A lack of a bed frame is not only a potential red flag in dating partners—a mattress on the floor can create more problems than a bad back or social faux pas.
One creator on TikTok, Ellie (@eswift95), says she slept with her mattress on the floor for six months and found it had played host to more than just her in that time—it had started growing mold where it was in contact with the carpeted floor.
“So this is just a PSA for everyone thinking of cutting costs and not getting a bed frame and just thinking, ‘Oh, you know what, mattresses can go on the floor, it’s fine and I’ve got a big mattress,’” she says in the video. “Hypothetically, one could want to change their mattress after the summertime, after it’s been on the floor for six months, and they may remove their mattress and they may find mold everywhere. Hypothetically is actually literal, what happened to me.”
@eswift95 i love being an independant 20 something teenager x #mattressmould ♬ original sound – ELLIE 🍑
Ellie had done a brand collaboration with mattress company Koala, and she decided to use the mattress from the collaboration as her permanent bed. When she moved her old mattress, she found that mold had formed underneath it, staining the carpet beyond her ability to remove it.
“I have to get my carpets professionally cleaned, and I can’t sleep in there because I’m convinced I’m going to die of mold inhalation, so I’m in the living room,” she says.
The TikToker is an emergency nurse, though she also has over 90,000 followers on the platform and regularly creates lifestyle content.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Ellie via email regarding the video.
Multiple viewers suggested Ellie regularly lean her mattress against the wall to air it out and prevent repeats of the experience.
“Y’all just lean the mattress against the wall when you go to work or something,” one commenter wrote.
“I think if you have a floor mattress you’re meant to lift and air it like every week,” another said.
“If on the floor should top them up onto the side for a day or something every month or something to breathe and dry out,” a third shared. “Especially in humidity.”
Several viewers shared that they had similar problems from putting their mattresses directly on the floor sans box spring or bed frame.
“I just spent 260 days sleeping on a mattress on my living room floor bc of mould in my bedroom & I am so glad this didn’t happen to mine, nightmare,” one commented.
“Yes, also learnt the hard way,” another viewer wrote. “You can get a frame for the floor to raise a little though defeats not spending money.”
“That happened to my bed also, I had it on plywood on top of concrete,” a further user said.
