How to move a mattress.

The logistics of how to move furniture can be tough when they are large items. But what about large items that are hard to even grasp a hold of? Like mattresses for instance. If they don’t come with handle straps, or if you need to curve them around tight corners, you may struggle with them. And that’s just the beginning. Getting the mattress to your destination involves other logistics as well.

How to move a mattress, can vary depending on if you are moving locally or if you are planning a long distance move.

Step 1: Prep the mattress before moving day.

Keeping the mattress clean before moving it.

The last thing you’ll want is to have a dirty mattress by the time it arrives at your new home. So before moving day, be sure you are ready for the movers to pick it up. Movers may have moving blankets, and that might help. But those are usually used to protect hard furniture that can dent or damage walls. The better bet for a moving a mattress would be to wrap it in plastic, or some other protective material to prevent moisture creeping into it.

You can, of course, create a makeshift plastic cover for a mattress using painter’s plastic sheets, tarps or shower curtains. Just add some tape or rope to keep it in-tact. Or, you could buy specially designed mattress covers for moving. For example, here is one we found online at Home Depot’s Canadian site:

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.queenking-mattress-bag.1000729677.html

And here is a vinyl mattress cover from Walmart:

https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/fitted-vinyl-mattress-cover-queen/6000188321301

We can’t say which of the above will be better or worse, but we just wanted to show you examples of protective covers you could search for if you need them.

VERY IMPORTANT: Make sure your bed is not infested with bed bugs before you move it to your new home! See our article on this topic:

How to get rid of bed bugs before you move and not bring them with you to your new home

Move a mattress easier by making handles for it

For this step you’ll want to tie straps or thick enough rope or bungee cords around the mattress. If your mattress doesn’t already have handles, this can make a big difference when carrying the mattress, even if you have two people to do it. It’s really hard to grasp a mattress, since it only has flat surfaces. And, since mattresses can get wide, expecting your arms to reach around them can be tricky too.

You can also consider a single strap method under one side of the mattress, as explained in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWxLDyRGZxQ

Step 2: Decide on transportation to move the mattress.

According to About.com, you can avoid a moving truck for your mattress by strapping your mattress to the roof of your car. See this article for more info:

https://moving.about.com/od/movingspecialtyitems/a/moving_mattress.htm

However, we don’t recommend this method if you’re going a long distance, if you’re not sure you can tie it securely, or if the weather is wet, which it often is inSurrey and Metro Vancouver.

See our article on this topic:

Moving in the Vancouver Rain

So you may want to ensure you protect your mattress on moving day by making ample room in a larger moving truck for it. Also, according to one article, some moving companies will also use shrink wrap to make sure your mattress doesn’t move around in the moving truck.

Step 3: For new mattress delivery, consider roll-packed mattresses.

If you’re here wondering how to move a new mattress to your destination, keep in mind some companies roll-pack their mattresses to make for convenient transport to your home. And this goes for more than foam mattresses – sometimes spring mattresses can also be roll packed. In this case, the unopened mattress should fit into your car or SUV, depending on it size. You may need a few days to let it fully ‘puff up’ again and air out (from chemical or factory smells).

Of course, shop for the mattress you like most; if it doesn’t come roll packed, it may be worth the effort and cost to have it delivered to your home directly.

Step 4: Consider logistics of moving the mattress in tight spaces.

Since mattresses and beds are long, it may be hard to get them around tight corners. For this reason, you may want to make sure the house is cleared of most things that can get in the way of the mattress as you’re moving it. We know this can be hard if you have other big furniture to move that require the mattress out first. But for example, if your bedroom is farthest away from the exit point, make sure the rest of the house is emptied into the moving truck first.

That way, when you move around corners you’ll not need to worry about running into a shelf or other obstacle.

And, in some cases, you may need to hoist a mattress through a window if you’re moving into an apartment.

Don’t forget the box spring – it’s harder to move.

The bigger thing you’d want to keep to a last resort is needing to cut the box spring and then put it back together. Box springs are surely not as flexible as the mattress itself, and must be kept straight. If you think this will be the case for your mattress, make sure your professional movers know about this before moving day. Try to arrange for a staple gun to have handy in case you need to re-assemble your box spring.

For mattress foundations that you need to assemble after purchase, you may not need anything more than the tools to take them apart and put them together again. For example, see how IKEA mattress foundations are assembled for easy moving, here:

https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/categories/departments/bedroom/24825/

Side note: see our IKEA moving hacks article too!

Or, if it’s not worth the money to move your box spring, and you want to avoid this problem in the future, there are box spring replacement beds that can fold for easy moving. For example, check out the PragmaBed product:

https://pragmabed.com/features/

Get help with moving your mattress

As Surrey movers with extensive experience moving furniture, we’d be happy to help you with moving your mattress. Sometimes the pros can save the headache and hassle of having to figure out these logistics on your own. Contact us  and we’ll get you an accurate quote for your next move!