mouldy bed, what can I do?

Tim_Deegan

MK_Law wrote: »

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.

What you have to take into account first of all is that the engineer although probably working for an independent company, has been paid for by Sleepmasters. And do you think a company that usually found that Sleepmasters beds were at fault would continue to be used in the future?....Find your own conclusions from this.

There have been a number of complaints on MSE about Sleepmasters beds and mattresses developing mould. So I find it very difficult to believe that the engineer would never have come across the same problem.

One thing he was right about was the ventilation holes. Most platform top bases don't have any ventilation holes at all, but they don't have mould problems. I would think that the most likely cause would be the lack of ventilation in the mattress causing a build up of moisture.

MK_Law

Tim_Deegan wrote: »

What you have to take into account first of all is that the engineer although probably working for an independent company, has been paid for by Sleepmasters. And do you think a company that usually found that Sleepmasters beds were at fault would continue to be used in the future?....Find your own conclusions from this.

There have been a number of complaints on MSE about Sleepmasters beds and mattresses developing mould. So I find it very difficult to believe that the engineer would never have come across the same problem.

One thing he was right about was the ventilation holes. Most platform top bases don't have any ventilation holes at all, but they don't have mould problems. I would think that the most likely cause would be the lack of ventilation in the mattress causing a build up of moisture.

True, anyway if the mattress construction means that it traps moisture I guess it would help a lot if the base is well ventilated, as the mould is actually on top of the base...

Anyway I have written a letter to the company were the technician came from to complain about his rather unscientific analysis of the cause of the mould. I think it is bloody rude and and arrogant to write in the report that the cause is spillage when we are 100% sure that nothing is spilled, and not mention the ventilation as a possible cause at all.

Also that he claims that he has never seen anything like it, I refuse to believe that. Also Sleepmasters claim that they have never had any problems with mould, surprise surprise.

Tim_Deegan

MK_Law wrote: »

True, anyway if the mattress construction means that it traps moisture I guess it would help a lot if the base is well ventilated, as the mould is actually on top of the base...

Anyway I have written a letter to the company were the technician came from to complain about his rather unscientific analysis of the cause of the mould. I think it is bloody rude and and arrogant to write in the report that the cause is spillage when we are 100% sure that nothing is spilled, and not mention the ventilation as a possible cause at all.

Also that he claims that he has never seen anything like it, I refuse to believe that. Also Sleepmasters claim that they have never had any problems with mould, surprise surprise.

Extra ventilation holes may be a remedy, but this isn't the normal design for a platform top base, and shouldn't need to be. It seems obvious that the problem is with the mattress design.

I presume this is a Sensaform mattress? I have heard of this problem with quite a lot of Sensaform mattresses, as well as some Relyon. Well guess what, Sleepmasters and Relyon are both part of the same company (as are Sprung Slumber). In fact they are also the same group as Bensons, Cargo, Harveys, The Bed Shed, and Reid.

Gary_D_2

Hi there,

New to MSE but here goes.

We had the misfortune to buy one of these mattresses from Sleepmasters and guess what? After 3 months we were on the phone to them complaining that there were 2 depressions where we slept and a great hard lump in the middle of the bed. Sound familiar anybody?
When it became obvious they would not provide a refund, I took them to the County Court. They sent a FIRA (created by the furniture industry for the furniture industry,) inspector who said the mattress was fine, we got a local bed shop who said it was not. The judge then put it to the Furniture Ombudsman who said the bed was performing to standard.
What he didn't say whether this was a high standard or whether this standard was up to that which should be expected of a bed that cost so much.
Now we are looking at replacing a bed that should've lasted us 10 years after only one year.

Well, I'm not the sort of person who takes this sort of thing lightly. I've warned all my family and friends about this bed and this company. More than that, I've taken to leafleting prospective clients outside the local branch to warn them about this bunch of shysters.
Now I've joined MSE to spread the word.

Okay, so I'm looking for some information here. Can anybody tell me...

Is there any definitive information regarding the type of foam used in this bed or the method of construction that might explain the sinking?
I've now read that these mattresses are over-priced for what they are. Any suggestions on what basis this claim has been made?

Thanks all,

GARY D

Tim_Deegan

You do know that FIRA are the furniture industry ombudsman don't you? So they were just confirming what one of their own inspectors had already said when being paid for by Sleepmasters.

Former_MSE_Andrea

Hi Gary D

Could you check your private messages? Sleepmasters has seen the post and asked me to pass on a message.

Andrea