A used mattress is the one thing nobody will donate and nothing will hold — a queen is $139 flat, twin $111, king $154, box spring $124, quoted from a photo before we come. We carry the mattress and the box spring down the walk-up stairs and out. No stair fee, no dragging it to the sidewalk to sit there until garbage day.
Snap a photo — exact flat price back in seconds
Upload a Photo & Get Quote →One picture of the bed. Tell us if the box spring and frame are going too. You get an exact flat price back in seconds — no on-site estimate.
Same-day is usually open, no surcharge. Move-out deadline, delivery of the new bed, or a U-District lease turn — we schedule around it.
The crew takes it out of the bedroom, down the stairwell, and out to the truck. It goes to mattress recycling where a processor accepts it.
Flat by size, and the number includes the stair carry and the disposal. Bagging, hauling, and the trip to the recycler are ours — you point at the bed.
| Item | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Headboard | $77 |
| Crib | $90 |
| Bed frame | $92 |
| Twin mattress | $111 |
| Box spring | $124 |
| Full mattress | $126 |
| Queen mattress | $139 |
| Futon | $139 |
| King mattress | $154 |
| Bunk bed | $165 |
| Mattress + box spring (set) | $192 |
$95 minimum on a single-item trip — that's the floor for sending a truck and a two-person crew, so anything priced below it bills at $95. Most mattress calls aren't one item anyway: the mattress, the box spring and the frame together, or the whole bedroom before a move. Send one photo and we price it as a set. If it's a full apartment clear-out, it prices as truck-fill instead — quarter truck $325, half $580, three-quarters $790, full $985.
Third-party context: cost guides from Homeyou and Yelp Costs put an average Seattle junk-removal job at roughly $253–$325, across a range of about $170–$433. A single queen at $139 sits well under that average, because you're paying for one item and not for guessed truck volume.
On tax: Washington does not apply its retail sales tax to junk-removal service. A 3.6% state refuse and solid-waste collection tax (RCW 82.18) rides on the disposal portion and appears in your total.
| Option | Cost | Speed | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPU special-items pickup | $30 per item | Your next garbage day | Curbside only, by appointment — mattress + box spring = two items ($60), and you carry both down and leave them on the sidewalk |
| Donation | Free | — | Realistically a dead end. Goodwill, Salvation Army and Habitat ReStore decline used mattresses on hygiene grounds, however clean it looks |
| Self-haul to a King County transfer station | $40.25 minimum load + $30 per mattress or box spring + $25 if unsecured | An afternoon | Limit six mattresses a day; you rent the truck, strap the load, and wrestle it on and off yourself |
| Traditional full-service franchise | ~$130–$400 for a single item | 1–3 days | On-site estimate only — no firm number until a crew is in your bedroom |
| JunkRabbit | Queen $139 flat | Same day | None — flat photo price, carried down from any floor, routed to recycling |
The comparison is really about who does the lifting. Every cheap option assumes the mattress is already at the curb, and getting it there is the entire problem on a third-floor walk-up. That's the job we do.
Yes — with three conditions that decide whether it works for you. Seattle Public Utilities collects mattresses through its special-items pickup: $30 per item, by appointment, curbside only, and scheduled onto your next regular garbage day. Terms are published at seattle.gov/specialitems.
Here's where it falls apart for most Seattle bedrooms:
Hauling it yourself instead? King County Solid Waste's 2026 rates charge $30 each for a mattress or a box spring at the transfer station — limited to six per day — on top of the $40.25 minimum load fee (up to 320 lb), plus a $25 unsecured-load fee if it isn't strapped down properly, which a mattress on a car roof almost never is. Inside the city, SPU's own stations are the North Recycling & Disposal Station (Wallingford, N 34th St) and the South Recycling & Disposal Station (8105 5th Ave S). Once you add a truck rental and half a Saturday, a $139 flat pickup with the stairs included stops being the expensive option.
A mattress is one of the highest-diversion bulky items in the waste stream, and it's the single strongest reason to hand it to a hauler rather than a truck rental. Pulled apart, a mattress is steel springs, polyurethane foam, cotton and fibre padding, and a wood frame — four commodity streams with real outlets — and almost none of it needs to be buried. We route mattresses to mattress recycling wherever a Puget Sound processor takes the load, and only send to disposal what nobody will accept.
That's not a green sticker; it's the economics of this specific market. King County garbage tips at $243.38 a ton in 2026, one of the most expensive disposal rates in the country, and Washington's 3.6% refuse tax is calculated on the disposal portion of the job. Anything diverted skips both the per-ton fee and the tax base. Seattle also enforces a recyclables ban under SMC 21.36 that tags loads arriving more than 10% contaminated, so sorting isn't optional for a hauler working here. Doing it properly is how a flat $139 queen stays a flat $139 queen.
Capitol Hill and the no-elevator walk-up. The neighborhood is dense with early-1900s apartment buildings — three floors, one narrow stairwell, a landing that turns. A queen mattress doesn't bend and a box spring doesn't fold, which is exactly why so many of them end up abandoned in Seattle alleys. Ours go down the stairs on two shoulders, at no extra charge.
Queen Anne and the grade. Queen Anne Ave N runs an ~18–19% grade for five blocks — the historic Counterbalance — and there are 100-plus public stairways around the hill. Sometimes the truck can't park at the door and the mattress walks. There's still no hill surcharge.
The U-District, twice a year. University of Washington move-out is the local mattress season. The dorm deadline is noon on Saturday, June 13, 2026, with the busiest curbside stretch running June 10–13; the larger surge comes in late August, when the roughly 11.5-month off-campus leases turn all at once across the U-District, Ravenna and Greek Row. Mattresses are the number-one item in both weeks — dorm twins, cheap queens, and the mattress that's been on four leases. Book ahead: those windows fill.
Towers and the Eastside. Downtown, Belltown, South Lake Union, First Hill and downtown Bellevue buildings want a COI naming management (typically $1M general liability) and a freight-elevator window reserved days in advance. We file it and book it; your quote doesn't change.
"Third-floor walk-up on Capitol Hill — carried the queen and box spring down and out same-day. Flat price, no stair fee. Perfect."
"Booked the mattress plus an old couch in one quote. Gone in an afternoon. Way easier than hauling it myself."
"Upgraded the bed — old king and box spring gone same-day, flat price. Easy and quick."
How much does mattress removal cost in Seattle?
Twin $111, full $126, queen $139, king $154; box spring $124; mattress + box spring as a set $192; bed frame $92, headboard $77, bunk bed $165, crib $90, futon $139. $95 minimum on a single-item trip. Carry-out and disposal included.
Does Seattle pick up mattresses?
SPU's special-items pickup does — $30 per item, by appointment, curbside only, on your next garbage day. A mattress and box spring is two items ($60) and you carry both down yourself. See seattle.gov/specialitems. Eastside cities fall under King County, not SPU.
Will Goodwill or the Salvation Army take a used mattress?
No. Local charities decline used mattresses for hygiene reasons — Goodwill, Salvation Army and Habitat ReStore all do, however clean it looks. Donation is a real dead end for mattresses, and we'd rather say so than waste your afternoon.
What does the dump charge for a mattress?
King County Solid Waste charges $30 each for a mattress or box spring in 2026, limit six per day, on top of the $40.25 minimum load and a $25 unsecured-load fee if it isn't strapped. That's before the truck rental.
Do you carry it down a walk-up, or do I?
We do, from any floor, with no stair fee. Capitol Hill three-flight carries and Queen Anne's grade are the everyday version of this job.
Is it cheaper than a full-service franchise?
Usually, for one or two pieces, and always more predictable — franchise pricing is by truck volume with on-site estimates, and published single-item figures run roughly $130–$400. Our queen is $139 flat, fixed from your photo.
Where does the mattress end up?
Mattress recycling wherever a Puget Sound processor accepts the load — springs, foam, fibre and frame all have outlets. Diversion also avoids King County's $243.38-a-ton garbage rate and the 3.6% refuse-tax base.
Can you come during UW move-out?
Yes — book ahead. The dorm deadline is noon Saturday, June 13, 2026 (busiest June 10–13), and the bigger surge is late August when off-campus leases turn. Mattresses are the #1 item both weeks.
Yes, and there is no stair fee. Carrying a queen and box spring down three flights of a 1900s Capitol Hill building, or down the Queen Anne slope where the avenue runs an 18 to 19 percent grade, is the normal Seattle mattress job. The price you were quoted from the photo is the price you pay.
Almost certainly not. For hygiene reasons most charities in the Seattle area decline used mattresses outright, including Goodwill, the Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity ReStore, even when the mattress looks clean. Donation is a genuine dead end for mattresses, which is why the realistic choices are the city program, a transfer-station run, or a full-service pickup.
On the Eastside, King County Solid Waste charges $30 each for a mattress or box spring in 2026, limited to six per day, on top of the $40.25 minimum load fee — plus a $25 unsecured-load fee if it is not properly strapped. Seattle's own stations are the North Recycling and Disposal Station in Wallingford on N 34th St and the South station at 8105 5th Ave S. Add a truck rental and the drive and the do-it-yourself route stops looking cheap.
It is more predictable, and usually cheaper for one or two pieces. Franchises price by truck volume and typically only commit on site; published single-item figures run roughly $130 to $400. Our queen mattress is $139 flat, quoted from your photo before anyone is dispatched, with the stair carry and the disposal already in it.
Mattresses are one of the most recyclable bulky items there is — the steel springs, the foam, the fibre and the wood frame all have separate outlets — so we route them to mattress recycling wherever a Puget Sound processor accepts the load rather than sending them to the tipping floor. That matters locally: King County garbage tips at $243.38 a ton in 2026 and Washington's 3.6% refuse tax rides on the disposal portion, so recycling avoids both.
Yes, and book early. The University of Washington dorm move-out deadline is noon on Saturday June 13, 2026, with the busiest curbside stretch running June 10 to 13, and there is a second and larger surge in late August when off-campus leases turn over. Mattresses are the number one item in both weeks across the U-District and Ravenna, so slots fill fast.