Brief history of Bedding, Upholstered Furniture and Stuffed Toys
Ohio’s first bedding law was enacted on June 6th, 1911. It provided for the "Branding" or labeling of mattresses to protect against the use of unsanitary materials being used in the manufacturing of mattresses. Since that date, consumers and retailers have been protected from misrepresentation of hidden filling materials in mattresses.
A Division of Bedding was approved on June 3rd, 1943 and at that time all manufacturers of bedding products being sold in the state were required to register with the department.
The law was amended in 1955 to include upholstered furniture and in 1967 stuffed toys were added for the health and safety of the children in the State of Ohio.
What do we inspect?
From cradle to grave, there isn’t a day that goes by where everyone in the state does not come in contact with something that we inspect or regulate. From the crib mattress to the king-size mattress, pillows, quilts, and comforters that we use everyday. Even the sofa that the "couch potato" never seems to get up from is inspected. All upholstered furniture from your favorite recliner to the baby’s high chair is checked.
The inspection of stuffed toys is extremely important for several reasons. Most toys that are given to young children inevitably end up in their mouth. Because the health and safety of your children is important we require all toy manufacturers selling their products in this state to register and have a sample of their product tested at our laboratory.
Because of the potential health risks associated with secondhand bedding and furniture the department requires that all used items be sanitized before they can be resold. Each item must be labeled that it is secondhand and all retail stores selling used items are inspected on a regular basis.
What we find inside:
Since the inception of the Bedding Division, the life of a bedding inspector has been full of surprises. In the beginning the inspectors found mattresses filled with straw, horsehair, unclean chicken feathers and soiled rags. Today the modern mattress is a thing to behold, with hundreds of coil springs, layer upon layer of foam and beautiful outer coverings. Unfortunately, there are still products being mislabeled to make you think you are getting more that what you are paying for.
Stuffed toys have presented the most surprises over the years. When being tested at our laboratory we have found rusty needles, bugs, vermin, filth, rat droppings, lead and even a live baby chicken that had been poisoned with arsenic and wired to an Easter basket filled with candy.
Today we enjoy a global marketplace with products entering our state from all over the world. We have an infinite number of items to choose from and behind the scenes the Bedding Division is working every day to ensure they are as safe as possible for the consumers of Ohio.
