Okay, need to get rid of a full/double mattress that's been through four roommates and one mystery stain from before I even moved in. I'm in a fifth-floor walk-up on the UWS. Super already told me he won't touch it for less than a small fortune, and I don't have a car. 311 bulky pickup keeps coming up when I search, but I don't want to be the guy who drags it to the curb on a Tuesday and watches it sit there for three days. What's the actual move now? Do you have to bag the thing? Do I just post it on Buy Nothing and hope someone carries it down five flights? Curious how other people are handling it without dropping real money.

Good timing, I did this from a fourth-floor walk-up in Elmhurst a couple of years ago. The city does have a real bulky item pickup system, but the catch is you have to get the item to the curb yourself. 311 or the DSNY website will let you request a bulk collection. You'll get a collection day, and the rules say you can place it out after 4 PM the night before. Don't put a bare mattress out earlier than that. If sanitation sees a mattress sitting there without a scheduled pickup, they can treat it as illegal dumping, and mattresses especially are a target because of the bed bug rules.

Mattresses and box springs are supposed to be sealed in a plastic bag or cover before you set them out. You can get a mattress disposal bag at most hardware stores or moving supply places. They're not expensive and it saves you a fine. If you can get it wrapped and down to the curb, the rest is basically free through the city.

The hard part for you is the five flights and no elevator. Some supers will help for a tip, but if yours is already saying no, don't push it too hard. A hand truck and a shoulder strap can work, but a full mattress in a narrow stairwell is a two-person job and you'll want to avoid ripping the plastic on the stair treads. If you don't have a friend to help, a Tasker or a local man-with-a-van can get it to the curb quickly. You're paying for labor, not the disposal, so it's usually cheaper than a junk hauler.

Wait, you really need the plastic? I just moved to a fourth-floor in Astoria and I see bare mattresses on the curb all the time, especially around the first of the month. I thought the garbage truck just took them if you put them out on the right night.

I didn't schedule anything, just paid a guy from the local liquor store parking lot with a van to take mine down and leave it by the trash pile. Nothing happened for like two days, then it disappeared. Did I just get lucky? Now I'm worried I did it wrong and the building got a ticket.

Beth, you got lucky, but honestly most of us have done something like that once. Walt, if the mattress isn't a biohazard and doesn't have bedbugs, throw it up on Nextdoor or a local Buy Nothing before you mess with 311. In Hamilton Heights I put a clean-ish full bed on the curb with a big FREE sign and a dry piece of cardboard. Gone in about 20 minutes, but the guy who took it had a pickup and a tarp.

The plastic rule is no joke though. I've seen sanitation leave a bare mattress behind and leave a bright orange sticker on it. Once that sticker is on it, nobody wants it. If you do city pickup, get a bag and tie it up. If you go the free sign route, the bag still helps because no one wants a mattress that's been rained on.

Just to correct a small thing in Beth's post: the city doesn't just take a mattress because it happens to be near a trash pile. In many neighborhoods, the regular collection truck won't touch bulk items on the normal route. If it disappeared after two days, it may have been a scavenger or someone from the building, not DSNY. Don't rely on that.

The DSNY bulky pickup is genuinely usable if you follow the steps:

• Request a bulk collection through 311 or the online portal. They'll ask how many items and what type.
• They'll give you a day. Place the mattress at the curb after 4 PM the night before, not before.
• Mattresses and box springs must be sealed in a mattress bag or cover. Tape the seams well.
• If you have any doubt about bedbugs, mark it clearly and do not put it out as a freebie.
• If you're in a larger rental building, your super may have a private collection arrangement. Some buildings are required to have a container, but if the super says no, I'd still schedule through DSNY.

Five floors is rough. I've moved a queen down three floors with a friend and a cheap shoulder sling. You don't have to carry the whole thing; you can slide it on the landings as long as it's bagged and you're not gouging the walls. Once it's at the curb on the right date, take a photo with the pickup request number and note the time. It won't make the process faster, but it helps if there's a summons.

Walt, your super sounds like a piece of work. In my building in East Harlem, if you leave a couch or mattress by the service area, the super grumbles but the private carting guy takes it with the building trash eventually. Half the time the super asks for a tip, the other half he doesn't even notice.

If you're trying to avoid paying a hauling company, I'd do the Buy Nothing thing first, but be honest about the mystery stain. People will still take it if they need a spare mattress for a guest bed. Just don't be the jerk who drops it in front of the bodega on a Sunday night.

Appreciate all this. So the move seems like: get a real mattress bag, ask around on Buy Nothing/Nextdoor first, and if no one bites, schedule 311 and figure out the stairs with a friend or Tasker. I'm not trying to slide it five floors solo and end up pinned under it in the stairwell like a cartoon.

Ray, do you remember if you can schedule the 311 pickup for a specific day or do they just assign you the next bulk day in the neighborhood? Beth, how long did it take once you actually scheduled through 311? And Astoria_Arch, thanks for the tip about taking photos. My super is the type to blame tenants for any summons.

Walt, I didn't actually schedule through 311 that time, but after talking to people here I'm going back and doing it properly for the box spring. It's still sitting in my hallway because I couldn't move it myself. I called 311 and they gave me a day like three days later, but I have to have it bagged and at the curb by the night before.

Does anyone know if I can just wrap the box spring in contractor bags and tape, or does it have to say mattress bag on it? The hardware store guy looked at me like I had three heads when I asked. I just don't want to buy the wrong thing and get a fine.

Beth, you can use contractor bags and tape if you can fully seal it, but the actual mattress disposal bags are easier because they're big enough to cover the whole thing in one shot and they're sold for exactly that reason. Any hardware store, U-Haul place, or big box store should have them near the moving supplies. Some bodegas near me even keep them by the door around the end of the month. Just make sure there's no gap. If Sanitation sees exposed mattress, that's when they can leave it or ticket.

For scheduling, Walt, 311 usually assigns the next bulk collection day in your service area. It's not always a date you choose, but you'll get the date on the request confirmation. Put it out after 4 PM the night before, not at noon. If you miss it or it rains, you have to bring it back inside or request another pickup. That's why the Buy Nothing step is worth doing first.

And if you pay someone to carry it down, don't let them leave it at the curb without knowing the scheduled day. Otherwise you're back to the same problem with extra steps.

One more thing for the Buy Nothing route: you have to be a little ruthless about no-shows. I've had five people say 'can I come tomorrow' and only one show. If you're holding a used mattress, put the pickup terms in the post: must be able to carry it down, no holds after tonight, it's on the curb after 4pm. Don't let it turn into a week-long saga.

And Beth, if you're on the fourth floor, the box spring is the worst part because it's all wood and awkward. A friend and a pizza usually gets it done. Or ask the hardware store guy if he knows someone with a van. Sometimes the local moving guys will do a quick stair carry for a tip, no paperwork.

Since this is becoming a standing NYC adulting topic, I'll add the short version for the next person who finds it:

1. Bag it first. Mattress bag or heavy plastic, taped. If bedbugs, label it and do not give it away.
2. Try Buy Nothing or a local group only if it's clean and you can get a taker quickly. Don't hold it for days.
3. If no taker, request bulky pickup via 311. You'll get a collection day.
4. Place it curbside after 4 PM the night before, not earlier.
5. Take a photo with the bagged item and your request number.
6. If the stairs are too much, pay a person with a van or a Tasker to carry it down. You're paying for the carry, not the disposal.

Walt, hope the stairwell doesn't win. Let us know if the Buy Nothing crowd actually shows up or if it ends up as a DSNY pickup.