How To Store A Mattress Long Term (Without Ruining It)
A spare mattress is a strange thing to own: too big to just shove in a cupboard, too awkward to lean anywhere useful – and yet somehow it always ends up being the last thing anyone plans for when a move or a renovation comes up. Have you moved past the ‘where on earth do we even put this’ stage and into ‘how to store a mattress properly’ land? It’s actually not that difficult to get right – especially with our help.
The trouble is, a mattress is quite a bit more fragile in storage than it looks or seems.
Store it the wrong way and:
- It can pick up marks or odours before it’s even packed away
- The springs or foam can lose their shape
- It can end up damaged well before you ever get it back onto a bed frame.
8 Tips for how to store a mattress properly
A few sensible steps at the start make the difference between pulling out a mattress that’s as good as the day it went in, and pulling out one you’d rather never sleep on again, thanks very much.
1. Clean & fully dry it first
- Vacuum both sides
- Spot-clean any marks with a mild detergent.
Why? It gets out the worst of the dust, dead skin and lingering odours before the mattress goes into storage, so it comes back out just as clean as it went in.
2. Protect it with a mattress cover
A dedicated mattress cover keeps dust, dirt and general wear off the mattress the whole time it’s in storage.
We stock mattress covers in our Box Shop, along with the rest of the packing supplies you’ll need, so it’s easy to sort in the same trip. Just make sure it’s fitted properly over the whole mattress rather than draped loosely on top.
3. Decide whether it’s going flat or on its side
Storing a mattress flat – fully supported underneath – is usually the safer option for maintaining its shape and integrity.
If you’re working out how to store a mattress against a wall because floor space is tight, it works fine for shorter stretches. However, standing it upright for long periods can eventually cause springs and foam to shift or sag unevenly, so it’s worth turning it periodically if it’s stored this way for months at a time.
4. Get it off the floor
Raising the mattress slightly off the floor keeps it cleaner and protects it from general knocks and marks.
Here’s what to put underneath it. Something like:
- A few pallets
- Wooden slats
- An old bed base.
Something like that keeps the mattress raised and out of the way, which helps it come through storage in better condition.
5. Get the right unit size
Getting the size right matters more than people expect. A mattress crammed into a unit that’s too small, or squeezed in alongside too many other items, is far more likely to get bent, marked or knocked around.
If you’re working out how to store a mattress in storage for an extended period, our friendly team can help you work out the right unit size and the best way to position everything once it’s in there – or you can get a rough idea with our online space estimator first.
6. Don’t stack anything heavy on top
We know it’s tempting to use a stored mattress as a shelf for other boxes, but sustained weight on a mattress warps the internal structure over time, particularly with memory foam or pocket-sprung models.
Give it its own space rather than treating it as a platform, even if that means fitting one less box into the unit.
7. Give it a bit of breathing space
Push a mattress up hard against boxes and walls on every side, and you won’t have much room to check on it or move it later without a struggle.
A gap of even a few centimetres on each side makes it far easier to access down the track.
8. Check in on it every so often
If you know a mattress is going to be in storage for an extended stretch, it’s worth a quick look every few months, just to confirm the cover’s still fitted properly and everything looks as it should.
Remember, catching a problem early is a lot easier than discovering it the day you go to collect it.
Getting the storage part right too
All the preparation in the world doesn’t count for much if the storage space itself isn’t up to the job. If you’re working out how to store a mattress in a storage unit, the facility matters just as much as how you’ve wrapped and positioned the mattress itself.
A clean, secure unit, sized properly for what you’re storing, gives everything you’ve done upfront a real chance of paying off, even over a long stretch between moves.
Here at Jim’s Self Storage in Williamstown, we help people work out exactly what they need for a mattress and everything else going into storage – whether that’s a compact unit for a single mattress during a move or something bigger for a full household in transition. Our team’s also happy to talk you through Store Protect if you’d like extra peace of mind on top of your unit’s security.
Want more advice about how to properly store a mattress, or not sure what size or setup suits your situation best? Get in touch and we’ll point you toward the right mattress storage option for you.
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