Okay I actually did not expect this to blow up and I suspect it will keep doing so (good!! I am preaching the importance of not breeding mold and mildew in your mattress). So allow me to summarize some of the crowdsourced struggle solutions mentioned by myself and others on this post.
FIRST and foremost I have seen some people saying "wood pallets" And also many other people saying "wood pallets are treated with pesticides and chemicals which are bad for you!"
Luckily for everyone, I did some quick research and found an EXCELLENT guide from Penn State Extension called Be Safe Around Wooden Pallets!
(sidebar: many colleges/universities have extension schools with loads of amazing, useful public information, and often additionally they will have local specific information. I usually check them for like, gardening advice but they might have all kinds of stuff!)
Anyways this is a handy guide to wood pallets in the United States, and for avoiding getting injuries from wood pallets as a result of using or handling them.
Wood pallets can be very heavy. Some can be up to 50 pounds. Be careful when lifting. Use good technique and get a buddy.
Also check the pallets for sticky outy nails and broken wood bits before you pick them up. The last thing you want is tetanus or an ER visit.
Wear thick gloves to handle them (or if you can't afford gloves, try wrapping your hands with rags to help avoid splinters or nails).
Do not attempt to pry pallets apart with your bare hands, or kick them apart, jump on them, etc. you will hurt yourself in a really dumb way.
They use special nails that make them harder to pull apart so be careful.
Most painted or plastic pallets and crates are company property. The most common painted pallets are property of shipping companies â Red (PECO) and Blue (CHEP).
Treated pallets are rare but are worthy of extra caution. A relatively small number of pallets are chemically treated to eliminate insects and parasites. Any pallet that is going to travel between countries must have a treatment stamp, even if no treatments have been applied (heat treatment is an option that causes no risks to humans). There are a few different chemical treatment types, some of which are no longer used, but you may still encounter an older pallet with one of these stamps. All stamps consist of a two-letter code which indicates the type of treatment applied; there are five possible treatment stamps commonly in use.
The treatment designation that you should be the most cautious of is "MB." This stands for Methyl Bromide. Pallets with an MB stamp have been treated with a highly toxic pesticide which can be necessary in certain regions of the world where there are pests that can't be eliminated by heat treatments. You should never use pallets with an MB stamp for any home project, nor should they be burned. It is very unlikely that you would encounter a pallet treated with methyl bromide, but if you do see one, it is best to avoid any contact.
So, there you go! It isn't super common in the US, but the pallets with the most dangerous pesticide treatment are labeled "MB." Avoid those!
Okay, NOW â struggle solutions to keep your bed off the floor when you are broke as hell:
Facebook buy nothing groups. Ask around!
Other buy nothing/used groups, offer up, etc.
Local habitat for humanity ReStore may have cheap frames
Slats of plywood spaced roughly 3 inches apart (use rope or zip ties to connect the slats together if you can) is better than nothing
Wood pallets that do not have an "mb" stamped on them.
Concrete blocks (with the holes in them) and probably also plywood or pallets laid over them to prevent mattress sagging. Either that, or a LOT of bricks. Also put something underneath the blocks so you don't scratch the floor to hell. (Wise thing to do for all options if you don't have carpet).
Milk crates can be sanitized and zip tied together for stability. Plastic corrugated boxes or wood crates also can work. (Again, fair warning many milk or plastic crates are considered company property and taking them may be considered theft. No judgements just awareness.)
If you're buying a mattress from scratch, you can often get a free or cheap frame bundle deal.
The cheapest metal slat bed frames (no box spring needed), just wooden slat replacements, or tatami mat pallet/slat frames that i saw on Amazon, Target, Walmart, etc for a full or queen size bed were about $50-$100.
It is a lot of effort, but if you're truly unable to do anything else, lift the mattress up and lean it at an angle against the wall until you have the money or supplies for another solution.
REMEMBER: if your frame has gaps in between slats/bars/blocks/etc that are bigger than 3-4 inches, you need a foundation box/box spring between the frame and the mattress to prevent it from breaking down under bad weight distribution, sagging, or getting lumpy faster! If the spaces are 4 inches or less, you may not need a box spring.
Tatami style/futon/floor mattresses usually have a mat (the tatami or futon mat) underneath them also.
As for everyone asking if you can just leave the foundation box/box spring on the floor and have that be okay:
it's probably better than the mattress just directly being on the floor? And the fabric enclosing the base is likely to be somewhat breathable. But I have to imagine it's still not as easy to prevent dust/dirt and humidity build up underneath, and you're probably not lifting it up to vacuum or sweep, so. Which. Yes that's how you get rid of dust mites and deter bugs and shit.
Probably still not ideal, but definitely better than a mattress just straight up chillin on the floor.
this has been my ted talk on why dust bunnies are both real and bad for you, thank u.
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