You spend a third of your life on top of it and yet your mattress usually travels with no more protection than an old sheet. Bad idea. A scrape against the lorry door, a grease stain or a night in a damp entrance hall is all it takes to ruin it. Protecting your mattress during a move costs very little and guarantees one very specific thing: a good night’s sleep on your first night in the new home.
Protecting your mattress when moving: cover, position and timing
First comes a purpose-made mattress cover, in thick plastic and closed at both ends. They come in every size and seal with adhesive tape. It protects against dust, moisture and dirt from the floor, which is what damages the fabric most. If your mattress has side handles, let them poke through a small slit reinforced with tape: the movers will thank you for it.
Then comes the position. A spring or latex mattress should travel flat or on its edge, never folded, because the internal structure can warp. The fact that some memory-foam mattresses are sold rolled up from the factory doesn’t mean you can fold them again at home, and it’s best not to place heavy boxes on top during the trip either. In the lorry, the ideal is for it to stand upright against a smooth wall, secured with straps and well away from table legs or metal corners.
And the timing. The mattress is the last thing to leave your home and the first thing that should be set up on arrival. If you take the bed apart two days early, you’ll end up sleeping on the sofa for no reason.
Bedding: better in bags than in boxes
Duvets, pillows and comforters take up a lot of space and weigh very little, so there’s no point filling boxes with them. Large bags of fabric or sturdy plastic, well sealed, are more practical. If you want to save space, vacuum bags cut their volume right down, though it’s best not to leave feather fillings compressed for weeks.
Towels and seasonal clothing follow a different logic, the one for preparing clothes and textiles for a move with wardrobe boxes and vacuum bags. Here the key point is to keep your bedding from mixing with anything else.
The first-night kit
This is the trick that saves the most time. Pack a separate bag with a full set of sheets, a pillowcase and a blanket for each bed, and label it clearly. Don’t let it travel in the lorry among forty identical boxes: take it with you, alongside the essentials case for the first few days.
When you arrive late and tired, you won’t want to go rummaging through boxes looking for sheets. With that bag to hand, your bed is made in ten minutes. Is there anything better after a day of moving?
One last detail: before packing, wash and thoroughly dry all your bedding. Storing textiles with a bit of moisture for several days is the fastest way to have them arrive smelling musty.
Rest well from day one
At Mudanzas Trallero we take beds apart and put them back together, pack with the right materials and protect every piece according to its type, mattresses included. Whether you’d rather we handle the full packing or just the most delicate items, we tailor it to your move. Protect your rest with a better-prepared move and arrive at your new home with the bed ready. The Mudanzas Trallero team is here to advise you, with no obligation.
