After accelerating allergy problems (wheezing, difficulty breathing, runny eyes) my local doctor told me that it was most likely dust mites - eewwww - or other allergens when I was attempting to sleep.

Why? I felt fine at work but my symptoms seemed to kick in at night and in the morning I felt horrible. After some reflection I realized my bed was definitely in need of replacing. UGH. Like I don’t have enough stuff to deal with but now I have to go bed shopping?

Even worse, where to start? Being constantly busy, the thought of spending time, when I could be CEOing or writing, shopping for bedding gave me the shudders.

I have been a long time fan of the Sealy line of mattresses. My over-the-hill bed is Sealy and until the recent onset of my wheezing and allergies, it was a really great bed.

I also love futons and have often alternated between a “traditional” bed and a simple futon placed upon a special wooden frame custom built for me back in St. Louis (yes I hauled it down to Dallas years ago and still have it).

What self respecting Internet Dudetta like me wouldn’t hit the Web for research on bedding? I popped up Goggle - sorry Yahoo - and searched on Sealy beds. Then I searched on comparisons between different types of bed. I don’t have anything against other bed manufacturers, I just happen to know Sealy because I have had good experiences with Sealy mattresses.

After lots of surfing and clicking I was convinced I should stick with Sealy for my next purchase. Afterall, a new bed can be very expensive when you add in all the stuff you need to buy.

Sliding into the Mattress Giant (MG) store at the corner of Preston and Park shortly before they closed for the evening, I managed to plop down on a number of mattresses until I found a great one that met all my sleeping needs. Even better, it had a special anti-dust mite or similar creature protection cover. The sales guy - Darren (or is it Darrin?) - who was really knowledgeable (I was impressed) started to explain to me all about the little dust creatures and I was totally creeped out. I quickly silenced him with a TMI retort. No need to start thinking about the creepy crawlies since I was already getting a new bed.

After the bed was purchased and I was all set to leave Darren reminded me that the delivery guys would haul off my old bed. Cool. But then a thought hit me. Is there a bed cemetery?

I asked Darren that important question and he laughed. “Yes, there is”, he replied.

It seems all old mattress and box springs are picked up (at least by the MG folks if you buy from them) and taken back to the Mattress Giant used mattress center and evaluated carefully. If the mattress and related bedding pieces are in “decent shape” (whatever that is) they are cleaned and then donated to charity. I thought was very cool. If the bedding is not in good shape, they are destroyed in an appropriate manner.

Since I thought it was very interesting how the used mattresses were handled, I mentioned it to my marketing guru - aka The White Streak. When I told The Streak how the mattresses were given to charity, she snickered and said she “knew other uses for old mattresses”. OK. Other uses? Yes, she said. “They are used as temporary doors on houses where the doors have been kicked in for whatever reason”.

Seriously? Apparently so. Why are doors kicked in? Lets not go there. I don’t really want to know.

Wow. The things I don’t know and don’t even know I don’t know. I guess I need to research uses for old mattresses although I like the way Mattress Giant handles the situation. Kudos to MG, to Darren and to Sealy for my great new bed.

I for one can seriously use some good Zzzzzzs.

Tags: Google, Mattress, Mattress Giant, Sealy

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 25th, 2008 at 2:49 pm and is filed under Life In The CEO Lane. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.