4 Useful Tips To Move Your Mattress
Whether you’re seeking to move a king-size mattress, queen-size mattress or twin-size mattress, they are notoriously difficult to shift around, due to their considerable size, and the awkwardness of fitting them through potentially narrow corridors with all kinds of different angles involving stairs. Here are some answers to commonly asked questions.
Can you move a mattress by yourself?
Mattresses are quite smooth and slippery if not covered over with some kind of plastic mattress cover. This also has the added advantage of protecting the mattress against any potential tearing or scratching which can occur if it gets caught against the corner of a bookcase or something similar. A plastic covering only costs $5 – $10 and will also afford you a better grip on the mattress itself.
Then, you’ll slip that into the moving bag; getting the cover on will require moving the mattress side on, then maneuvering the end which is away from the zipper over the bottom of your mattress. Then, continually cajole the mattress cover upwards and over the mattress until it has completely concealed it. Packaging tape can then be applied, before zipping the bag closed. It’s important to have a clear path to the vehicle, so ensure that any boxes or furniture has been moved out of the way, propping doors open with doorstops. You can then slowly but surely angle the mattress down the stairs, allowing yourself to impede its downward descent by walking downstairs, ahead of it, acting as a human brake pad!
Does folding a mattress damage it?
In a word, Yes! Folding a mattress may alter the structure of the box spring so that it never again rests completely symmetrical and flat, but is always out by a little bit, no matter how hard you try. The border rods, coils, and foam encasement can all be permanently scarred, while the steel innards can get dented or creased; this in turn will affect your nights’ sleep.
We’re talking about a traditional box spring mattress, by the way, rather than latex or foam constructed mattresses. The other thing to consider is the warranty, most of which will extend to generous periods of time; a decade, in many cases. However, they will not repair damage which is evidently due to a mattress having been folded over, so be warned and don’t do it. Find another way.
Do movers disassemble beds?
Yes, movers do indeed disassemble and reassemble beds, especially if your whole bed frame needs to be unscrewed, and carefully re-screwed at the other end. The norm is for removal companies to charge by the hour if it’s a local move (less than 100 miles), or by weight if it’s a long-distance move (more than 100 miles). The obvious reason why bed frames need to be completely deconstructed is that they won’t fit through the door, and unlike mattresses have no flexibility in them.
Is it illegal to put a mattress upstairs by yourself?
It is not necessarily illegal for you to do this, but if you’re a tenant then your landlord may have put restrictions in your tenancy agreement so that certain sized mattresses ought not to be lifted up the staircases, potentially damaging and scraping paintwork or other features. It is also a problem in terms of the warranty of a new mattress because a manufacturer’s warranty will only cover things which are inherently flawed in the mattress, not flaws which have developed as a result of folding the mattress into unnatural positions.
Another factor to consider is employment law, in which the lifting of heavy objects by yourself could be in violation of the statutory rights of an employee. Life insurance is also something to consider, ie. if the worst happened and you fell down the stairs because you couldn’t handle the weight or positioning of a mattress up some stairs, fell awkwardly and died, this could invalidate the potential life insurance pay-out to which your family would otherwise be entitled.
A final legal angle is health insurance. If your health isn’t in the greatest of conditions and you suffered ill health from lifting a heavy mattress upstairs by yourself, it could cause your healthcare provider to dispute a claim being made for specialist, expert health provision and assistance, ie. if it were due to your own foolhardiness rather than a genuine injury caused by accident.
Overall, it’s best to do everything with a maximum amount of health and safety in mind, rather than risking things and doing damage to your household items, your physical health, or even your bank balance. It’s worth paying a removal company to go the extra mile for you and ensure that everything’s taken care of. Don’t take personal risks; you’re not trained to remove heavy or awkward objects and your energy would be best spent in trying to figure out the finer details, rather than heaving and hauling.
Sources:
- How to Pack a Mattress for Moving? – Moving.Tips
- How to Move a Mattress: A Step-By-Step Guide – Updater