The short answer
Flat prices, carried out from whatever floor the bed is on:
| Item | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Mattress — twin | $82 |
| Mattress — full / double | $94 |
| Mattress — queen | $103 |
| Mattress — king / Cal King | $114 |
| Box spring (any size) | $92 |
| Mattress + box spring set | $143 |
| Bed frame (standard / metal / platform) | $68 |
If you are sending the mattress and the box spring together, take the set price of $143 rather than adding them separately. For a queen that is $143 instead of $103 + $92 = $195.
Nobody will take it, and here is why
Do not spend a week finding this out the hard way. Donation centers along Charlotte Pike, Nolensville Pike and Gallatin Pike almost universally refuse used mattresses, and the reason is not squeamishness. Resale of used bedding is tightly regulated, the liability around bed bugs is real, and nobody wants to be the charity that gave a family an infested bed.
The same goes for most furniture consignment in 12 South and East Nashville. They will take your dresser. They will not take your mattress.
Retailers delivering a new bed sometimes haul the old one, sometimes for a fee, sometimes only if the new set is the same size. Ask before delivery day, not on it.
The curb is a bad idea in Middle Tennessee
Metro rules on bulky set-outs depend on your service address and building type, so check your current Metro bulky-pickup page before anything goes to the street. But there is a Nashville-specific reason to not leave a mattress out even when you are allowed to.
Humidity. A mattress left on a Five Points or Woodbine sidewalk through one summer afternoon storm absorbs a genuinely surprising amount of water. It gets heavier, it starts to smell within a day or two, and if it sits long enough in July it grows mold in the seams. A dry queen is an awkward two-person carry. A soaked one is a different object entirely.
If it has to go out, put it out the morning of collection, not the weekend before.
Why the carry is the actual problem here
Mattresses do not fold and Nashville stairs do not widen.
In the tall-skinny infill across The Nations, Cleveland Park and Salemtown, the bedrooms are on the third floor and the stairwell turns twice. A queen will go down it, but not by yourself, and a king often will not go down it at all without the box spring coming first and someone standing below to take the weight.
In the 1920s bungalows around Sylvan Park and Lockeland Springs, the problem is the doorway and the porch rail rather than the stair. In Midtown and West End apartments, it is the elevator, and whether the building wants it reserved.
The flat price is the same in every one of those. Stairs do not add a charge.
Move-out season makes this worse
Late spring around Vanderbilt, Belmont and Lipscomb, and again in the first week of August, half of Hillsboro Village and Midtown is turning over at once. Mattresses appear on curbs all over 12 South and Belmont-Hillsboro, and the ones that do not get collected quickly sit through whatever the weather does that week.
If you are a landlord or a parent handling a move-out on a lease deadline, book the pickup for the day the unit empties rather than hoping the set-out lines up with collection. A twin at $82 or a full at $94 removed on schedule is cheaper than a damage conversation with the property manager.
Common bedroom totals
All literal sums of the flat prices above.
| What is going | Math | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Queen mattress alone | $103 | $103 |
| Queen mattress + box spring set | $143 | $143 |
| Set + metal bed frame | $143 + $68 | $211 |
| Set + frame + dresser | $143 + $68 + $126 | $337 |
| Two twin mattresses (kids' room) | $82 + $82 | $164 |
| Bunk bed + two twin mattresses | $123 + $82 + $82 | $287 |
Once a full bedroom is going, check it against the truck-fill ladder. A quarter truck is $241 and a half is $431. Whichever is lower is the one to book.
If you want to try the DIY route first
It is a real option if you have a pickup and a helper. Wrap the mattress in plastic before it leaves the bedroom, especially in summer, so you are not carrying a wet one back out of a truck bed after a pop-up storm on I-24. Strap it flat rather than standing it up. A queen acts like a sail above about 40 mph on Briley Parkway, and that is not a theoretical problem.
Then check the current gate rate and hours at whichever disposal site you are using before you drive out.
Booking it
Tell us the size, whether the box spring is going too, and what floor the bedroom is on. Twin through king, second floor of a Nations tall-skinny or a ground-floor unit in Antioch, the prices above do not move.
The $75 per-visit minimum sits under everything, but every mattress size is already above it, so it will not come into play unless the mattress is the only thing and it is somehow not.
Frequently asked questions
Will a Nashville donation center take my used mattress?
Almost certainly not. Used bedding resale is heavily restricted and the bed bug liability is why. Plan on disposal rather than donation, and do not waste a week calling around.
Is the set price better than paying for the mattress and box spring separately?
Yes. The mattress and box spring set is $143. A queen mattress at $103 plus a box spring at $92 is $195, so take the set price when both are going.
Do you charge extra to bring a king down three flights in The Nations?
No. A king mattress is $114 whether it starts on the third floor of an infill duplex or leaning against a carport in Madison. There is no stair charge.
What about the bed frame and the headboard?
A standard metal or platform frame is $68. A solid, upholstered or storage frame is $126 for twin through queen and $152 for king or Cal King.
Can I leave it on the porch for you?
You can, but you do not need to, and in a Nashville summer you are better off not. Leave it in the bedroom and let the crew bring it down dry.