That's weird! You might want to post this on the flooring forum. I wonder if your floor is sweating and the memory foam just kept it from evaporating.

Are you warning that dogs who live with cats don't get to use the bed? :)

...we think the wet is from Katie just sleeping on the bed

I really doubt that. Dogs & cats don't sweat like people do.

Do you have a basement space below? On a slab? Have a crawlspace below?

What part of the country do you live in?

Did you install new subfloor? Did you allow the bamboo to acclimate before it was installed?

Most likely the memory foam is acting as a moisture barrier and preventing residual moisture from the flooring from evaporating.

I wouldn't rule out dog urine. If it were cat urine you'd know it. Perhaps before the cedar dog bed soaked it up and the memory foam doesn't? I have a young female dog with a leaky bladder. Poor lamb. There's medication that helps.

ci lantro - we thought of those things, but it seems unlikely. We have a crawlspace under the house. When it was originally built, they put that lovely asbestos tile throughout the house stuck down with mastic, so that pretty much seals it off from below. We're in San Diego, which is usually pretty dry except for the drizzle we've been enjoying this week. The bamboo was in the house for maybe 3 weeks before it was installed and that was actually a year ago. The old dog bed was moved to our bedroom where the bamboo was installed just about 6 weeks ago, and it's fine. We're still working on the moisture barrier idea, though, because it does seem like a condensation thing even if we don't know how.

onedogedie - Katie is certainly of an age to have a leaky bladder, she'll be 10 in a couple of weeks. If she's leaking we haven't noticed it. I move her other bed in our BR every couple of days to vacuum (or actually to let the Neato run around) and it hasn't been wet. We'll keep noticing to be sure.

I don't think dogs sweat enough to soak through a pad. My understanding is that they only sweat a little, and most of that is through their feet. Most of their cooling is through panting.

New thought - DH stuck his arm into the bag to check out where it was wet exactly. It's been outside for a bit, so we weren't sure if he was going to be able to tell. Surprise! When he put his arm in, it felt like he had a light coating of oil when he pulled his arm out. What's in dog bed grade memory foam scraps anyway? Something that could be warmed by the dog's body and transferred to the floor?

We have the same dog bed from costco and haven't had any problems (as you can see). Although ours is on carpeting.

{{!gwi}}

Not sure if the moisture you're seeing is coming from the bed or the pets or something else, but I don't think it's a universal problem with the bed or with memory foam generally.

We have the costco foam dog beds that are shaped (roundish, with sides). Those will discolor vinyl/sheet flooring--at least the stuff that is 20 yrs old. It might very well be some substance in the bed itself. I'd go to costco, stick my hand in a new one, and see if it comes out oily or not though.

Hey, bluej422, your Golden looks just like ours! Katie is that same red.

Glad to hear this isn't a universal problem. Kirkhall, that's a good idea.

To all, I'll let you know if we find out anything, but we have a hiccup that may slow down the messaging: My daughter is expecting our granddaughter any time. Her due date is the 9th, so I bought a plane ticket for the 5th two months ago. Her first baby was 5 days late, so I felt pretty safe going for 4 days early. Maybe not. She's been having cramps that she doesn't interpret as contractions (but I'll bet they're related) and all the usual creaks and groans that precede actual labor. If she lived closer, I'd get in the car and go, but they moved up to the SF Bay area and it takes 9 hours to get there from here at the other end of the state. I have my fingers crossed that she holds out until Wed. so I can be there for Big Brother.

suzannes...I have to agree that you've ruled out all of the condensation possibilities. Do keep us informed as you try to solve this mystery.

I just posted a reply to your thread on the HD forum. I spoke of my experience with condensation (which is the word I couldn't think of in my original reply below.

I don't think it's urine and here's why. I've had different dog beds, and the last big ones had a cloth shell with the top of sherpa, stuffed with shredded foam of some sort inside a cloth bag. Believe it or not, in the winter (really the only time the dogs used them alot), when I would lift the beds to move them or to wash them, sometimes I'd find dampness under them and even a thin layer of frost on the wooden floor where the beds had laid. Yes, my floors get cold in winter. Anyway, I think it came from the warmth of the dogs' bodies and the moisture the heat created not being wicked away. Does that make sense? I know there was no urine stains or smell at all on the beds.

Wow! I just googled "memory foam moisture condensation underneath" and found plenty of corroborations for your experience. Apologies to Katie for pushing a bladder problem on her.

Here is a link that might be useful: foam mattresses with mold problems

suzanne - sorry to hijack this post, but I love your area rug. Would you mind telling me where you got it and/or the brand name? Thanks....its beautiful

OMG!
I am off to read that link. I have a foam topper I absolutely love, but the minute I get in bed my nose runs, and. of all things. I wake myself up snoring. Imagine me looking around for who made the noise!

I wish I could have a nice dog bed like that, though! If I buy Morgan a bed, within minutes she's shredded it. Into fuzz. So every couple of months I go to the thrift store and buy some comforters. I throw them on the floor in the mud room where they sleep and although they get very dirty, she seems to like sleeping on them. Or the tile floor, more so.

I'm going to read the link.

Baby update: Baby was indeed born just after midnight on Dec. 4. Those cramps? Right-from 3 cm to delivery in 40 minutes. The photo is Julia 3 days old. That sleeper is 0-3 months and she's swimming in it! I'm still up here at my daughter's doing the grandma thing. She is so sweet! Looks a lot like her brother at that age.

Dog bed: I just read the article onedoggie linked. Years ago, our waterbed heater died about 2 weeks before a scheduled vacation, so we put off changing it out until we had the time. We put sleeping bags on top of the covers. Guess what? Our warm bodies, plus bedding, met the cold water in the bed and grew mold on the mattress pad next to the bag of water. I'm really allergic to mold. We actually discovered the problem after I had a major asthma attack, which answered the question of what set me off. So maybe that is exactly what is going on here: warm dog, cold bamboo = condensation. Weird. It never happened with the dog beds that had cedar in them.

barbarany - we bought the rug at Costco online last year. They still have lots of rugs, but not that particular one. As I mentioned on the home decor thread, we really like it, but be warned that it shed like mad for months. I guess that's normal for a wool rug, but I was surprised.

Cutie!!!, congratulations!

Suzanne - congratulations - reminds me of a story from my mother - they used to shave women and she was a nurse cadet in training and her instructor said she better go faster or she was going to shave the kids hair as the baby was coming fast.
She is a cutie!

Congratulations!!!