Can I donate a used mattress in Winston-Salem?

Rarely. Goodwill's Northwest NC stores turn away all mattresses and box springs because state law requires them to be sanitized. Habitat's ReStores take only non-foam mattresses with no stains, rips, tears or slip covers. A clean innerspring might qualify; a foam or well-used mattress won't.

Does a hauler charge more for a mattress with bed bugs?

Often, yes. Cost guides put the extra at $40 to $100 for an infested mattress, which covers sealing it and keeping it apart from the rest of the load. Tell the hauler up front, wrap the mattress in a sealed plastic bag if you can, and plan pest treatment for the room separately.

Is it cheaper to let the mattress store take the old one?

Sometimes. Retailers charge roughly $40 to $150 to haul away an old mattress when they deliver a new one, against $70 to $100 for a junk hauler. The store wins if it's one mattress on delivery day. A hauler wins if the frame, box spring and other junk are going too.

Is mattress recycling available in Winston-Salem?

We haven't found a mattress recycler serving the city. The industry's statewide recycling program runs in only four states, California, Connecticut, Oregon and Rhode Island, and North Carolina isn't one of them. Ask the hauler where yours will go before the truck leaves.

Does a king cost more to remove than a twin?

Yes, though not by a lot. Angi's 2026 figures put a twin at $40 to $55 and a king at $80 to $125, with a California king up to $140. Bigger ones take two people on the stairs and more truck space. If several are going, ask for both a per-piece and a load price.

Mattress Disposal in Winston-Salem, NC

Typical cost: $75 to $150 per mattress in national cost guides; junk haulers' own pickup range is closer to $70 to $100.
By size: a queen runs about $60 to $100, a king $80 to $125.
Box spring: $20 to $40 more when it goes out with the mattress.
Bed bugs: an infested mattress can add $40 to $100 for bagging and handling.

Winston-Salem Junk Co. hands your mattress pickup to one hauler in town who carries it down from the bedroom, bagged if needed, along with the box spring, frame or adjustable base. Mattresses are hard to donate around here and there's no local recycling program, so a pickup is often the simplest way out.

Mattress Types a Hauler Picks Up

Worn queen innerspring mattress and box spring leaning against the wall of a carpeted bedroom with the bed frame taken apart beside them

Innerspring mattresses and box springs

The classic coil mattress averages about $90 to remove in Angi's national data. A box spring is lighter and cheaper to add on, and it usually leaves at the same time, since few people keep an old box spring around for a guest bed. This is the one type a local charity might still take: the ReStores accept non-foam mattresses, but only clean ones with no rips, tears, stains or slip covers.

Memory foam mattress partly rolled and strapped on a bedroom floor, its white cover visibly stained at one corner

Memory foam and hybrid mattresses

Foam is dense, and a thick memory foam king is a two-person carry. Angi's average for a memory foam mattress is $120, about $30 more than for a coil one. No local charity takes foam, which settles where it goes. Hybrids mix coils with foam layers, so ask the ReStore before counting on a donation.

Steel adjustable bed base with its head section raised, a motor housing and cords visible underneath, in a bedroom with the mattress removed

Adjustable bed bases

An adjustable base is the heavy part of the bed. Manufacturer figures put twin and full bases at 90 to 150 pounds and most queens at 140 to 220, with massage motors adding more. Lower the frame flat, unplug it and remove the remote and any under-bed lights before the crew arrives. Split-king setups come apart into two separate bases.

Thin futon mattress folded over a black metal futon frame next to a white daybed and a small crib mattress in a spare room

Futon, daybed and crib mattresses

These are small and light, which makes them easy to add to another pickup. Metal futon frames and daybed rails are scrap steel. A crib mattress usually leaves with the crib, and Goodwill won't sell cribs that have been recalled; see furniture donation pickup for what each charity will take.

Gloved worker carrying an old wooden kitchen chair down brick porch steps toward a white pickup with another chair in the bed

Why Winston-Salem homeowners call Winston-Salem Junk Co.

Your request goes to a single independent hauler
Hear the all-in figure before anything is carried out
Calling is free; the hauler bills only the job you OK
Mention stairs, a gate code or a hot tub when you call

Mattress Disposal Options in Winston-Salem

Around here, a mattress has fewer ways out than most furniture:

Donation
Goodwill refuses them outright; the ReStores take only clean, non-foam ones.
Recycling
The Mattress Recycling Council runs statewide programs in California, Connecticut, Oregon and Rhode Island. North Carolina has none, and we found no recycler taking mattresses from Winston-Salem households.
City pickup
The City's annual bulky collection takes mattresses from single-family homes only, once a year. The homepage has the schedule.
Store haul-away
If a new mattress is coming, the retailer may take the old one for $40 to $150.
A hauler
Any day, any floor, apartments included, with the box spring and frame in the same trip.

Apartment residents have the fewest options, since the City's pickup doesn't serve them. If several are going at once, mattresses take up a lot of truck space for their weight, so ask whether the hauler prices them per piece or by the load.

Getting a Mattress Ready for Pickup

Strip it
Sheets, toppers and mattress pads off. Keep anything you want before the crew starts carrying.
Bag it if there are pests
Seal the mattress in a plastic mattress bag and tell the hauler; a sealed bag keeps bugs off the stairs and out of the truck.
Break down the frame
Adding a bed frame to the pickup costs roughly $40 to $100 more; unbolting it yourself saves the crew time.
List every piece
Mattress, box spring, frame, headboard, bunkie board: name each one when you call so the quote covers all of it.
Clear the path
Tight stair turns and narrow hallways are where mattresses get stuck. Move lamps and pictures out of the way.

See move-out junk removal when the mattress is part of a lease-end cleanout.