Comprehensive Breakdown on How to Move a Mattress

Comprehensive Breakdown on How to Move a Mattress

Although a demanding task, moving houses costs less when you muster the courage to relocate your personal possessions without hiring any professional movers. Be that as it may, walking the fine line between risking to ruin your precious belongings and having this courage is sometimes an uphill battle, especially when it comes to something as important as your mattress that has an effect on your overall sleep and health in many ways.

As we know the importance of this task, we went above and beyond to prepare some helpful tips on how to move a mattress without causing any damage to it. Let’s dive in.

Best Tips for Moving a Mattress Long Distance

When moving to a new home, most mattresses require that you use the right vehicle such as a moving van, pickup truck, or car. Double check whether you have the following objects before even beginning the process:

  • A mattress bag 
  • Dolly truck
  • Nylon ropes or ratchet straps

In case you don’t have these tools, you can find them at your closest hardware store or borrow them from a friend.

Wrap It in a Mattress Bag

Dust exposure can affect your health by causing irritations in the eyes, sneezing, hay fever, or even severe asthma attacks. As the easiest way to collect dust, i.e. this fine, dry powder consisting of waste matter, is during a moving process, you should protect your mattress at all costs. This is why wrapping inside a dry, clean mattress bag should be the first step towards completing a safe transportation.

At the end of the day, and we mean that literally, you are the one that comes in contact with every dust particle resting on the mattress and as you don’t want any allergy flare-ups or severe asthma attacks, you should protect it well in the process of moving.

Clear the Path

Clear all objects that may cause any troubles while moving the mattress towards your transportation vehicle. Before putting it on a dolly truck, check whether your home’s doors are big enough to fit the mattress in such a position so that you don’t have to repeatedly rotate it.

Use a Furniture Dolly Truck

A dolly truck can without a doubt spare you some backbreaking labor, allowing easier portability for your mattress from one place to another. Especially with spring coil or hybrid bamboo mattresses when tend to be on the heavier side. In case you don’t own such a moving cart, you may rent it from your nearest moving rental company or local hardware store. 

Lift Your Mattress

Depending on what kind of vehicle you are using, you need to follow certain instructions to move your mattress safely.

Moving Truck

Unload your mattress from the dolly truck, placing it in the cargo space of your truck. If there isn’t enough space to lay it flat, tip it up on its edge towards the support wall. To avoid any trouble on the road, secure the mattress with either a nylon rope or ratchet strap against the walls of the truck. 

Pickup Truck

Although the best way to move a mattress on a pickup truck is to lay it flat on the truck bed, a queen or king-size mattress may not fit that way. In this case:

  • Slide the mattress up into the trunk’s bed, pushing one edge towards one of its bottom corners. This way, you can easily tilt the opposite side and let it rest on the bed rail. 
  • Before you are ready to go, make sure to wrap one end of the rope over your mattress, tying it down with the truck’s anchor points. 

Car 

Regardless of whether your car uses a roof rack or not, you can easily lay your mattress flat above the roof. The next step is to wrap the mattress over with either nylon ropes or ratchet straps horizontally and tie it over the rack. 

In case your car doesn’t use a roof rack, the only way to secure your mattress is by passing these nylon ropes or straps through both the front and back passenger door jams and front and back passenger windows, so as to securely fasten the mattress to the car’s roof. 

Drive Slowly

It goes without saying that you want your mattress to arrive holding its original shape at your destination. To ensure your mattress stays intact, drive slowly and smoothly, especially when turning corners. 

Hire a Moving Company

Supposing you don’t want to undergo the heavy lifting process, there are many shipping companies that move mattresses, box springs, and other household items. Hiring moving professionals may cost more but it will certainly save you some time and protect your mattress from rookie mistakes.

Final Takeaway

The most important thing to remember when moving a mattress is to avoid cutting corners. Ask a friend or family member to give you a hand, call a moving company, or just focus on doing all the steps carefully but never do something perfunctorily so as to save time or money as it may come at the cost of ruining the original firmness, damaging the coil springs, or causing other defects in the mattress.

FAQ

Can I fold a mattress when moving?

This depends on the material. Memory foam mattresses, for instance, are easily foldable and return to the original shape once unfolded, however, you can damage the structure of a spring mattress if you try folding it.

Can I transport a mattress on top of the car when moving?

Yes. You can indeed lay the mattress on the roof of your car, but you’ll need to carefully secure it.

Where can you find the right equipment for moving a mattress?

Hardware stores are always the best places to look for the right equipment for moving a mattress.

Is moving a mattress one-person job?

Even though one person can do the job, moving a mattress usually requires at least two persons, so that the chances of mattress damage are minimized and no one feels worn out at the end of the task.

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