Sleep Number Bed = Toxic Mold

[CarlaB]

I found this on the internet - Open Original Shared Link

I ran to my bed and unzipped it and there's BLACK MOLD everywhere!!! Purchasing this bed coincides with my health decline!!!

[jerseyangel]

Oh my gosh, Carla! That's horrible. This must have so much to do with your ongoing issues.

Several years ago, my parents bought one of those beds, but thank goodness it mal-functioned and they returned it and bought something else.

Keep us posted.

[ShayFL]

OMG...you must be horrified!! I know I would be. Get a lawyer or contact the law suit....geez.....you poor thing. Guess you are bed shopping today.

[CarlaB]

Thanks, yeah, bed shopping for sure! In the meantime I think I'll sleep on my grandmother's old down filled couch we had reupholstered two years ago.

I've left a message for the lawyers for the class action suit.

[blueeyedmanda]

OMG Carla thats shocking! Bed shop ASAP!!!! That's just terrible....I hope your health will be ok

[Darn210]

Wow Carla . . . That's both amazing and disgusting. I wouldn't be able to get it out of my house fast enough if I were you.

[jerseyangel]

Wow Carla . . . That's both amazing and disgusting. I wouldn't be able to get it out of my house fast enough if I were you.

I came back to say the same thing--I don't think it's enought that you don't sleep on it, I'd get it the heck out of the house. This is just awful.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Well, THAT explains a lot of your health issues, doesn't it????!!!

Can you rent a storage space and put the moldy bed there, so that you have it for proof, but it's not in your house making you sicker? I'm betting that their lawyer will get a lot of cases thrown out because people will have gotten rid of the beds--and the proof. Don't let them get away with it!!!

And even with it out of the house, would it be a good idea to call in a mold remediator (how the heck is that spelled, anyway?)?

[ShayFL]

For a couple hundred they can come in and test your air for mold spores. And then help you get rid of it....it isnt cheap. But if you could at least afford to test....then you would know if you need to move or treat. Hopefully it was confined to the bed itself and your air will be o.k.. It isnt worth playing with mold. Unfortunately people can get very sick and even die if they stay in a mold saturated home. I live in FL and there are cases all of the time.

[bluejeangirl]

I found this on the internet - Open Original Shared Link

I ran to my bed and unzipped it and there's BLACK MOLD everywhere!!! Purchasing this bed coincides with my health decline!!!

OMG Carla, It makes sense with all your symptoms. Black mold is serious! Its horrible. Get that out of your house and get professional cleaners and run a air purifier for a week straight before you go into that room.

Yuck <<<<shudder>>>>>

So glad you found it.

Gail

[CarlaB]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I am talking to a lawyer from the class action suit today. I live in an old house with a detached garage ... but even still, I think I'll take it to my husband's office that also has a detached garage. I have always had an air purifier in my room, so that's done. I'm looking into what else we need to do. I'm also looking into how to get medical testing for mold for "proof."

[April in KC]

Oh, that's awful. I hope in one sense it might be good - if you've found a cause, maybe you can get better. What types of symptoms have you been having? Is there a thread I should read? Ugh, ugh, ugh. You'll probably have nightmares. Hopefully not.

[ravenwoodglass]

I hope once you get this out of the house and in to storage that the issues from it pass quickly. I am so glad you found that article and discovered this. I also hope that it was contained to the mattress. I agree you should have someone come in and check the rest of the home. Do keep track of everything so that your lawyers can address the issue. One thing to keep in mind is that if there has been serious damage you may not want to join the class action suit. You may want to make a seperate suit yourself against them. With a class action suit the split the 'fine' amongst all the participants. If you have substantial damage check with your lawyer and see and if you will fare better filing a suit on just your behalf rather than joining the class action.

[ArtGirl]

How awful for you, Carla. I hope now that it's out of the house you will see dramatic improvement in your health.

We also have one of these beds. After reading your post and the link I hurried to unzip our bed. Whehw! No mold. [bIG sigh of relief!]. We bought ours just before they changed the name from Select Comfort to Sleep Number, but it was still within the timeframe mentioned in the lawyer's article. So I guess not all of them have a mold problem.

Did any of the links say what the cause of the mold contamination was?

[ShayFL]

That is what I want to know? How did the mold spores get there?

[Tim-n-VA]

I googled this because a friend's parents have one of these beds. Putting things together from a couple of sites (or you can do your own search for sleep number mold), there really was nothing about where the mold comes from except that the issue isn't so much as where they come from but if there is a favorable environment. Poor air circulation around the inflatable segments combined with the warmth and humity from your body (sweat) provide the environment. Starting in 2005 they added a fungicide to the construction.

[home-based-mom]

That is what I want to know? How did the mold spores get there?

The bed deflates or inflates to make it softer or more firm. When it inflates, it pulls in air and moisture from the room it's in. Mold spores are *everywhere* (even embedded in Antarctic ice) and could have been "inhaled" at anytime during the manufacturing or testing process as well as transportation or storage or even - gasp - the owner's home.

Carla, I don't have one of these beds but I want to thank you for posting this and helping to get the word out. I for sure am letting others know so they can check their own beds if they have a Sleep Number Bed.

I hope you have that thing out of your house ASAP and see health improvements soon!

[ShayFL]

I read some feedback on those beds....A few people actually liked the bed. Most hated them. And a few on that particular site mentioned finding black mold. One lady simply called the company and they sent her new foam parts. One lady suffered through a few years of respiratory illness of "unknown" cause that got better after she ditched the bed.

Thank goodness you have gotten rid of it!!!

[home-based-mom]

I read some feedback on those beds....A few people actually liked the bed. Most hated them.

Someone in one of my daughter's classes had one but returned it within the 30 day "trial" period. Apparently if both sides are inflated to a firmer setting, it creates a bit of a "ditch" down the center of the bed causing both people to roll to the middle. Not exactly as comfortable as advertised.

[RiceGuy]

Someone in one of my daughter's classes had one but returned it within the 30 day "trial" period. Apparently if both sides are inflated to a firmer setting, it creates a bit of a "ditch" down the center of the bed causing both people to roll to the middle. Not exactly as comfortable as advertised.

Maybe it's on purpose, to simulate what it's like to sleep in the gutter? Or, for couples that don't exactly get along, it sorta keeps them from separating long enough to work things out

But yeah, mold is so gross. I'm surprised the whole thing didn't smell bad enough to give itself away.

[RiceGuy]

Starting in 2005 they added a fungicide to the construction.

Great. Just what we need - more chemicals!

So, let me get this straight; there's some sort of non-porous cover over the plastic inflatable part, and the mold is in between?

[Judyin Philly]

Carla

Thanks for the post

I'm praying just getting rid of the bed will help and there is no other mold in the house

I would love a link to GOOD people who can do this testing.

I know there have been links before but you don't know which ones are good

there was a show on one of the dateline shows i think, where they'd come out and lie about having mold so a honest company is so important!

Take care Carla...........

Judy

[ArtGirl]

Apparently if both sides are inflated to a firmer setting, it creates a bit of a "ditch" down the center of the bed causing both people to roll to the middle. Not exactly as comfortable as advertised.

To inflate it enough to create a ditch, it the resulting surface would be like sleeping on a floor. Certainly not what most people are looking for in a mattress.

The bed works well for us because I like a soft mattress and my husband likes a firm (not hard) one. The separation between the two sets of baffles reduces the movement from one side to the other when someone rolls over.

FYI - The rubber baffles have a woven outer surface, sort of like a camping blow-up mattress with a fuzzy outer surface. The baffles fit into a frame made of firm foam, and it's all topped with a 1" foam sheet. Above this is a quilted fabric just like you'd find on a regular mattress.

I am puzzled how mold could grow in this unless somehow the foam parts got damp. I certainly don't discount that it does happen, obviously it does. Just trying to visualize the process that results in mold growth.

[ArtGirl]

Great. Just what we need - more chemicals!

You don't really want to know what's in your bed and bedding

[Nancym]

I had a select comfort, which is the same sort of air bed thing, and never had any mold issues. In fact, I have my parent's old beds. I wonder what would cause the mold?