At the start and the end of every school year in Berkeley and many other college towns, a lot of furniture is dumped on the streets, sidewalks, and in vacant lots around town. You should never take street furniture into your home. That is the #1 way that people get bed bugs, fleas, and ticks in their homes. A piece of furniture only has to sit on a sidewalk for a few minutes for bugs to get inside. Besides, you don’t know where this thing came from. A beautiful couch that you see on a street corner may have been dumped there because it is full of head lice. For the same reason, never take in furniture from sheds, garages, basements, or unknown sources. Free furniture that you find on the street is not a bargain. It’s dangerous. When I first came to California, thrift stores like Goodwill used to sell used mattresses. It was a big part of their business. It is now illegal and has been for many years to sell used mattresses in California. Too many people got sick as a result of that business.