In early December, the San Antonio City Council unanimously approved an ordinance to protect shoppers by regulating the sale of used and refurbished mattresses.
Earlier in the year, the state of Texas ended its program regulating mattress sales.
“Too often, sellers of used or refurbished mattresses do not disclose that the product has been previously used,” a city of San Antonio news release stated. “In the most egregious cases, sellers have sold used mattresses after portraying them as new. These mattresses create numerous sanitary concerns and can contain bed bugs, allergens, dust mite feces, mold spores and bodily fluids.”
San Antonio mattress sellers now are required to have properly cleaned used mattresses, register with the city and display a sign in their store that notifies customers they sell refurbished mattresses. Mattresses will have a tag that identifies it as used and cleaned. Sellers also must have buyers sign a document acknowledging they understand they are buying a used mattress.
The International Sleep Products Association supported this ordinance.
“Customers should be properly informed of whether the product they are buying has been previously used and, if so, it has been properly sanitized,” said Chris Hudgins, ISPA vice president of government relations and policy. “This ordinance will revive these important protections for San Antonio’s citizens.”
