According to consumer groups, key Virginia State Senate committee today took a big step toward exposing Virginia consumers to unknowingly buying mattresses that are urine or blood stained, contain fecal matter, insects or are filled with harmful allergens. The Senate committee approved H.B. 2810, which would eliminate the Virginia Department of Health's power to conduct unannounced inspections of most companies dealing in used mattresses.

Consumers in many states are vulnerable to used mattress vendors who sew new fabric covers over old used and filthy mattresses without taking any steps to sanitize the old product, and then sell them to unsuspecting customers as "new" mattresses. If the bill becomes law, Virginia consumers will join this group of victimized consumers.

"Major consumer fraud has occurred in states that have passed similar legislation," said Dick Doyle, president of the International Sleep Products Association. "There are many documented cases where used mattress outlets deceive consumers into thinking that the mattress they buy is new when in fact it is absolutely filthy. Passage of this law puts the public at risk, particularly those in the poorer neighborhoods where these deceptive practices are most prevalent."

William A. Cale, the President of the Association of Bedding and Furniture Law Officials, a group of regulators from several states that regulate used bed sales practices, warns that "Without a strong program [like Virginia has today], the consumers in Virginia will be subject to unsafe and unsanitary products."

According to research conducted by the University of Virginia Health System in 2000 renovated or refurbished used mattresses "can contain significant concentrations of mite, cat, and dog allergens." This report concluded that "refurbished mattresses represent a potential health hazard for a section of the community." Other scientific experts have reached the same conclusion.

The full Senate could consider the bill as early as Saturday.

About the current legislation

Under current law, new mattress manufacturers and used mattress vendors must register with the Virginia Department of Health and are subject to routine and surprise inspections to verify that they are producing and selling either all new mattresses or used mattresses that have been properly labeled and sanitized. The bill, however, would prohibit any inspection of a registered establishment unless a consumer complains. As a result, the State will lose its leverage of using surprise inspections to make sure that companies dealing in used mattresses will properly sanitize their goods.

By a 7-to-4 vote, the Virginia Senate Education and Health Committee today passed the bill. For a $85 fee, used mattress dealers will be protected from State inspections unless a consumer learns that he or she has been duped into buying a dirty mattress and then goes to the trouble of filing a formal complaint. Experts say this will seldom happen. The regular and surprise inspections that the bill will abolish would have protected the Virginia consumer from buying the dirty bed in the first place.

The bill in effect will set up a protection racket for unscrupulous businesses. The industry is concerned that unless the bill is defeated, Virginia will soon become the dumping ground for used and dirty mattresses since there will be no effective program in place to protect the consumer from these deceptive and unsanitary trade practices.