There is no greater feeling than nestling down in something brand spanking new and all your own. You know, those fresh, crisp and shiny feels?
There’s something to be said for combining new and used furniture in your house, but there are limits to buying secondhand. Is something used really a bargain if the quality and, dare I say, hygiene standards, aren’t there? No mates, it’s not.
Case and point made by these four items that your health and home will be far better off if you buy them new.
1. Mattress & Pillows
You DO realise what people get up to on their beds, right? Even if you take the hanky panky out of it, people sweat like mad all over their mattresses and pillows.
Secondhand mattresses are yuck. Yuckyuckyuck. As someone who just hunted her way through the online forums searching for a used mattress, let me just tell you the horror of unidentifiable stains and broken springs that awaits you along that path.
It’s a reason not a lot of second-hand stores will take mattress donations. In fact, according to a microbiologist and pathologist at the New York University School of Medicine, your mattress is actually the grottiest item in your bedroom.
Take your mattress to a recycling facility when you’re done with it – that way you can remain eco-conscious without bathing in other people’s germs.
Add to that the fact your average mattress only lasts seven to 10 years before it loses its structural support and starts becoming a risk to your health, and buy your mattresses brand new becomes the only viable option.
Personally, I’m a huge fan of a medium to firm mattress with a nice comfy layer of foam over the springs. Just saying, it’s literally how I sleep at night. Something like this one.
2. Couches
A used couch can present a lot of the same problems as a used mattress. We’ve all crashed on a couch more than once, not to mention all the time we’ve spent binge-watching from them, eating on them and, well, sexy time happens here too. Yet have you EVER cleaned a couch? No, you haven’t, don’t bother lying to me because no-one else has either.
Your average couch only lasts slightly longer than a mattress, about 10 to 15 years. Mates, you need that lumbar support. Once a couch starts squeaking, sagging or bunching it’s done for. Plus buying new makes it so much easier to style your loungeroom, instead of that haphazard sharehouse look.
You could even step up your game one more notch and make it a futon, like this chic number, so your house guests don’t have to sleep on a pile of cushions on the floor anymore.
3. Dining Sets
As it is with couches, so it goes for anything that’s upholstered. Upholstered dining chairs add a certain level of sophisticated ~cool~ to your dining room. Yet, if you buy them secondhand, you simply don’t know how many germs lurk beneath the surface.
Not only that, but have you ever considered how much dust and dirt makes its way into second-hand upholstered items? It’s a lot, much of which is made up of your shedding skin. You know what comes with that? Dust mites, who just love settling in to eat your dead skin cells and shedded hair. Are you vomming? Because I’m vomming.
Besides being gross, they’re a major cause of asthma and allergies, so you just really don’t want these guys around. Sure, you can pay people to treat the chairs for you, but it’s not cheap and defeats the whole point of buying secondhand in the first place. So why not just buy it new? Something sleek like this 5-piece set.
4. Rugs
Secondhand rugs might seem like a great idea, and sure they don’t come near your face the way pillows and sheets do, but they’ve been sitting on the floor for who knows how long.
You don’t know if the last owner was good at wiping off their shoes before they trudged all over the floor. And you certainly don’t know if they had a grotty pet who peed all over it. Sure, it may seem like stains and smells form these things would be easy to spot, but I leave you with this video from a woman who loves rugs enough to call herself ‘Ruglover Mary M’ but still got tricked into buying a cat-pee soaked used rug.
Do you know what definitely aren’t peed on? New rugs. Like this fun bohemian number that I absolutely want in my room now.
So there you have it, four things you absolutely want to pick up brand spanking new.
