TheAttachedMama Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Are we going to get some weird bug infestation if I buy a used headboard and footboard or dresser set? I know it is never safe to buy a mattress used, but can you buy used bedroom furniture safely? I'm trying to decorate my kids' bedroom on a budget. Plus, I love the character of some older furniture that has been restored. I am somewhat crafty with chalk paint :)---but I am freaked out to buy bedroom furniture used for some reason. (I tend to be a bit neurotic when it comes to bugs and germs though.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 I would not buy a used mattress but you can wipe off furniture with baby wipes and it should be perfectly fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Wipe off the furniture and you should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Back when I was poor and daring, I dragged a dresser from a street corner back to my flat. It turned out to have cockroaches. Ewwwwwwww! So I would say be careful and maybe consider fumigating it before bringing into your house. Also, I'm paranoid about bedbugs. I imagine they can hide out in wood furniture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyS Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 (edited) If the furniture was in a home, and especially a bed room, with a bed bug infestation then it could have bed bugs - even if it's wood, metal, or some other hard surface. Bed bugs hide in the cracks and crevices of hard furniture. If you want to buy that stuff you can kill the bed bugs by keeping the furniture below 20deg for several days (ie in the shed in the dead of winter), or above 110deg for several days (might be able to accomplish that by putting it in black plastic in direct sun in July). ETA: you might also be able to disassemble the furniture and clean out all it's cracks and crevices, which would also do the trick Edited May 31, 2017 by TammyS 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 If the furniture was in a home, and especially a bed room, with a bed bug infestation then it could have bed bugs - even if it's wood, metal, or some other hard surface. Bed bugs hide in the cracks and crevices of hard furniture. If you want to buy that stuff you can kill the bed bugs by keeping the furniture below 20deg for several days (ie in the shed in the dead of winter), or above 110deg for several days (might be able to accomplish that by putting it in black plastic in direct sun in July). ETA: you might also be able to disassemble the furniture and clean out all it's cracks and crevices, which would also do the trick Exactly. Sometimes you have more time than money, but personally I'd invest the time to make sure before bringing it in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 We had a boardie who got bed bugs from a thriftstore headboard. It happens. My BIL came home from a volunteering 2 weeks in NYC with a suitcase he wouldn't bring in the house. In fact he had his wife pick him up at the airport in the truck and the suitcase sat in the truck bed for a week in the hot AR sun and then he took a few valuables out and threw the suitcase away. Yes, he was in a hotel room with bedbugs and even though he got moved he took no chances with those little things getting in his home. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 I'd buy it from someone I knew, like a family moving out of state whose hygiene has never been in question. Stranger? Maaaaybe, with a lot of cleaning. I regularly buy old sewing machines, which can house all manner of bugs and pests, but it's never caused me an issue as I'm cleaning them. Bedroom furniture? Only if I could really clean it well. Otherwise, nope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 If you live in an area with brown recluse spiders check the undersides for egg sacs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldilocks Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 I have bought used furniture many times and never had a problem. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilma Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 I wouldn't think twice about it! Unless I was otherwise skeeved by the furniture, bugs would not cross my mind. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyS Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 We had a boardie who got bed bugs from a thriftstore headboard. It happens. My BIL came home from a volunteering 2 weeks in NYC with a suitcase he wouldn't bring in the house. In fact he had his wife pick him up at the airport in the truck and the suitcase sat in the truck bed for a week in the hot AR sun and then he took a few valuables out and threw the suitcase away. Yes, he was in a hotel room with bedbugs and even though he got moved he took no chances with those little things getting in his home. He did the right thing. I wouldn't have tried to save it, even it if it was stitched with gold thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 My husband just bought me a buffet that is well over 100 years old. I've never owned "new" furniture until a couple years ago when we bought new couches. Most of our furniture came from the curb, yard sales, or a flea market. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyS Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 I'd buy it from someone I knew, like a family moving out of state whose hygiene has never been in question. It's got nothing to do with hygiene. The greatest source of bed bugs is new clothes and shoes shipped in from 3rd world countries. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Well, seeing as 90% of our furniture is used, I'd say yes. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TX Native Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 (edited) I once watched an online video about things to inspect before buying used furniture for signs of current or former bedbug infestation. It was a while back ago, so I remember it vaguely. But I do remember it giving some advice to look at minute details I wouldn't think to inspect. If you do buy used, I would try to research that info 1st. Edited June 1, 2017 by TX native 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Check very carefully, then spray the entire thing - all crevices! - with an IGR such as Gentrol. That won't kill bugs, but it WILL keep them from reproducing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 They don't sell beds at the thrift stores here anymore because of them. And my cousin got them from a headboard infestation. But if you know the seller and check it, I think that would be fine. And for the right deal, if you check it before it comes in and disinfect it, I wouldn't worry overmuch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momacacia Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Omgoodness! Going to have to clean my entire house today. I had to read another bedbug thread, didn't I? 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 It's got nothing to do with hygiene. The greatest source of bed bugs is new clothes and shoes shipped in from 3rd world countries. Information on where bedbugs are coming from: http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/bedbugs.asp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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