Buying a new mattress - how safe? « Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums

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Buying a new mattress - how safe?

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grinanberit

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Posted 3 years ago
Fri Nov 13 2009 1:11:52
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I want to buy a new mattress but fear that the truck or warehouse might have bedbugs (since they take away old mattresses for free). I don't have bedbugs now and I don't want to get them.

What questions should I ask, and what precautions should I take when buying a new mattress and having it delivered?
de-selftreat

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Posted 3 years ago
Fri Nov 13 2009 2:13:28
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make sure it's wrapped in plastic or at least inspect it between removal from the truck and taking it into your home.
Winston O. Buggy

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Posted 3 years ago
Fri Nov 13 2009 10:59:39
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You don't want to be a pest but you don't want to get any either. If you can pick it up, best practice. Otherwise have it taken off the truck still boxed and wrapped, remove box and inspect plastic and mattress. Remember there is nothing that attracts cimex to new mattresses. Have the new mattress moved to your door at then remove the plastic and introduce your new mattress to the other furniture in your house. Discard plastic bag wrapped and outside. I worked with one major mattress distributor and developed protocols for reducing the odds of cross contamination in trucks. Unfortunatley the independent contractors did not always follow the protocols.
grinanberit

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Posted 3 years ago
Mon Jan 25 2010 21:05:09
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Thanks de-selftreat and Winston O. Buggy for your help!

I wanted to give you an update. I found a terrific online mattress seller, http://www.sdmattress.com/ (Sweet Dreams Mattress). They're based in North Carolina, sell only Simmons, provide free delivery across the U.S. and way cheaper than Macy's or my local sellers. They answer their own phones and are very courteous.

But best of all, they deliver only -- no old mattresses ever enter the delivery truck. If you want your old mattress carted away, that's an additional fee and a second, different truck does that. Nothing is on that original truck except new furniture, so there's no chance of bedbug contamination. The delivery guys brought my mattresses in wrapped, and unwrapped them for me in the entryway. I couldn't ask for better service or greater peace of mind.

Just wanted to share this with your readers -- there are companies out there who sell mattresses and deliver them in a very safe fashion.
bait

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Posted 3 years ago
Wed Jan 27 2010 1:48:43
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Sweet Dreams couldn't pay for better advertising than you just gave them for free.

How do we know that a new mattress isn't a refurbished one?

Is there such a thing as a Sealy or Simmons refurbished mattress? Or do the refurbishers have to give the mattress another name in order to legally sell them?
NOTOBUGS

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Posted 3 years ago
Wed Jan 27 2010 2:42:07
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All - I went to their website and sent them a question about their delivery service. This is the answer I received back. I think this is about as good as it gets....
=============================================
Hello,

Thanks for the e-mail. We have our regular nationwide delivery agents that deliver and take away mattresses. The brand new mattresses come in manufactured sealed plastic. If you don't require take away and are leary of bed bugs, we have a slightly slower service that offers only brand new mattress delivery and does not take away old mattresses. They will also unbag the mattress in your house. It doesn't cost any more but we quote 14-18 business days instead of our 10-14 business day lead time. If the mattress you need is in stock, it can be pretty quick.

Kind regards,

Sweet Dreams Mattress, Inc.
647 Brawley School Rd, Ste 104
Mooresville, NC 28117
1-866-799-0048
Nobugsonme

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Posted 3 years ago
Wed Jan 27 2010 3:07:55
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grinanberit - 1 day ago »
They're based in North Carolina, sell only Simmons, provide free delivery across the U.S. and way cheaper than Macy's or my local sellers. They answer their own phones and are very courteous.
But best of all, they deliver only -- no old mattresses ever enter the delivery truck.

Hi grinanberit,

We're always looking for the elusive mattress company that does not cross-contaminate.

I have some questions which may have come up for you:

1) Their website says

If you would like your old bedding removed upon delivery, we have this service available to you for $60 in all areas except for the Gulf Coast! Please request this service prior to the scheduled date of delivery.

I would want to know what the company does under those circumstances. They may simply carry the item to the curb, but as I understand it, some localities do not allow this. If not, do they cart it away? Are they really sending a second truck to do this?

2) It also says,

Return Policy

Your comfort is guaranteed! After receiving your new Simmons mattress set, we encourage you to try it for 30 days to become accustomed to the new advanced support. If you are unable to adjust to your new mattress set after trying it for 30 days, you can exchange this mattress set for another model from our online catalog. We cover the shipping costs, and apply the credit of your original purchase towards the exchange

It would be important to know not only how those returned mattresses come back to the retailer, but also what happens when they get there.

3) They deliver all over the east coast. So how can they do this without using contractors? Contractors are notorious for taking all kinds of jobs -- moving someone's belongings one day, delivering mattresses the next.

I would love to know there's a company with its act 100% together where bed bugs are concerned, but frankly, there's just so much they would have to control, that I am suspicious.
Nobugsonme

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Posted 3 years ago
Wed Jan 27 2010 3:09:31
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NOTOBUGS - 26 minutes ago »

The brand new mattresses come in manufactured sealed plastic. If you don't require take away and are leary of bed bugs, we have a slightly slower service that offers only brand new mattress delivery and does not take away old mattresses.

I have to admit, it does sound very promising, but I still have some lingering skepticism about what the delivery agents are doing (and let's fact it, probably some trust issues with retailers!)
NOTOBUGS

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Posted 3 years ago
Wed Jan 27 2010 3:35:05
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I was just checking out what their answer was when I queried about bedbugs.

That said, I too have the same skepticism but at the very least they seemed aware of the issues and weren't ignorant about them as when I asked a couple other VERY well known big companies.

In this same regard, I need to buy a new sofa for my new condo. Does anyone know a company that delivers sofa's that does not pick-up used mattresses? I am in the DC area and have called numerous retail furniture outlets and they all seem to do the same thing. I've racked my brain about how to get new sofa's (I don't have a truck) from renting a truck, etc. But am still without a sofa. I guess the best is to fly home to my parents, borrow their truck and go pick it up myself. Had one picked out at Macy's but they do not allow pick-up in the DC area - - only delivery.
Nobugsonme

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Posted 3 years ago
Wed Jan 27 2010 4:33:48
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NOTOBUGS - 57 minutes ago »
I was just checking out what their answer was when I queried about bedbugs.
That said, I too have the same skepticism but at the very least they seemed aware of the issues and weren't ignorant about them as when I asked a couple other VERY well known big companies.

I agree! That is a good sign.

Sorry I don't have any recommendations on the sofa question... I hope others will.
SweetDreams

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Posted 2 years ago
Mon Sep 6 2010 13:56:17
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Hello,

I hope this doesn't get flagged but my name is Andrew Schlesser from Sweet Dreams Mattress. I just wanted to clarify what our customer who made the original post mentioned. Our regular nationwide delivery service does delivery and take away of old mattresses. If you want a 100% bed bug free assurance on your delivery, for a slightly longer lead time, I have a white glove company out of High Point North Carolina that does not do any kind of old bedding or old furniture removal. You can also do curbside delivery which is faster but you bring it in.

If you at any point decide to exchange the mattress you purchase for a different one, I can only send one of our delivery agents that removes old bedding because the current mattress comes back to us. Regardless, the mattress is shipped in manufacturer's sealed plastic and can be inspected before you bring it in.

I was searching for bed bug information when I came across this post. I'm going through a lot of the other posts for lots of good info on bed bug prevention. I know most forums don't allow sales people to post on their sites. I thought since our company was the discussion this wouldn't hurt. Please let me know of any questions any of you might have. I'd love to address them as best we can.
bugnut

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Posted 2 years ago
Mon Sep 6 2010 14:23:48
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Sweet Dreams -

I know that nobugsonme will respond, but as a consumer, I would like to say that I know that I would pay more for a guarantee that 1. the white glove service did not take ANY removals or old furniture. Very often folks go months without realizing their bed bug issues and could have potentially and innocently had a sofa removed that was infested and subsequently infested a truck and 2.the new mattress (or sofa for that matter) was brand new and never in someones home.

As we speak I am attempting to purchase 2 new chairs and plan to have them heat treated before they come into my home. There are stories on this site (and I know of someone personally) who purchased new furniture and unwittingly brought them in. With the high cost of eradication I would pay extra up front for the peace of mind.

You may be on to something big -
spideyjg

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Posted 2 years ago
Mon Sep 6 2010 15:00:29
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How trained are your delivery guys to spot BBs.

Are the trucks ever treated?

Jim