Memory Foam Mattresses: Just Say, “No!” to Mold

More often than I would like, I hear from sad people with some other brand of memory foam mattress who look underneath their mattress and discovered that it is covered in mold! This is an unfortunate event that can be prevented. Memory foam mattresses need air to circulate so that they can breath. If memory foam is not allowed to breath properly, mold can be the unfortunate result.

At Healthy Foundations, we tell people ahead of time how they should care for their memory foam mattress to avoid mold.  We do this in our “care and use” instructions (in the confirmation email), as well as in the warranty info that comes with the mattress.  We also talk about it in our FAQs.

The first thing to know is that any mattress protector or cover you use with memory foam should be breathable.  This means no plastic, vinyl, baby bed-type mattress covers.  We offer the Protect-A-Bed premium cover that is hypoallergenic, breathable AND waterproof (hard to find breathable and waterproof in the same cover), but any quality breathable mattress protector will work.  Like any mattress, your memory foam mattress should have some type of protector between it and your sheets.

The other thing we tell people is that their memory foam mattress cannot be set on a solid surface.  This means no solid wood captain’s beds, platform beds, or plywood unless something is placed between the wood and the mattress that allows air to circulate.  People who have these types of beds or platforms who don’t want to give them up find that parallel wooden slats (with webbing attached to them) can be placed over the solid wood to allow air to circulate.  There are other methods to get your memory foam mattress off a solid wood surface.  Just remember that it cannot lay on solid wood.  Unfortunately, leading brand (whose initials are TP) doesn’t make this clear and they end up with a lot of customers unhappy about their nasty mold problem and ruined memory foam mattress.

Bottom line:  Your memory foam mattress needs to breath.  Do not put anything over it or under it that doesn’t allow that.  If you do, you could end up with a mold problem that cannot be fixed and is not covered under any warranty.