If you’ve ever used an air mattress, you know that after just a bit of use, they can sometimes start to deflate. Trying to sleep on an air mattress that sinks slowly, loses oxygen, and makes your temporary bed uncomfortable is not easy.
Rather than just chucking out the whole thing and buying a new one, find these ideas to help prevent deflating of your air mattress.
In years to come, being proactive will keep your air mattress in perfect condition, no matter how much you use it.
4 ways to keep an air mattress from deflating
1. Look at your surrounding for punctures
Once you find your air mattress slowly deflating, the very first thing you want to do is look at the immediate surroundings.
Many air mattress fabrics aren’t very durable, and if the mattress is accidentally pressed against something hard, such as a rock or a piece of furniture corner, this can cause a problem.
Taking the time to clear anything that might cause a small, hard-to-see puncture is the first step to ensuring that your air mattress stays inflated throughout the night. It can be nearly impossible to find and patch up when you inadvertently puncture a hole in an air mattress.
2. Let the air mattress adjust
You will want to allow the material time to adjust to being completely inflated when you unpack your air mattress. The material is still getting used to that initial inflation when you first fill the mattress with air.
The material can begin to expand slightly when fully inflated with air. This can sometimes make it feel as if the air mattress is leaking or if the fact is that the pad has just expanded to create more space inside.
Take one or two days after filling the air mattress — without sleeping on it — to completely stretch the material, then deflate and re-inflate it for use.
The air mattress must also adapt to temperature changes. If the temperature varies between the air inside the mattress and the air around it, it can make the air mattress feel like it’s losing a little bit of air.
To stop this, keep your air mattress in the space it is in at room temperature— or allow the air mattress to move if you are camping in the outside weather. Give it a couple of hours to adapt, re-inflating it regularly with air as needed.
3. Inflate and deflate the air mattress
Inflating and deflating air mattresses can be annoying, but before you find yourself with a leaky air mattress, it’s much easier to do it.
Keeping an air mattress inflated can put a lot of strain on the material, the seams, and even the air valve that keeps the air inside.
When you plan to use an air mattress for several nights in a row, it may be safer to slightly or fully deflate the material when not using the air bed. This will keep the material tight and keep the air inside.
4. Don’t put more weight than recommended
Air mattresses are going to come with a total weight they can carry. While they can carry more, it is not recommended.
It can damage the sheet, break the seams, cause holes or tears and destroy the air valve by putting too much weight on an air mattress.
A large air mattress will accommodate one or two fully grown adults without any difficulty. But it will start to cause problems by overloading an air mattress with four or five people.
You should also avoid jumping on the air mattress to ensure that there are no air pockets inside the mattress that can damage it from the inside out.
Conclusion
How to stop deflating an air mattress? You need to be mindful of how you use it and maintain it. Be cautious when setting up your air mattress to prevent punctures and tears.
Take the time to stretch the material and change the air. Deflating the pad and being conscious of how much weight the mattress will bring on will help to keep it in good condition for longer.
There is no reason why a good air mattress of quality will not last for a while. You won’t have to worry about a leaky air mattress if you follow these guidelines.
