Buying preloved furniture is a more affordable, sustainable, and ethical way of furnishing our homes. Whether it’s an antique wardrobe or a period piece of art, used antique furnishings can add style, class, and interest to a room that can be challenging to replicate with brand-new furniture.
However, sometimes it's best to walk away, even when the piece looks like a steal. Unlike brand-new furnishings, preloved items cannot be returned if you find something wrong. As such, you are following specific rules when hunting for preloved treasures is essential.
But how can you tell whether something is worth buying or not? To help you decide, we’ve outlined several rules you should always follow while buying preloved furniture. This way, you can save yourself the trouble of calling a bed bug exterminator or worse!
Avoid Unpleasant Smelling Furniture
Sometimes you don’t realize that an item smells unpleasant until you get it back home, and the odor permeates your other furnishings. Although we’d like to think that smell can be tackled with a good wash and some room fragrance, some odors, like cigarette smoke, urine, and smoke from fires can be much harder to remove.
Therefore, it is best to avoid smelly furniture when shopping preloved, as the last thing you want is for the smell to start rubbing off on the rest of your furniture, clothing, and much more. No matter how nice a piece of period furniture is, nothing is worse than having a smelly piece– so do yourself a favor and avoid it!
Never Buy Used Bedding Or Mattresses
With mattresses costing upwards of $1,200 per piece, you might be tempted to opt for a preloved one since they’re cheaper (and sometimes even free!). However, no matter how small the price tag, you could end up paying a higher price in the long run since they are often unsanitary and worn out, meaning they can have underlying issues even if they look perfectly fine.
Even if selling preloved mattresses is legal in your state, they should still be avoided due to their various associated issues. From a reduced lifespan and lack of warranty to hygiene risks and no delivery options, there are many downsides to buying preloved mattresses and other bedding items.
In worst-case scenarios, you might even have to call a bed bug exterminator like ABC Home & Commercial Services since bed bugs might have accumulated after years of use. Since bed bugs can be incredibly challenging, if you’ve noticed anything unusual about your mattress, consider visiting their website or contacting their team for more information today.
Don’t Buy Heavily Used Upholstered Furniture
Another rule to follow when purchasing preloved furniture is not to buy heavily used upholstered furniture, no matter how nice it may look. Typically, upholstered furniture is characterized by being plush, plump, and soft; however, when it's been heavily used, it can often end up looking the opposite of how it should.
Due to this, it is generally better to walk away from upholstered furniture since it can be hard to rectify if it hasn’t been maintained right from the beginning of its life. From being difficult to get comfy on to forking out much extra cash to get material repaired – it's best to avoid these difficulties from the start, rather than regret them happening further down the line.
