When you think of wool, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Is it your grandmother’s hand-me-down sweater that itches like crazy? Is it that farm you drive past on your way to visit family? Maybe it’s that one scarf that your mother always made you wear when you played in the snow, no matter how much you protested.
Here at The Organic Bedroom, we see wool as something different - a magical material used in natural and organic mattresses and bedding. While wool itself isn’t actually magical, it is amazing how much better you can sleep with wool all around you! Now, before you begin to itch from the thought of those sweaters, rest assured that the wool in our products is different. The difference is that our wool is still coated in its natural oil: lanolin! The wool’s lanolin is what makes it feel so soft. It’s the lack of lanolin that makes people think wool is so scratchy.
Not only does wool with lanolin feel softer than a cloud, it also has some pretty amazing properties. These properties can help you achieve a great night’s sleep as well as help you take a step toward a healthier home for your family.
Temperature Regulation
Most people know that wool can keep you warm, with so many sweaters, scarves, and gloves being made of wool. While this is true, natural wool can also help keep you cool.
Wool is one of the best natural insulators, allowing heat to transfer along the individual fibers. During the summer, this property will allow for heat to be transferred away from your body and into the cooler air of your bedroom. However, in the winter, the wool will actually trap the heat within itself, keeping you warm.
Moisture Wicking
Another great thing about wool is its ability to wick away moisture. The individual fibers of wool will actually take moisture and transfer it away from your body. Night sweats can be a thing of the past with the use of wool.
The wool is able to wick moisture because of the lanolin oil on each fiber. The oil prevents the actual absorption of water. Instead the moisture is able to move across the surface of the fibers without issue and be put back into the air.
Dust Mite Protection
Because of the lack of moisture within wool, it promotes much drier air around your bed. It’s not enough for you to become bothered, but it is enough to bother another potential guest: dust mites.
Dust mites thrive in warm, humid environments, making homes a great place for them to live. Of course, you may be thinking to yourself, “My house is not warm/humid, so why would I have them, especially in my bedroom!” A lot of people think this, but in reality, studies have found that upwards of 80% of American bedrooms contained traces of dust mite allergens. However, because of wool’s natural moisture wicking ability, dust mites won’t be able to stand your new bed.
Flame Resistance
More and more these days, people are looking for a mattress without chemicals, especially toxic flame retardants. While there is a standard for mattresses to meet in terms of fire resistance, the chemical solutions are harmful… you breathe them in when you sleep and they even seep into your blood. In fact, those fire retardants contribute to that nasty smell (called “off gassing”) that comes with your brand new memory foam mattress!
Fortunately, there is a natural solution for flame resistance: wool! Because of how wool fibers are structured together, they require more oxygen than could be present in the air to catch fire. Because of this, wool has become the most widely used natural fire barrier within mattresses, easily passing mattress flame tests.
If you think a mattress made with wool or any of our bedding accessories made of wool would make a great addition to your bedroom, give us a call at (919)-521-5566 or visit our website at www.theorganicbedroom.com. We would also love for you to stop by our showroom in Raleigh, NC, located in the Oak Park Shopping Center just a mile away from Crabtree Valley Mall!
