Storing a mattress
Researched and written by Ashley Davis · Reviewed by Emily Johnson · Last reviewed August 2026
A mattress in storage needs three things: a breathable cover rather than sealed plastic, support so it is not resting on a point load, and a dry unit. Standing one on its side saves floor space and is fine for a short stay, but over months an innerspring or a foam core stored on edge settles unevenly, so a long stay is better flat. Never store one damp, and never stack anything heavy on top of it.
What should a mattress be covered with in storage?
A breathable mattress bag or a cotton cover. Sealed plastic looks like protection and behaves like a greenhouse: whatever humidity was in the room when it was wrapped stays inside against the fabric for the length of the stay, which is how a mattress comes out of storage smelling of mould. If plastic is used to get it through the move, cut it open once the mattress is in place. The packing a mattress guide covers the transport side.
Should a mattress be stored flat or on its side?
Flat is better and on edge is usually necessary. Flat and fully supported is how a mattress is designed to sit, and it is the right answer for any stay measured in months. On edge saves a great deal of floor and is acceptable for a few weeks, provided the mattress is against a flat vertical surface along its whole length rather than leaning on a corner.
What should a mattress rest on?
A flat, raised base: pallets, a sheet of board across battens, or the bed frame itself if it went into the unit assembled. What it must not rest on is bare concrete, which passes ground moisture straight into the underside, and it must not bridge a gap between two pieces of furniture, since an unsupported span deforms the core.
Can you put boxes on a mattress?
No, and this is the damage that shows up most often on removal. Foam and pocket-sprung cores take a lasting compression mark from months of point loading, and a stack of boxes concentrates that load onto a few square inches. If floor is tight, the answer is to stand the mattress on edge and use the floor it frees, not to treat it as a shelf.