New memory foam pillow has strange odor?
I just bought a new memory foam pillow from JCPenney. It wasn’t cheap, but it wasn’t restrictively expensive, either. I noticed in one store that the pillow had a strange odor, which I thought was cigarette smoke. All of that particular pillow design had the smell, too. I couldn’t buy a different design because I needed that particular amount of support due to the position I sleep in. I didn’t want a stinky pillow, obviously, so I drove across town to another JCPenney and looked at the pillows there. The pillow that I bought there smelled okay at the store, but now that I have it home, I can detect the same strange odor. It’s not quite right for cigarettes, but smells stale and unpleasant. I thought that at the first store maybe a stocker or employee had been smoking and the pillows just absorbed it, but it seems odd that even the same pillow design in another store across town would have the same odor.
I was wondering if anyone knew if the memory foam just smelled that way, and if it would wear off. I can’t sleep on a smelly pillow, but if it will wear off, I can avoid taking the pillow back. I don’t want to try washing it or anything, because it seems unfair to have to wash a brand new pillow. I’ll just take it back if the smell won’t wear off, but I really need a pillow like this for my neck/shoulder pain.
I think all memory foam smells funny when it’s new. I sprayed my memory foam bed with Febreze and it seemed to help. If you do this, make sure you allow enough dry time before using.
Alot of department stores have that- I wonder why? I think some of my sweaters smell like that. (Even after 10 washes..)
My advice is to call Jcpenny’s or talk to the manager there. If you’re lucky, pleasant, and say "Is that the best I can get?" (nicely) everytime they offer something for your pillow. (Which they will..)
Just try to go to lazyboy.. they might have something better if you don’t want to talk to the manager.
When we bought memory foam pillows a few years ago we experienced the same thing. I took the pillows back to the store and picked out 2 different pillows. They smelled the same as the first ones. The saleslady said the smell would eventually go away. I decided to speed up the process. The pillows were in plastic bags in the boxes. I took them out of the bags and placed them in cotton pillowcases with some dried lavender buds (wrapped in cheesecloth). After about 3 days they were lovely fresh smelling pillows and I have been using these pillows ever since. I use my lavender sachets on a regular basis. I place them in my linen closet between sets of sheets and blankets.
The smell will go away eventually. I bought one a while ago, and the smell is now gone. You may want to through an extra pillow case on it though.
It will eventually go away.
In retail, any type of clothing or product with cloth (pillows, towels, etc), is sprayed down with formaldehyde to preserve it during shipment and stocking (conditions that could essentially ruin or damage the product.) It’s the same chemical morticians put on dead bodies to delay the decomposition process. Sounds gross, I know.
This is why it is always best to wash new clothing before wearing it. And with this pillow, I would simply suggest using a pillowcase until the formaldehyde fades.