16 C.F.R. § 1632.3 – General requirements.

(a) Summary of test method. The method measures the ignition resistance of a mattress or mattress pad by exposing the surface to lighted cigarettes in a draft-protected environment. The surfaces to be tested include smooth, tape edge, and quilted or tufted locations, if they exist on the mattress or mattress pad surface. A two-sheet test is also conducted on similar surface locations. In the latter test, the burning cigarettes are placed between the sheets.
(b) Test criterion. When testing the mattress or mattress pad surface in accordance with the testing procedure set forth in § 1632.4 Mattress test procedure, individual cigarette test locations pass the test if the char length is not more than 2 inches (5.1 cm) in any direction from the nearest point of the cigarette. In the interest of safety, the test operator should discontinue the test and record a failure before reaching the 2 inch char length if an obvious ignition has occurred.
(c) Pre-market testing. Each manufacturer required to perform prototype testing by the standard shall perform the testing required by the standard with acceptable results before selling in commerce or introducing in commerce any mattress or mattress pad which is subject to the standard.
(d) Specimen selection and qualification.
1. (1) Each manufacturer required to perform prototype testing by the standard shall construct or select enough units of each proposed mattress prototype or proposed mattress pad prototype to provide six surfaces for testing. A minimum of three mattresses or mattress pads are required if both sides can be tested; six mattresses or mattress pads are required if only one side can be tested. Test each of the six surfaces according to § 1632.4(d). If all the cigarette test locations on all six mattress surfaces yield passing results using the criterion specified in § 1632.3(b), accept the mattress prototype. If all six surfaces of a mattress pad yield passing results using the criterion in § 1632.3(b), and all other applicable requirements prescribed by § 1632.5 are met, accept the mattress pad prototype. If one or more of the cigarette test locations on any of the six surfaces fail to meet the test criterion of § 1632.3(b), reject the mattress prototype or the mattress pad prototype.
2. (2) Prototype qualification testing may be repeated after action has been taken to improve the resistance of the mattress prototype or the mattress pad prototype to cigarette ignition by changes in design, construction methods, materials selection, or other means. When prototype qualification is repeated after rejection of a prototype, such qualification testing shall be conducted in the same manner as original qualification testing.
3. (3) Each mattress prototype and each mattress pad prototype must be accepted in prototype qualification before any mattress or mattress pad manufactured in accordance with such mattress prototype or mattress pad prototype is sold in commerce or introduced in commerce. Any manufacturer required to perform testing by the standard may rely on prototype tests performed before the effective date of this amended standard, provided that such tests were conducted in accordance with all requirements of §§ 1632.1(i), 1632.3(d), and 1632.4, and yield passing results when the test criterion of § 1632.3(b) is applied. If the ticking classification test at § 1632.6 is to be used when relying on prototype tests performed before the effective date of the standard, the ticking currently used on that mattress prototype must be classified before substitution of ticking using § 1632.6.
4. (4) Rejected prototype mattresses or prototype mattress pads shall not be retested, offered for sale, sold, or promoted for use as a mattress (as defined in § 1632.1(a)) or for use as a mattress pad (as defined in § 1632.1(b)) except after reworking to improve the resistance to ignition by cigarettes, and subsequent retesting and acceptance of the mattress prototype (as defined in § 1632.1(j)) or the mattress pad prototype (as defined in § 1632.1(k)).