Methylene Chloride-Free Mattresses: Why Are They The Better Option?

A Bed

Want to maintain optimal bodily functions such as brain performance and muscle growth? You’ll need a good mattress that can give you the sleep you crave. However, many of us usually purchase mattresses due to their cost effectiveness and the promotions offered. This can result in us buying mattresses that contain methylene chloride, a harmful substance that can undo all the effort you’ve put into finding the perfect bed. 

What is methylene chloride and what are its effects on your health? We’ll share everything you need to know to make informed decisions about your mattress. 

What Is Methylene Chloride?

Methylene chloride is a colourless and volatile liquid that you’ll find in products like paint strippers, adhesives, resins, and cleaning agents. This list alone tells you just how dangerous the substance can be. Unfortunately, these compounds are also used in some mattresses, particularly polyurethane foam ones, to give them the light and more open-cellular structure ideal for soft and resilient mattresses. 

What Are the Health Risks of Methylene Chloride?

  • Irritation to Your Respiratory Tract

Methylene chloride can remain in your air in the form of vapour. When inhaled into your body, they may irritate the mucous membranes in your respiratory tract, stimulating the nerve endings and disrupting the cells to cause damage and irritation. 

  • Depress Your Nervous System

Methylene chloride has a calming effect on neural activity. No, it doesn’t soothe you to sleep. Rather, it depresses your central nervous system and affects how you function by increasing the activity of inhibitory neurotransmitters and interacting with ion channels in neurons. 

Your red blood cells will also lose their ability to carry oxygen when methylene chloride is metabolised in your body. As a result, you may experience a decrease in oxygen supply to your brain, leading to symptoms such as confusion, drowsiness, and incoordination. 

  • Damage Your Liver and Kidneys

Formaldehyde and formic acid may also form when methylene chloride metabolises in your body. This may cause cellular damage, oxidative stress, and an imbalance in your body’s pH levels, which are harmful to your liver and kidney. As they fail to function properly, you’ll also struggle with maintaining a healthy composition. 

  • Increase Your Risk of Cancer

The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies methylene chloride as a Group 1 human carcinogen. What this means is it has the potential to cause cancer in humans. This is because methylene chloride can damage genetic material within cells and allow mutations and chromosomal abnormalities to develop, which are associated with increased risk of cancer. 

  • Affect Reproductive Health and Fertility

According to research, exposure to large amounts of methylene chloride may also have negative effects on sperm production and sperm quality in men. But its effects are more pronounced in women, where it may damage ovaries and oocytes (egg cells), cause menstrual irregularities, and disrupt hormones, reducing one’s ability to conceive. 

  • Irritation to Your Eye and Skin

Methylene chloride is a highly effective solvent and can dissolve lipids and oils present in the skin, disrupting the natural barrier, causing dryness, cracking, and irritation. It can also irritate the eyes and damage the cornea.

Why You Need Methylene-Chloride Free Mattresses

Person Sleeping on a Bed

Apart from putting your health at risk, mattresses containing methylene chloride also have negative environmental impacts. They may pollute the air and contaminate our water and soil. 

Due to all these concerns, regulations have been put in place to hold manufacturers responsible for the production of safer mattresses. However, Singapore doesn’t have a framework put in place to prevent the use of methylene chloride. Thanks to this, manufacturers and brands may not place enough emphasis on producing safer mattresses. It’s important to evaluate the stores you buy from to ensure your optimal well-being.   

Fortunately, advances in technology have allowed mattress manufacturers to develop alternative materials and production processes that do not require methylene chloride. Today, there are numerous non-toxic sleep solutions that are able to exceed safety and performance standards without putting consumers at risk, providing you with a safer sleeping environment

Looking for safe and eco-friendly mattress options? Luxury Mattress Gallery is a mattress store in Singapore that carries a collection of premium Australian and American methylene chloride-free mattresses. Shop our range today to give your loved ones the safe home they deserve!

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