Polymers - Okay To Breathe?

[Sharbysyd]

My husband and I moved into an RV (5th wheel) a year and a half ago with our three cats. We mostly travel, going to the Southwest in the winter and then to the Northeast for the summer.

A couple of days ago we discovered some mold under our mattress and on the wood that the mattress sits on. We're obviously going to have to replace both but I did some research on options to prevent it in the future. There's something I can put underneath called Hypervent. It's made of polymer. I'll link it here.

I just would like to know if it would be okay to have this or would it be toxic to breathe fumes from it? We could try wood slats instead but it would be nice to try this item if it would be okay.

Hypervent Aire-Flow™ Moisture Barrier

 

[Sharbysyd]

Just bumping this to see if I get any responses. Thank you.

 

[Spud]

The description on the site make it look pretty benign (no flame retardants etc). Unless you are burning it there should be no fumes as such. Some plastics off gas but there is a question about this on the site FAQ and there response is that off gassing is not an issue with this particular product. If you bought on and that’s not the case you could just hang it outside for a few days to be sure. Inhaling polymers, to answer the original question, is not an issue unless the polymers are small enough to make it into the bloodstream. If not, polymers pass through the body unchanged, as we don’t have ability to digest them.

My advice would be: buy the product, air it a few days and then move on with life and perhaps check it now and then for any degradation.

Edit: Are polymers dangerous to breathe? Yes depending on their size and composition. Will this be an issue for this product? Highly unlikely.

 

[Sharbysyd]

Thank you very much for the response.

 

[kyle]

You could just flip your matress every so often instead

 

[Sharbysyd]

It's not a flippable mattress. Unfortunately. Thanks though.

 

[OceanSpray]

Polymer is almost synonymous with plastic, they are ubiquitous and your RV is probably full of them anyway.

What I would be slightly concerned with is this thing’s physical structure. It will no doubt increase air flow compared to not having it at all, but if this is to be in a place prone to mold creation, it may not be ideal. Something that would simply elevate the mattress without zillions of crevices would sound like a better bet to me.