How to carry a heavy mattress upstairs

Carry your mattress and navigate flights of stairs with ease with this guide

A quality mattress is designed to make your life as relaxing as possible. However, the prospect of carrying a heavy mattress upstairs can invoke the opposite feelings — like dread and despair. When a mattress company will deliver to your front yard, but not carry your heavy mattress upstairs, what are you to do? It’s not as though you can just sleep outside your apartment building!

The good news is that carrying a heavy mattress upstairs isn’t actually that difficult. With the right lifting techniques, a mattress can be carried upstairs without injury and without the mattress getting dirty. There are even great techniques for getting the mattress around tight corners in a stairwell. Read on to find out more about the process.

At Sleep Republic, we don’t just have the best hybrid pocket spring mattress on the market: we also offer free delivery all across Australia. Find out more about inclusions in our delivery service.

Why won’t my mattress deliverers carry my mattress upstairs?

Many mattress delivery workers aren’t allowed to carry your mattress upstairs. This is not because carrying a mattress upstairs is especially dangerous or difficult. Often, it is because carrying a mattress upstairs can take a substantial amount of time, and delivery teams have lots of drops to make each day.

What is the easiest kind of mattress to carry up a flight of stairs?

By far, the easiest mattresses to carry upstairs are those that come in a box. A mattress in a box is smaller, more stable and rigid, and comes with its own protective packaging. When you’re ordering a mattress, and know that you’re going to have to carry it upstairs, start by checking that it comes in a box.

Is it safer to have two people carrying the mattress upstairs?

To make carrying a mattress safer, two people should work together on the job. Having a second person carry the mattress with you makes the task far easier:

• When you’re working together, each person only has to carry half the weight.
• With one of you at each end of the mattress, you’ll be able to spot each other and will have better visibility of any hazards (things on the steps, people coming out of doors and into the stairs).
• Two people working together can usually hold a mattress in a more comfortable and ergonomic way.

Whether you’re lifting alone or with a partner, always check the weight of any items that you’re carrying. Don’t carry anything that’s outside of your comfort zone.

How do you get started carrying a heavy mattress upstairs?

The first thing to do is to clear the path as much as possible. Stairwells can be crowded places, with tripping hazards like doormats, shoes, dog toys, and many other little things. Before you start carrying the mattress upstairs, remove the debris. Additionally, it is a good idea to clear a path within your house before you start moving, and ensure that there’s room for you to unroll your mattress.

If your mattress is arriving in a box or thick packaging, save yourself time by finding the tools you’ll need to open the packaging ahead of time. Also, if you’re planning on having a bed base, set it up ahead of time so that the mattress can be plopped right on top.

How do you keep a mattress clean while carrying it upstairs?

Stairwells can be dirty and dusty places, especially if you share them with several other tenants in an apartment complex. Depending on the state of your stairwell, and the type of mattress you’ve ordered, keeping your mattress clean while moving it upstairs can be easier said than done.

Aside from cleaning up the entire stairwell (which would be a herculean task) the best way to keep the mattress clean while carrying it upstairs is to keep it in its box or packaging. This adds another step to the moving process, as you’ll have to take all the packaging back downstairs at some point, but it’s worth it to have a beautiful, clean mattress.

If the mattress doesn’t come in a box or ample packaging, try wrapping a sheet or several sheets around the mattress before you embark on your journey up the stairs.

What are the proper lifting techniques for carrying a mattress upstairs?

Carrying a mattress upstairs requires a similar technique to the lifting of other heavy objects. Make sure you obey the following safety advice:

• Don’t bend your torso while lifting, as this is a recipe for back pain.
• Don’t twist or turn: maintain a straight and erect posture.
• Carry the mattress at a comfortable and low level (not lifting it above your shoulders).
• Take care not to overexert yourself — work with a partner if possible, and stop for a break whenever you want one.

How do you get around corners when carrying a mattress upstairs?

Some mattresses can be bent and folded, making it easy to carry them around stairs. Other mattresses, which cannot be folded, require a little creativity during the moving process! Try raising the mattress up into a vertical position, making it thinner, to facilitate easier travel around tight corners. If you’re working with a mattress in a box, this will be even easier.

Get free delivery service when you order a mattress with Sleep Republic. We’ve got the best hybrid mattress in Australia, and the awards to prove it.