Not actually life advice but ...

[Pixelated]

There is a guest bedroom in Mom's house. I don't sleep there. Nobody does. I had planned to strip the bed and leave it that way. A friend is now telling me that will "ruin" the mattress, which makes zero sense to me.

Can anybody either defend or debunk this?

[Slayer]

It can get exposed to dust, moisture, etc. Maybe invest in a plastic matress cover?

[Pixelated]

Okay, I'll do that. I just don't understand how a mattress can be ruined by being exposed to the same air my upholestered living-room furniture is exposed to ...

Then again, I really am a crappy housekeeper.

[csquared]

I would not use the term "ruined", but you should keep it covered to help keep it clean. Accidents happen, and you can't throw the mattress in the wash.

[notalwaysright]

When I stored my mattress in a garage I bought a heavy plastic cover. For inside the house, maybe this would be a good option? It's a waterproof cover that you can also sleep on and protects against bedbugs and such. I'm also not sure how just uncovering a mattress in a house would hurt it. Maybe if you kept that room shut, and it got really cold or really hot?

[Pixelated]

I should have added that the door to that room has always been kept shut ... even when the smokers lived here. I left it open briefly after I moved in, until I discovered that The Fuzzy Pumpkin was sharpening his claws on Mom's VERY nice wolf-themed bed covering. Then the door was shut again, and remains so.

But ultimately I would like to donate the mattress and box spring somewhere, so better safe than sorry. Thanks for the suggestions, everybody. I will strip and wash (or dry-clean) the linens, and get a mattress cover to protect the mattress until it is disposed of.