How do I get rid of this darn mattress?

March 19, 2011 6:49 PM

How do I get rid of my mattress that I don't want?

I am moving out of my apartment in Boston in May. I have a full-sized mattress with no box spring. I sold my bed frame to the incoming tennant but she does not want the mattress. It is a perfectly good mattress but I can't take it with me.

I have considered craigslist but I am concerned with the logistics of getting someone to pick it up because I am on a tight schedule and will not be around much of the month.

What is the best way to dispose of a mattress in a city?

posted by arveale to home & garden (14 answers total)

I've found people to be pretty fast on Craigslist. I listed a laptop a few hours ago and someone is on their way now to pick it up. If you sell it at a good price you could probably get rid of it within the hour. If it's free, 15 minutes.
posted by kdern at 6:54 PM on March 19, 2011 [2 favorites]

Call your local Goodwill, Salvation Army, thrift-store-of-choice and ask them if they do pickup. Those that do, do it for free.
posted by Ys at 7:10 PM on March 19, 2011

I'm with kdern on this one, put it on Craigslist cheap or free (and/or Freecycle if you just want it gone) and watch it disappear FAST.
posted by dancestoblue at 7:26 PM on March 19, 2011

With bedbug fears, you may have problems finding someone to take it. You can try a "FREE, clean!" note on it at the curb in May. But otherwise the trash collectors will take it with your regular trash.
posted by ldthomps at 7:33 PM on March 19, 2011

Sometimes homeless or women's shelters will take used mattresses -- as long as they are free of stains.
posted by BeBoth at 7:41 PM on March 19, 2011

Call your local Goodwill, Salvation Army, thrift-store-of-choice and ask them if they do pickup. Those that do, do it for free.

I would try Craigslist. Our local Goodwill no longer takes mattresses.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 8:22 PM on March 19, 2011

Sawzall + a little bit in the trash each week.
posted by Ostara at 8:33 PM on March 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

Some trash collectors will leave a mattress by a dumpster for... ever. They don't take them. Then your landlord gets pissed as hell at you and comes after you.

I have sometimes imagined myself in this position (needing to rid myself of a mattress) and it occured to me that a mattress store might be able to do that, since presumably they haul old mattresses away when they deliver new ones (or am I nuts here?). I don't know if any of them would do it without the corresponding purchase of a mattress, but you could ask. Maybe they would charge a (hopefully nominal) fee for this?
posted by marble at 9:28 PM on March 19, 2011

Try a notice on a bulletin board. Either in the building or nearby store. Advertise it free ( you did say dispose) if possible. You might be surprised at how fast it will go. But seconding the bedbug thing. If you do go the "Sawzall route, remember theres likely lots of steel springs and metal inside. You might want to either borrow, rent or invest in a pair of bolt cutters. Snip, snip and all that.
posted by Taurid at 9:55 PM on March 19, 2011

We were pretty easily able to get a charity to come pick ours up. It was very new, high-end and in perfect condition (we just realized it didn't work well for our backs, and it was too late to return it, so we had to eat the cost). They were thrilled to have it.
posted by sharding at 9:55 PM on March 19, 2011

If craigslist doesn't work out, you could try a bedding company. A lot of them take back old mattresses and boxsprings when you purchase a new set. They might provide options to recycle at a cost (which most likely includes pickup).
posted by purephase at 11:09 PM on March 19, 2011

all it took for me was a call to my recycling provider. they instructed me to leave it at the curb and picked it up the next day. i'm not in Boston, but i'd have to imagine they have a similar system in place.
posted by iamscott at 12:09 AM on March 20, 2011

We put ours on Freecycle and it was taken within the hour.
posted by lhall at 12:21 AM on March 20, 2011

Boston is a college town. Leave it on the curb and the next time you look out the window, it'll be gone.
posted by venividivici at 11:31 AM on March 20, 2011