Questions may be edited for length and clarity. We need a new mattress for our second bedroom, and my boyfriend wants to buy a used one off Craigslist. Is this icky or eco? Or so I would have said, before I actually began researching what happens to old mattresses when they die; what I uncovered, however, is way ickier: Twenty million mattresses, heaved into the trash every year. That's in the United States alone. Here, all those springs and stuffing amount to over 450 million cubic feet of landfill space. Lay out those mattresses end to end though, and they would stretch out over 25,000 miles -- enough to circumnavigate the globe. If picturing a ring of Posturepedics around the planet isn't enough to make you shudder, then maybe carcinogenic contamination will: Conventional mattresses contain toxic chemicals like flame retardants, formaldehyde, and phthalates, which can leach from the landfill into our drinking water. Then there's the possibility of polluting our air with even more of these chemicals, since difficult-to-compress mattresses create flammable air pockets that can increase the risk of landfill fires.
And let's not forget about the sheer danger, too, for sanitation workers who regularly have to remove these bulky items manually from heavy machinery when the springs and coils get caught. So maybe your boyfriend's impulse to save a mattress from a landfill death isn't so loathsome, after all? As a friend who works in the hospitality industry recently pointed out, anyone who's ever stayed a night in a hotel (whether it's a Holiday Inn or the Four Seasons) has shared a bed with thousands of others before him. What's the big deal about sleeping on a mattress that had one previous owner? Simply put: bed bugs. The age-old childhood bedtime caution, "Don't let the bed bugs bite!" has now become a nationwide epidemic; infestations of the blood-sucking pests have become so widespread that the Environmental Protection Agency has gotten involved. (It hosted its Second National Bed Bug Summit this past February.) While bed bugs aren't known to spread disease, they can plague those afflicted with intensely itchy bites and the bloodstained fecal mess they leave in their wake.
Because they're so insidious -- surviving up to 18 months in the tiny cracks of wood furniture without so much as a morsel -- many eradication experts recommend steering clear of secondhand furniture like upholstered chairs and wood dressers altogether, let alone used mattresses and box springs. If you have a high squeamish factor and still wish to buy pre-owned, examine the mattress carefully for the telltale signs of infestation, and place it in a protective encasement before you bring it into your home. (Beware, by the way, those "new" mattresses that are advertised on Craigslist. According to green living expert Danny Seo, those may be old curbside mattresses masquerading as new, thanks to the addition of a fresh fabric cover and a layer of shrink wrap.) But I say the risk of buying a used mattress isn't worth it. If you do wind up with bed bugs and they spread to your other belongings, you'll be sending more stuff to the landfill than just your mattress. Then, too, there are the chemicals that may have to be used in your home by a professional pest management company to eradicate the insects.
(DIY pest control isn't recommended, since it can make bed bugs spread.) Is there a trusted friend or family member who could hand down a mattress instead? Your best option: Invest in a high-quality mattress made from natural and biodegradable materials. One company, Essentia, makes its petroleum- and VOC-free memory foam mattresses from natural latex, a renewable resource that comes from the rubber tree plant. Shepherd's Dream wool mattresses are designed to last decades, and can even be sent back to the company for refurbishing. Not surprisingly, these come with a higher-than-average price tag. But when you consider that a conventional spring mattress needs to be replaced every five to seven years, you may decide that the long-term investment (for you and the planet) is worth it. Of course, we can't close a conversation about buying a new (or new-used) mattress without discussing what to do with your old one. You wouldn't know it, based on how many of them are kicked to the curb, but old mattresses can, in fact, be recycled.
or this list here you can't find a recycling facility near you, donate the mattress to someone who really needs it, via The Salvation Army or Freecycle. Just make sure your offering is free of bed bugs; no one wants to reuse a batch of those.Would you ever purchase a used mattress? In an informal poll, we found that less than 10% of people would buy a used mattress. Surprisingly however, a ton of people try to sell used mattresses all of the time. We looked at the volume in which people were selling used mattresses: We found Mattresses were the 4th most listed furniture type behind Chairs, Tables, and Beds. Due to how people tend to categorize their furniture, it’s unclear how to make the distinction between bed frames and mattresses, but the data clearly shows that they’re a popular second-hand item listed to be sold. It seems likely that people were much more inclined to purchase a used table. In fact, in the same informal poll 100% of people said they would buy a used table.
It’s clear that there is a strong difference between buying a used table and a used mattress. When asked about the reasons behind not buying a used mattress, it came down to concerns over cleanliness (let’s call it differences in uses) for the two furniture items. Using Google Trends we found that new mattresses are listed roughly 2x as often as used mattress on the internet. Again, this is surprising data because we found that only 10% of customers are interested in used mattresses. There are two probable realities for this difference in the data: August is the most popular month for both used and new mattresses. The second most popular month is January. This lines up with industry experts’ suggestion of buying furniture in August and January due to new furniture entering stores. New furniture releases mean sales and clearance pricing. Many people attempt to sell their used mattress, but not as many people are interested in buying used mattresses. This means that there should be a ton of supply for used mattresses, which should drive prices down.
If you’re trying to sell a used mattress… you’re not going to get much for the mattress, due to the simple fact that it’s used. To help increase your chances, try to increase the perception of it being as new as possible. If any of the following is true, add it to your listing to increase your odds of selling! You’ll want to avoid the competition from furniture stores that comes in August and January. If you’re one of the 10% of people who don’t mind buying a used mattress… you’re in a buyer’s market! Be tough when negotiating with sellers, and don’t be afraid to shoot for a low price. Odds are, they aren’t getting many offers from anyone else. Many people will be looking to take advantage of the pricing deals, therefore getting rid of their old mattress. Take advantage of this! It’s hard to pinpoint an exact value without knowing the details about the mattress. You can run the different attributes through Blue Book for Furniture to get an estimate of its value, but the real market value is probably even lower.