why on earth doesn't everyone just put their mattresses on the floor??? - Page 3

[LitMom]

I have a question with the mold issue, actually. Why would it grow mold? Is this usually a problem with mattresses but not mattress atop box springs because the box springs allow air flow? A particular part of the country or weather or part of a building? I can see like a basement apartment or something maybe, but I've never heard of mattresses growing mold before, regardless of bed frame or lack thereof. I feel like I knew lots of people using box spring on the floor type beds in and just after college.

Oh, and I've always done the mattress cover type things on kids beds or cosleeping beds, but once they were in their own beds, I stopped doing it on mine. If I have a sick kid in my bed, I'll put down multiple giant towels and just strip off one as needed. I'm gonna wash everything thoroughly as soon as they're well again anyhow.

[Adaline'sMama]

First of all, let's all be aware that waterproof covers are full of toxins and grossness. 

We arent co sleeping anymore (and wont do it again), but these are the reasons we never moved our bed to the floor:

~we heat with wood, and the floor is cold and drafty

~spiders 

~we live in a small space and need our under the bed storage space

~DH and I both grew up poor and slept in our parents houses on mattresses on the floor and felt like real, true, grown ups the day we purchased our bedframe (from a thrift store, but still. Its nice)

~DH works a manual labor job and wants box springs. The difference between the mattress and boxsprings on the floor and on our frame was only one foot difference. 

~the dog wallows all in our bed when its on the floor. He cant jump high enough to get on it when its in a frame. 

We did use a cosleeper next to the bed (mainly to put diapers in), but if DD were to fall, that's where she would have gone.

[k x s]

Another really good solution to co-sleeping but not having enough space is a loft bed (or any bed) with high sides. So its still off the ground but you can fit suitcases underneath the bed or whatever else.

Also if you do keep your mattress on the floor you can air it out daily by flipping it on its side or over and leaving it near a window with sunshine to keep it fresh and also regularly cleaning the floor/mattress with a steamer helps.

[micah_mae_]

Originally Posted by LitMom 

I have a question with the mold issue, actually. Why would it grow mold? Is this usually a problem with mattresses but not mattress atop box springs because the box springs allow air flow? A particular part of the country or weather or part of a building? I can see like a basement apartment or something maybe, but I've never heard of mattresses growing mold before, regardless of bed frame or lack thereof. I feel like I knew lots of people using box spring on the floor type beds in and just after college.

Oh, and I've always done the mattress cover type things on kids beds or cosleeping beds, but once they were in their own beds, I stopped doing it on mine. If I have a sick kid in my bed, I'll put down multiple giant towels and just strip off one as needed. I'm gonna wash everything thoroughly as soon as they're well again anyhow.

Lack of circulation+warmth/dampness from sleeping bodies. 

[IdentityCrisisMama]

I would think that a box spring would prevent a lot of the mold problems mentioned. 

[RabbitMomma]

Originally Posted by LiLStar 

My baby fractured her skull falling out of a bed. It wasn't even a cosleeping accident. It was the guest bed, she was just laying on there, my back was turned, she rolled. It was carpeted, not that high at all, just a freak thing.  dh was resistent to putting our mattress on the floor. It was causing me SO much stress, because as soon as she woke up from her naps she would crawl. A few weeks after the fracture, she crawled off after a nap (and that bed was higher than the guest bed!) and was crying so hard and I was having a panic attack that I'd have to bring her back to the hospital and they'd call CPS on us because she had another similar injury. (she was fine after that fall, but we were both very rattled!) I started building little pillow forts all over the sides of the bed and putting noisy toys (with bells/rattles and such) on top so that when she tried to crawl over, I'd hear. I finally through a tantrum big enough that dh disassembled the bed. Fortunately at that house, we had an attic. Thats the only house we've ever had an attic at. (I love attics, I think they're so cool!) We don't even own a frame/box spring for our bed now. Havent in years. I'm wondering if maybe the mold problem is in more humid climates? We've had no issues. 

Same exact thing happened to us- DD was 6 months old, I put her in the middle of our guest bed and turned my back thinking she didn't learn to roll over yet. She rolled not once but three times right off the bed. Luckily she was fine but boy was it scary. Glad your baby was okay LilStar.

We toyed with the idea of putting the bed on the floor but in the end kept the frame and pushed it against the wall. DD slept between me and the wall and then when she got older in between me and DH. DH has scoliosis and did not like the idea of having to get down and up off the floor, plus we live in England where mould would be a serious issue.

Sleeping on the floor isn't the only safe way to bed share, with proper precautions sleeping in a framed bed can be just as safe. Plus it can be a royal pain in the butt dismantling then finding a place to put your frame.

[CatsCradle]

To answer OP's original question:  I didn't put the mattress on the floor because I have severe allergies and it is just not worth it, in my opinion.  DD has environmental allergies too.  Even with persistent cleaning, we still have dust issues (plus we live on a fifth floor apartment with wood floors and very little insulation between the floors and the further we're away from the floor, the happier we are).

The safety thing for us was easily resolved by simply putting barriers beside the bed. 

[contactmaya]

Less uptight about bodily fluids over here too. We EC, a bit of pee is bound to end up on the mattress every so often. You can protect the mattress in different ways, its not a big deal...breast milk probably ends up on there too, yuk!

Mattress on the floor is a no brainer for me,(OP i have the same thoughts as you on the subject) i dont have time to worry about possible accidents  and dont like heavy furniture around the place. I like mattresses that are comfortable and easy to move, and turn into sofas if you want it that way, or extendable sleeping areas to accomodate a larger family. Thats how i like it. Im not particularly traditional, i like to experiment. 

Most importantly, we sleep well :-)

[tracyamber]

we are also considering getting a platform frame. they are low to the ground and our toddler would still be able to crawl on and off. this also will provode air circulation.

i am sure glad we don't have to worry about scorpions...we lived in costa rica and i was always anxious about scorpions and our bed wasn't on the floor!

anyway,i just love out  bed on the floor and it is so comfy with our wool topper and in the summer i lay it out in the sun for natural disinfection.

T

[Swimmyswim]

So interesting to read everyone's opinions on this.

We cosleep still with our 5 year old and our 9 year old comes into our bed sometimes too if he's poorly or struggling with insomnia.  

It never occurred to me to put the mattress on the floor. The babies always slept in between us so we'd feel them moving across us if they got wandery.  They never fell out of bed and were never left alone on a surface higher than a rug.  They went into their cot if they were asleep before us and would come in to our bed when they woke for a feed and stay there.  A decent breathable mattress protector kept the bed clean through the sick, leaking milk etc.  It went in the washing machine with the sheets.