How To Dispose Of A Mattress

Brief: How To Dispose Of A Mattress

1. Signs You Need a New Mattress:
   • Body aches from sagging or lumpy mattresses.
   • Accumulation of dust causing allergies.
   • Visible sagging due to damaged springs.
   • Wear and tear indicators on the mattress.
   • Age-related deterioration after 10-15 years.
2. Recycling Options:
   • Contact local recycling companies.
   • DIY recycling by stripping the mattress into raw materials.
3. Donating Your Mattress:
   • Clean and dry the mattress.
   • Contact organizations like Goodwill or local thrift stores.
   • Estimate donation costs based on mattress size and transport fees.
4. Mattress Removal Services:
   • Hire services for mattress disposal.
   • Consider the effort and time required for self-removal.
5. Reusing Mattresses:
   • Convert into sofas or pet beds.
6. FAQs on Mattress Disposal:
   • Consult local waste management for disposal regulations.
   • Mattresses can be recycled by breaking down into materials like cotton, steel, foam, and wood.
   • Contact local waste management for disposal locations.
   • Costs vary; check with local waste management for fees.
   • Dispose of mattresses attached to furniture separately.
   • Mattresses should not be put in rubbish bins or burned.
   • Pillows should be disposed of according to local regulations.
   • Incorrect disposal may result in fines or legal penalties.

Mattresses are a dime a dozen, and no one likes to waste money. Whether you have had your current mattress for five to ten years, likely, you’re sorely in need of a new one. Here we’ll cover all the ways to know when you need a new mattress, the benefits of recycling your old one, and how to donate or sell it so someone else can get some use out of it.

How To Know When You Need A New Mattress

Besides mattress age, there’re many ways to understand that you need a new mattress. Old items can cause different health issues you may not take into consideration. That’s why it will be good to know the signals when it comes to removing your old mattress.

Body Aches

Sleeping on a mattress that’s sagging or lumpy can cause aches and pains over time. Your body isn’t getting the support it needs from a bed that isn’t in good condition, causing strained muscles in your back and neck. 

Over time, this will lead to severe pains that make sleeping difficult and leave you feeling exhausted the next day when you wake up. It’s crucial to replace your mattress as soon as you think it is giving out on you so you can avoid these aches later on.

Dust

Every year, with all the abuse your mattress has been subjected to, it’s bound to get a relatively thick layer of dust over its surface. All of this dust can build up on the top fabric side of the mattress and cause severe allergies and asthma problems over time if not cleaned off. 

Leaving your bed in this condition will only make cleaning it more difficult and time-consuming in the future because it’ll need to be vacuumed thoroughly for every piece of dust that collects on it.

Sagging

Sagging is when part or all of the top surface area of your mattress flops downward on one side. This is caused by the springs in your mattress becoming severely damaged or rusted, and it makes getting a good night’s sleep nearly impossible. 

When your mattress is sagging, you’ll wake up with back pain, a stiff neck, and other aches because your body isn’t supported correctly while you’re sleeping. To fix this problem, you’ll need to replace your mattress before it gets worse.

Wear And Tear

Whether yours is a spring mattress or one with coils and foam layers, it will start to show signs of wear over time. Most mattresses have wear indicators that will show when the material has been compressed too far and needs replacing. 

These can be dotted lines running along the top surface of the mattress or a tag that shows a certain number of pounds that show when the material has reached its breaking point. Some beds come with warranties covering this wear and tear, so you may not have to buy an entirely new one.

Age

The age of your mattress will show in its condition. Older mattresses are worn out and covered in dust and stains, making them harder to clean or even salvage in some cases. If your mattress is older than 10-15 years, it’s wise to get a new one instead of fixing the problems yourself or donating it to a charity.

Recycling Your Mattress

There are many ways to recycle your mattress, but the process will vary depending on what you want to do with it. There’re many recycling companies near you, and the only thing you need is to make a call and negotiate when your old mattress is taken for recycling.

DIY Recycling

Mattresses aren’t a widespread item that is recycled and reused for other purposes, so many people don’t know how to go about doing this. To recycle your mattress, you’ll need to strip it down to its raw material and then use those materials in other ways. 

Mattress Donation

Mattresses are bulky and heavy to move, hard to store, and are often the most significant source of clutter in a home.

But if you require a mattress or just want to get rid of an old one, you can make it easy on yourself by donating it. It’s not too challenging, and the benefits will last for years! All you have to do is find the proper organization that will accept your mattress donation and follows these steps:

• Clean your mattress thoroughly with soap and water or a steam cleaner. Remove any stains from food or children’s markers. Cover pillows with pillowcases that zipped shut, so they don’t get wet from the cleaning solution if you use a steam cleaner.
• Place the mattress in a dry location with good air circulation, such as a garage or basement. Keep it away from patio heaters, fireplaces, and other warm appliances where it can accumulate moisture.
• Contact your local humane society, Goodwill, or thrift store to inquire about mattress donations.
• Get estimates from the various organizations on the amount of money to donate based on the size of your mattress and how difficult it is for them to move and store. Most organizations accept mattresses up to 50 pounds in weight; the pickup fee is usually around $25.00 for large items and $10 for small ones where flat-bed moving trucks are not available. Prices can vary depending on your location and other factors.

Goodwill, and thrift stores like the Salvation Army and St.Vincent’s, will often buy old mattresses for cleaning rags or stuffing furniture. 

The area used furniture stores like Craigslist or Freecycle are a great place to find people who want your mattress(es) at no cost.

Mattress Removal

Mattress removal is a service that will be done to get rid of a mattress. This is a process where you are no longer going to use the bed and want it gone. It’s an option, for instance, if you’ve moved and need your mattress out of your old location before you can move in again. You might also not want a certain kind of bed anymore, like one with memory foam that goes flat after 20 years.

Mattress removal is something that you can do yourself, but it does take quite a bit of time and effort. It’s a process that will take at least half a day, depending on how big your mattress is. You’ll need to find someone to haul the mattress away for cash, either by calling up your local dump or recycling center or perhaps looking in the phone book for a company that does this as part of their business.

Reusing The Mattress

People who don’t want to get rid of their mattresses, but want to have something new and clean in their home, can use the mattress for other practices. In the following examples, we’ll show you some creative things you can do to reuse your mattress. Ensure you identify a location where these projects are legal and safe enough for anyone who wants to use them.

As much as we would like to utilize our old mattresses in all of the following ways, not all of them are practical or possible due to the sizes and shapes of mattresses. Make sure that there is enough room available before considering one of these options.

A sofa is a great way to add some fun color and character to your home decor. By adding new pillows and covers to your mattress, you can achieve the look of a new sofa in just minutes.

Take your old mattress and use it as a bed for pets. The cover will protect the mattress from being scratched or marred while providing a soft place to lay them down and relax. This is safer for the animal than using an ornamental stone or other decorative items for this purpose, and it will save on costs too because you won’t need to buy anything new.

FAQ