CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — Mattresses that come in a box have been quite popular in the past few years offering affordable options for your bedroom. However, some have a potential hidden danger inside.
Jamie and Jessica Takacs are sisters and share a home in Cleveland Heights. Jamie said she recently got a used, but in good condition mattress. She scrubbed it down before letting her daughter use it. “Which thinned out the outer layer of the mattress, “ said Jamie.
After having the mattress a number of weeks, at one point, the sisters had their air ducts cleaned and turned off the furnace.
“When we turned it back on is when it started kicking through every other room,” said Jessica.
PARTICLES PICKED UP AND SENT THROUGH HOME
The “it” is fiberglass that’s used as a flame retardant in the mattress. The women said particles somehow leaked out of the mattress’s sewn-on cover.
“We didn’t even know that mattresses had a layer of fiberglass — we had no idea,” said Jessica. “And I think a lot of people don’t know that.”
Their dogs’ skin became irritated.
“They had been rolling around in it, and laying in it, and sleeping in it,” Jessica told us. “And licking it off themselves, and chewing at themselves.”
Their family members’ own skin got red bumps all over their bodies as well. Then, there was a particularly concerning sign something was wrong.
“Actually in my mouth, which was terribly uncomfortable,” said Jamie. “It’s really gross and it tastes awful.”
Their dad, who’s a contractor, finally figured it out. They grabbed a flashlight.
“When the light kind of catches it, it will reflect it back. But when it’s not on it anymore, it kind of disappears and you can’t see it anymore at all,” said Jessica.
HAPPENING ACROSS THE COUNTRY
While their situation is rare, it is happening in some cases across the country. Class action lawsuits show some “affected mattresses contain a removable outer cover which may be removed by a zipper.” If that happens, there’s potential for fibers to escape.
Other “consumers say they never opened their mattress covers but still experienced fiberglass leaking…” and reports show there are claims of “severe health issues” in young children.
“What really set me off is my daughter’s asthma started to get inflamed,” said Jamie.
HEALTH EXPERT WEIGHS IN
“It stays in your upper airways. Obviously, it can irritate the airways, cause coughing,” said Dr. David Michael Rosenberg from University Hospitals in Cleveland. He said while there are short-term pain and problems, the good news is there doesn’t appear to be adverse long-term effects of fiberglass in someone’s system. But sometimes when fiberglass is made, resins, plastics and polymers are added in.
“Those may actually may have potential of greater adverse effects than the fiberglass itself,” said Rosenberg.
MORE CONSEQUENCES
Jamie and Jessica were left with a massive clean-up in their home, including getting rid of stuff that belonged to Jamie’s daughter.
“We had to throw away anything that was in her room, it had to go. It was impossible to even try to clean it,” said Jamie.
She said, unfortunately, at one point she had not been working because of medical problems, which she told us had been exacerbated by the fiberglass fiasco.
“(Jamie) cleans up for a while and then all of a sudden her immune system will kind of have her in bed for a few days,” Jessica told us.
Jessica also said she is a massage therapist herself, but can’t work until the fiberglass is out of her hands. The sisters have hired an attorney to look into the case because of the health issue and clean-up expenses associated with the leaking fiberglass.
TIPS ON TREATMENT
If this kind of fiberglass leakage happens to you, the sisters have some advice. Use apple cider vinegar on your skin and even swish it in your mouth. That dissolves fiberglass. Baby powder helps their skin the most for relief from pain and itching. And get special filters for your vacuums and furnace vents to help catch the shards of fiberglass.
