This article describes the typical materials used as stuffing or padding in antique furniture (horsehair, cellulose, plant materials) and addresses which padding products are more or less likely to contain asbestos.

Asbestos Furniture Fabric, Padding & Coverings

Examples of products that used asbestos in furniture or furniture padding and other asbestos "padding" are given in these patents:

• Baermann, Walter P. "Detachable tufting in articles of furniture and the like." U.S. Patent 3,103,082, issued September 10, 1963.
  
  Asbestos Use in Furniture Padding: Patent description excerpt:
  
  Thus, mixtures of cellulose fibers and cut glass rovings (Vs inch to 6 inches in length) containing to 95% cellulose based on the weight of the total fibers and 5% to 25% by weight of a polyester resin afford excellent shell structures for the purpose of the invention. Similarly, asbestos and other fibers can be used.
• Baermann, Walter P. "Seat construction for articles of furniture." U.S. Patent 3,107,944, issued October 22, 1963.
  Patent disclosure excerpt:
  
  Thus, mixtures of cellulose fibers and cut glass rovings /2 inch to 6 inches in length) containing 5% to 95% cellulose based on the weight of the total fibers and 5% to 25% by weight of a polyester resin afford excellent shell structures for the purpose of the invention.
  
  Similarly, asbestos and other fibers can be used. The final shell thickness is in the order of about to fi The seating portions of the two shells are so shaped that the upper shell telescopes into the lower shell with coinciding edges of the two shells along the front and bottom, sides and back with an air space in the sides and the back.
• Crockford, Joseph R. "Padding for laundry rolls." U.S. Patent 2,947,098, issued August 2, 1960.
• Herman, Rumpf, and Irwin J. Rumpf. "Padding and soundproofing material." U.S. Patent 2,419,971, issued May 6, 1947.
• Landers, Robert E., and Indyke Paul. "Padding for garment pressing machines, home ironers, mangles or the like." U.S. Patent 2,835,056, issued May 20, 1958.

Other patents describe the use of asbestos in furniture padding and furniture construction

• Crockford, Joseph R. "Padding." U.S. Patent 2,187,343, issued January 16, 1940.
• Hartzell, R., and Gene Gerek. "Asbestos sheet material directly adhered to a cellular foam substrate." U.S. Patent 3,713,925, issued January 30, 1973.
• Hartzell, Rowland S., and Gene Gerek. "Asbestos-foam laminates." U.S. Patent 3,522,140, issued July 28, 1970.
  Excerpt:
  
  Such coated asbestos-foam laminates are suitable, for example, for flooring, decorative wall covering or panels, insulating panels, protective coverings, tops for furniture or counters, and the like.
• Stedman, Theodore W. "Plastic fabric." U.S. Patent 2,354,435, issued July 25, 1944.
  
  Cited in 1951-02-20, Us Rubber Co, Asbestos-nylon cover cloth … US6911105B2 (en),
• Taylor, James H. "Padding." U.S. Patent 1,584,493, issued May 11, 1926.
• Yerlikaya, Nurdan Cetin. "Failure load of corner joints, which are reinforced with glass-fiber fabric in case-type furniture." Scientific Research and Essays 8, no. 8 (2013): 325-339.
  
  … The fibers are usually glass, carbon, or aramid, although other fibers such as paper or wood or asbestos have been sometimes used …

 

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2023-08-12 by InspectApedia Publisher

@Don,

Glad to assist, thank you for the helpful questions and photos.

On 2023-08-12 by Don

@InspectApedia Publisher,
Thank you!

On 2023-08-12 by InspectApedia Publisher - Does this stuffing from these old chairs appear to be asbestos?

@Don,

No, not by eye on your photo anyway.

Keep in mind that no one can guarantee that there is no asbestos in your furniture, but as we note in the article above, it's uncommon except where there were special requirements.

Please look at the example photos in this article series to see for yourself. Asbestos furniture stuffing would be pretty unusual, and isn't likely to look like cotton, foam, jute, burlap., etc.

On 2023-08-12 by Don

Does this stuffing from an old chair appear to be asbestos?

Here is another old chair with stuffing. From its appearance, does this look like it contains asbestos?

On 2023-08-12 by InspectApedia Publisher - Was asbestos used in Simmons lounges?

@Tara,

Not likely, but a better guess at asbestos in Simmons furnishings would be

1. note the country of manufacture and the age of the furniture

2. note whether or not the furniture was a special product that required fireproofing, such as theatre seating or curtains.

On 2023-08-12 by Tara

Was asbestos used in Simmons lounges? We have a playpen style lounge and under the cushion I noticed the seat has a tear revealing a hessian or brown jute looking material that has some multi colours and white cottony looking fabric.

Could this contain asbestos? The lounge is a green velvet also, quite thread bare in places, did velvet upholstery contain asbestos? Also the foam is still in shape, would it be added to a cushion foam at all? I’m searching the net and the answers are vague. Thanks so much!

On 2023-05-28 by InspectApedia DF (mod)

@Lauren,

If the bed is less than 10 years old, it would not contain asbestos. Any use of asbestos ended by 1986 in the US.

On 2023-05-28 by Lauren

My wooden bed foundation is lined at the top with what looks to be a mix of unknown materials. Does any of this look concerning? The bed is less than 10 years old.

On 2023-04-02 by InspectApedia Editor

@Laurie,

Thank you for your comment. We are always grateful when a reader finds it useful and trustworthy.

We also welcome your photos, questions, criticism or suggestions.

On 2023-04-02 by Laurie

@InspectApedia Editor , thank you so much for responding. I think it's very similar.

On 2023-04-02 by InspectApedia Editor

@Laurie,

Check out the photo at the top of this page - and compare your chair padding with cotton.

"sylvan blue" in it's most common usage is a blue color, perhaps describing a fabric or paint.

On 2023-04-02 by Laurie

I have been reupholstering some old dining room table chairs. Does this appear to be asbestos? The label on the old under seat says pkg of 322 sylvan blue.

On 2023-02-28 by InspectApedia Editor

@Brian,

Looks like cotton batting

On 2023-02-27 by InspectApedia Editor - did grandfather's old couch contain asbestos in the batting

@Brian,

That looks like cotton (to the naked eye) but of course no one can say from simply a photograph.

If you have to be absolutely certain you would have to have a sample testing.

And if you are concerned about possible asbestos fibers from moving the piece of furniture, you can damp wipe and HEPA vacuum the areas to clean it up.

On 2023-02-26 by Brian

I have this old couch from my grandfather, possibly from the 50s or 60s. When i went to move it, i noticed the bottom looked like this, and now im concerned as to whether or not it has asbestos.

We donated it today because we no longer had the space so i'm concerned both if we had disturbed the fibers when it moved since it got stuck on another piece of furniture and of course for the antique shop we donated it to.

On 2022-10-15 by InspectApedia (Editor) - beaver bus chairs have orange discoloration

@Pierce Aessie,

Sorry but we can't say what are the constituents of that orange area on the bus fabric.

Your material tag says

blended cotton felt, corrugated fiberboard, colored cemented, shredded urethane foam, and resin treated.

The word "asbestos" doesn't appear.

On 2022-10-15 by Pierce Aessie

Old beaver bus chairs are dusty and old and this orange substance came out

On 2022-09-07 by InspectApedia-911 (mod) - does 1967 Daystom chairs have asbestos in padding

@Tom,

Seems unlikely in residential furniture, and not in your listed components.

On 2022-09-07 by Tom

I am wondering if these chairs that were given to me have asbestos. Materials say blended cotton felt, corrugated fiberboard, colored cemented, shredded urethane foam, and resin treated. Made in 1967 by Daystom. License number 9634. Thank you!

On 2022-04-27 by Inspectapedia Com Moderator - Was asbestos used in the manufacture of moving pads

@Scott,

Certainly possible but probably not common except where fire resistance was a particular requirement.

Asbestos was indeed used in fire blankets used for various applications including firefighting; some of those might find their way to other uses too.

But not in the 1999's. You wouldn't expect to find that use after the mid 1980s in the U.S. with different dates in other countries.

On 2022-04-26 by Scott

Was asbestos used in the manufacture of moving pads used in the moving and storage industry during the 1960s to 1999s?

Question: asbestos in antique Stickley furniture cushion stuffing?

I wonder if you've ever heard of asbestos being used in antique Stickley furniture.

Specifically, I have 100-year-old chairs whose cushion material has dried out and turned into a powdery material.

I'm interested in your thoughts. Thank you for your time. - Anonymous by private email 2021/07/06

Moderator reply: no; more-common: cellulose, or wood product, or animal hair

I would not expect Stickley furniture itself to use asbestos materials - it's wood and glue.

Cushions would not normally contain or use asbestos fabric (and certainly not an asbestos stuffing) except in case furniture was particularly modified for fire-resistance, such as in a theatre. More common cushion covering for the primary layer was cotton or burlap or jute fabric, over which a decorative slip cover of cotton or other material is typically installed.

In your photo that looks like a cellulose-wood-type fibre insulation but it's not so sharp and detailed that I can say for certain. It is fibrous, woody, and brown-tan in colour- not suggestive of asbestos.

More-often by the time we find an antique chair that is still in use, its original cushions have been replaced.

ASBESTOS FURNITURE PADDING

inspectapedia.com/hazmat/Asbestos_Products.php#FurniturePadding

Please post photos (one per comment)( of the chair, any labels or stickers, and of the cushions themselves, or additional details if you can. Such added details can help us understand what's involved with your antique Stickley furniture and might permit some useful further comment. What we both learn may help someone else. - by private email 2021/07/06

The antique wood chair shown in our photo below, with Stickley-like components, sports modern cushions stuffed using a single block of foam and covered with cotton fabric.

Note that the chair above is not the Stickley chair discussed by our reader - Ed.

Reader follow-up: asbestos not found in Stickley chair cushion stuffing

I just wanted to update you about the material from my Stickley furniture cushions that caused me concern. I actually brought a sample to a lab to check for asbestos.

In accord with your observations, it was negative for asbestos. The major component of the material was deemed to be cellulose, (along with hair). Good call!

The Stickley Museum people said along with animal hair, such cushions might have used layers of cotton or burlap.

So thank you for your time and courtesy and I pass this information on in case it's useful to you in future activities with your website. Or an answer to someone else's concerns.

On 2020-09-20 - by (mod) -

Samantha that sure looks like cotton (to the naked eye) but of course no one can say from simply photograph.

If you have to be absolutely certain you would have to have a sample testing

On 2020-09-20 by Samantha

Hi.

I bought some dining chairs second hand that I was going to reupholster. I just started taking them a part and found this material.

I have no idea how old they are but there are springs and what looks like coconut fiber.

I am pregnant so am quite concerned I have exposed myself to asbeatos. I was wearing a surgical mask at the time but am not sure what to do. Any help much appreciated

On 2020-03-14 - by (mod) -

Possible but not likely; where asbestos would have been used in a couch might be where fire resistance was needed.

To the naked eye that looks like cotton batting.

On 2020-03-14 by Marcy

I have a midcentury Danish couch and loveseat (Peter Hvidt) and I removed the upolstery on the loveseat. There is batting in it and I wondered if it could be asbestos.

On 2019-12-05 - by (mod) -

Metro

I can't say - we don't know the constituents of your couch, nor anything about your exposure (skin, breathing, eyes, etc) to the dust - though from your description it sounds like a disintegrating foam cushion.

Urethane or other cushion foams are not themselves an asbestos -product.

On 2019-12-05 by Metroid67

I recently removed an old couch probably 50's - 60's. I had to tear it apart to get it out of my basement. Some of the padding had became a gold dust. Anything to worry about?

On 2018-12-18 - by (mod) -

Tom,

Thank you for your remarks I agree with you. We found and reported this problem also with jute bags that were used to make mailbag. Some of those have been used to transport asbestos. We really can't know what a manufacturer might do about recycling old materials.

If you have to damage the material or create dust from that such that there's a risk it would make sense to have a sample tested or two treated as presumed to contain asbestos. If you decide to proceed please do keep me posted. What you learned will be helpful to

On 2018-12-15 by Tom

Hi - what a useful site - thank you!

We have an old (maybe 1930s) French armchair that is very worn, exposing the padding.

Between the coarse horsehair and outer leather is a layer of very soft wadding, which looks cotton wool made from recycled fabric. I understand from your answers to other questions that asbestos was generally only used in upholstery when it particularly needed to be fire retardant.

However, I have seen this article (https://www.kazanlaw.com/unusual-asbestos-exposures/) about an upholsterer in northern Italy using material including jute bags used to carry asbestos for such a purpose.

Also this abstract (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28686522) suggesting that upholstery was a riskier occupation that previously thought.
Worth sending off a sample to a lab for peace of mind, do think?
I look forward to your reply

On 2015-02-16 by (mod) - asbestos in dining chairs?

Sure Net

Just send a sample of each material to a certified asbestos testing lab

see

https://inspectapedia.com/hazmat/Asbestos_Test_Labs.htm

On 2015-02-12 by Net

i have dinning chairs from the early 1930's that I would like to have re upholstered. They have horse hair and fiber material that I thought was cotton and wool batting. One upholstery business told me the chairs may contain asbestos. Is there any way I can know for sure?

On 2015-12-23 by (mod) - Was asbestos used as a thin backing on yellow foam for chair upholstery?

Seems unlikely except for special cases such as fire resistant theatre seating.

However we have found asbestos used in a thin inner layer to improve bonding between a cover fabric and a foam padding in bicycle seats.

See BICYCLE ASBESTOS USES

On 2015-12-22 by Kristina

Was asbestos used as a thin backing on yellow foam for chair upholstery? I bought chairs from an old restaurant and found a gray fibrous backing on the backside of the foam.

 

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Continue reading at ASBESTOS TEXTILES, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

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