aching backs and there are 2 permanent dips in the bed where we sleep. When we bought a new mattress (ordinary pocket sprung with no memory foam) and went to swap over the mattresses we noticed the underside of the memory foam mattress was mildewed. So much for temperature and moisture control, key features of the bed supposedly. We can't wait to get rid of the Sensaform mattress- it is so badly mildewed we couldn't even donate it to a charity shop- and will never set foot in a Sleepmasters store again or recommend it to anyone.

superchick

Good news !! Email from Sleepmasters yesterday:

"Thank you for submitting a fault with your bed through our website. I am sorry to hear that there are mould marks on your mattress and base. I have ordered you a replacement bed now to be delivered in approximately 4 weeks time. The warehouse will contact you to inform you of a date of exchange when the bed is delivered in by the suppliers.

Please be aware that you must take delivery of the replacement bed within 14 days of the 1st delivery date provided or you may face the risk of being charged £50.00 to re-order the bed if it is sent back to the suppliers. Thank you.

Kind regards,"

My other half says he won't believe it until he sees it but I'm optomisitc! In other news the landlord has been to look at the damp and he's sending a specialist round.

Tim_Deegan

superchick wrote: »

Good news !! Email from Sleepmasters yesterday:

"Thank you for submitting a fault with your bed through our website. I am sorry to hear that there are mould marks on your mattress and base. I have ordered you a replacement bed now to be delivered in approximately 4 weeks time. The warehouse will contact you to inform you of a date of exchange when the bed is delivered in by the suppliers.

Please be aware that you must take delivery of the replacement bed within 14 days of the 1st delivery date provided or you may face the risk of being charged £50.00 to re-order the bed if it is sent back to the suppliers. Thank you.

Kind regards,"

My other half says he won't believe it until he sees it but I'm optomisitc! In other news the landlord has been to look at the damp and he's sending a specialist round.

That's really good news. It makes you wonder if they realise that there was a problem with that model.

superchick

Yes that was my first thought too. Fingers crossed that it all goes well

mebackurts

Hi there,
I have exactly the same problem with a "la romantica" mattress supplied by BedKingdom.
I've been suffering from a permanent cold for the last 2 months and found out that this mould was the cause[FONT=&quot]. My girlfriend has wiped it over with very diluted bleach solution hoping to destroy any spores.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]We live in a modern house with central heating and have no damp issues, and nothing has been spilt on the mattress. I can only assume the memory foam surface has been absorbing moisture from us over the last months or so and caused this problem.[/FONT]
The memory foam does absorb liquids very easily as I found when wiping it over to remove the offending mould. It absorbs water like a sponge.
I've emailed BedKingdom and they did say they'd look into it, but that was a week ago and I've had no response since which is a bit annoying. These things aren't cheap and I've only had mine 6 months! grr!
For now I've put an electric blanket on the thing, hoping this will prevent it happening again. I've never had this problem before in my house which makes me suspect the mattress is at fault.

Tim_Deegan

mebackurts wrote: »

Hi there,
I have exactly the same problem with a "la romantica" mattress supplied by BedKingdom.
I've been suffering from a permanent cold for the last 2 months and found out that this mould was the cause[FONT=&quot]. My girlfriend has wiped it over with very diluted bleach solution hoping to destroy any spores.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]We live in a modern house with central heating and have no damp issues, and nothing has been spilt on the mattress. I can only assume the memory foam surface has been absorbing moisture from us over the last months or so and caused this problem.[/FONT]
The memory foam does absorb liquids very easily as I found when wiping it over to remove the offending mould. It absorbs water like a sponge.
I've emailed BedKingdom and they did say they'd look into it, but that was a week ago and I've had no response since which is a bit annoying. These things aren't cheap and I've only had mine 6 months! grr!
For now I've put an electric blanket on the thing, hoping this will prevent it happening again. I've never had this problem before in my house which makes me suspect the mattress is at fault.

This problem should be less likely to happen with pocket sprung/memory foam mattresses due to their improved ventilation.

• How often do you turn it?
• Do you use a mattress protector with it, and if so what type?
• Is the room well ventilated? A bedroom can build up large amounts of moisture during the night, which is the main cause of mildew. Try leaving a window slightly open at night.

Memory foa will easily absorb moisture as it is open celled, so actually contains loads of holes rather than bubbles. If you do wipe it over with any liquid, then make sure the cloth is just damp rather than wet. Then stand the mattress up in a well ventilated room to allow it to dry. If possible air it for a few days. Although if you don't have an alternative mattress to use while it is aired, then use the other side of the mattress, then stand it up again during the day until it has dried.

NEVER USE AN ELECTRIC BLANKET ON A MEMORY FOAM MATTRESS

In Bed Kingdom's defence, it is more likely to be a condensation problem in your bedroom rather than a problem with the mattress, as this model is very well ventilated due to containing full size steel pocket springs.

mebackurts

Hi Tim,
Many thanks for replying with your advice, its much appreciated.
We turn the mattress every month - 6 weeks.
I do have the window very slightly open but perhaps not enough - although I find it strange that I did not have such problems with my old mattress in the same conditions.
The electric blanket is the only thing that seems to have helped get rid of my cold and possibly the damp from the mattress - I guess from your advice that this can damage the memory foam though.
Thanks again for getting back to me, and I'll follow your advice - I wish bedkingdom could have bothered to do the same.

kateybee

Just wanted to say that if your bed is mouldy but your walls, floors, wardrobes are not, the problem probably arrived with your bed. Mould will grow on internal walls where there is inadequate ventilation - it is very very obvious, so if your internal walls, especially corners, show no mould, it is unlikely mould on your bed came from your home. We had a memory foam bed, cost £1200, just over one year, the base of the mattress and the top of the divan was covered in mould. Our previous bed, of ten years, never had a problem, and none of the other beds in the house had a problem. On inspection we found the divan base staples (holding upholstery in place) were all rusted! We believe the divan must have been stored in damp conditions before it was delivered to us and that whilst the mattress may have been fine, once in contact with the damp base created perfect conditions for mould spores to grow. Because memory foam mattresses (and most other mattresses nowadays) can't be turned over, it's hard to notice this problem until it's too late. Some memory foam mattresses enable mould spores to grow more rapidly than they would on a different sort of mattress. I've found several people online with one particular mattress with mould on the underside of the mattress after a short time despite regular rotating as per manufacturer's instructions. The manufacturer and the retailer both confirmed a replacement bed could be ordered.

Tim_Deegan

kateybee wrote: »

Just wanted to say that if your bed is mouldy but your walls, floors, wardrobes are not, the problem probably arrived with your bed. Mould will grow on internal walls where there is inadequate ventilation - it is very very obvious, so if your internal walls, especially corners, show no mould, it is unlikely mould on your bed came from your home. We had a memory foam bed, cost £1200, just over one year, the base of the mattress and the top of the divan was covered in mould. Our previous bed, of ten years, never had a problem, and none of the other beds in the house had a problem. On inspection we found the divan base staples (holding upholstery in place) were all rusted! We believe the divan must have been stored in damp conditions before it was delivered to us and that whilst the mattress may have been fine, once in contact with the damp base created perfect conditions for mould spores to grow. Because memory foam mattresses (and most other mattresses nowadays) can't be turned over, it's hard to notice this problem until it's too late. Some memory foam mattresses enable mould spores to grow more rapidly than they would on a different sort of mattress. I've found several people online with one particular mattress with mould on the underside of the mattress after a short time despite regular rotating as per manufacturer's instructions. The manufacturer and the retailer both confirmed a replacement bed could be ordered.

It isn't all memory foam mattresses that are prone to this problem, it is mainly reflex foam and memory foam types. This is because air can't circulate through the middle of the mattress as it would with a mattress containing springs.

Reflex foam can be very hot and sweaty anyway, so unless you use a breathable waterproof mattress protector, then most of that moisture is going to be absorbed by the mattress. So as air can't circulate then it can take a very long time to dry out.

It is possible that the bed could have been slightly damp if it had been stored in a warehouse for a long time. Which is why it's a good idea to get one that is made to order.

This is actually another reason why I don't like non turn mattresses. You can actually get two sided pocket sprung and memory foam (or latex foam) mattresses, which will also last longer if they can be turned.

MK_Law

We bought a 150cm divan bed from Sleepmasters in July 2010, it is a 7-8cm memory foam attached on top of what I understand is a normal spring mattress, this means the mattress cannot be turned around as on a normal spring mattress.

I removed the mattress last Friday as I was cleaning under the bed. I discovered a large wet area on the base of the bed, it looked like a big glass of water had been poured over the base. The mattress itself was also a bit wet.

But the worst part is the mould on the base and also on the mattress itself.

I took pictures and called Sleepmasters customer service. I also sent them some pictures.

They sent out a tech person to look at the bed today. He did not say much, part from he said "he never seen anything like it".

He measured the wooden base and found 37% moist, this was apparently a lot. As the base and mattress dried out the last 5 days it was probably a lot worse.

He opened up the base from underneath.
When the base cover was off I could see that it was not many holes in the base plate, some smallish holes every 30/40cm, I pointed this out to the tech guy and said: "This must be the problem, not enough holes, not enough ventilation".
He answered rather blunt: "No. It is as it should be". I found it a bit strange that he could be that sure about this...

He finished off and wrote the report which basicly said that "something must have been spilt on the bed". I pointed out to him that this is NOT the case, no one have spilt as much as a drop of any moisture of any kind, also that I am sure the mould must be caused due to poor ventilation specially on the base as it in my opinion was not enough holes, I asked him to write this in the report, which he did under "customer comment".

He even asked if "we sweat a lot", which I said no to... I tried to get him to admit that the mould must was caused by a design fault but he would not have it.

I then signed his report, which I now regret since I dont`t agree with it.

We are now waiting in excitement what Sleepmasters will say.

The mould is too much to get rid of so we will demand a new bed. My plan is then to open it up and drill much more holes in the base plate to create better ventilation, unless we get a different model.