How to Store Your Mattress and How to Protect It Properly

The Importance of Storing a Mattress Properly

Whether you’re storing your mattress for just a few weeks or long-term, it’s imperative to put it away correctly to ensure that your bed doesn’t get damaged. When you place your mattress in storage, if you don’t take the time and care to make sure to store it well, your bed could deteriorate beyond use by the time you retrieve it.
Factors such as humidity level, the position in which you store your mattress, and the state it’s in when it goes into storage will all contribute to how well your bed will be able to withstand this period of inactive use.

The Best Place to Store a Mattress

Where you keep your mattress while it’s on hiatus is imperative to its maintenance, and keeping it in the right place can make all the difference.

Garage or Basement Concerns

Choosing to store your mattress in your home is a natural first choice, but properly maintaining your bed in a basement or a garage can be pretty tricky. These areas generally have higher humidity than the rest of your home, and with high moisture comes the opportunity for mold and mildew to take up residence on and in your bed.
If you do decide to keep it in the basement or garage, make sure to use a dehumidifier and ventilate the room well.

A Climate Controlled Unit Is Best

The better choice is to keep your mattress in a climate-controlled unit. This storage area will protect it from temperature fluctuations and humidity issues. Climate control units will also keep it safe from the flooding to which basements and garages are prone.
Maintaining a dry, consistent temperature for your mattress in storage will increase its longevity and ensure that it comes out of storage in the same condition as it went in.

How to Protect a Mattress Before Storing It

Before you put it in storage, you can do several things to protect your mattress. Taking these five steps can add layers of protection to your mattress.

Clean and Air Out Your Mattress

Before you store your mattress, make sure it goes in as clean as possible. Strip away all of your sheets and vacuum both sides of the mattress.
To ensure that your mattress doesn’t carry any strange odors with it into storage, you should also sprinkle baking soda over the surface. Give it at least an hour to absorb the smells, then vacuum off the excess baking soda.
You might also spray the mattress down with a deodorizer or fabric spray—but make sure that the bed is entirely dried and aired out before you put it away.
Learn More: How to Properly Clean Your Mattress

Wrap the Mattress in a Storage Bag or Plastic

Knowing how to wrap a mattress for storage will keep it safer longer. Once your mattress is thoroughly cleaned and well-dried, it’s best to place it in a storage bag or wrap it in plastic. Placing your bed in a waterproof storage bag provides a literal barrier against any elements that could potentially damage it.
If you cannot guarantee that your mattress is completely dried out before you place it in the storage bag, you may want to opt for a lighter, breathable kind of covering. Using a wrap that is both protective and breathable will prevent your mattress from growing mold or bacteria while also ensuring that it doesn’t gather dust or dirt while in storage.

Transport It in a Covered Moving Truck

If you choose to store your mattress somewhere other than your home, you’ll need to know how to transport your mattress. You may be considering driving your mattress to the storage unit on your own, either by strapping it to the top of your vehicle or maneuvering it into the open bed of a pickup truck. In either case, your mattress will likely suffer.
The best mode of transportation is a covered moving truck. A moving truck has the space to hold your mattress without warping its interior and will protect it from any weather damage.

Store Your Mattress on a Flat Surface

Usually, it’s easiest to maneuver a mattress by turning it on its side. However, when keeping the bed somewhere other than its foundation for an extended period, you’ll want to ensure that it’s on a flat surface.
If you leave your mattress on its side long-term, the weight of the internal materials of the bed will begin to break down. The uneven distribution of weight can make your mattress lumpy, eventually to the point of uselessness.

Keep Everything Off the Mattress

Once you’ve safely gotten your mattress to the place you’re keeping it and you’ve laid it on a flat surface, it’s crucial not to stack anything on top of the bed. Keeping storage boxes or other personal items on top of your mattress while you aren’t using it will create pressure on the mattress that will stay there consistently for the duration.
The pressure can cause sagging and break down the internal supports of your bed. If you want your mattress to come out of storage lump-free, don’t stack anything on top of it.

How to Store a Mattress, Depending on Its Type

With so many different types of mattresses on the market now, knowing if there are any special requirements for your bed can help ensure that you store it safely. 

• Memory foam mattress – Because memory foam is more pliable than other mattress types, DO ensure that your memory foam mattress is on a flat surface and nothing is on top of it. DON’T use any spray cleaners or deodorizers when cleaning a memory foam mattress, as it is more likely to retain moisture than other mattresses.
  

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• Latex mattress – The materials in a latex mattress are heavier, so storing it in the wrong position could hasten sagging or deformation. DO store your bed on a flat, supportive foundation, and DON’T keep your mattress on its side.
  

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• Innerspring mattress – DO keep your innerspring mattress free of clutter and check on it often, taking time to rotate it and alternate the pressure. DON’T bend or warp the bed during transportation. Because of their internal structure, innerspring mattresses are not as workable as other types and require extra care when you maneuver them. 
  

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• Hybrid mattress – A hybrid mattress is prone to all of the issues of all-foam and innerspring mattresses. DO rotate and flip your hybrid mattress every three months to avoid pressure points from the internal coils. DON’T store anything on top of your hybrid or use liquid cleaners on the memory foam material.  

Tips to Freshen Up a Mattress After Storage

When you take your mattress out of storage, it may have taken on a stale scent or have absorbed the odors of the storage unit or garage where you kept it. The process for cleaning and freshening up your mattress after removing it from storage is the same as what you would do beforehand.
Sprinkle your mattress with baking soda, let it sit for an hour, and then vacuum it clean. You can repeat this process on both sides. If you use deodorizing sprays here, give the mattress time to air out before dressing the bed. To guarantee that your mattress will be at its best when you are ready to sleep on it, take it out of storage a few days before you want to use it.