Question by Rachael D:
Purchasing a used mattress–Can you see bed bugs?
I am looking at purchasing a used mattress….Can you see bed bugs–and is safe to purchase a used mattress? Advice Please!! 🙂
THANK YOU everyone for all your excellent advice!!! 🙂 I absolutely love yahoo answers for this reason–so many intelligent answers from people of all walks of life– I think I know what I am going to do now…. I’m going to wait and purchase a new one. Thanks again!!
Best answer:
Answer by tnuc_denots_gnikcuf
used mattress? no, no, no. i work in the furniture industry and you do NOT want a used mattress. the returned ones we see are just plain filthy. if you looked at them under a uv light, you could probably see them from space. be warned: cheaping out on a mattress WILL result in you sleeping on someone else’s bodily fluids.
i know that even the crap ones are expensive but you’ve just gotta suck it up. no matter the difference in price, you couldn’t pay me enough to sleep on a stranger’s sweat, blood, urine and semen.
– being gross for no reason? haha i’ve seen more used matts than you’ll ever see, so my opinion is valid. you ever seen those investigations on hotel rooms? not all stains are visible to the naked eyeball. i’m not saying it will kill you, but neither would eating your food off a stranger’s floor, and you wouldn’t do that. bottom line: it’s disgusting.
What do you think? Answer below.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
If you do, You can get pine o pine (or even bleach) and spray it on the mattress top and bottom. That is what is done at camps and hospitals.
Its safer than sleeping in the floor. Yes you can see bed bugs, just fold the seams down & look in crevices. When you find one that you would have a hard time telling that its not completely new get it. Then get a steam cleaner & use the upholstery attachment & clean your mattress, then let it air dry for a couple of days, Viola, a bed! Fear makes you do stupid things, don’t live in fear. If you do not have $ 700 for a new mattress then you just might have to get a used one. You have to live where you’re at.
You are not going to be sleeping in someone else’s fluids, most people use sheets! You have eyeballs use them, if its stained up don’t buy it. That guy that said that is just being gross for little to no reason. You can get a mattress cover that goes over your mattress like a zip-lock bag! (If your that worried about it) Put your sheet over the mattress cover, if you can only afford the cheap mattress covers that feel & smell like plastic (because they are plastic LOL) then put a comforter or thick quilt on top of the mattress cover & it will be between the mattress cover & the fitted sheet.
I never had a new bed until I was 27 I used my tax refund to buy a brand new in the plastic mattress & box spring set, I still have it. I’m 36.
You might also try looking up local flea- markets, sometimes they have a mattress vendors & what they sell is discontinued items that are new but outdated (you might find a blue & white stripped mattress). Also look for a store called Big-Lots they are like a discount wal-mart, but you can get some cheap mattresses & furniture there.
good luck.
Firstly, there are some signs that a mattress may be infested with bed bugs:
1. Blood stains from crushed bugs or rust spots of excrement on the mattress.
2. Eggshells and shed skins may be found in the vicinity of their hiding places – often in the folds of the mattress.
3. An offensive, sweet, musty odour from their scent glands may be detected when bed bug infestations are severe.
4. Bed bugs are difficult to see as they are nocturnal, fast moving and the way that most people know they are present is by being biten and then identifying the three signs above.
The second part of your question regarding whether it is safe to buy a used mattress, is like the other answer said no, no, no. It will not cause terminal damage to your health if you do so, however it is the thought of what might be in the mattress that is oh so off-putting for most. Not only could you be sharing your bed with bed bugs but also the dried bodily fluids of the previous occupants.
It would be better peace of mind for you if you looked into buying a new mattress, shop around and buy the best new one you can afford. If this is not feasible and you must proceed with the purchase of the second hand mattress, there are a number of things you could do to sanitise it before you use it. Such as steam cleaning it, leaving it out in the open air to release any odours and spraying it with some sort of fabric or upholstery refreasher. Once inside again, you could cover it with an antiallergy mattress protector and all should be fine.
NO! NO! NO! DO NOT purchase a used mattress. And yes you can see bedbugs when the mattress is heavily infested, but not normally, because they hide in creases and folds. They even hide inside the mattress, you most likely would not know you have them, until you wake in the morning from the bites. Once you have them every night is misery, and now they can get into you clothes, where you will carry them to the next location to infest. If you cant buy the mattress right out, put it on layaway. Or get it from rent-a-center. but do not go used. Even if you buy a new one, check to see if it is used, because they are doing that now too. fixing up used, and saying it’s new. Just be careful, because once you have them, it’s hard to get rid of them.
Good Luck:o)