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I know there is the bedbug epidemic and all that,but at $35 i bought this sofa that is still in great shape.
It still looks good,and i was going to buy Surefit chair covers for it.
Does Goodwill actually check its furniture for bedbugs and needles in the cushions?
We've bought a little furniture from Goodwill with no problems so far. I don't know if they check for infestation, except in Pennsylvania. All used furniture there is required to be sprayed and tagged that it has been sprayed.
We've bought a little furniture from Goodwill with no problems so far. I don't know if they check for infestation, except in Pennsylvania. All used furniture there is required to be sprayed and tagged that it has been sprayed.
Yes, I have found some great finds at Good Will. But I think it is very much predicated on where you live. With my house in Florida, which is in a very high income area, with a lot of seasonal people and snow birds, used furniture there can be great and very good quality. On the other hand, in Nevada, I find most of it stuff I would not put in my unfinished basement (if I had one). Other than my Florida home, most of the furniture styles landing in Good Will is very dated. If it is a piece of wood furniture with good lines, than a creative paint job can sometimes make it into a cute piece of furniture. I have done that in my younger years.
Good stuff gets bought within an hour of being put on the floor. I always remember the one that got away.
They put out a very expensive outdoor seating set, including large table fire pit. You know the stuff that sells for a few grand. I think they had the whole set tagged at about $300. I was just two minutes late to get to it, before someone else snapped it up.
I once bought a sofa, but it appeared like brand new. It must have been in a seasonal condo and was barely used. It could have passed for a brand new sofa in a furniture store and was totally up to date. Didn't really worry about bed bugs on that piece. Put that in a furnished rental I had.
So I think it depends greatly on where the Goodwill is located.
So I think it depends greatly on where the Goodwill is located.
This is true!
I'm paranoid. When I bring home a used piece of furniture that didn't come from a friend, it goes into the garage overnight. Before it comes into the house, I check it carefully. After that, I might do additional spot cleaning and then decide whether to fog it with flea spray or apply a fabric protector like Scotchgard (and there are similar products).
So far, I haven't brought anything in, but a friend got a bad case of fleas from a chair she picked up from the street. Lesson learned.
My parents were antique collectors and dealers when I was a kid (in addition to their civil servant jobs). We went to a lot of auctions where they bought lots of pieces. My mom had a rule:
All purchases were left in the truck overnight and she would fog the truck with Raid through the tailgate and cab slider window. I don't know if automatic aerosol foggers existed back then or not, but there was nothing more lethal than my mom holding a can of Raid! My mother didn't like spiders, but I think that she was marginally worried about bringing in roaches or something else. Bedbugs weren't really a concern back then, at least not in our area.
I got the chance to see a bedbug infestation up close and personal and just heard another story in the past week that has had me wearing my hair up to keep it from touching my neck... Yeah, I'm that freaked out by it!
As much as I love to save a buck, I am definitely drawing a line at buying used stuff from anyone unknown to me. Having seen how difficult it is to get rid of an infestation, I'm unwilling to take a chance. It only takes two bedbugs to tango and make a zillion hard-to-kill, bloodsucking babies.
I've never bought any furniture at Goodwill. Here in San Diego, they don't have much of a selection, and it's all overpriced. But Salvation Army is a different matter. All of my furniture came from Salvation Army, and I've never had a bug problem with any of it, and I know what a bedbug infestation looks like. But when I go furniture hunting at Salvation Army, I take a spray bottle of alcohol with me, and spray a corner of whatever I'm interested in buying to make sure it's clear of them.
I've never seen any of their furniture tagged as being sprayed, though.
I've never bought any furniture at Goodwill. Here in San Diego, they don't have much of a selection, and it's all overpriced. But Salvation Army is a different matter. All of my furniture came from Salvation Army, and I've never had a bug problem with any of it, and I know what a bedbug infestation looks like. But when I go furniture hunting at Salvation Army, I take a spray bottle of alcohol with me, and spray a corner of whatever I'm interested in buying to make sure it's clear of them.
I've never seen any of their furniture tagged as being sprayed, though.
Does the alcohol make the bedbugs come out of the cracks?
I've never seen nice furniture at any Goodwill near me. Everything is junk and overpriced. CL is much better.
Isn't Craigslist a bigger gamble as far as buying sofas vs the Goodwill?
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