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Mattress Re-use

Is it ever wise to re-use a mattress?

Mattresses are expensive purchases, so it's little wonder that we try to make the very most of them. Whether it's passing a mattress on from one child to another, or moving a double mattress from your room to a guest room, it's tempting to hold on to those mattresses for as long as possible.

The one type of mattress that should never be re-used is a cot mattress. The re-use of old mattresses is believed to contribute to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), commonly known as cot death. Even if you're using a second-hand cot or crib, you should always invest in a new mattress and preferably also a mattress cover - you can seek advice from your doctor or midwife about this.

So why shouldn't you re-use a mattress?

There are two main reasons why we wouldn't recommend that you re-use your mattress:


Hygiene - if you've read any of our articles on mattress hygiene and dust mites, you'll know that mattresses are difficult places to keep clean and hygienic. A mattress that's ten years old, even if it's been looked after really well, could still be harbouring thousands of dust mites and, with every person losing between half a pint and a whole pint of fluid every night, an old mattress probably isn't the healthiest thing to sleep on.

You can, of course, re-use an old mattress if you want to, or donate it to a charity that accepts mattresses in good condition. At present, there are no real ways of recycling old mattresses, so if you're not re-using, take your mattress to your local waste site, or ring your council to see if they will collect it.
