Mattress Fiberglass Cleanup Guide: Taking Back Your Space Safely

Discovering fiberglass leaking from your mattress can be unsettling. DON'T PANIC It's important to act promptly, but remember, you don't have to face this alone. This guide is designed to equip you with the knowledge and steps needed to address fiberglass contamination, while prioritizing your safety and well-being.

Remember, everyone's situation is different so you must assess your level of contamination and adjust your plan accordingly. This guide focuses on more severe and widespread contamination. If you are only finding a few fibers or only in one room / area, you may not need all the steps in this guide. Please see the flowchart at the bottom of the page for more guidance on this.

**IMPORTANT NOTE:** Consult professional cleaning services for severe fiberglass contamination. This guide is intended for informational purposes. If you experience severe reactions or suspect extensive contamination, seek immediate medical advice or consult a qualified remediation specialist.

Before You Begin

Act Quickly, But Don't Panic: It's natural to feel overwhelmed. Take a deep breath. While fiberglass spreads, taking measured action is more effective than rushing and making mistakes.
Safety First: Fiberglass particles are irritants. Proper protective gear is non-negotiable. Do not proceed without it.
HVAC & Fans OFF: Immediately turn off your HVAC system and all fans to prevent further fiber dispersal throughout your home.
Isolate the Affected Area: Close doors to contaminated rooms and seal them with plastic sheeting and tape if possible. Minimize traffic in and out of these areas. Absolutely restrict access for children and pets.
Gather Supplies (See "Protective Gear" and "Cleaning Supplies" sections below).
Temporary Relocation: If possible, arrange for other household members and pets to stay elsewhere temporarily during the initial and most intensive cleaning phases.
- Only use vacuums with HEPA or ULPA filters, never regular household vacuums or brooms to sweep, as this can spread fiberglass particles into the air.
- Consider cleaning one room at a time: If the contamination is widespread, focus on cleaning one room or area at a time to prevent further spreading the fiberglass particles throughout your home.
- Avoid touching your face or rubbing your eyes during the cleanup process. This can further spread the fiberglass particles and increase the risk of irritation.
- Do not remove the mattress cover: Removing the cover can release more fiberglass particles into the air, making the contamination worse.
- Repeat the cleaning process if necessary: Depending on the extent of the contamination, you may need to clean the affected areas multiple times to remove all the fiberglass particles.
Take frequent breaks. If you begin to feel ill, sick, are become injured, stop the cleaning process right away and seek proper medical attention. Dont attempt to continue.
Tack Cloth and lint rollers work great to clean up the fibers

REMEMBER: Fiberglass contamination can be harmful, and it's crucial to take proper precautions to ensure your safety and the safety of others in your home. If you feel overwhelmed or unsure about the cleanup process, seek professional assistance from experienced cleaning or remediation services.

**Understand the Risks**: Fiberglass particles can cause skin, eye, and upper airway irritation. Before cleaning, protect yourself with appropriate safety gear. If you’ve been exposed to fiberglass, take a cool shower and change your clothes. If you experience severe reactions, it's important to seek medical advice. This includes rashes, hives, eye irritation, respiratory issues, or other symptoms.

PROTECTIVE GEAR

Disposable Coveralls: Choose Tyvek® or similar non-woven coveralls made of polypropylene or polyethylene. These provide a barrier while allowing some breathability.
Respirator: Ideally, use a P100 NIOSH-approved respirator for maximum protection. N95 respirators offer less protection but are better than nothing if P100s are unavailable. Ensure a tight seal around your face and wear it correctly.
Eye Protection: Use tight-fitting safety goggles or a full face shield to prevent eye irritation. Regular glasses are insufficient.
Gloves: Wear durable gloves made from nitrile or latex that fit snugly.
Duct Tape: Use duct tape to seal gaps in your clothing at wrists and ankles. Consider also taping the seams of your coveralls for extra protection.

Cleaning Supplies

HEPA or ULPA Filter Vacuum: Essential for capturing microscopic fiberglass particles. Never use regular household vacuums or brooms, as these will spread fibers.
HEPA Vacuum Bags: Use HEPA-rated bags for both regular and wet/dry vacuums to prevent fiber escape.
Wet/Dry Vacuum (Optional, but helpful): A wet/dry HEPA vacuum can be useful for larger debris or damp cleaning, but primarily use it in "dry" mode for fiberglass particle removal.
Disposable Cleaning Cloths: Use disposable microfiber or non-woven cloths for wiping surfaces.
Damp Mop (Microfiber "Dry" Mop Recommended): For wet cleaning floors and walls.
Tack Cloths and Lint Rollers: Excellent for picking up loose fibers from surfaces and items.
Heavy-Duty Plastic Bags: For disposal of contaminated items. Label bags clearly as "Contaminated - Fiberglass."
Spray Bottles: For soapy water cleaning solution (mild dish soap and water).

Specialized Equipment (Optional):

Air Purifier: Get an Electrostatic Air Purifier for best results.
Negative Air Machine: In severe cases, a negative air machine can create negative pressure in a room to prevent fibers from spreading to other areas.

Identify Affected Areas

Safety Gear: Put on protective clothing before starting the cleanup process. Wear a full-body coverall or Wear long sleeves, pants, gloves, and a mask to minimize contact and prevent inhalation of fiberglass particles. Use a P100 respirator or better and wear eye protection.

Inspection: Use a flashlight in darkened rooms to identify shiny fiberglass fibers on surfaces, especially dark-colored items, bedding, and around the mattress.

2. Isolate the area

Avoid running HVAC or fans to prevent further dispersal!

Isolate the Area: Close off or isolate the affected areas, if possible, by sealing them with plastic sheeting and tape. The room where the mattress was located- the door should be sealed with tape around the openings. Limit traffic to the very minimum, in and out, of this room. This will help prevent the spread of fibers to other parts of your home. Cover vents with plastic. Keep doors closed.

3. Remove the Mattress

Carefully wrapping the mattress in an encapsulated plastic or waterproof zip-up mattress protector, or wrap with plastic sheeting and seal with tape. If you are not able to do this, at least wrap the mattress in sheets that can be disposed of with the mattress. The mattress cover must contain the mattress completely and seal, such as with a zipper. You also could purchase plastic sheeting (Available at Wal-Mart, Home Depot, etc) and wrap around the mattress. Use duct tape to seal completely at seams. Then carefully snd tactfully remove the mattress from your home. Now the source is gone.

For a detailed walkthrough for this step, visit HOW TO SAFELY REMOVE FIBERGLASS MATTRESS FROM HOME

4. Remove everything from your home. Start with the room with the mattress and place all belongings in sealed plastic bags.

Bag up all items into sealed trash bags: Mark them with the contents. Separate heavily contaminated items into separate bags and label them properly. These are most likely for disposal.

Remove all the bags from your home and place them outside in a secluded area away from pets, or a shed, storage, or basement. These will need to be gone through and cleaned or thrown out LATER. You may find it easier to throw out as much as possible to prevent having deal with contaminated items later and avoid bringing them back into your home. Heavily contaminated items should be thrown out. Most material items, like clothing, cannot be fully cleaned.

Discard. Heavily contaminated items, items difficult to clean (e.g., plush toys, heavily textured fabrics, items with intricate seams), most clothing, especially items worn during the initial exposure event.

If youre re coming back to bags later, check them all thoroughly with a flashlight to see any fibers. Every single item needs to be checked and cleaned fully before bringing back into home. You can clean items with microfiber, a rag and soapy water, lint rollers, or tact cloth if they are hard-surfaced items.

Potentially Cleanable (with caution). Hard surface items, washable items with smooth surfaces, clothing not heavily exposed. These require meticulous cleaning (multiple washes, wet wiping, HEPA vacuuming outside if possible).

5. clean room-by-room

Wet Cleaning: Wipe down ceilings, walls, floors, counters, tables, and all hard surfaces with soap and water using a damp microfiber cloth or disposable damp cloth. A damp microfiber "dry" mop works well. Wet Cleaning is Key: Fiberglass is best captured, not stirred up. Prioritize wet cleaning methods.

Ceiling to Floor Approach: Clean from top to bottom to avoid re-contaminating already cleaned areas.

- Ceilings and Walls: Wipe down ceilings, walls, and light fixtures with a damp microfiber cloth or disposable damp cloth and soapy water.
- Hard Surfaces: Wipe down all hard surfaces (furniture, tables, counters, shelves, etc.) with damp cloths and soapy water.
- Floors: Use a damp microfiber mop with soapy water to clean hard floors.

Tact Cloths and Lint Rollers: Use tack cloths and lint rollers to pick up remaining fibers from surfaces, especially in corners and crevices.

Vacuuming: Start by vacuuming the affected areas using a vacuum cleaner with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) or ultra-low penetration air (ULPA) filter. Vacuum all hard surfaces, including floors, walls, and tabletops, to remove loose fiberglass particles. Start high, with ceilings, light fixtures, and then walls. Next, furniture, floors, and carpets. Empty vacuum often, sealing contents in bags. CLICK HERE for an in-depth recommendation report and more information on choosing the right vacuum.

Repeat Cleaning Process as Many Times as Necessary

Fiberglass cleanup often requires multiple passes. Repeat the wet wiping and HEPA vacuuming process multiple times in each room.---

Continue cleaning until visible fiberglass fibers are substantially reduced. To verify your cleaning, conduct a 'test clean' on a small area and re-inspect with a flashlight after 1-2 days for fiber reappearance. Complete fiber removal is often unattainable; therefore, prioritize removing the majority of fibers, focusing on living areas to minimize health risks. Don't be discouraged by the presence of a few stray fibers; the key is to significantly reduce overall contamination.

Painting (Optional, for Walls): After thorough cleaning, consider painting walls. This can help encapsulate any remaining fibers.

6. Air out the Space

Open windows and use fans blowing outwards to ventilate the affected areas and improve air circulation. Point fans blowing out of windows. This will help remove any airborne fiberglass particles from your home. Ensure fans are positioned to blow outwards to exhaust air from the contaminated area, not just circulate air within the room.

Consider renting air scrubbers Renting one or more air scrubbers with HEPA filters can significantly improve air quality and remove airborne fibers, especially during and after cleaning.

7. Disposal & Personal Clean-up

Proper Disposal: After completing the cleanup, seal the vacuum bag or dispose of the vacuum contents in a sealed bag to prevent fiberglass particles from spreading. Dispose of it properly according to local regulations. Dispose of any used cleaning cloths, lint rollers, or adhesive tape in sealed bags labeled as "contaminated" for appropriate disposal.

Shedding your "work" clothing: Outside of home or as soon as you enter, remove your protective clothing, making sure not to shake or disturb the fibers. Place clothing into sealed bag. This is why it's best to wear something that you can throw away after because now you can toss the bag in the trash and done. If you are keeping your clothes and they're not heavily contaminated (if they are, you need to dispose of them.) then later, wash separately (not if heavily contaminated) However, if you were wearing protection over your clothing, slide out of the suit, turning inside out, and place into sealed bag. Take off your gloves carefully, turning them inside out, and dispose of them in a sealed bag.

Shower: Take a shower to remove any potential fiberglass particles from your skin and hair. Remember to not scrub. Scrubbing can cause them to rub into skin and possibly cause further irritation. Rinse off well first with cold water.

HVAC

HVAC SYSTEMS: The HVAC system can extremely exacerbate the problem and play a major role of spreading the fibers, often causing entire homes to be contaminated. Professional HVAC System Cleaning is Crucial: If your HVAC system has been running since the mattress fiber release, it is highly likely contaminated and has spread fibers throughout your home. Professional HVAC cleaning is strongly recommended, or even essential, to prevent re-contamination. Simply changing filters is not sufficient. . As soon as you find out your mattress has been leaking the fibers, the first thing you want to do is shut off your HVAC system to prevent it spreading the fibers.

Carpets

Carpets: Carpets are very difficult to decontaminate from fiberglass. Consider professional carpet cleaning or, ideally, removal and replacement of carpets in affected areas. Steam cleaning may reduce fiber levels but is not guaranteed to fully remove them.

POST CLEAN-UP:

Regular Cleaning & Monitoring: Maintain a clean home environment to minimize dust and potential fiber spread. Monitor for fibers.

Monitor Health: Pay close attention to your health and any persistent symptoms (skin, respiratory, etc.). Keep a symptom journal noting specific symptoms, onset, intensity, and triggers to share with your doctor if needed.

Be cautious when purchasing your next mattress: To ensure that it does not contain fiberglass, check with the manufacturer or retailer about the materials used in the mattress. Check the mattress tag. Read online reviews. Google search the brand and model and research.

REMEMBER Safety should always be your top priority when dealing with fiberglass contamination. Dealing with mattress fiberglass cleanup is a job for professionals. It's not recommended to clean fiberglass yourself and always contact Professionals when needed. If you are in a situation where Professional cleaning is not an option, you will have to deal with the problem yourself. We understand how overwhelming and stressful being in this position can be so we created this guide to equip you with the knowledge of how to cleanup, the best practices (taken from research on fiberglass cleanup and from member input and common agreed upon methods that were successful), and a step-by-step guide. We hope this may be helpful to you and help you to be confident and organized when taking back your space. This is a battle you will win. Just understand that it can a lot of time, energy, and hard-work. It requires you to be meticulous, resilient, strong, and hopeful in times that are trying and difficult. The thing to remember is that you can and will get through this. Please reach out anytime you need anything, have any questions, or just need to talk to our group of caring and understanding warriors who have also had their encounters with mattress fiberglass. You aren't alone in this and we are more than happy to help in any way we can.

The information provided in this guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical or legal advice. Always consult with a qualified professional for any health concerns or before making any decisions related to your health or legal rights.

Join our Mattress Fiberglass Support & Awareness Group on Facebook and ask any questions you may have along the way or for guidance and for moral support. We are here for you! (click below)

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