May 19, 2008 2:49 pm US/Pacific
ConsumerWatch: Moldy Mattresses Uncovered
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ―
Robin DeMartini had many restful nights sleeping on her adjustable foam top bed. Then one night a friend warned her about mold in Select Comfort mattresses. She immediately unzipped the cover.
"Ewww. It was covered in mold," recalled DeMartini. "I was sleeping on that!"
Molly Stearns found the same thing in her mattress. "I lifted up the foam mattress and it was black with mold," said Stearns.
It was an unpleasant discovery, but Stearns thought she had found the answer to her health problem. Something had been making her very ill for several months. It was hard for her to breathe -- even climbing the stairs was difficult.
"If I went upstairs in my house I'd have to sit down," said Stearns, who saw several doctors. "They thought it was environmental and possibly mold."
But she had no idea where she would have been exposed to mold. The doctors ran more tests. "A lung biopsy is not a picnic. I was in the hospital for three days," said Stearns.
"The risk for people is when they have a significant amount of mold in which they're in close proximity over a period of time," said Dr. Hal Collard, Director of UCSF's Interstitial Lung Disease Program. Dr. Collard is treating Stearns.
"She has a disease that is caused by exposure and she has this exposure. So it seems most likely that there's a relationship, but actually establishing that can be more difficult than it seems," said Dr. Collard.
According to Dr. Collard, moisture and heat from your body can provide fertile ground for mold to grow and multiply until it's visible and sometimes a significant health hazard.
Attorney Robert Gagliasso is working on a class action lawsuit against Select Comfort.
"These beds are making people sick," said Gagliasso.
"We believe that they know about it. They reformulated the bed in 2005, and they came out with a new foam that's supposed to be mold-resistant," he said.
But Gagliasso says they never notified customers who purchased the beds prior to 2005 of the potential problem.
"They need to give the public notice about this problem. It's a significant problem. People are sleeping on beds that are incubating mold," Gagliasso said.
Stearns contacted Select Comfort. "They said I could send it back, and they would refund my money. But here's all this time that was a problem," she said.
Time that Stearns feels she needlessly spent fighting an illness that could have been avoided.
Select Comfort sent Robin DeMartini new parts, but she had to pay for the new $800 pillow top. ConsumerWatch called Select Comfort and they reversed the charge.
The Following Is A Statement From Select Comfort:
In the statement, Select Comfort addressed the following questions:
Consumer Watch: Select Comfort reformulated their foam in 2005 because of the problem with mold. Why didn't Select Comfort notify customers who had purchased the beds prior to 2005?
Select Comfort: It's important that your viewers know Select Comfort does not have a "problem with mold." It is a rare occurrence. It's also important to know that mold is not a product defect and can occur in ANY mattress or upholstered product under the right circumstances.
There is ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE that mold has ever occurred more frequently in a Sleep Number bed than other mattresses and upholstered products.
However, we do understand that because consumers have the benefit of opening up our beds, we're held to a higher standard. So, Select Comfort has been -- and continues to be -- an industry leader in employing the latest available technologies to deter the growth of mold.
Select Comfort has always treated parts of its Sleep Number bed with an antimicrobial agent. As part of its efforts to continuously improve the product, in 2005 the company used new technology to enhance its antimicrobial formulation. Although the incident of mold in our products was rare prior to the enhancement, according to our data, there have been 0 confirmed cases of mold in a Sleep Number bed sold after the antimicrobial reformulation in 2005.
CW: Do you intend on notifying customers now that a class action lawsuit has been filed?
SC: At this time, we're not going to publicly comment on pending litigation.
CW: What should customers with this problem do?
SC: Our customer is our no. 1 priority. If ANY customer has any issue with their Sleep Number bed, they should contact customer service. It is our policy to do everything possible to remedy the situation, which includes replacing components of the bed, replacing the entire bed, or offering a full refund. If any customer has an issue, we urge them to call Select Comfort Customer Service at (800) 472-7185.
We'd also like to offer a few more pieces of information to help inform your viewers about mold.
The Sleep Number bed actually may help people avoid or address mold issues. Unlike other mattresses, the Sleep Number bed can easily be cleaned up by unzipping the cover.
All key components of the Sleep Number bed -- including foam, air chambers, and fabrics -- are treated with a proprietary anti-microbial agent to deter the growth of mold, mildew, and bacteria.
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