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How to Break Down a Mattress

How to Break Down a Mattress

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If you are waking up with aches and pains or feel unusually tired after a full night’s sleep, your mattress could be to blame.

According to The Better Sleep Council, the lifespan of a mattress is about seven years. It depends on how often it’s used, but in general, you should consider replacing it. This is especially true if the mattress in your home shows signs of overuse such as sagging, tears, or damage.

When you get a new mattress, you have to figure out how to dispose of your old mattress and possibly your box spring. Each year, Americans dispose of up to 20 million mattresses and box springs. In many communities, there are often restrictions on the disposal of used mattresses.

Cambridge, Massachusetts, Recycling Director explains,

“Mattresses discarded in the trash are notoriously difficult to manage. They are expensive to transport, take up a lot of space in trucks and landfills, and are difficult to process.”

Recycling is the best option but may not always be available in your area. Find a way to dispose of your mattress in your regular trash pickup or take it to a landfill. In these situations, your best bet is to break down your old mattress for easier disposal.

This makes the transport of a heavy mattress less cumbersome and allows you to easily handle the small parts. When breaking down a mattress, you also have the option of separating its components. You can recycle individual parts of the mattress if you have community recycling facilities available.

There is also a benefit for the environment and your community when you break down a mattress before disposal. In a landfill, whole mattresses take up a lot of space and create flammable air pockets. The springs of a mattress can also damage compacting equipment. Toxic flame retardant chemicals can leach into groundwater and soil.

If disposing of your mattress is part of a larger remodeling or clean-out project, you may have access to a rental roll off dumpster container. Be sure that you are allowed to dispose of a mattress in your rental dumpster before tossing it in there.

There may be some restrictions by local regulations or your rental dumpster company. Usually, parts made of wood, like box springs or a wood frame can go in a dumpster.

Cutting the mattress down takes up less room and allows you to pull out any recyclable material before discarding it. If there is a fee for mattress disposal, cutting it down yourself can help you avoid paying those extra fees for disposal.

Follow this article of our step-by-step guide to breaking down an old mattress and box spring for mattress disposal.

Tools Needed for Breaking Down a Mattress and Box Spring:

You can find most of these at a local hardware store.

  • Utility knife or kitchen knife
  • Seam ripper
  • Heavy pair of pliers
  • Wire cutter or bolt cutter
  • Hand saw or carving knife
  • Trash bags
  • Cardboard boxes
  • Cut-resistant work gloves
  • Safety glasses
  • Box cutter
  • Scissors
  • Tape measure optional

Step by Step Guide to Breaking Down a Mattress

Step 1: Carry the Mattress Outside

Cutting up the mattress and box spring parts is best done outside. You'll avoid a huge mess from the cotton, foam, and wood frame. Get a helper or some people to assist you with removing the mattress from your home. If you must cut up the mattress parts in your home, lay down heavy tarps first. In either case, it's a good idea to lay the mattress flat on the ground. Make sure you have plenty of room around the mattress to work. This will make it easier to carry out the rest of the steps.

Step 2: Cut Off the Piping Cord from the Mattress Edges

Find the piping thread or binding cords on the edges of a mattress that help hold the top and bottom fabric to the sides of the mattress.

After step 1, separate the corded trim along the edges of your mattress using a utility knife or seam ripper to remove the cord. It is easiest to cut as you pull and put tension on the thread using the utility knife to cut where the cord and mattress meet.

Step 3: Remove the Mattress Sides and Top Layer of the Mattress

Once these cords are removed, the mattress sides can be easily pulled away. If there are any buttons on the sides or edge of the mattress, cut them free using a hefty seam ripper. Pull back and cut away the top layer of the mattress fabric from the side.

Some mattresses have an extra mattress topper layer of cotton cushioning. This can be cut along the edges and pulled off.

Under the top layer of fabric, you’ll find padding. If there are any staples, cut them with heavy-duty pliers or wire cutters.

Step 4: Gather and Remove the Padding

The stuffing on a mattress is easily removed once the fiber layer of the mattress cover is removed. After you've completed step 3, simply pull the top padding layer off and collect it into a large trash bag. This material is typically made from cotton or wool, which may be accepted at a recycling facility. Cotton can be taken by your local trash pickup.

an infographic explaining how to break down a mattress
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Step 5: Remove Remaining Bottom Fabric Pieces

Once you've cleaned up the mess from step 4, flip the mattress to the other side. Use your utility knife or seam cutter to tear away any remaining fabric pieces from this half. Pull the fabric off the mattress. Remove any staples as you go. This fabric may also be accepted at a recycling facility. If there is any remaining padding, pull that off as well.

Step 6: Break Down the Metal Springs

The interior springs can be cut down into many smaller pieces with a bolt cutter. Take care with this step, as the cut metal edges of the springs can be quite sharp.

Place the cut metal springs pieces into a cardboard box rather than a garbage bag to prevent any injuries from the cut metal when transporting. A metal recycling center will often take this metal.

Step 7: Break Down the Box Spring Frame

Wood box springs are relatively easier to break down than your old mattress. Remove any plastic support pieces from the corners of the box spring. Cut the fabric cover in half and pull the fabric away from the wood frame underneath. This fabric is thinner and easier to remove than the fabric on a mattress. Remove any staples from wood to make removal of the fabric easier.

Using a hand saw, break down the box spring wood frame in half, then into smaller pieces. Look out for any wood chips debris. If your box spring has any metal or wood pieces, you can cut them down for easy transport. Get rid of the waste by taking the wood frame pieces and metal to a recycling center or scrap yard.

Step 8: Dispose of or Take to Mattress Recycling Facilities

You can recycle the separated parts of a mattress. Also, check your city's recycling program. Available recycling services may be in different facilities, depending on the type of material.

Use heavy, large-capacity garbage bags and cardboard boxes to haul the pieces of the mattress away. You can also place broken-down mattress pieces out for your trash hauler at home to get rid of, or you can take the debris to a landfill.

If you have a foam mattress made of polyurethane foam, often called a “mattress-in-a-box,” then breaking down is fairly straightforward. You would remove the mattress fabric cover in much the same way as a conventional mattress. The thick foam can then be cut into pieces.

“If you think about a bed in a box, it’s just a big giant piece of foam. It’s a lot easier to handle in terms of dismantling,” explains Greg Cooper, waste programs director in Massachusetts.

Once you've completed the cut up process, the foam cushioning pieces can be disposed of or recycled for small garden projects or a compost pile. Another example, some people will use pieces of a mattress to make comfortable car seats. Also, some states like Rhode Island require citizens to recycle their mattresses at a facility. Use the wood from the box spring and woof frame for crafts or burn in the your fire pit.

Don't get rid of the springs from the box spring if your crafty! The springs can be used as pot holders, wine racks, candle holders and all things arts and crafts.

Final Thoughts

Breaking down and disposing of an old spring or memory foam mattress is a set of steps that are accomplished by the average homeowner, no problem. By completing these steps yourself, you can save money on disposal fees. Taking the separated pieces of your used mattress to a recycling center is one of many ways you can help the environment and your community.

Once disassembled, up to 85% of mattress components can be recycled. Once you’ve accomplished this breaking down and disposal or recycling process, you’ll be ready for a new comfy mattress to replace your old one.

We hope you got a good understanding from our step-by-step guide to get rid of your mattress!

Need to Toss a Mattress?

A dumpster rental provides all you need to dump mattresses, and we can get you the best dumpster at the price you need. Call now to schedule your dumpster ahead of time at (888) 316-7010

About Monica Mayhak

I am an expert content writer with a depth of experience in the waste management and dumpster industry, with over 25 years of experience writing about construction, home improvement, property management, and education topics. As lead research writer for Discount Dumpster, I have expanded my knowledge and understanding of waste management, construction, and environmental issues over the past several years.

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