Sealing in flame retardant foam in furniture
Hello all,
I recently learned that polyurethane foam in furniture oftentimes has flame retardants that are carcinogenic. These flame retardants escape from the furniture and become a part of the household dust which can be breathed in or swallowed. I have seen suggestions to buy new furniture that has no fire retardants or replace the flame retardant foam with non flame retardant foam. All of these options are quite expensive. Does anyone know if it is possible to encapsulate flame retardant foams so the flame retardants cannot escape into the air or at least greatly reduce the spread?
One possible idea is to remove the foam cushion from furniture/fabric, wrap in saran wrap many times and tape the seams before putting the foam back into the furniture/fabric. Saran wrap is somewhat flexible and you can wrap multiple times to make it resistant to tears. I’ve seen people use saran wrap to protect heavy tiles and furniture. They sell saran wraps made from LDPE that is phalate and BPA free. I’d love to hear what you think about this. Thanks!
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Replies
Sounds like it might work. But it might feel sweaty to sit on it. And when the cushion compresses, air will leak out somewhere, probably carrying a little dust with it. So a tightly woven fabric as is used to block allergens might work better on both accounts.
Where would one get a tightly woven fabric for allergies? Usually I see things like pillow or blanket covers that have a zipper on them. Those would not be the exact size of a foam cushion so I am assuming you mean there is a straight up fabric that can be cut to size and somehow sealed so the dust doesn't get through it. Does such a fabric allow air to go through but not dust?
If this is something you're really worried about, I'd say just buy used furniture on Craigslist. Older stuff is less likely to have flame retardants, and used flame-retardant-foam-containing furniture will have a lot of the nasty stuff already gone.
I have some new furniture that I'd like to encapsulate. I didn't think about this before I bought them. If its not feasible I am thinking of buying a latex foam mattress and cutting cushions out of it. Its cheaper than actually ordering replacement latex foam.
A barrier cloth source:
http://organiccottonplus.com/products/barrier-cloth-6-oz-100
From what I recall, the amount of it coming out increases with age, as the cushions start to get a little crumbly. That's opposite things like formaldehyde emissions that taper off as the furniture or building materials age.
Sounds like the safest choice is to replace the foam. The fabric can get kind of expensive on its own. Thank you.