How to pack a mattress and bed frame for a move
Bag the mattress, keep foam flat, take the frame apart with the bolts in one labeled bag, and make the bed the first thing you rebuild.
The BoxTrack team · · 5 min read
It's 11pm in the new place. The mattress is in, still in its bag, leaning against the bedroom wall. The headboard and rails are in the hallway. The bolts that hold them together are in a sandwich bag, and the sandwich bag is in one of 40 boxes. You sleep on the mattress on the floor and spend the next morning opening boxes.
A bed is two jobs on moving day: getting the mattress there clean and in shape, and getting the frame there with every piece and every bolt. Here's how to do both.
Before you start
Strip the bed and wash the bedding a few days before, then pack one set of sheets and a pillowcase in the box you'll open first. Have two people for the mattress. Even a mattress that isn't very heavy is floppy and awkward, and stairs and doorways are where it gets dropped, torn or bent.
Gather what you need:
- A mattress bag sized for your mattress, plus one for the box spring if you have one
- Packing tape
- Zip-top bags and a marker for the hardware
- The tools that came with the bed, or a screwdriver and Allen keys
- Moving blankets or stretch wrap for the headboard and rails
Bag the mattress
A mattress bag keeps off dust, rain on the walk to the truck, and whatever else is in the truck. Slide it on with the mattress standing on its long edge, then tape the open end closed and press the air out.
If you're worried about bed bugs, this is the moment to deal with them, not after the move. The EPA's bed bug guidance describes encasements for mattresses and box springs that zip fully closed, so any bugs inside can't get out and others can't hide in the bed. Check the mattress seams and the frame's joints with a flashlight before you pack, and if you find signs of them, call a pest professional before anything goes in a truck.
Flat or on its side?
It depends on what's inside the mattress. The advice from retailers and movers isn't perfectly consistent, but the cautious version looks like this:
| Memory foam or latex | Innerspring or hybrid | |
|---|---|---|
| Carry on its side, short distances | ✓ | ✓ |
| Travel on its side in the truck, strapped | Short trips only | ✓ |
| Store flat for weeks or months | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fold in half | ✗ | ✗ |
| Stack boxes on top | ✗ | ✗ |
Home Depot's guide to moving a mattress says coil mattresses travel best on their side edge. It allows a thin memory foam mattress, under 11 inches, to be folded only for a very short move and not left folded for more than an hour or two. Folding thicker foam, or folding for longer, can damage it. PODS, in its mattress moving and storage guide, recommends flat for foam and hybrids and warns that a mattress left standing for a month or so can come out warped.
Whatever the type, don't let heavy boxes ride on top of it. Concentrated weight for hours can leave dents. And check your mattress's warranty or care card; some say how the maker wants it moved.
Take the frame apart
This is where most beds lose a part.
- Photograph it before you touch it. A picture of each joint, and one of the whole frame, is the instruction manual you'll want later.
- Take off the slats or the support first, then the side rails, then the headboard and footboard.
- Bag the hardware as it comes out. Bolts, washers, brackets and the Allen key all go in one zip-top bag. Write on it which bed it's from ("Main bed, 8 bolts, 8 washers").
- Tape the bag to the headboard or the largest piece of the frame, so they can't travel separately. Some people put it in the first-night box instead. Either way, decide and write it down.
- Bundle the rails and slats. Tape or tie the rails together, and wrap the slats so they can't scatter.
- Wrap the headboard. A moving blanket or stretch wrap stops scratches on wood and tears on upholstery.
If the bed has a storage drawer or built-in shelves, empty them first. Frames are designed to hold weight when they're assembled, not when four people are carrying a piece of one down the stairs.
Moving it in a car
If you're moving the mattress yourself on a car roof, bag it and tape down any loose plastic, which can tear or catch the wind. Strap it across the front, middle and back, and add a strap from front to back so the front edge can't lift. Casper's guide to moving a mattress suggests ratchet straps or rope tied to a roof rack. Drive slowly and stop to check it. Many states have rules about unsecured loads, so if you're not sure it's safe, a borrowed van or a mover is cheaper than a ticket or a crash.
Rebuild the bed first
In the new home, put the bed together before you unpack anything else in the bedroom. It needs the floor space, and by the end of moving day you'll want somewhere to sleep.
A bed on moving day
- The week beforeWash the bedding; check for bed bugs; find the tools
- The night beforeSleep in it one last time
- Moving morningStrip it, bag the mattress, take the frame apart, bag and label the bolts
- LoadingFrame pieces in first; mattress last on, against the wall, strapped
- First hour in the new homeRebuild the frame, unbag the mattress, make the bed
Take the mattress out of its bag once it's indoors. Foam mattresses may need a few hours to settle back to full shape after a move, so do it early. If the mattress came in bent or creased, lay it flat and let it recover before deciding anything.
Keep track of the small pieces
The bed's bolts are the classic lost item, but the same goes for shelf pins, table leg screws and the TV wall bracket. Treat each bag of hardware like a box: give it a name, write what's in it and where it went.
BoxTrack makes that a ten-second job. Make a box in the app for the hardware bag, snap what's in it, and print a QR label. At the new place, search "bed bolts" and BoxTrack tells you which box or bag they're in. See how BoxTrack works for a move. Your first box is free.
For the rest of the house, our guide on how to label moving boxes covers a numbering system, and what to unpack first explains what goes in the first-night box.
Sources
- Home Depot, How to move a mattress
- PODS, Moving a mattress: how to move and store your mattress
- Casper, How to move a mattress
- US Environmental Protection Agency, Bed bugs: prevention, detection and control
This is general information. Follow your mattress maker's care instructions, and check local rules before carrying anything on a car roof.
