Why Not to Buy Used Furniture that Is Upholstered
Shopping for used furniture can offer great savings on better quality furniture than shopping in retail stores for new furniture. However, the preference of the person shopping for used furniture should be for items that have no upholstery or very little upholstery such as a seat on a dining chair.
Just as we would not purchase a mattress that has been used for several years we do not want to buy an upholstered sofa or family room chairs that are upholstered. First of all, there may be stains on the outer fabric. We should not convince ourselves that we can remove the stain, no matter how clever we think we may be. Upholstery fabric is not the same fabric that we toss into the washing machine. Often the colors will fade or create an even larger spot if water or spot remover is applied.
Secondly, and more importantly, we do not know who owned the furniture or how they lived. The furniture may have belonged to someone with children. Or perhaps the used upholstered furniture was in the home of very young people who may have found other uses for the sofa or chair, other than sitting. We have no way of knowing what type of bodily fluids or spills may have occurred. While the surface may not look too bad, we have no way of knowing what types of stains, residues or pests may be lurking beneath the visual surface.
And, third, the upholstered piece of used furniture may be been stored for several months or longer in an outside shed or in a storage facility that did not have climate control. If the storage area leaked the used furniture could have become wet. Mold and mildew may be beneath the outer fabric. Often when in a large area such as a used furniture store we may not notice the smell of mildew. However, once the piece is in our home the smell can become overwhelming. It is next to impossible to remove without a total re-upholstery job. Paying to have a piece of used furniture re-upholstered could cost more than buying a new sofa or chair.
Shopping for used furniture is a great way to purchase excellent quality furniture if the buyer only buys pieces that are not upholstered.