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Before bringing a new mattress home, you might need to get rid of your old one. Either you can throw it away, or you can recycle different parts of it.
So if you are wondering how to get rid of your old mattress, you are in the right place. Here, you will find the methods for disposing of the large piece of foam, wood, and spring below.
Also, check out the innovative ways to recycle your mattress, whether you’re into DIY projects or not.
When Should You Replace Your Mattress?
Since mattresses are expensive, people do not consider replacing them with a new one until they wear out entirely. However, it is not healthy to wait that long as it may cause inadequate sleep and aches all over your body.
Look for the following red flags and replace your old mattress if you find any one of these.
- Your mattress is over 8 to 10 years. Hybrid innerspring-foam mattresses tend to degrade sooner than the plain ones. The lifespan may vary with designs and materials.
- If your mornings start with aching all over the body and tiredness, the sagging of the mattress is probably responsible for it.
- The mattress will make noises because of the springs; in worst cases, you can feel the coils from the top.
- Losing or gaining weight, post-operative stage, a partner or large pet – factors like these may lead you to the decision of replacing your mattress.
- Overall, you will not feel well-rested and comfortable.
How to Dispose of Your Old Mattress?
Hopefully, with the conditions mentioned above, you have found enough reasons to dispose of your mattress to purchase a new one.
You can dispose of a bed in the following ways:
- Recycling
- Donating
- Throwing it out
Let’s start with the most exciting option—recycling, which is also eco-friendly!
How Can You Recycle Your Old Mattress?
Reusing a mattress can allow you to keep good old memories. It can also save you some money to use it for other purposes.
Here are some ideas to go creative and craft on your lazy days.
Holder:
The innerspring mattress contains flexible springs. You can tear up the mattress’s upper layers, which might help you relieve some stress. When you separate the springs, you can polish them, color them and turn them into snack holders such as wine holders, candles, or even flower holders.
New bed for your pet:
If you own a pet, you should consider a new bed made of foam, padding, and comfortable fabrics. Mattress with memory foam is perfect for making a bed out of them. And some of the pet owners have also mentioned that their pets love their new bed as it contains their owners’ smell.
Cushions:
Your pet’s bed will not require all of the mattresses. So, you will have plenty of foams and paddings to make cushions, stuffed animal filler, pillows, couch seats, swing seats, and anything you think needs the softness and comfort of a mattress.
Plant bed:
Like the holder we mentioned in the first point, you can turn your mattress into a beautiful and unique garden bed. But unlike the previous one, you do not need to separate the springs from the base frame.
To keep the springs intact with the frame, you must remove the foams and fabrics. Afterward, you can hang the frame containing the springs on your garden wall. Make a cone-shaped plant holder and keep the tiny plants in the spring holes.
If you want, you can leave some food in the springs for the birds to come into your garden more frequently and even make a nest.
Chandelier:
We know you may not believe the mattress you wanted to throw out can turn into a stunning large chandelier over your dining, fireplace, porch, or kitchen counter.
Removing the extra padding and foam will reveal the rectangular frame with springs. You can spray paint on them with golden or silver coloring and hang the frame from your ceiling with ropes or chains. And in addition, with crystals, cloths, ribbons, and lights, your place will look aesthetic.
Or you can add small LED lights and hang the frame over your bed.
Home décor:
Wall focal pieces, jewelry organizers, spring wreaths, and many other home décor ideas are possible to craft with your mattress.
Alternating Option: Donating Your Mattress
Instead of throwing your mattress for little to no money, you can donate the bed to someone who needs it the most. However, you must ensure that the mattress is usable before donating it. And the easiest way to figure that out is to ask yourself if you would receive the bed as a donation or not.
You can call the organization you want to donate to and ask for the people to come over and inspect for you. Or you can examine your mattress for the following parameters. You can also give away the bed if it passes the following parameters. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time for you and the mattress.
Check the following things beforehand:
1. Is it odorous?
The first thing you should do is probably a sniff test. You may not find the odor strong enough, but a person who does not live with you may find the scent weird. Call a friend to do the sniff test for you.
Washing the mattress with baking soda could reduce the slight odor. Sprinkle baking soda on the bed’s surface and let it sit for a couple of hours. Vacuum the soda and put the mattress outside for fresh air.
If the odor remains after a few hours, consider disposing of it rather than donating it.
2. Does it have bugs?
Another essential factor you need to consider before donating your mattress is looking for bugs. If you want to replace your bed because you found molds, bugs, or other infestations, you should never donate such mattresses.
After cleaning the surface or inner cover, you may think that the bug is gone and it qualifies to donate. But the infestation may have spread to the deeper parts of the mattress.
3. What is the condition of the mattress?
Inspect the whole mattress on both upper and lower sides. And look for bending coils, jutting, rips, holes, tears, noisy spring, broken frame, and excessive sagging that can make the mattress unusable.
After inspecting correctly, you can contact the following organizations for example:
- Goodwill
- Habitat for humanity
- Furniture Bank Association of America
- Catholic Charities
- org
- United Way
Throw Out the Junk:
If your mattress is not usable enough to donate and you do not want to craft with a piece of junk, the only option you are left with is to throw away the mattress. However, there are effective and safe ways to do that.
Let’s follow the below steps:
- Before throwing the mattress out in the dumpster, you should check your warranty on your purchase. Sometimes, the warrant states that you will get a replacement of the old mattress, or the company has a removal policy.
- Consult with the members of your community. The state’s mattress removal policy is rigorous in a few states, such as Connecticut, Rhode Island, and California. It has complete guidelines provided in every community on how to dispose of the mattress.
- You will find stores that buy an old mattress, turn it into compost or separate springs, and sell them. Old mattresses also have resale value, so sell them rather than dumping them in the dumpster.
Conclusion:
To wrap up this article, we want you to remind that no matter what you do, try not to be irresponsible and leave your mattress out in the street, hoping the cleaners will take it away. And throwing it in the dumpster will also not give you peace of mind.
Hopefully, you have more than enough ideas to get rid of your old mattress. So, do not wait for too long to buy a new mattress and dispose of the old one with proper caution.