How to Make Your Bedroom Non-Toxic for a Healthy Night’s Sleep

Learn how to create a non-toxic bedroom by purifying the air and buying safer products.
How to Create a Non Toxic Bedroom Imagine spending 8 hours in one place, with no expectations and nothing to do. Imagine breathing deeply and letting your body relax completely. Imagine drifting off into a peaceful, restful sleep. Sounds heavenly and incredibly healthy, doesn’t it? But here’s the wake-up call: Your bedroom might actually be a haven for chemicals that could be harming your health. Turns out those 8 luxurious hours might not be so healthy after all.

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Why It Matters

There are a lot of sneaky ways chemicals get into our bedrooms. They may be off-gassing from our mattress, or from the carpet or furniture in our bedrooms. Chemicals may be sprayed into the air from cleaning products or air fresheners. Toxins also end up in dust that hangs around longer than we would like to admit. Keep in mind, this applies to kids bedrooms and baby nurseries as well as our own. In fact, the impact of chemical exposure on babies and kids is even worse than for adults, given their developing bodies and immature immune systems.
Top 10 Places Toxins Hide in Your Home checklist

Non-Toxic Bedroom Checklist

(There are affiliate links in this post. If you make a purchase I may receive a small commission. Thank you for supporting Mindful Momma if you do!) I know all this can sound a bit scary – but I don’t want you to worry. You can significantly reduce your exposure to chemicals and create a healthy bedroom environment by working your way through this checklist. Don’t worry about doing everything immediately – start with the small stuff and eventually make the more expensive changes when it makes sense for you.

Purified Air

Because of all the ways toxins get into our homes, it’s no surprise that indoor air can get pretty polluted with chemicals. Pollutants like VOCs, dust mites, pet dander, mold, pollen and smoke can all have serious health effects from respiratory issues to cancer. Using an air purifier is one solution but there are other ways to keep indoor air fresh as well. Some things you can do to purify the air in your bedroom:
  • Open windows  – getting polluted air out is part of the solution
  • House plants – certain plants are known for to filter air including English Ivy, Spider Plants and Peace Lily
  • Salt lamps – Salt purifies air by attracting water vapor that may contain mold or other allergens. I have a small night light salt lamp in my bedroom but tabletop salt lamps are popular too
  • Use an air purifier with a HEPA filter
  • Air filters for your furnace/air conditioner – Get one that is rated MERV 10 or higher (MERV rates a filter’s ability to capture particles)
  •  
  • Essential oil diffuser – a great alternative to commercial air fresheners. Many essential oils are anti-bacterial.
How to Create a Non Toxic Bedroom
RELATED: 4 Good Reasons to Buy Natural, Non-Toxic Products for Home & Life

Non-Toxic Mattress

Most mattresses on the market are filled with toxic chemicals including flame retardants, polyurethane foam and PVC plastic. These chemicals are linked to health problems like hormone disruption, respiratory irritation and even cancer.
If you want to get into the nitty gritty about mattresses – head over to my post about how to find the best natural, organic and non-toxic mattress brands. Meanwhile, I’ll tell you that I sleep on a firm Naturepedic mattress every night and love it. My oldest son has a Happsy mattress and it is super comfy and I love that it is one of the more affordable organic mattresses! My youngest son has a Zen Haven mattress and it is probably the most comfy and luxurious mattress I’ve ever tried! He uses the soft side but you can flip the mattress to the firm side if that’s what you prefer. Some things to look for in a non-toxic mattress:
  • GOTS certified organic cotton & wool, and GOLS certified organic latex
  • Latex should be natural latex rubber, not synthetic latex
  • No chemical flame retardants added
  • For accident protection, look for safe mattress covers made from polyurethane laminate (PUL) fabric or polyethylene instead of PVC or vinyl
Tip: If a new mattress is not in your future, consider a natural wool, latex or cotton mattress topper instead. RELATED: Affordable Non-Toxic Mattresses

Natural Fiber Bedding

Since we’re spending one-third of our lives in bed, we should make sure the bedding we are sleeping in is not only cozy, but safe. Conventional bed-sheets often contain chemical residues – either from pesticides sprayed on cotton or from plastics used in polyester. Some sheets are also treated with chemicals to make them stain or wrinkle resistant. Pillows are often synthetic and are sometimes treated with chemical flame retardants. Here are some better bedding alternatives: Read my Guide to Natural & Organic Bedding here! Tip: If your regular sheets are well-worn and frequently washed, they don’t necessarily need to be replaced. When it comes time for a new sheet set, consider going organic. 
How to Create a Non Toxic Bedroom

Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products

When we grab our cleaning products we expect them to well, clean. Little do we know, many cleaning products actually impart toxic chemicals into the air we breathe – in the form of VOCs (volitile organic compounds).
Use these safe cleaning products in your bedroom: Tip: To freshen up sheets I spray them with Eco Breeze from Earth Friendly Products. It smells wonderfully fresh but is eco-friendly and non-toxic!

Non-Toxic Furnishings

Sadly, upholstered furniture and carpet are other ways that toxic chemicals sneak into our bedrooms. Furniture: Most upholstered furniture and cushions are made with toxic flame retardant chemicals, and many also contain stain or water repellents.  These chemicals off-gas and accumulate in dust in your home. Also avoid furniture made from plywood or particle board, which can emit formaldehyde fumes. Look for:
  • Furniture made using natural latex foam or low-VOC certified foam (CertiPUR-US)
  • Label reading “The upholstery materials in this product contain NO added flame retardant chemicals.”
  • Solid wood that is FSC-certified
How to Create a Non Toxic Bedroom Carpet: Wall-to-wall carpeting is a hotbed of synthetic chemicals, chemical treatments (stain and water proofing) and glues, all of which can be associated with respiratory issues, skin irritations and even cancer.
Look for:
  • Wool carpet – a natural, renewable fiber that is biodegradable and long-lasting
  • Greenguard or Green Label Plus certified carpet – lower VOCs than traditional carpet
  • Low-VOC adhesives
Some resources for non-toxic home and bedroom furnishings: Note: You’ll still need to ask a lot of questions – but these companies are known for having some non-toxic, eco-friendly offerings.
  • Room & Board
  • Crate & Barrel
  • Arhaus
  • West Elm / Pottery Barn
  • Ikea
  • Flor carpet tiles
  • Earth Weave carpet

What have you done so far to create a non-toxic environment in your bedroom? What are you still working on?

green & healthy wishes Micaela signature       RELATED: Eco-Friendly Pajama Roundup  

24 Comments

  1. Chock full of useful information, thank you! I do miss having the windows open now that it is so cold, so I’ll have to look into some of your other suggestions. I also loved the list of alternative/non-toxic cleaning supplies.

    1. Yes, I miss opening windows so much. I crave fresh air in the winter! Glad you found some useful info here!

  2. Hi, Micaela. Thank you so much for this amazing post, so much to learn in life. I will for sure think about everything you wrote. Love Lou

    1. True – so many things to think about. My goal is always to inform but not overwhelm. 🙂 Make changes as they work for you!

  3. I love this. I am all for natural cleaning products and now I have some other ways to make my spaces less toxic. Thank you!

  4. I’m such a huge fan of house plants, salt lamps, and essential oil diffusers. They not only help to filter and purify the air, they bring a little of the outdoors inside and create such a relaxing environment.

    1. I agree! I’ve been using my essential oil diffuser a lot lately!

  5. Great tips! Definitely need to figure out how to work some of these into our bedroom!

  6. A lot of food for thought! I recently changed out my cleaning supplies into all natural and mostly essential oil based cleaning supplies and it’s been working great so far. I love all the ideas about how to take it further! Thank you for sharing.

    1. Doesn’t it feel good to switch over to natural products? So glad to hear you’re into it!

    2. Doesn’t it feel good to switch over to natural products? So glad to hear you’re into it!

    3. Doesn’t it feel good to switch over to natural products? So glad to hear you’re into it!

    4. Doesn’t it feel good to switch over to natural products? So glad to hear you’re into it!

  7. Wow! I didn’t know a ton of this! Thank you for an informative post. We just added a house plant and salt lamp, so we are making steps!

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