How to Protect Your Mattress in the Rain: 4 Tips
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Whether you’re about to move into your college dorm, or getting settled in a brand-new home, we can all admit that moving can be an exciting experience. Unfortunately, it’s not as fun when it rains, especially if you have to take a mattress with you. Here are some tips and tricks for moving a mattress in the rain.
How can I protect my mattress in the rain? Use a good quality mattress bag to keep the rain and debris off. Secure it with strong tie-down straps if it will be on top of the car. Alternatively, you can stand it up in the truck if it can fit. Be careful and move slowly.
First, Is It Possible to Move a Mattress?
Yes, it is! It is, however, sometimes a bit tricky.
If this is your first time to learn about moving out, then the answer to that is a definite yes.
Most people don’t know the importance of how to correctly move their stuff once the time has come to change homes. Honestly, some of them don’t even care.
Why? Because it’s just a mattress.
Then let me ask you: if you can move your dresser, your heavy wooden bed frame, your 50-inch flat screen 4K SMART TV, your couches, and your entire dining set, then why shouldn’t you do the same for your mattress?
It’s not just a mattress; it’s your mattress. It’s where you sleep. It can cost hundreds of dollars, and mattress shopping can be a pain.
Now, onto the first tip!
Safety First
Of course, the very first and most obvious thing that you have to do is to make a plan.
Make sure to organize everything. It’s one thing to prepare yourself for the worst, but it’s another thing to make sure your plan follows through. If you have a well-detailed plan but it’s all over the place with sticky notes, it’s just the same as it is when you didn’t have a plan at all.
Create a checklist so that you don’t forget anything. It’s a no-brainer. The worst thing that can happen when you’re moving on a rainy day is forgetting something and having to go back for it. It’s way too much of a hassle. Not to mention any additional costs if you rented out a moving truck.
All the boxes should be properly and clearly labeled and grouped. Ensure that your movers can determine the fragile items from the non-fragile items. You can include specific instructions on the box as to how the items should be handled. Not only will you be able to save precious amount of time from verbally instructing them how to handle your stuff over and over, but you can also trust that they already know what to do.
Keep yourself protected. What good are your moving tactics if you can’t even protect yourself from the rain? Moving day on a rainy day is usually unexpected. So, it’s best to keep yourself prepared by investing in a good quality poncho that’s quick to pull out and put on when the need arises.
This hooded unisex rain poncho by SaphiRose (view on Amazon) is a steal. It’s made from a comfortable waterproof fabric (not plastic) with a hoodie that can be adjusted to tighten. It’s available in different colors and patterns, and it comes with a color-matching pouch for easy storage. The best part is…it has pockets!
Moving Your Mattress in the Rain
Let’s move on to the main focus of this topic: your mattress.
Sadly, some people prefer to leave their mattresses behind when they’re moving. They admittedly don’t want to make the extra effort to secure their mattresses, or they don’t even know how to.
The reality is that buying a new mattress is a huge expense in itself. It takes a little bit of research on finding the perfect one for you, and it’s usually a long-term investment. So, leaving it behind just because you don’t have the time, or you did not prepare for the rainy day can be a bummer.
I compiled a few tips and tricks to prepare your mattress for a rainy day successfully.
1. Use a Mattress Bag
A foolproof way to keep your mattress safe, nice, and protected is to cover it. Covering it prevents both moisture and dirt from absorbing, causing mold, and eventually make it unusable.
Some people use plastic or even shrink wrap for their mattresses. While this is effective in some way, it can be expensive, inefficient, and cause too much work. The best way to protect your mattress is to invest in a mattress bag.
One product I can recommend is the CRESNEL mattress bag (view on Amazon). The material of your mattress bag should be strong, high-quality, and thick. The last thing that you want to happen is to purchase a poorly made mattress cover, and only to find out that it doesn’t work the way it was expected to.
This product is the exact opposite. It’s been tried, tested, and reviewed almost many times, so it’s genuinely effective. All you need is some packaging tape to secure it in place.
Here’s another tip: you can vacuum seal your mattress using this bag. Customers who have tried got foolproof results. The bag makes it very easy to store and transport!
2. Secure the Mattress with Ratchet Straps
If you have to tie your mattress on top of your car, you need to use something strong enough to hold it down. Loading it into the mover’s truck with the rest of your items is always the safest way to do it. But if that’s not an option, you can still bring your mattress with you as long as you keep it tightly secured on top of your vehicle.
Thick ropes and paracords usually do the trick, although there are downsides. First, you can’t guarantee that it’s made from a strong material. You don’t want to risk that since a breakage can result in your mattress flying away from your vehicle, and even causing road accidents!
Keeping a set of ratchet straps on hand for when you need them is a must (like these types of situations). After you’ve snugly tucked in your mattress into a cover or bag, secure it down with robust ties like this set of ratchet tie-down straps from AUGO (view on Amazon). These high-quality cargo straps can hold down heavy loads and won’t damage your vehicle. They last long even after multiple uses so you can use this on your camping trips, hiking trips, vacations on the road, or maybe even another move-in day.
As much as possible, if the mattress can fit in the moving truck, it’s better to keep it even more protected inside the closed vehicle. If not, adding another layer of protection over (such as a tarp, cloth, or plastic) is ideal for safety and better waterproofing.
3. Sandwich in Between Furniture
If there’s still some space left in the truck but limited, you can have it standing up and sandwiched in between heavy furniture to keep it upright. It’s unlikely for it to get wet as long as the moving vehicle is a closed area and the distance between the two points is not that far away.
You can use both the mattress bag for added waterproofing and dust protection, as well as the ratchet straps for more stability and prevent the mattress from knocking over any other furniture.
4. Save It for a Non-Rainy Day
If all else fails and the weather has gotten really bad, then it’s safe just to save everything for the next day.
Knowing about the weather conditions in advance from the forecast can help you make quick decisions on whether you should cancel or reschedule. There will be some additional fees involved with the movers, but don’t take the risk of braving it under heavy rainfall. Rainy weather does not only put the mattress at stake but the rest of your household’s furniture as well. Besides, driving on slippery roads make you and the moving team even more prone to accidents, and that’s not a risk you should be taking.
If the weather has not been too bad and the move continues, you can have the movers reconsider waiting until the rain is over. This will give you more freedom and flexibility to move everything safely. Or you can have someone come back for it when the gray skies disappear.
Conclusion – How to Protect Your Mattress in the Rain
Let’s face it: moving days can be a lot of work. All the planning, organizing, and packing can take days or even weeks of preparation. So, it does feel ten times more frustrating when the rain decides to ruin the special day.
But it can be managed. Follow these steps to help get your mattress to your new home successfully.
Follow these pointers, and you’ll instantly realize that moving your mattress can be a breeze. Not only were you able to save a lot of money, but you just picked up a few tricks up in your sleeve for your next moving out day.
