Cot Mattress, is it really useless once used for one baby?

[nicolamumof3]

seems such a waste to just throw out a £100 mothercare fully sprung mattress, but i guess theres nothing else for it?

I got a new mattress for dd2

but after dd1 I gave everything away because I wasnt having any more so I had to get a new cot as well!

I bought a natural fibre mattress for dd1, that was 14 years ago. I have since used it for 3 other babies and they are all healthy and well.
I thought that as long as I put a cover on and it wasn't soaked with vomit, urine or feaces it would be safe for my next baby to use.

My DS's mattress was used for my sisters 2 kids before him, and if we hadnt had DD so soon after and needed 2 cots at the same time, I would have used it for DD aswell. They just try to make as much money out of you as they can. Same with car seats, as long as you know its not been in an accident (ie you know and trust the person giving it to you) and it is still the current safety standard, and fits in your car, then go for it, it will protect your child equally as well as the same seat bought new would.

We re-used our mattress for our second baby as there was no time gap between them.
I think that this may be important as the spores can multiply in the mattress as it ages.

I will try and find the link to v. informative site.

I know this advice is probably a bit late but when I went to purchase a new mattress for my DD3 at Mothercare I happened to mention that we had one with a removable cover and the lady advised me to use that one but to remove the cover and wash it - seemingly that's the point of the removable cover

The deal with needing a new one is not that germs are harboured in the used ones but spores develop (like mould spores) from the usual sweat etc that a baby produces. These spores then develop and are thought to cause problems with breathing at a later date, usually when a mattress is being used by another child.
Sorry to go against the grain here but it is standard advise from the FSIDs and personally I would rather buy a new mattress than risk anything. All my babies have had new mattresses.