Woman finds fiberglass in mattress, ruins her apartment: ‘I likely just have to move out of my apartment’

Fri, April 14, 2023 at 4:21:23 PM EDT

A Portland woman may have to leave her apartment after the fiberglass from her Zinus mattress spread all over her apartment.

Yas (@melanatednelevated) posted that she was trying to deep clean her old mattress, decided to take the cover off and released fiberglass all over her apartment. She claimed there was no warning to not open the cover on the mattress.

trying not to hate myself rn for this. but its literlalt happened to hundreds of people 🙁 #fiberglass #zinusmattress

“I removed the cover, and I saw these little weird things. I thought they were feathers, and I just left it in my room while the cover was washing,” she said. “Now there is fiberglass all over my apartment.”

Fiberglass is a plastic and glass material commonly used in mattresses and other products as a flame-retardant. Because of its inexpensive cost, it is a widely used product to protect against fires.

However, there are serious health issues that can arise after exposure.

It is as fine as dust, so it easily disperses through air currents, ventilation systems, or by attaching to surfaces,” Dr. Nicholas Dragolea from Noble Medical told In The Know by Yahoo. “Breathing in fiberglass particles can affect the respiratory system where it can cause coughing, [wheezing] or shortness of breath.”

This isn’t the first time a Zinus mattress has been at the center of fiberglass controversy either. In 2022, a California woman led a class-action lawsuit against the company claiming thousands of people suffered health issues due to the fiberglass in the mattresses.

“Given our steadfast commitment to customer satisfaction, we are constantly looking for ways to create mattresses that reflect evolving consumer preferences and technologies. As such, a transition away from using fiberglass in our product lines is in progress,” a Zinus spokesperson told In The Know. “Though we do not have safety concerns with our current products, we are making this transition given shifts in consumer preferences and misconceptions in the market about fiberglass.”

Zinus did have this to say about this topic in an article by CBS MoneyWatch.

“Most consumer complaints about fiberglass being released from mattresses that have been reviewed by staff involved the outer cover being removed or damaged. If the outer cover remains intact, then the exposure to fiberglass particles is expected to be minimal,” said Zinus to CBS MoneyWatch in an email.

It has been days since @melanatednelevated posted her initial video detailing the incident.

She’s posted a series of videos since her first one, updating TikTok on the situation.

Replying to @kell27838 this sucks so much. trust im saving all my receipts & joining the lawsuit #fiberglass #zinus #mattress

With fiberglass all over her apartment and limited resources to get rid of it, there were only two primary options she believed she had.

“Right now, I’m kind of in between cleaning the apartment myself and risking my health or moving out.”

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