A WOMAN has shared an urgent warning after a simple mistake forced her to wear a heavy-duty hazmat suit in her own home.
A widely-used bedroom product caused fiberglass to spread throughout her home, compelling her to undertake the daunting task of removing the “toxic” material from her house and clothing, she shared on TikTok.
The TikToker, known as Kezi, recounted this nightmare situation in a video detailing the disaster that led her to don full personal protective gear.
She started the video by wearing a hazmat suit and a mask and warning of hidden dangers in your bedroom.
The post has since gone viral, with over 291,000 views, and two follow-up videos where she added a gas mask to her PPE.
“There have been so many lawsuits about this. It’s kind of insane that this is a thing,” she said.
Kezi had to put on PPE and treat her home after she accidentally released fiberglass from her memory foam mattress.
The TikToker unzipped her mattress to spot clean before she realized she had unleashed dangerous fragments into the air.
Fiberglass is a material made of glass fibers that’s been added to mattresses in recent years for fireproofing.
Memory foam mattresses typically contain fiberglass, according to the Sleep Foundation.
While it’s safe to sleep on because it’s contained in the mattress, it causes serious problems when you come in contact with it.
Exposure to fiberglass could cause skin rashes, eye irritation, stomach issues, and breathing problems.
Airborne fiberglass can leak out of mattresses if they’re unzipped, as it’s typically woven into the material.
“I saw these particles in the air and went, oh s**t, that’s fiberglass,” Kezi recalled.
The particles covered her room, which forced her to act fast.
“I have had to toss out my entire mattress, all of my pillows, anything that had insulation in it, my duvet, all of that,” she said.
“Now I’m having to spend my entire week like this because I unzipped it.”
TikTok users commented on their fears about the “toxic” substance and “nightmare” situation.
If you have a memory foam mattress, do not try to unzip it, spot clean it or throw the thing in the washing machine.
TikTok user @fortheluvofkez
Kezi later updated her viewers, revealing that she had to dispose of many of her clothes and was meticulously cleaning her remaining items to ensure they were rid of the hazardous particles.
Kezi warned shoppers to be careful when buying a mattress to make sure they don’t have fiberglass in them.
“Memory foam mattresses should not have fiberglass in them,” she said.
“If you have a memory foam mattress, do not try to unzip it, spot clean it or throw the thing in the washing machine.
She added, “Throw the s**t away, to be completely honest.”
SIMILAR CASE
This incident follows a similar ordeal experienced by another woman in Atlanta, who discovered fiberglass escaping from her mattress after unzipping it to clean, as reported by ABC affiliate WSB-TV.
Luanda Chamberlain broke out in hives and was covered in itchy welts before she realized the problem was coming from her mattress.
She’s now spent thousands of dollars to extensively clean her home.
In 2023, the state of California passed a law that will ban fiberglass in mattresses starting in 2027.
