Every year thousands of children are admitted to hospital emergency rooms due to incidents involving bunk beds involving improper use, manufacturing, or set up. If your follow our 10 point safety checklist, bunk beds can still be a great bedding solution for your children:
Sturdy ladder constructionIf you follow these basic tips then you should get years of safe enjoyment out of your new bunk bed. For more bunk bed resources and tips you can visit
http://www.loft-beds-bunk-beds.com/bunk-beds.htmTeach your children not to push up on the underside of the bed, or to climb on it like a jungle gym. Proper safety is important at all times, and you may wish to also use a night light near the ladder so children can see the ladder steps in the dark.Bedbugs are even less widespread than they used to be but have been making a little bit of a comeback recently. While big infestations may still happen, it is more customary to cope with infestations of tiny numbers of bugs. Bedbugs can enter the home via used beds, sofas and curtains and can even be transferred in luggage after visiting hotels, guesthouses, and so on.Remove all bedding and clean up it by washing on a hot wash ( fifty Centigrade or 120 Fahrenheit ). You can deal with the mattress with a portable steam cleaner that are to be had from many retailers. If you have got a divan bed, be certain to go over the base completely with the steamer. A stiff brush is handy for dislodging any eggs and shed skins from seams. If you can dismantle your
bed frame, do so, as this can show up any hiding bugs. So use this as an excuse to carry out a severe spring-cleaning of your room. Seal any cracks and holes in the fabric of the room with an acceptable sealant - a caulking gun and silicon gel is good for this reason.Measure the safety railsA lot of injuries are caused by children in the lower bunks pushing up on the underside of the top bunk and dislodging the mattress or support frame. Ensure the top bunk has sturdy mattress supports that are secured to the bed frame with bolts or screws. You don't want a floating board support system, as these will move around and can possibly fall through the opening.Not to worry, there are plenty of options available on the Internet. There are loft log bunk beds, twin over twin log bunk beds, full over full or even twin over queen. I haven�t seen a twin over king yet, but really the Amish can make any size you want. A lot of college students who looking to build an inexpensive loft bed might find an Amish loft bunk bed to be just the ticket, and some of them come with futons under them, too.Check the entire bed construction for smoothness of materials and fasteners. There should be no sharp edges or protruding points anywhere in the construction.Sturdy mattress supportOnly rounded edgesIf you get a pine bunk bed with metal frame, there is a way to give the metal frame that log look when the covers are thrown back. These are decorative half logs or rails, not to be confused with the safety rails that go around the top of the bunk bed. The top safety rails are always included with the log bunk bed, but the decorative half rails are optional and just for looks.Bunk beds built to those regulations are generally built to hold an adult weighing up to 250 pounds. If you are pushing the limits, try cedar instead of pine. In the beds we sell, the cedar logs are 5 � to 6 inches in diameter, while the pine is about 3 � inches in diameter. They are both built to federal specifications, and the pine bunk beds are very solid and strong, but if there is a question in your mind, go for the bigger logs. And of course, you can always put the big fella on the bottom, too.The other alternative to hold the mattress up is called a Bunkie board. A Bunkie board is basically � inch plywood cut to the size of the box spring. It sits inside either the metal
bed frame, or the wood bed frame, and supports the mattress. If you have a box spring you don�t need a Bunkie board, but if there is not a box spring, the Bunkie board is what supports the middle of the mattress. We sell Bunkie boards if people want them, but a lot of people just cut their own. It�s up to the buyer.Safe useASTM and CPSC guidelinesImmediately replace or repair any loose or missing fasteners on the bed. Periodically check the tightness of fasteners holding the bed together, as well as the cross support rails holding the upper mattress.In contrast to popular misconception, the cleanliness of your house has no impact on whether or not you are in peril from a Bedbug infestation. Should Bedbugs find their way into your residence, they will look for shelter often in the stitching of mattresses, settees and curtains. Openings behind wallpaper and skirting boards could also harbor bugs. Regular vacuuming of these locations can remove the tiny suckers. An inexpensive anti-bug barrier can be built by wrapping double-sided sticky tape around each leg of the bed.Another option to consider is the type of ladder you want with your log bunk bed. Some of the Amish beds have the ladders built right into the end of the bed, so you don�t have a ladder leaning out from the bed. Others have a moveable ladder that can hook on the end or the side. In many cases, the amount of space available determines the type of bunk bed you buy. If you have a small room, the larger cedar logs may seem too massive. If you don�t have room for a slanted ladder, however, you may opt for the cedar bunk bed anyway that has the ladder built in. If you have a larger room or larger people, you may opt for the larger cedar logs.So what about the pros ' should you just take the simple route and pay for them to solve your problem? Well if you do, they will come along and tell you to strip the bed so they can start using isopropyl alcohol for bed bugs to the mattress and
bed frame / divan base. If they're intensive and know their business, they should also look for possible harbourage across the room and treat these areas too. You are still going to need to deal with sanitizing your bedding, so you must weigh up whether you would like to pay for the spray or the cost of a steam cleaner.
If you follow these basic tips then you should get years of safe enjoyment out of your new bunk bed. For more bunk bed resources and tips you can visit http://www.loft-beds-bunk-beds.com/bunk-beds.htm
Author: S.A. Smith
