How can I dispose of a mattress with menstrual blood stains on it?

November 25, 2019 12:37 AM

I’m moving to a new apartment within my building. I have a double mattress I want to dispose of but I’m not able to lift it so I have to hire someone. Mattresses are meant to be put inside the building near the outside dumpsters. I don’t want the person I hire to see them nor my building manager who lives in the building. I prefer it’s not just sitting there in the open for everyone to see either. What’s the cheapest way to deal with this? Thanks.
posted by anonymous to Grab Bag (20 answers total)

Leave a fitted sheet on it. They might want to take it off when they move it though, as that will make it harder for them to lift it. Will solve your issue with leaving it downstairs though.
posted by ryanbryan at 12:49 AM on November 25, 2019 [4 favorites]

Depends on the mattress type and the size of the stains. Cleaning advice here, here, here & here; or, cut the stained material from the mattress with an x-acto knife or something similarly sharp. (Easier if this mattress is not a memory-foam number.) The mattress is going in the garbage; you can deface it willy-nilly before it does.
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:53 AM on November 25, 2019 [17 favorites]

Can you fold it over and tie it up to stay thay way? Most people would find that would make it easier to carry. Especially if you tie it with something that's easy to grab on to.
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:02 AM on November 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

Paint the whole mattress with something garish and random. Not subtle, could be fun.
posted by amtho at 1:03 AM on November 25, 2019 [8 favorites]

At least in my jurisdiction, mattresses must be sealed into plastic bags for disposal. Use an opaque bag. Nobody will bother to open it.

If you can't find an opaque mattress bag, either tape cut-up black garbage bags onto the mattress as if you improvised a mattress bag out of what you had, or leave a fitted sheet on the mattress inside the transparent bag.
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 1:13 AM on November 25, 2019 [11 favorites]

Paint the whole mattress with something garish and random. Not subtle, could be fun.

Something like this?
posted by fullerine at 1:14 AM on November 25, 2019 [16 favorites]

Fullerine is a national treasure, IMO
posted by ivanthenotsoterrible at 2:37 AM on November 25, 2019 [2 favorites]

Box cutter.

If you are sensitive to them guessing why there is a section out take a few sections or strip the entire top cover. If you are not used to working with box cutters wear work gloves while doing this, to protect your fingers from nicks.
posted by Jane the Brown at 4:19 AM on November 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

A lot of the mattress bags I have seen for moving and such are clear, but you can buy very thin/cheap mattress protectors that are solid white (can't see through).
posted by jraz at 4:42 AM on November 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

This bed bug mattress protector does not seem to be clear. It will make it a little harder to move, but you could insist that the movers keep it on, as if the mattress had previously been exposed to bedbugs and you don't want to risk your current place getting infected.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 4:56 AM on November 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

Cover the stain with duct tape before bagging the mattress.
posted by heatherlogan at 6:02 AM on November 25, 2019 [23 favorites]

If you have some hydrogen peroxide, try pouring it on the stain. I have had hydrogen peroxide take up dried menstrual blood very easily. If nothing else it might fade it enough to avoid embarrassment. You don't have to buy high concentration, just whatever they sell in the local pharmacy.
posted by possibilityleft at 6:08 AM on November 25, 2019 [4 favorites]

Straight bleach on the stain then dab out with water? You don’t need to worry about wrecking the fabric.
posted by slateyness at 6:29 AM on November 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

Duct tape seems like the best plan to me. It's plausible that someone might patch a rip in a mattress's fabric with duct tape if it's a shitty old mattress.

I've moved mattresses too many times before and it can be pretty hard to grip a mattress that's inside a plastic bag; if it's going to be thrown away and doesn't need to be protected from the elements, it's silly to make people carry it inside a plastic bag rather than putting the bag on after it's outside. Also, as someone with serious bedbug trauma that revolved more around the possibility/fear of having bedbugs than actually experiencing them, I would really not advocate messing with people's heads by implying that bedbugs are or have been around when they have not.
posted by needs more cowbell at 6:34 AM on November 25, 2019 [4 favorites]

just dump some paint or bleach on the stain to disguise, and add some more stains as well because why not. you're throwing it away anyway. you don't even need to remove the bleach, it will degrade in the sun, just don't let it touch your clothes when you're tossing it. it would be kind to wait until the paint or bleach is all dry before putting it out there so the person who collects it won't stain their clothes either.
posted by fingersandtoes at 6:35 AM on November 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

"Painted Mattress" will be the name of my next lounge band.
posted by Weftage at 6:49 AM on November 25, 2019 [2 favorites]

Black ink. Nothing too biological happened to it, like bedbugs or blood. Somebody did a crossword in bed and their ballpoint pen leaked.
posted by Don Pepino at 7:26 AM on November 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

Nthing duct tape. Not unusual enough for anyone to give it a second thought, completely opaque, cheap, easy.
posted by desuetude at 7:48 AM on November 25, 2019

I'd put some kind of tape on over the stains and then I'd put tape on in other places too, to pretend like it wasn't covering a stain.
posted by bluedaisy at 11:02 AM on November 25, 2019

Ha, I cannot believe this question has come up twice in my life now, once IRL.

I would suggest pouring Coke (or something else darkly colored and thick) on the mattress, in random spots. This assumes you do not need to sleep on it for a night while the Coke is drying.

This way, you don't have to do any heavy lifting, plus it's fun to "ruin" something with no consequence. Hope this helps!
posted by vacuumsealed at 6:13 PM on November 30, 2019