Old mattresses given out as charity: will cause more harm than good

nobugsonme — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 12:00:24 +0000

I thought it was bad that companies were carting away used mattresses alongside new ones in their delivery trucks. But some mattress sellers go even further in their attempts to spread bed bugs.

A Canadian mattress store called Sleep Country has a program of “charity” for those in need. When a person buys a new mattress and returns their old one, the used mattress is given away to a person in need. The Edmonton Sun recently ran a story detailing one woman’s story: as the recipient of this charity, she had to have her home treated repeatedly for bed bugs.

Prospective mattress recipients are supposed to inspect the mattress and determine its safety. This woman’s mattress actually had black streaks on it and she did not know about bed bugs. However, it should be stated that even without obvious signs, a mattress with small tears or gaps can harbor bed bugs.

For its part, Sleep Country says it has had few complaints about the donation program, which provided 40,000 people with beds last year.

Dean Ritchey, the company’s vice president of operations for Western Canada, said it’s up to the person taking the bed to inspect it.

“We let the consumer determine if it’s a product they’re comfortable with,” he said.

Sleep Country is being seriously negligent if they expect people to know the signs of bed bugs. This is a really bad idea, and the practice of giving out used mattresses should be stopped at once. The bed bug epidemic is serious, and Edmonton has had many outbreaks. People on low-incomes do not benefit from a bout with bed bugs.

Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com » edmonton

Bed bugs in a University of Alberta residence (again)

Old mattresses given out as charity: will cause more harm than good