Last Updated on August 28, 2023
Does Tempurpedic have fiberglass? Yes, they definitely do. But they won’t tell you unless you ask the right questions.
Fiberglass free mattresses have been a hot topic for the last few years. Things really took off when people took to Reddit and social media to share their experiences of fiberglass contamination.
It’s True, Tempur-Pedic Doesn’t Have Fiberglass in the Covers
Tempurpedic is a pioneer of memory foam and was the first big brand name for memory foam mattresses. In 2012 Tempur-Pedic International bought Sealy, its biggest competitor, and became a powerhouse in the mattress industry, its name also changed to Tempur Sealy.
If you’re searching online to find out if Tempurpedic has fiberglass, you will undoubtedly see a resounding “No” from every website that wants to sell you a Tempurpedic mattress for a big sales commission.
“Does Tempurpedic Have Fiberglass? No. Unlike Many Cheaper Memory Foam Mattresses, You Will Not Find Fiberglass In Your Tempurpedic Mattress.” -bestmattressforyou.com
(The article was updated once mine became #1 in Google, but Wayback Machine has a copy of its incorrect article.
“Do Tempurpedic mattresses have fiberglass? No. These mattresses have a safer fire retardant system that is fully free from fiberglass” -rvandplaya.com
“Tempurpedic mattresses don’t contain any form of fiberglass, so they’re likely to be harmless for sleepers prone to skin irritation.” -sleepingocean.com
“Many mattress companies use fiberglass in their fire barriers, but TempurPedic mattresses are fiberglass free.” -sleepaim.com
The problem with all those websites is they asked the wrong questions and got the wrong answers. Those website authors asked Tempur Sealy if its TempurPedic mattress covers contain fiberglass. It’s true, Tempurpedic’s removable mattress covers and firesocks don’t contain fiberglass, but that doesn’t mean the mattress is fiberglass-free.
Those other websites are wrong because TempurPedic uses fiberglass in different parts of its mattresses.
So, Does Tempurpedic have Fiberglass?
The answer? Yes, most definitely! I asked, and they told me so.
Tempur-Pedic Incorporates Fiberglass WITHIN its Mattresses
Tempur-Pedic tries to be clever by carefully crafting its replies to avoid actually answering materials questions. When Tempur Sealy does give answers, they use words like Silica and Mod-Acrylic when they actually mean Fiberglass and Modacrylic. But, if you call Tempurpedic’s bluff and be direct you can actually get the answers you seek.
This is what Tempur-Pedic told me when I finally got through all of its marketing lingo:
“Conversely, the glass fibers in our mattress products are comprised of a core-spun technology that encases the glass in a flexible protective sheath housed within the internal mattress design, and is completely safe and inaccessible in normal use, even if the cover is removed.”
So, there you have it. Tempur-Pedic definitely uses fiberglass in its mattresses.
Fiberglass Free Memory Foam Mattress Alternatives to Tempur-Pedic
There are many good mattress brands without fiberglass, including some memory foam mattresses on Amazon. However, these are my mattress recommendations that I feel are closest to what Tempurpedic has to offer.
Zoma: Cooling Memory Foam Mattress Alternative to Tempurpedic
Zoma – Hyper cooling memory foam mattresses with motion isolation and hybrids with increased edge support. The motto over at Zoma is that by ending your day with the best possible sleep that’s full of rest puts you at peak performance when the next day starts, mentally and physically.
- 100 Night Sleep Trial
- 10 Year Limited Warranty
- Hyper Cooling Mattress Cover
- Endorsed by Professional Athletes
- CertiPUR-US Certified Memory Foam
Natural Form: Adjustable Firmness Mattress Alternative to Tempurpedic
Natural Form – Hybrid memory foam mattresses that use adjustable air pockets instead of springs and coils. The left and right sides of the mattress both have a firmness control dial so partners can set each side of the bed to the best setting for their sleeping habits. Natural Form’s innovative mattress design without pressure points is perfect for back and stomach sleepers that need a firm feel as well as side sleepers that benefit from a softer mattress.
- 100 Night Sleep Trial
- 10 Year Limited Warranty
- 100% Natural Merino Wool
- Pressure-Free™ Air Zones
- Firmness Controls for Air Zones
- CertiPUR-US® Certified Memory Foam
Plush Beds: Best Tempur-Pedic Alternative Without Fiberglass
Plush Beds – Only the Natural Bliss® 100% Natural Latex Vegan option uses Rayon, while the rest of its Latex and Memory Foam mattresses use Wool as a fire retardant. Made in USA.
- 100 Night Sleep Trial
- 25 Year Limited Warranty
- GreenGuard Gold certified
- CertiPUR-US Certified Memory Foam
- GOLS-Certified Organic Dunlop Latex
- GOTS-Certified Organic Cotton & Wool
Sunrising Bedding: Affordable Fiberglass Free Tempurpedic Alternatives
Sunrising Bedding – With multiple King and Queen options priced at less than half a grand, Sunrising Bedding are the best fiberglass free mattresses under $500 on Amazon. The Latex Hybrid and Luxury Hybrid lines of mattresses use only organic cashmere wool as a fire retardant, and the Euro-Top Latex and Memory Foam lines of mattresses use TENCEL.
- 120 Night Sleep Trial
- 20 Year Limited Warranty
- 100% Natural Talalay Latex
- CertiPUR-US® Certified Memory Foam
- Eco-Friendly Dense Cotton Fiber Fire-Proof Cover
- Standard 100 Oeko-Tex Certification for all Cover Materials
BedStory: Hybrid Memory Foam Mattresses without Fiberglass
BedStory – BedStory sells a hybrid fiberglass free mattress as well as an innerspring mattress without fiberglass, but they do use Rayon and Polyester in its protective fire barriers. BedStory has 38 years of manufacturing experience and they are made in Cambodia, China, or USA, depending on the mattress.
- 30 Day Returns Accepted
- 10 Year Limited Warranty
- CertiPUR-US Certified Memory Foam
- Memory Foam Fiberglass Free Mattresses
Why Does it Matter if Tempur-Pedic has Fiberglass?
Some people accidentally had a tear in their fiberglass mattress cover by pets and kids. After some time, they noticed skin irritation and decided to investigate the cause. They found their mattresses leaking fiberglass particles from the rip in the mattress cover.
Shining a flashlight on fiberglass particles will make the shards sparkle and shimmer.
Other people had stains and spills on their fiberglass mattresses that required cleaning. They wrongly assumed their mattress covers were removable because they had zippers. Once the mattress covers were removed, the fiberglass particles were already dispersed everywhere.
Some people didn’t notice the fiberglass until after washing the cover and then their clothing in the same machine.
How is a Tempur-Pedic Mattress Constructed?
Tempurpedic makes many different models of mattresses, but they are all constructed in basically the same way – layers of different foams. Here’s a simple look at how a Tempurpedic mattress is built from the bottom to the top.
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Construction Summary:
- Hard Polyurethane Base Layer – Tempurpedic mattresses start off with a thick base layer of Polyurethane foam, often about a third to half the overall thickness of the mattress.
- Possible Air OR Spring Layers – Some Tempurpedic mattresses have one or more layers of springs, individually encased coils, to provide more adaptive support.
- Medium Polyurethane Support Layers – All Tempurpedic mattresses have one or more layers of medium firmness polyurethane layers.
- Soft Viscoelastic Foam Layers – The top layers of Tempurpedic mattresses are viscoelastic polyurethane foam, also known as memory foam. There may be two different layers of memory foam paired together.
- Flame Retardant Fire Sock – After all the foam layers, Tempurpedic encased them all with a flame-resistant cover known as a “fire sock” in the mattress industry.
- Removable Cover – Last, Tempurpedic covers the entire bed in a cooling cover with a zipper that allows the top section to be removed and cleaned in a washing machine.
Actual conversation with Tempur Sealy about Fiberglass
I contacted Tempur Sealy and asked them this:
“What materials are tempur-pedic’s fire socks constructed from?”
Here’s Tempur Sealy’s reply:
“We’ve designed and manufactured our mattresses without chemical retardants, but do use an industry-standard “fire sock” made of non-toxic materials. The “fire sock” allows our mattresses to withstand grueling flame-resistance testing and still meet all federal, state, and local fire regulations, including the National Flammability Standard. For more information regarding fire regulations, you can visit the Consumer Protection Safety Agency at www.cpsc.gov.”
I then asked Tempur Sealy these follow-ups:
“So what’s it made of? Rayon? Inherently fire-resistant rayon? Silica? Polyester?”
Here’s Tempur Sealy’s 2nd reply:
“Our formula is not public knowledge. Tempur-Pedic product formulas are a trade secret; however, the raw materials and processes used in manufacturing Tempur-Pedic products are similar to those used in the production of a large variety of polyurethane foams used every day by millions of people in many different applications like furniture, bedding, carpet underlay, packaging and automotive seats. Tempur-Pedic products do not contain polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and our products meet fire safety requirements without using PBDEs. All Tempur-Pedic products are designed and manufactured to meet applicable Federal, State and local regulations (including California Prop 65).”
I then stated:
“makes me think it’s probably fiberglass, or something worse”
Then the conversation got interesting with Tempur’s 3rd reply:
“Tempur Sealy selects raw materials and manufactures with safety, quality and the environment in mind. All Tempur Sealy products have been fully evaluated to comply with all laws and regulations, including the Consumer Product Safety Commission and California Proposition 65.
To comply with the Consumer Product Safety Commission fire safety regulations, some manufacturers rely on exposed, brittle, easily crumbled fiberglass (a cheap technology that has made headlines in the past with dermal exposure and rashes).
Conversely, the glass fibers in our mattress products are comprised of a core-spun technology that encases the glass in a flexible protective sheath housed within the internal mattress design, and is completely safe and inaccessible in normal use, even if the cover is removed. To ensure safety and quality for our customers Tempur Sealy only uses this core-spun glass fiber technology, and regularly conducts independent testing to ensure continued safety, and that the materials within all Tempur Sealy products meet or exceed all regulatory compliance.”
So, that’s that! Tempur-Pedic definitely uses fiberglass in its mattresses.
John started JSnowCreations as a place to post random tech guides and product reviews. However, while shopping for his daughter’s first “big girl” bed in 2019 he learned about the hidden dangers of fiberglass in mattresses. Since then, John has made it his mission to expose as much hidden fiberglass in mattresses as possible. His ultimate goal is federal regulations that ban fiberglass from being used in mattresses, or at least a law that require it to be listed in the material tags.
So why is it harmful to us the manner in which the Tempur-pedic uses fiberglass?
Fiberglass is brittle and breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces over time, so it doesn’t really matter where the mattress manufacturers put the fiberglass because it will always find a way to leak out of the mattress eventually.
Sure, a mattress with a fiberglass exterior cover will probably leak fiberglass sooner than a mattress that has the fiberglass deeper inside its construction, but I’d rather just not have fiberglass in my mattress at all. Fiberglass is a nose, eye, throat, and skin irritant – professionals that work with fiberglass wear protective suits and respirators for protection. That’s not something I want to be sleeping on and potentially spreading around my home.