KVUE Investigates: Mold in Mattresses / Great video

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KVUE Investigates: Mold in Mattresses

http://www.kvue.com/news/KVUE-Investigates-Mold-in-Mattresses--85435127.html

by TERRI GRUCA / KVUE News

Posted on February 25, 2010 at 10:10 PM

Updated yesterday at 11:02 PM

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We spend more time sleeping on our mattress than any other piece of furniture we

own. But is it possible for your bed to make you sick?

What a Bastrop family found last summer made us wonder. So we spent six months

investigating and what we found may make you take a closer look at where you

sleep.

" Amazing and disgusting, " is how Winn describes his parent's 1996 Select

Comfort mattress.

A garage is hardly the place you'd expect to find a mattress, but it's the only

place Winn could think to put the bed he convinced his parents to buy.

" When I'd lay down on the bed in the evening and start watching TV I'd get this

funny tickle in my throat, " said Donna Van Brunt, Winn's mother. " I'd get a

funny little cough. "

" I lose my voice, " said Harry Van Brunt.

After reading about mold concerns online, Winn convinced his parents to open up

their mattress.

" I took the bed apart and peeled it back and of course you can see there's

nothing on the back of the cover. There wasn't anything on top of the foam, "

said Winn. " But then you pull the foam back and this is what we found--mold. "

" I was horrified, " said Donna. " I mean how would you feel if you opened your bed

and found this black growing mold? "

" I couldn't believe it, especially on my side, " said Harry.

Winn bought a Select Comfort bed as well back in 1996. So after finding mold on

his parent's bed he checked out his own. Sure enough he found mold there too. He

took video of what he found and posted it on YouTube in hopes of helping other

bed owners.

Select Comfort told KVUE mold is a potential problem with any mattress. The

company calls it " transpiration " – where moisture from a person's body becomes

trapped within the mattress.

" Our bed is actually favored by people who are concerned about allergies because

our bed is unique in that it can be unzipped. It can be maintained both on the

outside and the inside. It can be vacuumed out really kept in clean condition, "

said Bill McLaughlin, CEO of Select Comfort.

Select Comfort categorizes its mold issues as rare. No one can say for sure. The

company refused to tell us how many people have complained about moldy

mattresses. Neither would the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

In fact the CPSC would only provide documentation on the cases its own

investigators had specifically confirmed -- five in all. Winn said he and his

parents filed complaints with the CPSC, but their complaints were not included

in the ones we received.

All of the five complaints the CPSC provided were from beds made before 2005.

Select Comfort said there's a reason for that.

" In 2005 we added sanitized agent to our air chambers to further enhance our

product, " said Doug Seites, Vice President of Research and Development for

Select Comfort. " Not only our tests, but sanitized tests show that a chamber

treated with sanitized agent will not grow mold. "

Winn thinks people who bought beds before then should have been warned.

" But for people who bought these beds prior to 2005 they should have at least

given us information to check, " said Winn.

Donna Van Brunt said her family wouldn't have even thought to check had they not

become sick.

" When we moved here in 2004 we tore it down to move it and there was no sign of

any mold or anything in it, " said Donna.

" If a customer has a question about mold or feels that they might have mold in

their mattress we stand behind our product completely, " said McLaughlin. " If

they do have an issue we will work with them to send them a replacement part so

they can restore their product to just like new condition. "

Select Comfort did offer the Van Brunt's replacement parts, but they pushed

instead for a full refund. The company agreed and even came back to pick up the

bed.

Select Comfort said tests show any mold that has been found in their beds is no

more dangerous than any other mold commonly found in your home.

Winn, his parents and other consumers are not convinced.

" I was like `Oh my God. This has got to be what's making them sick' " , said Winn.

" The day after we got rid of this bed, the cough is gone, " said Donna.

" I hope people see this or learn about this because people with these old beds

need to check it out, " said Winn.