Thread: List of things not to buy at Garage Sales

I am totally bed bug paranoid-- since I travel a great deal and most hotels have had an infestation of at least one room....if not more. I have things I do in a hotel room before I even open my suitcase (rip off all sheets, inspect behind the headboard, look under mattresses, etc) and I never ever keep my suitcase near anything soft (always in the bathroom on tile/marble!) I'm so scared to bring them home.

(www.bedbudregistry.com)-- turns out the more expensive hotels see them just as often as the cheap places, since many people pick them up while on international travel. Ick.Ick.Ick.

I agree with the list.....

Originally Posted by boilermaker

I am totally bed bug paranoid-- since I travel a great deal and most hotels have had an infestation of at least one room....if not more. I have things I do in a hotel room before I even open my suitcase (rip off all sheets, inspect behind the headboard, look under mattresses, etc) and I never ever keep my suitcase near anything soft (always in the bathroom on tile/marble!) I'm so scared to bring them home.

(www.bedbudregistry.com)-- turns out the more expensive hotels see them just as often as the cheap places, since many people pick them up while on international travel. Ick.Ick.Ick.

I agree with the list.....

Have you seen this? I would totally get one if I traveled a lot.
Bed bugs: use heat to kill them in your stuff with a Packtite

Originally Posted by ClairesMommy

You wouldn' know it this year though. So far our winter's been a joke.

We had a week of -40C weather, far too much for me... it has been a weird winter though.

Originally Posted by ftmom

You would need to remove your electronics, and leave the hot water running, but I cant see what else would be damaged by the cold. Maybe I am missing something?

Walls, flooring, carpeting could all be damaged, electrical wiring...

Originally Posted by mom2robbie

Walls, flooring, carpeting could all be damaged, electrical wiring...

I am so with you about not trying to let your house freeze.

I have seen it. My friend's apartment, where she had the upper floor and college kids had the lower. Over xmas, she left with her heat turned down and then they did. . . but they turned it off. Broken pipes, Electronic nightmare scenario as they left everything plugged in. Every single houseplant turned to blackened rot. Drywall, carpet, sub-floor, all damaged. Sad story.

Please don't try to freeze them out. A toilet drain busting is not a good solution to clean out something else that is icky.

I bought a helmet from a garage sale for ds, but I also knew the lady selling. My Mum bought a car seat for her car from a garage sale but again from friends of the family. I bought sheets for DS yesterday from someone selling, they had been freshly washed but I ran them through a boiling care wash with nappisan anyway and hung where they could get a bit of sun to dry.

Yes if I didn't know people for certain things I wouldn't buy them, but the helmet and car seat I felt ok about because of knowing the sellers.

We also bought DS's cot secondhand, I checked it met the current standards and we had to buy a mattress for it anyway so none of that worried me or grossed me out.

Geez people, you are really raining on my parade here It was really not a well thought out solution, but I did figure the house should be able to take it, since it would be better than if the power went out, which happens about 10 times a winter, though usually not for more than 5-6 hours. I did think about the electronics (take with) and the pipes (keep trickle of hot water on), but never considered the toilet (guess I could drain it though).

Again, that really surprises me about the rest though. Our crawl space isnt insulated, so I would suspect our sub floor gets pretty cold whenever we go away and turn the heat down, and I know for a fact that our drywall gets pretty darn cold (it actually forms ice when we run the humidifier). But that isnt as cold as I am thinking I guess. Oh, and carpet is icky! We dont have that stuff in our house

Originally Posted by ange84

I bought a helmet from a garage sale for ds, but I also knew the lady selling. My Mum bought a car seat for her car from a garage sale but again from friends of the family. I bought sheets for DS yesterday from someone selling, they had been freshly washed but I ran them through a boiling care wash with nappisan anyway and hung where they could get a bit of sun to dry.

Yes if I didn't know people for certain things I wouldn't buy them, but the helmet and car seat I felt ok about because of knowing the sellers.

We also bought DS's cot secondhand, I checked it met the current standards and we had to buy a mattress for it anyway so none of that worried me or grossed me out.

Yea, the crib thing still puzzles me. It is easy enough to check the safety regs. A pop can shouldnt fit between the slats, and drop sides are out. As long as it was sturdy beyond that I would be happy.

It's not just the slats. My oldest had the right slats, no drop sides but it got recalled when she was 2 because they found that the it could collapsed partially where their necks could get caught between the end of the crib and the mattress. We got to return it but you wouldn't necessarily know all the recalls when you get it at the yard sale. I know I don't know of every single recall out there.

Ours is a drop side, I still use it. I know lots of people here who still use drop side cribs. I was supposed to get the one my aunt had from her son which would have been 16 years old at the time, but we then found out that a cousin needed it as her daughter was pregnant and she knew she would end up with the baby ( just like the other three grandchildren) again if it met the safety regs I had no issue using it.