Instructions for Disassembling a Bed

Your mattress may be to blame if you are experiencing aches and pains upon waking or if you are finding that you need more sleep than usual to feel refreshed.

A mattress should be replaced every seven years, says the Better Sleep Council. How often you use it will determine how often you should think about replacing it. This is especially true if your current mattress is sagging, torn, or otherwise damaged from excessive use.

The old mattress and possibly the box spring need to be disposed of when a new one is purchased. Up to 20 million mattresses and box springs are thrown away every year in the United States. Tossing out an old mattress can be a tricky business in many areas.

According to the Director of Recycling in Cambridge, Massachusetts,

Mattresses that have been thrown out in the trash can be a pain to deal with. In addition to being difficult to process and store, they are also bulky and expensive to move. ”

Although recycling is preferable, it is not always feasible. You can either wait for your weekly garbage collection or take your old mattress to a landfill to be disposed of. An old mattress is best disposed of in pieces.

This makes moving a heavy mattress much easier, and the individual pieces are simple to handle. One can take extra steps in disassembling a mattress by parsing out its parts. If there are localized recycling centers, you can separate the mattress into its component parts for recycling.

If you disassemble your mattress before throwing it away, you'll be doing your part to help the environment and your local community. Mattresses in their entirety take up a lot of room in landfills and can cause dangerous air pockets to form. Damage to compacting machinery can also be caused by mattress springs. Groundwater and soil can become contaminated with toxic flame retardant chemicals.

It's possible to use a rented roll off dumpster to get rid of your old mattress if it's part of a larger renovation or clean-up project. Before you toss your mattress in your rented dumpster, check the local regulations to ensure you can.

Local ordinances or the terms of your dumpster contract could place constraints on your junk removal. Wooden components, such as a box spring or a wooden frame, are typically acceptable dumpster fare.

Less space is taken up by the mattress, and any recyclables can be removed before it is thrown away if you cut it down. Cutting down your mattress yourself can save you money on disposal fees if you live in a region that charges for this service.

Read this article for detailed instructions on how to dispose of a mattress and box spring.

Most of these things are available at any decent hardware store.

• Kitchen knife or utility knife
• Ruptured seam
• Pliers with a lot of heft
• Bolt or wire cutter
• Cut out the middleman with a hand saw or a carving knife
• Trash bags
• Packaging materials
• Protect your hands from cuts with these durable work gloves.
• To protect your eyes, wear safety glasses.
• Box cutter
• Scissors
• Optional Tape Measure Use

Mattress Dismantling Instructions

Outside is the safest place to do the mattress and box spring dismantling. You won't have to worry about making a huge mess thanks to the cotton, foam, and wood construction. A mattress can be a pain to move, so enlist the aid of a friend or a few. The use of thick tarps is recommended before beginning any mattress disassembly at home. The mattress should be placed on the ground flat in either case. You need a lot of space around the bed in order to be productive. This will simplify the remaining procedures.

Secondly, snip the piping cord from the side of the mattress.

To secure the top and bottom fabric to the mattress's sides, look for the piping thread or binding cords around its perimeter.

Step 2: Use a utility knife or seam ripper to cut the corded trim along the mattress's edges free. The junction of the power cord and the mattress is the most convenient place to make the cuts, so do so as you pull and tighten the thread.

When these straps are cut, the mattress sides can be lifted off with minimal effort. Use a strong seam ripper to remove any buttons from the side or edge of the mattress. To remove the top layer of the mattress, pull it back and trim the side.

In order to provide even more comfort, some mattresses feature a cotton-filled mattress topper. You can just snip it and pull it off!

It has padding underneath the outer fabric. Use a pair of heavy-duty pliers or wire cutters to remove any staples that may be present.

The mattress's filling can be easily accessed after the fiber layer of the cover has been taken off. The third step is to remove the top layer of padding and place it in a trash bag. A recycling center might take this stuff, which is usually made of cotton or wool. Trash services will pick up cotton.

Send around this infographic

After completing Step 4, make sure the area is clean before turning the mattress over. Using a seam cutter or utility knife, cut any leftover fabric from this side. Raise the mattress and remove the sheet. Any staples should be removed as you work. Any place that accepts fabric for recycling might be willing to take this stuff. Remove any remaining fluff as well.

You can use a bolt cutter to easily disassemble the interior springs into manageable chunks. Use caution, as the springs' cut metal edges can be quite sharp.

If you're transporting the shards of metal springs, put them in a cardboard box rather than a trash can. Such metal can usually be recycled at a metals processing facility.

Disassemble the Box Spring Frame (7th Step)

Old mattresses are more difficult to disassemble than wooden box springs. First, take off the plastic corner guards from the box spring. Make a slit down the middle of the cover and peel it away from the underlying wooden structure. It's easier to remove and thinner than a mattress cover. To facilitate fabric removal from wood, remove any staples that may be present.

You should cut the box spring's wooden frame in half, and then into smaller pieces, using a hand saw. Watch out for stray wood chips You can make shorter work of moving your box spring if it contains any metal or wood components. Take the discarded metal and wood parts of the frame to a recycling facility.

The eighth step is to get rid of the mattress or to take it to a recycling center.

The mattress can be dismantled and its components recycled. Moreover, research the recycling options in your area. The location of recycling centers also varies by the type of material being recycled.

Put the mattress pieces into large, sturdy trash can bags or cardboard boxes. Mattress remnants can be taken to a landfill, left for a garbage collection service, or disposed of at home.

Polyurethane foam "mattress-in-a-box" mattresses are the easiest to disassemble. The mattress cover can be removed in the same manner as that of a regular mattress. Following this, the thick foam can be divided into manageable chunks.

Basically, a bed-in-a-box is just a huge slab of foam. It's much simpler to disassemble," says Greg Cooper, director of waste programs in Massachusetts.

After you're done cutting up the foam, you can throw it away or use the pieces in your compost or other small-scale gardening projects. In a similar vein, some folks will use mattress scraps to make cozy car seats. The residents of some states, such as Rhode Island, are compelled to bring their old mattresses to a designated recycling center for disposal. Repurpose the timber from the mattress box and spring frame by making crafts or burning it in a fire pit.

The springs from the box spring should not be thrown away if you are artistic. It's possible to make anything from candlesticks to wine racks to candleholders to planters out of the springs.

Some Closing Remarks

The typical homeowner can easily dismantle and dispose of an old spring or memory foam mattress by following a few simple steps. You can avoid paying expensive disposal fees if you do this work yourself. One of the many ways you can help the environment and your community is by bringing your old mattress's dismantled pieces to a recycling center.

Up to 85% of a mattress's materials are recyclable after being deconstructed. This dismantling and subsequent trashing or recycling will pave the way for your brand-new, plush mattress.

With any luck, our detailed instructions on how to dispose of your mattress were helpful.

Getting Rid of a Mattress

We can provide you with the best possible dumpster at the lowest possible cost, making dumpster disposal of old mattresses a breeze. Call (855)-573-3867 to reserve a dumpster today.

Monica Mayhak's Biography

I've been writing professionally for over 25 years, primarily for the construction, home improvement, property management, and education industries, so it's safe to say that I'm an expert content writer with extensive experience in the waste management and dumpster industry. Over the years I've spent as Discount Dumpster's primary researcher, I've learned a great deal about environmental concerns, building practices, and waste management.

Check out all of Monica Mayhak's Website posts here!