Memory Pillow Testing

Memory pillow inspection mainly conducts scientific testing and analysis on dimension and appearance testing, physical and mechanical property testing, hazardous chemical substance testing, flame retardant performance testing, microorganism and mildew resistance testing, and comfort and ergonomics evaluation, objectively assessing the product quality grade and issuing a detailed test report, providing a basis for manufacturers' quality control and downstream users' product acceptance.

Testing Items

Dimension and appearance testing: Mainly measures the length, width, height and shape symmetry of the memory pillow, ensuring that they conform to the design specifications. The appearance testing checks the sewing process of the pillowcase, whether there are stains, damages and colour differences on the surface, and whether the material splicing is flat, and is the most intuitive evaluation of the product quality.

Physical and mechanical property testing: This is the core of evaluating the durability and support of the memory pillow. Mainly including the hardness (indentation hardness), resilience time, tensile strength, tearing strength and fatigue resistance testing, used to simulate the deformation recovery ability and structural integrity of the pillow core under the long-term use.

Hazardous chemical substance testing: Strictly screens the hazardous chemicals that may exist in the raw materials of the memory pillow (such as the polyurethane slow-recovery foam). The key items include the formaldehyde release amount, decomposable carcinogenic aromatic amine dyes, total volatile organic compound (TVOC) content and the migration amount of the specific heavy metals (such as lead and cadmium), ensuring that the product meets the ecological safety requirements.

Flame retardant performance testing: In accordance with the flame retardant safety standards related to the furniture and bedding, the flame retardant testing is carried out on the memory pillow materials. The difficulty of ignition, flame spread speed and the self-extinguishing time after leaving the fire are mainly evaluated, and it is an important indicator for ensuring the fire safety of the consumers at night.

Microorganism and mildew resistance testing: Evaluates the ability of the memory pillow materials to resist the bacterial growth and mildew growth under the specific temperature and humidity conditions. For the products claiming the antibacterial and anti-mite functions, the quantitative testing also needs to be carried out on their antibacterial rate and anti-mite effect in accordance with the relevant standards, verifying their functional claims.

Comfort and ergonomics evaluation: Through the professional instruments (such as the pressure distribution testing system) combined with the subjective experience questionnaires, the support curve of the pillow for the head and neck, the pressure dispersion uniformity and the overall comfort during sleep under the different sleeping postures (supine and lateral) are evaluated. It belongs to the comprehensive performance evaluation.

Testing Scope

Finished memory pillow: The testing object is the whole memory pillow that has completed all the production processes and is available for sale. The testing covers all its components, including the memory foam pillow core, pillowcase and the possible additional functional layers, carrying out the comprehensive safety and performance evaluation.

Memory pillow core material: The independent testing is carried out on the core material of the memory pillow, i.e., the polyurethane slow-recovery foam. The density, resilience rate, compression set rate, cell structure and the chemical safety of the raw materials are emphatically analysed, controlling the product quality from the source.

Textile fabrics and auxiliary materials: The testing scope extends to the textile fabrics, filling fibres, zippers and sewing threads used in the pillowcase. The testing items include the composition content of the fabric, colour fastness, pilling, air permeability, and the durability and safety of the auxiliary materials.

Functional memory pillows: For the memory pillows with the additional functions on the market, such as the gel layer, bamboo charcoal factor, natural latex composite layer, herbal medicine packs and magnets. The testing needs to additionally verify the effectiveness, safety and the bonding stability with the main material of these functional materials.

Production environment and process monitoring: The testing scope is not limited to the product itself, but also includes the evaluation of the production environment, such as the cleanliness of the workshop and the storage conditions of the raw materials, as well as the monitoring of the key process parameters (such as the foaming temperature and curing time), ensuring the stability and controllability of the production process.

Sampling inspection of the products in the market circulation: The quality supervision departments or third-party institutions randomly purchase the memory pillow samples from the online and offline sales channels for testing, aiming to monitor the quality consistency of the products in the circulation field, crack down on the counterfeit and shoddy products, and protect the rights and interests of the consumers.

Testing Methods

Instrumental analysis method: For the hazardous chemical substance testing, a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) is mainly used to analyse the VOC and formaldehyde, a high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) is used to detect the carcinogenic aromatic amines, and an atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) is used to determine the heavy metal contents.

Physical property testing method: An indentation hardness tester is used to measure the indentation hardness; a stopwatch or electronic timer is used to measure the resilience time (such as the time required from the 50% compression to the recovery of 90% of the thickness); and a universal material testing machine is used for the mechanical tests such as the tensile, tearing and compression fatigue. All the operations need to be carried out under the standard temperature and humidity environment.

Standard burning test method: The flame retardant performance testing is usually carried out in accordance with the relevant standards such as GB 17927 (Upholstered furniture — Assessment of resistance to ignition of mattresses and sofas), using the specific heat sources (such as the cigarettes and small flames) to ignite the samples, observing and recording their burning behaviour and charred length.

Microorganism culture method: The mildew and antibacterial performance testing is carried out in accordance with the standards such as GB/T 24346 (Textiles — Evaluation of the mildew resistance). The specimen and the control sample are respectively inoculated with the specific strains, cultured for a certain time under the suitable conditions, and then the mildew growth situation is observed or the bacterial reduction rate is calculated, thereby evaluating the antimicrobial performance.

Sensory and ergonomics evaluation method: The trained evaluators are organized to carry out the subjective rating of the appearance, hand feel and odour of the memory pillow in the standard environment. At the same time, the volunteers may be invited to simulate the sleeping scenario in the laboratory, and a pressure sensing pad is used to collect the head and neck pressure data, combined with the questionnaire feedback for the comprehensive comfort analysis.

Accelerated aging test method: To predict the service life of the product, the memory pillow samples are placed under the intensified environmental conditions (such as the high temperature, high humidity, UV irradiation and repeated compression) for the aging testing of a period of time, and then the changes in their physical and mechanical properties are detected, evaluating the durability of the product.

Testing Standards

Domestic Standards:

1. GB 17927, Upholstered furniture — Assessment of resistance to ignition of mattresses and sofas

2. GB/T 24346, Textiles — Evaluation of the mildew resistance

3. GB/T 3920-2024, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Colour fastness to rubbing

4. GB 18401-2010, National general safety technical code for textile products

5. GB/T 3921-2008, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Colour fastness to washing with soap or soap and soda

6. GB/T 3922-2013, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Colour fastness to perspiration

7. GB/T 2910, Textiles — Quantitative chemical analysis

8. GB/T 7573-2009, Textiles — Determination of pH of the aqueous extract

International Standards:

1. ISO 5999, Flexible cellular polymeric materials — Polyurethane foam for load-bearing applications excluding carpet underlay — Specification

2. ISO 105, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness

3. ISO 13934-1, Textiles — Tensile properties of fabrics — Part 1: Determination of maximum force and elongation at maximum force using the strip method

Note: The applicable standard can be selected according to the product use and customer trade requirements; standards agreed in the contract take precedence over general standards.

Testing Instruments and Equipment

Universal material testing machine: Used to execute the mechanical property tests such as the tensile, compression and tearing of the memory pillow core material. The equipment can precisely control the loading speed, force value and displacement, and automatically generate the stress-strain curve. It is the core equipment for evaluating the mechanical strength of the material.

Hardness tester (indentation type): Specially used to measure the indentation hardness of the flexible polyurethane foam. By measuring the force required for the specified indenter to press into the specimen to a certain depth under the specific conditions, the softness and hardness of the memory pillow is quantified. It is the key indicator of the product grading and comfort control.

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS): The cutting-edge instrument for detecting the volatile organic compounds (VOC) and formaldehyde in the memory pillow. Its high separation efficiency and high sensitivity can accurately carry out the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the complex trace organic pollutants released by the foam in the closed environment.

Constant temperature and humidity test chamber: Provides the standard and stable environmental conditions (such as the temperature of 23±2 °C and humidity of 50±5%) for the physical property testing, microorganism testing and accelerated aging testing. It ensures that all the test results are not affected by the environmental fluctuations, and have the comparability and reproducibility.

Flame retardant performance tester: A dedicated equipment integrating the standard ignition sources (such as the propane burner and cigarettes), specimen holder, timing device and exhaust system. It is used to strictly simulate the fire source contact scenarios, objectively assess the ignition resistance of the memory pillow fabric, and the operation needs to strictly follow the safety procedures.

Pressure distribution testing system: Composed of a high-density pressure sensor array pad and data acquisition and analysis software. The sensor pad is placed above the pillow, and after the tester lies down, the system can generate the pressure cloud image of the contact surface between the head and the pillow in real time, providing the objective data support for the ergonomic design.