Items to Avoid at Garage Sales

Updated May 29, 2019

Warm weather and the desire to clear out clutter mean it’s garage sale season! Everyone enjoys a good bargain, but there are some things you should never consider purchasing at a garage sale.

Avoid These Used Items

We’ve compiled a small list of items you should avoid buying used:

• Helmets: Designed to protect you from ONE accident and ONE accident only. Buy new to make sure you’re getting full protection.
• Child car seats: Designed for protection in ONE accident. Plus, car seat technology and safety standards are constantly changing.
• Tires: Tires could have been driven overloaded, underinflated, or at excessively high speeds. Any one of these factors could lead to internal damage not visible from the outside. Don’t risk it.
• Mattresses: You don’t want to sleep with other people’s mites and bacteria.
• Cribs: Changing safety standards and crib recalls happen often. Buy new and avoid outdated, unsafe cribs.
• Propane gas heaters: Some older models have been responsible for numerous carbon monoxide poisoning deaths. If you do purchased a used heater, make sure you have it properly inspected for any leaks.

There are several items we didn’t include on our list, but hopefully we made you think about some of the items you’ve purchased, or thought about purchasing, used. Now, get out there are have fun rummaging through other people’s belongings!

Wilson Kehoe Winingham brings you this information with best regards for you and your family’s safety.

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