When you order a latex mattress, memory foam mattress, or any other type of mattress, you may want to buy your mattress from an online retailer that delivers mattresses, sets them up, and takes away old mattresses. This way you're not having to even lift a finger.
Still, there will be times when you'll have to handle things by yourself — and moving a mattress is one of them. Therefore, you'll want to learn how to move a mattress effectively. If you've ever tried moving a mattress by yourself, you know how challenging it can be. Floppy, heavy, and difficult to move, mattresses are the furniture world's "sloth."
Fortunately, you'll learn the steps below on how to move a mattress, the equipment you'll need, and steps you should take before you even consider moving your mattress.
Steps to Take Before Moving a Mattress
Some steps you'll want to take before you transport a mattress are:
1. Assess Your Mattress — Should You Even Keep It?
Before you start cleaning, wrapping, and loading your mattress, it's a good idea to take its age into consideration. You might want to consider replacing your mattress if it's:
- Seven to 10 years old (if it’s a traditional innerspring mattress)
- Uncomfortable
- Sagging
Moving is the ideal time to buy new mattresses if you require one. If you don't need a new mattress, don't leave your perfectly good mattress behind because you think you can't move it. It's not that difficult to move a mattress.
2. Figure Out How You'll Move the Mattress
You'll next want to decide how you'd like to transport your mattress. Although it might seem like an easy and fast hack to simply tie the mattress to your car's roof, this could actually cause damage to your mattress because you're exposing it to the elements and pollutants.
It's a good idea to secure your mattress inside of a truck or van. This will allow full structural coverage, and will secure the mattress for transport.
3. Consider the Size of Your Mattress
You might think the bigger the mattress you have, the harder it will be to move it. But, this isn't always true. Take, for example, a queen-size mattress, and split king-size mattress. While split king-size mattresses are bigger when they're set up, they split into two parts — queen-size mattresses don't.
Therefore, it could actually be more difficult to move a queen-size mattress around corners and through narrow hallways than it would be a split king-size mattress. It's fine to put your mattress on its side when you're moving it.
To avoid any unexpected surprises, make sure you measure the mattress before you attempt to move it. If it turns out it's even one inch longer than what you thought it was, it could make it a real struggle to maneuver, and move the mattress out of your house.
It's essential you consider factors like this when you're making your plan to move your bed.
Equipment and Supplies to Get Before Moving a Mattress
Investing in certain supplies could help make your mattress move much simpler, ensuring it's safe delivery. You can rent some equipment, or you can buy it online or from a moving rental company. Some things you'll want to pick up are:
- Mattress bag: A memory foam mattress bag will help keep your mattress protected from dust, grime, damage, and potential infestations, until you can unpack it safely in your home. You'll find mattress bags in stores like Target, Walmart, Amazon, Home Depot, or U-Haul for around $10 to $25.
- Hand truck or dolly: A hand truck or dolly can help streamline the mattress moving process from your bedroom to your pickup truck to your new home. If you don’t already have one, you can rent or buy a dolly at a moving truck rental company, or local hardware store.
- Ratchet straps : Ratchet straps are a two-piece, tie-down strap that's good for keeping your mattress locked into place in a truck or van.
- Tool set : If your mattress is on a bed frame, you can use tools like screwdrivers, wrenches, and Allen Wrenches to take your bed frame apart, and to reassemble your bed frame later.
- Cardboard: If your mattress is a little more flexible than most, you can use a large, flat piece of cardboard to stabilize it, and make it simpler to transport.
- Nylon rope: You could also secure your mattress with a strong piece of rope. Rope can be found at hardware stores. A rope is relatively simple to use, and secure mattresses with.
- Packing tape : Ensure you use durable, strong packing tape, or shipping tape, to seal your bag. Masking, duct, or shipping tape have durable adhesives, which are usually waterproof and strong enough for keeping the mattress bag sealed, preventing moisture from getting into the bag, which could lead to mattress damage.
- Sandwich bags: Keep all nuts, bolts, screws, and other smaller parts together in a sandwich bag. This will ensure you don't lose any essential parts.
- Retractable knife : You'll want a well-maintained, sharp blade on your retractable knife to cut open the mattress bag. But, when doing so, be sure you don't cut the mattress itself (or yourself). You can find retractable knives at any local hardware stores. It's important you follow the safety instructions that come with the knife to avoid injury.
How to Move a Mattress
Moving your mattress can be a simple and smooth process, if you follow these moving tips.
1. Place Your Mattress in a Mattress Bag
You'll want to place your bed against a wall or flat on the group. While you're lifting one end, have a helper slide the mattress in plastic by placing the bag over the mattress.
Make sure you push all of the air out of the bag, folding the flaps down, and using tape to seal the open ends. Once you've sealed it, look for small rips or holes in the bag, and if you find any, tape those up as well.
2. Clear a Path
Plan out the path you're going to transport the mattress to your vehicle. Clear all debris and objects that might block the stairs and walkway. Confirm you've propped all the doors open, and they open wide enough, so you can fit the mattress through when you wheel it on a dolly, or carry it with a helper.
3. Prepare the Transporting Vehicle
Ensure the doors of your vehicle are open, and you've cleared the interior out. If you need to push the seats down or remove them, be sure you do this prior to moving the mattress.
4. Lift the Mattress
Get on one side of the mattress, and have a helper on the other lengthwise, with each of you grabbing the mattress's bottom corners, and lifting together. Don't lift with your back, but rather power the lift with your legs, bracing your abdominal core.
5. Place the Mattress on the Dolly or Hand Truck
Stand the mattress on its side, and place it on the dolly. If your mattress is floppy, you'll want to use cardboard to secure both sides for support.
If there are descending stairs on your path to the vehicle, be careful that you completely stop at the top of the stairs prior to lifting your mattress off the dolly. Then, you can safely and slowly carry the mattress down the stairs. Don't attempt to roll the mattress down the stairs on the dolly.
6. Load Your Mattress into the Vehicle
If you're using a pickup truck or moving van, you'll simply just lift your mattress off the dolly, and load it into the vehicle's cargo hold.
If you need to place the mattress on the roof of the vehicle, it's super important you're using a mattress bag to keep the mattress protected from the elements. When placing your mattress on the luggage rack or roof, be very careful and double-check for any possible tears.
7. Reconsider Using a Long-Term Storage Unit
If you're thinking about storing your bed inside a storage unit for any lengthy time period, you might want to reconsider or at least find out what type of amenities the storage unit comes with. It might cost you a little extra to rent a storage unit that climate-controlled, but that would be well worth the investment. At the very minimum, you'll want the storage unit to be dry, and have good air circulation.
But, even if you're storing your mattress flat, and you're not putting anything on top of it, if you plan on storing it for any lengthy period of time, it might still suffer damage. You might not want to store your mattress in a storage unit of any type for longer than 18 months, since anything after that could result in fabric structural damage, and the stuffing can begin deteriorating the mattress's quality.
Move a Mattress
Basically, you can either move your mattress yourself, or request help.
By Yourself
Some tips to follow if you're moving the mattress by yourself are:
1. Obtain the Proper Vehicle
Again, you're going to require either a van, or a pickup truck. Professionals don't suggest you secure your mattress on the top of a regular vehicle. This could easily damage your mattress, and there's a good possibility your mattress could slip off the vehicle, which could cause accidents.
Typically, it's best if you load any mattress, and transport it on its side, preferably leaned up against the vehicle's wall. If you can't, ensure you safely secure the mattress tightly with straps. You can always rent a moving van or U-Haul for a reasonable price, if you don't have the proper type of vehicle.
2. Ship Your Mattress
If you're planning on moving the mattress long distance, but you don't have access to a van or truck, or the money to rent one for traveling hundreds of miles, you may want to consider shipping the mattress.
You can easily find online companies that will ship the mattress for you, such as uShip.com. You'd just have to type in the mattress's dimensions, and the distance you want to ship it. There are plenty of shipping companies online that will provide you with a reasonable quote.
3. Use a Cart or Dolly
To help move your mattress from the bedroom to your vehicle, it's best you have some wheels, particularly if you're trying to move the mattress by yourself. A dolly is the ideal piece of equipment for this job.
4. Drag the Mattress
If you don't have access to a dolly, you can still drag your mattress. You'll want to grab two big blankets. One that will fit below your mattress, and one above it. Place the mattress in the middle, and tie both the bottom and top blanket together. Then, you'll drag the mattress to where you need it to go.
Be sure you don't use any good blankets, and you're okay with parting from them because they could become ruined, particularly if you're pulling the mattress over a rough surface.
With the Help of Others
Consider professional movers, who can secure and move a mattress without problems, or at least enlisting able and willing family member, friend, or neighbor. The mattress isn't just heavy, but mattress moving is also designed to be a two-person job because it has awkward dimensions. Trying to handle this job by yourself could result in you hurting yourself or damaging the mattress.
Latex for Less Mattress
If you need to replace an old mattress, moving is a great time to do that. Why not consider purchasing a Latex For Less Latex mattress that's made with natural latex, pure natural wool, and organic cotton? It's certified by Oeko-Tex Standard 100, GOTS, and Eco-Institut. It’s flippable, and comes in two levels of firmness.
The Latex For Less Latex Mattress is shipped free to your doorstep in a small box. Your mattress is compressed, and sealed in a secure box, which makes it easy for you to carry it to the bedroom of your choosing.
You can try your new Latex for Less mattress out for 120 nights, commitment-free. If you aren't satisfied with your mattress, you can return it within your 120 nights for a refund of your money.
Unpacking Your Latex for Less Mattress
Receiving your brand new Latex For Less mattress is exciting. If you're like many individuals, you'll be anxiously waiting for that great, restorative night's sleep. However, there's an "unboxing" process of your new mattress before you can start sleeping in it. It's a rather simple process, however.
Once your Latex For Less Mattress arrives at your doorstep, your first step is removing it from the box. When you see the box, you might not even believe there's actually a mattress in it, but there is!
When you cut the box open, be careful that you don't accidentally damage your mattress. After removing your new mattress from the box, you'll notice it's rolled inside the protective plastic cover tightly. Don't remove the cover until you've planned an area where you're going to place the mattress. It must be a space big enough where the mattress can completely expand, since that's exactly what it will do once it's unrolled.
After you've positioned the mattress in the area where it will unroll, take the plastic sheeting off the mattress. It will take several hours for your new mattress to fully decompress, but you should have no problem sleeping on it the same night it's delivered.
Because natural latex is constructed with natural ingredients with no polyurethane, petrochemical, toxic chemicals, or synthetic fillers, you can sleep on your new mattress right away, without having to worry about airing it out first.
Questions about Latex for Less mattresses? Give us a call at 1 (888)-560-2869 or chat with us online, and our friendly mattress specialists can help.
