Adhesives in mattresses are used to stick mattress components together and they emit toxic fumes for the first 2-3 years.



If you have bought a new mattress, you may be sleeping on a bed of harmful chemicals and inhaling the toxic fumes emitted by the adhesives used in mattresses. You would be surprised to know that while sleeping you are inches away from glues, inhaling unhealthy fumes for 8 hours per night for 365 days per year.

EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) observes that the adhesives used in mattresses may irritate the skin and the eye if you come in contact with it. Irritation is your body responding to a contaminated environment.

Potential human health effects of adhesives can be classified broadly into:

• Cancers
• Systemic toxicity
• Developmental toxicity

View our list of toxic components found in mattresses.


According to EPA, many ingredients used in adhesives are proven carcinogens, that is, they cause cancer on chronic exposure. These chemicals can disrupt normal growth and body development as well as instigate the cells for abnormal growth which results in cancer.

EPA identifies methylene chloride as a potential carcinogen. Also, benzene and formaldehyde are examples of carcinogenic compounds used in many adhesives.



Many adhesives use solvents that are known for interfering with the proper functioning of our body. Hexane, a solvent in adhesives is a neurotoxin and causes peripheral neuropathy, EPA identifies. Similarly, toluene is also a neurotoxin shown to cause damage to central nervous system. In addition to the nervous system, all other body systems are equally at risk.



If you are an expectant mother, there are chances your unborn baby gets affected by harmful adhesives used in mattresses. EPA identifies n-Propyl bromide results in developmental toxicity. Xylene, an ingredient used in glues causes birth defects.

A mattress may be comfortable but nobody wants to bargain with their health. The ideal would be a zero-emission mattress that does not contain harmful adhesives.

The ideal would be a zero-emission mattress free of any adhesives and other toxins.

The type and quality of the glue is an important factor in deciding the durability of standard mattresses.

The glues used in the mattress industry are of mainly seven following types:
     1. Methylene chloride-based adhesives
     2. n-Propyl bromide-based adhesives
     3. Acetone-based adhesives
     4. Adhesives based on acetone blends with other chemicals
     5. Water-based latex adhesives
     6. Water-based latex/synthetic adhesives
     7. Hot melt adhesives

In any kind of adhesive, the main ingredients are:

• Solvent/water carrier
• Solid component
• Antioxidant
• Surfactant
• Stabilizers
• Fillers

It is the main ingredient in solvent and water-based adhesive formulations. The function of these formulations is to dissolve the solids ingredients that are deposited while bonding two surfaces. All types of adhesives have solvent content except for hot melt adhesives which are 100-percent solid content and rely on heat to cure.

 

The solid component is responsible for the bonding of two surfaces. It is usually dissolved in the solvent and is deposited on the surface when the solvent evaporates. Most of the adhesives use a polymer called as styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer, as the solid component; except for the water-based adhesives that use latex.

 

Tackifying agents gives a sticky nature to the adhesives. The agent makes both surfaces in contact to “tack up”. Most of the adhesives use a rosin-based material as tackifying agent.

 

Antioxidants are an important ingredient in mattresses adhesives because they protect the glue for getting oxidized in their containers. Antioxidants account for 0.1 to 1% of the total volume.

 

Surfactant is an important component of water-based adhesives constituting 0.5 percent of the glue. Surface-active agents are chemicals that increase the emulsifying, foaming, dispersing, spreading and wetting properties of a product.

 

Some adhesives are unstable chemically or thermally, and need addition of stabilizers to function well. Some stabilizers neutralize acids and bases formed in the glue due to interaction between the ingredients.

 

Some adhesives used in mattresses use fillers. Filers are high-molecular-weight substances like wax used for strength.

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