What NOT to buy at a Yard Sale

The U.S. Consumer Protection Agency has highly recommended that you do not buy certain items at yard sales. Below is a partial list. This gives you a general idea of what not to buy and to get you thinking about potential hazardous yard sale purchases. If you are unsure about an item you have purchased, call the Consumer Product Safety Commission at 1-800-638-2772 or visit their site.

•  Soft bedding for babies. It is believed that plush products like soft mattresses, comforters, pillows can cause SIDs. Basically, ANYTHING baby-related should be bought with extreme caution. A perfect looking carseat (which you know has not been recalled), may have already been in a car accident! I've even had a reader tell me she BUYS baby things at yardsales that she knowsto be recalled by the manufacturers just so she can take it home and DESTROY it.
  
•  Old baby cribs. They often don't have the proper spacing in the slats and/or could have cracked or peeling paint.
  
•  Accordian-style baby gates(primarily manufacturered prior to 1985).
  
•  Hairdryers with plain plugs. Hairdryers manufactured prior to 1991 don't have the proper immersion (water) protection.
  
•  Propane gas camping heaters. Heaters sold under the brand name Bernz-O-Matic and Turner have been found responsible for numerous deaths due to carbon monoxide poisoning.