How does a king mattress get down three flights
Before anyone picks up a mattress, we work out what the mattress is, what else goes with it, and where the way out gets tight.
1. Size and type
Twins, fulls, queens, kings and California kings each handle differently on stairs. A twin flexes and can turn almost anywhere. A king is wider than most doorways and takes two people on the stairs. Memory foam is light but floppy, so it folds in the middle when you try to lift it alone and brushes the wall on the way down. A hybrid, with foam over coils, is heavier than it looks and carries like an innerspring.
2. The box spring and the frame
A one-piece full or queen box spring cannot flex, so a tight stair turn or a narrow hallway at the top of a landing can stop it where a mattress above it kept going. Split box springs in two pieces travel better. The crew takes the bed frame apart in the bedroom. Tell us on the call if the frame is wrought iron or an antique four-poster, which take their own care.
3. Adjustable bases
An adjustable base is a motor, a frame and a mattress platform in one. It is heavy, the cord has to come out before anything else, and the hinges have pinch points. We ask that you unplug it before the crew arrives. The crew moves it. Nobody in the home tips it, drags it or tries to take the motor off.
4. The mattress itself
Say the age on the call if you remember it, and whether the mattress has a bag already. Memory foam, innerspring and hybrid each carry differently, so the type matters as much as the size.
5. The way out
Walk-up stairs with a sharp turn at the top are the shape of the carry in two-flats and three-flats. Service and freight elevators move a mattress straight when a building permits them; ask the building about elevator use before the day, since each building sets its own rules. Back porches and alley stairs are the second way out of many Chicago buildings. Say on the call which route the mattress is coming out, if you have a view on it.
6. Bedbugs
If there is any sign of bedbugs, or any question, tell us on the call and ask what the crew needs. We will not give treatment advice and we will not make a claim either way.
| Item or situation | What the crew checks | What to say on the call |
|---|---|---|
| King mattress | The width at the first doorway, the stair turn, the elevator | The size, the floor and whether an elevator is available |
| Memory foam mattress | How floppy it is in the fold, whether it folds back flat | That it is memory foam, and the age if you remember it |
| Hybrid mattress | Coil count feel, weight across the middle | That it is a hybrid (foam over coils) |
| Adjustable base | Cord, hinges, platform size | That there is an adjustable base, and whether the cord has been pulled already |
| Box spring | One piece against split, stair turns | Whether the box spring is one piece or split |
| Bunk or trundle mattress | Whether the frame comes apart in the room | Whether the frame is a bunk, a trundle or a loft |
| Crib mattress | Age, condition, bagging | How many crib mattresses, and whether a crib frame goes too |
Where a bed came in as part of a larger piece, like a captain's bed with drawers or a daybed with built-in storage, the whole piece can leave through furniture removal rather than splitting the job. A bed coming out as part of a wider sort of furniture, or the mattress leaving along with the rest of an apartment, can travel with a move-out.
What a used mattress may do next
Not every mattress is at the end. The crew looks at the piece for signs that it might be worth passing on to someone else, and signs that it is a true throw-out.
Pieces that may still have a next home
- A newer mattress with the tags still on, no stains and no tears.
- A clean, firm box spring.
Pieces that are at the end
- Stains anywhere on the fabric.
- Rips, tears or exposed foam.
- A sag you can feel across the middle, or a broken coil.
- A pet-damaged piece.
- Anything with any sign of bedbugs.
What happens to a mattress after it leaves the room belongs to mattress disposal, which covers reuse limits, what the piece is made of, and where the load goes.
What our crew handles on a mattress job
Carrying the mattress and the box spring out of the home, taking the bed frame apart in the bedroom, and loading the truck are part of the job. More than one mattress coming out means one piece at a time rather than stacking.
