You may have seriously considered acquiring a used mattress.
You’re probably considering it right now. Maybe you are short on funds, so a used product would be a money saver.
Or you’re looking for a temporary mattress to use for the time being before you move to a new fully furnished home.
Whichever reason you could have, a used mattress comes with a few pros and cons.
But, Is It OK To Buy A Used Mattress?
There are more downsides than benefits for acquiring a used product, so no – never go for a used mattress. What if the owner has a bedbug pandemic in their apartment? Imagine bringing all those critters to your place and having to put up with them until you organize for extermination (which is never easy, by the way). A lot of people would be uncomfortable to lie on a mattress used by someone they know (or a couple you know). So, while it may be a money saver, the whole idea may not be all that good for your experience, health, and even psychological wellbeing.
Six Reasons Why You Should NEVER PURCHASE A USED MATTRESS
1. Internal damages
Pictures alone won’t tell you much about the condition of the mattress. Some flaws may only become apparent when you sleep on the mattress two or three times.
Purchasing a used mattress on the internet is riskier because you can’t really tell whether there’s any internal damage simply by looking at the posted pictures.
There’s a chance you will discover too late that the mattress sags or the springs are broken.
Even when you finally get the opportunity to examine the product physically before purchasing, you could still miss some of the damages. You will only realize it when you lie on it.
2. It Is Not Worth It
A used mattress isn’t worth it.
Sleep is extremely essential for your mental, health wellbeing as well as productivity.
For that reason, you need a quality mattress.
Buying a brand new good quality product is essentially a valuable investment that will certainly pay off in more than one way.
Because a used mattress has already seen much of its better days, you may never have a chance to sell it again.
3. Short lifespan (also no warranty)
Mattresses aren’t like cars the manufacturer would transfer the warranty in the event of a resell. Only the initial buyer of the mattress is covered.
Therefore, you will be left with a secondhand mattress with a much-reduced lifespan and no warranty that would’ve used to replace it.
Compare this to a comfortable new mattress, which will last between 10 to 15 years, and is accompanied by a 10 – 20-year warranty.
Nowadays, some internet-based mattress brands even offer a lifetime warranty on the product.
4. No returns
Yes, used mattresses have near-zero returns of investment. What will you do if you find out that the mattress is really uncomfortable or entirely unusable?
Well, you’ll just have to move with it or dispose it of and spend extra dollars on a new mattress pad. It is not like the used product is visibly ruined that you can ask the seller for a refund.
Conversely, most brand new mattresses, especially those sold online, comes with a 100-nights trial period. Other companies let their clients test the mattress unit for an entire year.
5. The likely risk of a bedbug infestation
Bedbugs are some of the most dreaded household bugs.
They are a major risk when purchasing a used mattress from an unsanitary owner. These critters are hard to spot until you lie down to rest.
It takes one or a few pregnant bugs hiding in the seams of the mattress to start a whole new colony of terror in your home.
The process of exterminating them can be a real headache. Why risk it and put yourself in this nightmare if you can buy a new unit from your favorite brand.
6. The dirt factor
Mattresses can accumulate dirt over time to turn your pajama into an unsightly mess in a few days.
In fact, mattresses are easily some of the dirtiest objects you could have in your bedroom especially if your home is vulnerable to dust incursions.
A used mattress, therefore, may harbor pounds of dirt and dust from its original owner’s home thus requiring several cleaning hours before its fit for use.
Worse yet, it’s easy to unknowingly buy a product laden with tons of dust mites, cockroach dander, pet hair, bacteria (including the dreaded genital bugs and the oral ones), gallons of old dirty sweat, and dead skin cells.
That doesn’t even include the strange stains, blood, rotten bits of debris, food, and whatever else that found its way into the seams and the fabric.
This is not limited to the feeling of disgust you could have. It could actually affect your health. Imagine spending hours a night on that bed, breathing in all that stuff and getting your skin in contact with it.
Three Reasons Where It Makes Sense To Purchase A Used Mattress
1. Short Stay
If you plan to stay at a place for a short time and would be better off with temporary bedding, then it would make sense to buy a used product.
2. Natural Disaster
Natural disasters usually hit when you are least prepared – a used mattress can prove useful in such a situation.
3. You’re Broke
Let’s say you are seriously cash strapped that you can’t afford even the cheapest brand new unit.
In that case, you’d be forgiven to go for any used product you can find, whether it’s unappealing or not.
While it’s generally inadvisable to buy second-hand beddings, not all used mattresses sold out there are in worse conditions – you may be lucky to land a decent product at a throwaway.
Four Tips for purchasing a Used Mattress (IF YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO)
- Always go for a lightly-used unit or one that was bought some time back but never used. If you are lucky to find a seller who deals with used mattresses, you may have the luxury of perusing through different units to choose a slightly used product.
- Purchase your mattress from a well-known retailer who will often refurbish and sanitize a used unit before selling it to you. Some add labels showing the general condition of the product.
- When you purchase the unit remember to carefully check for signs of bugs before you let it into your house. Look for bedbug eggs in seams and folds at the corners. To be on the safe side, pour some super-hot water on the mattress to kill the stubborn bugs, then let it dry under the hot sun. Seal it in a bedbug-proof cover before bringing it on your bed.
- Sanitize the used mattress before thinking of lying on it. Use a potent antibacterial household cleaner or a combination of sanitizers and hot water to wipe the stains and bacteria off the surface before leaving it on the sun for a full day.
Summary
- Should you buy a used mattress or opt for a brand new one instead? You’d rather not waste your money on a used unit.
- If you choose to buy a secondhand mattress online, pictures alone won’t tell you much about the condition of the mattress – some issues may only become apparent when you sleep on the mattress two or three times.
- Another reason why you shouldn’t consider a used unit is that it isn’t worth it.
- Sleep is extremely essential for your mental, health wellbeing as well as productivity, so you need a quality mattress that can also double as a valuable investment that could fetch you some money if you decide to sell it in the future.
- Mattresses are not like vehicles the manufacturer would transfer the warranty in the event of a resell – only the initial buyer of the mattress is covered.
- The short lifespan and lack of warranty on used units should further give you a reason to go for a brand new unit
- Used mattresses have near-zero returns of investment. What will you do if you find out that the mattress is really uncomfortable or entirely unusable?
- Bedbugs are a common takeaway bug many people often share without realizing especially through the exchange of clothes, furniture, and beddings of the most dreaded household bugs.
- Bedbugs are a major risk when purchasing a used mattress from an unsanitary owner – these critters are hard to spot until you lie down to rest.
- A used mattress may also harbor pounds of dirt and dust from its original owner’s home thus requiring several cleaning hours before its fit for use.
- If you are unfortunate enough, your secondhand mattress can come with tons of dust mites, cockroach dander, pet hair, bacteria (including the dreaded genital bugs and the oral ones), gallons of old dirty sweat, and dead skin cells.
- However, if you plan to stay at a place for a short time and would be better off with temporary beddings, it only makes sense that you buy a used product.
- Always go for a lightly-used unit or one that was bought some time back but never used.
- Buy your mattress from a well-known retailer who will often refurbish and sanitize a used unit before selling it to you.
- Sanitize the used mattress before thinking of lying on it.
