New mattress or crib setup checklist
A new mattress is lowest-effort when you do the free steps in order. Air it, check the fit, cover it, and keep a baby's sleep space bare.
Start ticking things off
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Do these in order. Most are free. Print this page, add the items to your plan, or share it with whoever is setting up the room.
Before it arrives
Emissions from a new mattress are highest when it is new and fall off over days to weeks. A room with a window you can open, and a closed door to the rest of the house, works.
A maker can use added chemicals or a physical barrier such as wool. Labels rarely say which. If the answer is vague, ask in writing.
- Optional
Most registers list the company, not the model. Match the name and number, and read what the scope covers.
When it arrives
Do it earlier for a nursery. Open the window when you can.
Search CPSC's recall list (cpsc.gov/Recalls) or SaferProducts.gov. Do it again for a used mattress.
The federal standard (16 CFR Part 1241) sets a minimum size and a 3.15 inch corner gap, but that is a manufacturer test figure. At home, use CPSC's simpler check: if you can fit more than two fingers between the mattress and the crib side, it is too small. Use the size the crib maker lists. Then press the middle: AAP's test for firm is that it shouldn't indent when your baby is lying on it.
Cover it
- Optional
Look for TPU, polyurethane or polyethylene named in the listing, and made without vinyl. Measure the mattress with any topper on it. For a crib, CPSC's guidance is a fitted sheet and nothing else; any waterproof layer must be crib-made, snug and flat, or skipped.
- Optional
Organic cotton the maker lists as GOTS certified, with a thin TPU layer made without vinyl or PVC, per the maker. The maker sells flat and fitted styles and we could not confirm which this listing is: check it says fitted. A flat pad does not belong in a crib.
Naturepedic — Naturepedic Organic Waterproof Crib Mattress Pad, Skin Friendly, Breathable & Absorbent Crib Mattress Protector - Removable Protector Pad for Baby and Toddler Beds - Fitted for Standard Baby Crib Size
- Optional
Some shrink to size over two to five wash and dry cycles. Follow the label on heat, since high dryer heat can damage a waterproof lining.
Baby's sleep space
CPSC's safe-sleep guidance is nothing but a fitted sheet in a crib, bassinet or play yard. Do not add pillows or blankets to a baby's sleep space.
How we choose
We start with CPSC and the federal rules in the CFR, and we use certifiers' own registers to check labels. Where we could not check a claim, we attribute it to the maker.
Every claim traces to a listed trusted source.
Common questions
Cheat sheets for this
Part of the Mattresses & Bedding hub— the rest of our coverage in this category.
Every mattresses & beddingproduct we've reviewed— what we'd buy, what we'd skip, and where each one stands.
Every source we cite is checked against our criteria first — see how we check our sources.