Step-by-Step Instructions for Taking Apart a Mattress

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 rested.

The Better Sleep Council estimates that a mattress will last for around seven years. The frequency of its use is a factor, but in any case, you may want to think about replacing it. This is particularly true if your home's mattress is saggy, torn, or otherwise damaged from excessive use.

You'll need to find a way to get rid of your old mattress and possibly your box spring when you buy a new one. Up to 20 million mattresses and box springs are thrown away every year in the United States. Disposal of old mattresses is subject to regulations in many areas.

The Director of Recycling in the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts says,

Mattresses that have been thrown out are a hassle to deal with. In addition to being difficult to process and store, they are also bulky and expensive to move. ”

Ideally, you'd recycle, but that might not always be possible. You can either wait for your weekly garbage collection or take your old mattress to a landfill to be disposed of. The best course of action is to disassemble the mattress in order to make it more manageable for trash collectors.

This makes moving a heavy mattress easier, and the individual pieces can be handled with relative dexterity. To further simplify the process of disassembling a mattress, its parts can be dismantled individually. Depending on the availability of recycling centers in your area, you may be able to recycle the mattress in pieces.

When you disassemble a mattress before throwing it away, you help the environment and your local community. Full mattresses not only take up a lot of room in the landfill, but they also trap a lot of flammable air there. In addition to being hazardous to compacting machinery, mattress springs pose a significant risk to anyone sleeping on them. Groundwater and soil can become contaminated with toxic flame retardant chemicals.

Roll off dumpsters can be rented if getting rid of your mattress is part of a bigger renovation or cleanout project. Before you toss your mattress in your rented dumpster, check the local regulations to ensure you can.

Your dumpster placement is subject to any restrictions imposed by your municipality or dumpster service. Wooden components, such as a box spring or a wooden frame, are typically acceptable dumpster fare.

Reducing the size of the mattress and removing any recyclable components beforehand are both benefits of this strategy. If there is a charge for mattress disposal, you can save money by reducing the size of the mattress yourself.

Use the following as a step-by-step guide to dismantling your old mattress and box spring for proper disposal.

The vast majority of these things can be purchased at any hardware store.

• Pick your poison: a kitchen knife or a utility knife
• A ripper of seams
• Strong pliers
• Scalpel or bolt cutter
• Manual tools like a saw or carving knife
• Trash bags
• Typical Packaging: Cardboard
• Safety gloves that prevent cuts
• Protection glasses
• Box cutter
• Scissors
• There's no need to bring a tape measure to this

Step by Step Guide to Breaking Down a Mattress

We recommend doing the actual cutting of the mattress and box springs outside. The cotton, foam, and wooden frame will keep things neat and tidy. Hire someone to help you move the mattress out of the house. If you need to disassemble a mattress at home, protect your floors with thick tarps before you begin. You should always put the mattress on the floor. Make sure there is a lot of space around the bed so you can spread out and get some work done. This will facilitate the remaining procedures.

Step 2: Snip the Pipe Cord Near the Corners of the Mattress.

Determine the mattress's piping thread or binding cords, which serve to secure the top and bottom fabrics to the mattress's borders.

To begin, take a utility knife or seam ripper and cut through the corded trim along your mattress's sides to remove it. Pulling and tightening the thread with a utility knife at the point where the cord and mattress meet yields the cleanest cut.

With these ties cut, the mattress sides can be lifted off with minimal effort. A strong seam ripper should be used to remove any buttons from the side or edge of the mattress. To remove the top layer of the mattress, you should first pull it back and then cut along the side.

Extra cotton padding is used in the form of a mattress topper on some models. You can just snip it and peel it off!

There is padding under the outer fabric. Cut any staples you find with a pair of heavy-duty pliers or wire cutters.

Once the fiber layer of the mattress cover is gone, the stuffing can be taken out with relative ease. To dispose of the top layer of padding after completing Step 3, simply pull it off and place it in a large trash bag. Cotton and wool are common materials used in this type of product, and they may be recycled. Trash collection services will gladly take your cotton.

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After completing Step 4, make sure the area is clean before turning the mattress over. You can cut or rip off any excess material from this side using your utility knife or seam cutter. Away with the sheet from the bed It's best to get rid of any staples as you go. It's possible that a recycling center will accept this fabric as well. Remove the rest of the fluff if you can.

If you take a bolt cutter to the interior springs, you can break them up into a lot of smaller pieces. Care must be taken here, as the springs' cut metal edges can be quite sharp.

If you want to keep people from getting hurt while transporting the metal spring pieces, put them in a cardboard box instead of a trash bag. This metal can usually be recycled at a metals processing plant.

7. Disassemble the Box Spring's Structure

Old mattresses are more difficult to disassemble than wooden box springs. Take off any corner supports made of plastic on the box spring. Separate the fabric from the wooden structure by slicing it in half. This material is more manageable and less cumbersome to remove than the material from a mattress. In order to make removing the fabric from the wood easier, remove any staples that may be present.

It's best to use a hand saw to cut the box spring's wooden frame in half, and then into smaller pieces. Watch out for stray wood chips You can make shorter work of moving your box spring by removing any metal or wooden components. Take the discarded wood and metal to a recycling center or scrap yard.

Eighth, Get Rid of It or Drop It Off at a Recycling Center

Beds can be dismantled and their components recycled. In addition, research the recycling options in your area. There may be a variety of locations where various recyclables can be dropped off for processing.

Don't just throw the mattress pieces in the trash; use sturdy, large-capacity garbage bags and cardboard boxes to dispose of them. A mattress can be taken to a landfill for disposal, or the pieces can be put out for the weekly trash pickup.

Polyurethane foam mattresses, also known as "mattress-in-a-box" mattresses, are easy to disassemble. Similar to a regular mattress, the cover can be removed from this one. Thicker foam can be sliced up into smaller pieces.

The mattress in a bed-in-a-box is, essentially, just a huge slab of foam. Waste programs director in Massachusetts, Greg Cooper, says it's much simpler to disassemble.

After you're done chopping up the foam, you can throw the pieces away or use them in your compost or other small-scale gardening projects. In a similar vein, some folks will use mattress scraps to make cozy car seats. Additionally, residents of states like Rhode Island are obligated to bring their used mattresses to a designated recycling center for disposal. Box spring and woof frame wood can be used for firewood or other projects.

If you're a clever person, don't throw away the box spring's springs. In the realm of arts and crafts, the springs can be used for anything from holding pots and pans to storing wine bottles and holding candles.

Concluding Remarks

The typical homeowner can easily disassemble and dispose of a used spring or memory foam mattress themselves. You can save money on disposal costs if you do this work yourself. You can do your part for the environment and your community by bringing the mattress's individual components to a recycling center.

After being taken apart, up to 85% of a mattress's materials are recyclable. The process of disassembling and disposing of or recycling your old mattress will leave you prepared to receive your brand new, plush replacement.

We trust that our detailed instructions on how to dispose of your mattress have been helpful.

A Mattress Must Go

We can provide you with the best possible dumpster at the lowest possible cost, making dumpster disposal of old mattresses a breeze. Dumpster rentals should be arranged in advance by calling (855)-573-3867.

This is about Monica Mayhak.

In addition to my 25 years of experience writing about construction, home improvement, property management, and education, I also have 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.

Click here to read more from Monica Mayhak or visit her website.