Air Mattress Durability

When my girlfriend and I moved in together, we needed a bed. The house didn’t have one, and there was no way we were going to purchase one before the move. So, we needed something to act as temporary bedding while we settled ourselves. We turned to an air mattress. Although air mattresses will be fine for occasional use or in case guests come along, their lack of durability makes frequent use impossible.

The air mattress was queen sized, although queen sized sheets didn’t fit it. The shifting and bulging of the mattress that takes place during the night with bodies on it took a toll on the already ill-fitting sheets. They were stretched beyond the limit of the fabric’s durability and ripped. Thus, my first piece of advice concerning an air mattress is not to use a fitted sheet. The shifty nature of the mattress itself will reduce the fabric to shreds.

In the first week, the mattress was fine. It held air, and provided a yielding surface that somewhat resembled the consistency of a waterbed. However, the durability of the rubber and plastic material was soon tested. Leaks will very easily spring in an air mattress, regardless of whether or not sharp objects are in close proximity. Air pressure working on already strained parts of the adhesive fixtures can tear tiny holes in the surface of the mattress. Once this happens, you’re in for problems.

With the weight of a person on the bed for eight hours during a night’s sleep, the air mattress can lose half of its air through even the tiniest of holes. This meant for me that I was practically sleeping on the floor by the time morning rolled around. With two people in the bed, the tendency will be for the air to rush to the corners of the bed, and a giant ditch will form in the center. Needless to say, this does not make for a very comfortable night’s sleep.

If you are considering purchasing an air mattress, make sure that a patch-kit comes packaged with the mattress itself. This will usually consist of extra pieces of plastic or rubber which you can cut into appropriate shapes along with an adhesive similar to model airplane glue. When you’re patching a hole, make sure that you let all of the air out of the mattress, or else the air pressure will push holes in the drying adhesive, rendering it ineffective.

Of course, you’ll be able to patch the holes if you can find the holes to begin with. This is no easy feat. Since the holes are usually tiny (unless you sleep with steak knives), there won’t be much rushing air or the noise of rushing air as a clue to the leak’s location. I have read accounts of people who have rubbed soapy water all over the surface of the bed or even thrown the mattress into a lake to find the leak. At this point, you have to ask yourself, is this really worth it?

In conclusion, although air mattresses are relatively cheap, their durability is seriously lacking. If you plan on saving big bucks by using an air mattress on a permanent basis, you will be in for a rude surprise. Believe me, just spend the extra money on a halfway decent bed and you will save yourself hours of frustration trying to win a losing battle.