Old Mattress Removal

An old mattress differs from an old piece of furniture in one important way: it has no onward route at all. A wardrobe, a table or a chair can still be given away, sold or put in the courtyard with a note — somebody will take them. A used mattress isn't accepted by charities or by buyers on classified sites, and even acquaintances won't take it. The only real route is disposal, and that is exactly why the old mattress so often just stays put.

Why the old mattress stays on the balcony

The typical picture is this: the new mattress was bought six months or a year ago, but the old one still stands on the balcony, in the basement or propped against the wall in the spare room. It ends up there as a temporary solution and stays for months, because by the time there is a free afternoon it turns out you also need a vehicle and a second person.

In the meantime the mattress usually only gets worse. On a balcony it soaks up damp and cold; in a basement, smells and mould. A mattress that has stood for a year in an unheated space is heavier than it was, because it has taken on moisture, and it is often not covered by anything at all.

What condition mattresses are usually in

The mattress somebody is getting rid of is almost never in pretty condition. The cases we actually see:

• Sagging and worn through in the middle — the foam or the springs have lost their shape and there's a visible dip;
• Stains and smells — from spilled liquid, from pets, or simply from time;
• Torn or frayed cover, split seams, a broken zip;
• Damp-damaged mattresses from basements, summer houses and unheated rooms;
• Spring ends that have worked loose, already poking through the fabric and sharp;
• Mattresses after a flood or a burst pipe that can no longer be dried out.

None of that affects whether we take the mattress or what it costs. The mattress doesn't have to be cleaned, aired or explained. The condition changes only one practical thing — we cover a damp or dirty mattress before carrying it out, so it doesn't leave marks in the stairwell and the lift.

Old spring mattresses are harder to carry out

Older mattresses are usually spring mattresses with a metal unit or even a metal frame inside. They are heavier and stiffer than today's foam and latex mattresses: they can't be rolled or folded, and on a stairwell landing they can't be bent around the banister. The mattress stays flat and rigid the whole way, and at the turn it has to be handled almost vertically. An old spring mattress that has soaked up moisture is one of the most unwieldy objects in a flat, and that is part of the reason it stays uncarried for so long.

Together with the old bed

The most common case isn't a single mattress, but a mattress together with the old bed or base. If the old mattress has sagged, the base has usually worn out too — the wooden slats are broken or have fallen out, and that is exactly why the mattress has sagged further in the middle. It then makes sense to remove both at once, because the old base is no use to a new mattress.

It must not be left by the bins

A mattress is bulky waste, not household waste. It must not be left by the building's bins — it isn't collected there on the ordinary rounds, it stands for days, and the property manager can charge the whole building extra for it. What you can do yourself we've put together on the page where to dispose of an old mattress. If you're looking for mattress removal in general, see the mattress removal page.

Price

Old mattress removal starts at €25, excluding VAT. The minimum order is €30, so it is better value to remove the mattress together with the bed, the base or other furniture. Full price list →

How to book

Fill in the form, attach a photo and give us the address, the floor and whether there is a lift. We'll call you with a price.