Originally Posted by GrammaBabs
I do not want people to think i'm a wet blanket for writing this... but PLEASE be sure that if you buy fabric, blankets, clothing and especially furniture at yard slaes or estate sales....you WASH and dry in very high heat all of the fabric items... as for the furniture, i'm not sure... My reason being........... my SIS... who has gotten some fantastic fabric and other items this way.... purchased a beautiful, not too used looking chair at a very nice consignment shop... after a few months... she found "bed type bugs".... she has had to have a total fummigation TWICE... this was a ton of work for someone with a disability... next week they are going to "HEAT" her house to about 160degrees, to be sure they are gone....this means finding a place for her birds to go as well..... This has been a nightmare... they took her bed (they had gotten into the frame)and cut up and disposed of her chair that she loved.... they came in via. the chair...She's been told they like to hid in the folds of fabrics and are horrible to get rid of once they enter your home...I Love seeing all the great bargins of fabric and figure that lots of "our children" (mine will be some)... are left with the collections of their parents... and we never know just where this stuff was kept or how long it was around.... so... Just be careful,,, the washing is a given, i'm sure, but the "hot" drying, might be a good idea... regardless of the shrinkage issue.... hope this is taken as a helpful suggestion.... My Sis is without a bed and chair until she can afford one...we "skyped" last night and she was crying and saying she's never had much, but she never really felt as poor and ashamed as she does now... people are even treating her differently.. she is a person that does so much for others and it's so unfair ...............
Oh, that is so sad. It's not her fault, it has nothing to do with her housekeeping. Let s/he who daily dry steams the entire house (a 10-16 hour process for an average size house) cast the first stone.
Sadly, bedbugs are a growing problem in some areas (mostly the East Coast but in other areas as well) and they can hide anywhere. I've read media reports of swank, upscale hotels who have quietly had to go to very expensive measures to get rid of bedbug infestations. Office buildings, too. And, rumour has it, at least one theatre on Broadway.
This is one reason why I always pre-wash. It comes into the house and goes straight into the washing machine. If it can't withstand one hot wash and dry on high heat, it just isn't worth it to me to keep around.