A Marketplace Mattress: Hygiene First
A used mattress is a great deal — and the item most likely to carry bedbugs. Here's the hygiene and the transport.
Inspect Before You Buy
Look at every seam and tuft for dark specks, shed skins, or live bugs. Lift the mattress and look at the underside. A clean mattress from a non-smoking home is usually fine; a stained, musty, or "stored in a basement" mattress is a pass.
Encase It Before It Leaves
Bring a new mattress encasement ($20) and slip it on before the mattress leaves the seller's apartment. The encasement contains anything and protects the mattress in transit.
Bag It for Transport
A plastic mattress bag ($10) keeps the mattress clean in the van. The pro brings one — confirm when booking.
Carry It On-Edge
A mattress travels on its long edge, never flat. On-edge it fits the van and stays rigid; flat it sags and the springs damage. Two people, a strap.
The Van
A queen or king doesn't fit a car. The Marketplace van ($99/hour, van included) is the right booking.
Don't Take the Box Spring From a Smoker
A box spring holds smell more than a mattress. If the listing mentions a smoker, pass on the box spring — the smell doesn't come out.
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