Bed Moving 

1. Protecting Your Mattress is Key 
2. Equipment and Tools for Moving a Bed
3. How the Professionals Do It
4. Moving Your Mattress Long Distance

1. Protecting Your Mattress is Key 

It is a good idea to protect the individual components of a bed with special packing techniques, including the mattress, which can just simply seem soft, fluffy, and shapeless. Mattresses can become damaged and deformed, changing in size and shape during a move, or perhaps during the process of shipping. A mattress bag is one of the packing tools needed to protect it from the outdoor elements and any unclean surfaces that the mattress may encounter while it is being moved and also during transport inside of a moving truck, van, or vehicle.

2. Equipment and Tools to Move a Bed

Moving straps are excellent tools for carrying a packed bed that may include the mattress, headboard, and box spring. A wrapped and boxed mattress and box spring set is best moved on top of a long strap that will be carried by two people. These straps dramatically increase the amount of weight an individual person can leverage and helps to prevent injuries. The strap is held while walking and standing upright, and takes pressure off of the hands and wrists, allowing the mover to walk with their back straight. A long rope is also great for carrying mattresses and can be tied around the width of the mattress creating handles.

There is special mattress moving dollies that hotels use which resemble a stationary bike with two vertical posts on the left and right ends. It has a front-end floor scoop and a small base in the back that balances the mattress. It is easy then to just slide the mattress onto the device and then to bungee tie it down to the dolly. These types of mattress dollies can also be used to move other large items like tables as well.

When to move a bed, wrap box springs and other parts of the bed with cardboard to create a barrier of protection and then strap this cushioning down with moving tape.

3. How the Professionals Do It

A professional technique used in mattress moving is to first cover the mattress completely over with moving pads or blankets and then to wrap it entirely in plastic, unrolling the wrapping onto the mattress and sealing it in. This wrapping technique is also utilized on other types of furniture like sofas, antiques, large screen televisions, and chairs. Placing additional moving pads at the base of a mattress also helps to keep it standing upright and immobilized. If a mover is moving by him or herself and needs to partially drag some of their items, extra layering and protection will need to be added. Once the shrink wrapped in applied, the second layer of packing foam or bubble wrap is applied. Cover the mattress completely so that all of the fabric is beneath the protective layer.

4. Moving Your Mattress Long Distance

When moving long distance, mattresses travel best in a covered, enclosed truck that does not allow it to flap around in the elements. The mattress should be inserted inside of a mattress bag and then placed inside of a mattress-shipping box. When shipping, a mover might want to use a much thicker polyurethane bag. Use thick packing foam and/or cardboard as a backing to the mattress before wrapping it completely, adding in sheets and blankets, to protect the mattress inside of the box. This will help to retain its shape and protect it from liquids and other damaging substances.