How To Locate A Leak In An Air Mattress

By Philip Yiga | October 8, 2015

These days air-mattress are becoming common and this is mainly because these mattresses are very convenient, easy-to-store and flexible compared to other mattress types. Additionally, air-mattresses can also offer you with a quick and convenient way to prepare a bed for friend who shows-up to spend a night at your place. However, these mattresses rely on air and this implies that even a tiny leak will leave the sleeper on a flat surface/floor by morning. so, finding leakages on an air-mattress is not an easy task although different air-mattress manufacturers provide the user with several methods on how to troubleshoot or find a leak on this type of mattress. In fact, it’s always recommended to first inspect the valves because method id most likely to reveal the leakage and incase this doesn’t work, then try some of the methods that have been listed below;

RELATED:- What Is The Best Air Mattress

 

METHOD-1: INSPECT THE AIR-MATTRESS VALVES:

1. Begin by removing sheets/beddings from the air-mattress: you actually need to first remove any sheets or beddings from your mattress because if you don’t do so, then you won’t be able to see the hole/tears on the air-mattress.

2. Take the air-mattress to a place with enough-room to maneuver it: you will need to move this air-mattress to a large-place where you are able to walk around it, flip-it and even inflate-it. Additionally, make sure that this place has adequate light so that you can be able to see well when locating the holes/leaks

3. Fill the mattress with a lot of air: try to inflate your air-mattress as much as you can without risking the mattress to burst. You may actually use an air-pump or your breath to inflate an air-mattress because these mattresses are not designed to be air-filled with high pressure sources like air-compressors.

4. Inspect the mattress valve: it is always recommended to inspect the air-mattress valve before inspecting other areas on the mattress because the valve is usually a common source of leaks. In fact, inspecting the valve first may save you a lot of time rather searching for leaks while using other methods. But in case the valve is properly inserted, then you may look for a leak on other sections of the mattress.

 

METHOD-2: LOCATING A LEAK USING A DISH-SOAP METHOD:

1. Add liquid dish-soap to a spray bottle: start by adding a little liquid-soap to a spray bottle filled with warm-water and then mix thoroughly to ensure that achieve an even amount of soap across the entire mattress. But in case you don’t have a spray-bottle, then you may use a soapy wet-rag or a sponge wetted with soap-water or bubble-soap.

2. Spray or wipe the soapy-solution around the valve first: it’s recommended to first apply this soapy-solution over the valve at first and then move to other areas if the valve is fine. In fact, escaping air will cause the bubbles to form around the mattress surface with a leakage. However, make sure that the air-mattress is fully inflated before applying this soapy-solution over in order to achieve the best results.

3. Sray the mattress-surface systematically: spray the surface starting with the seams then followed by the rest of the fabric. In fact, the leak will simply reveal itself with soap-bubbles and don’t get worried about getting soap over the mattress because this can be wiped-off later and then the mattress will be left to dry.

4. Mark the leak with a marker: try marking the leak using a permanent-marker once you locate it and in fact a permanent-marker won’t bleed while wetting the surface on the mattress. Additionally, you will find it easier to mark the affected area after using a towel to dry it first.

5. Dry your air-mattress in wind or direct sunlight: after, dry this air-mattress in direct sunlight or in win for about 1 to 2 hours and in fact the seams tend to take the longest time to dry-up. Additionally, your air-mattress has to be 100-percent dry before can use any adhesive-patch to repair it. Lastly, if incase you don’t dry an air-mattress before storage, then mold or mildew may form hence its very crucial to ensure that your mattress is 100-percent dry you keep it.

 

METHOD-3: INSPECTING THE AIR-MATTRESS:

1. Inspect the mattress visually: you will have to do this when your air-mattress is still fully inflated because even a pinhole can become visible when a mattress is fully-inflated. However, do this in a place with enough light and also inspect the air-mattress in a systematic way.

2. Move your hand-palms slowly along mattress-surface: moving the palms of the hands slowly over the mattress-surface often enables an individual to feel the escaping air-brush against the skin. But you will need to first wet the hands with cold-water since escaping-air increases the evaporation-rate from the skin and make it feel cooler.

3. Pressurize the mattress with your hands and then listen for any leaks: this involves applying pressure to a fully-inflated air-mattress using your hands and then moving the head along the mattress-surface while using the ears to listen for nay leaks. in fact, the ear is more sensitive to feeling escaping air and even escaping air makes some hissing sound the your hear can trap or listen.

4. Mark the leak using a piece-of-tape or pen: after locating the leak on your air-mattress, quickly mark it with a pen of piece of tape and the user the provided manufacturer-instructions to patch-up a leak.

 

METHOD-4: SUBMERGE THE AIR-MATTRESS INTO WATER:

1. Check for the label on your air-mattress: it’s very important to check the label on your air-mattress because some manufacturers actually recommend the user not to submerge an air-mattress into water. This mainly because submerging an air-mattress places it into contact with a lot of water which may cause the fabric to get saturated.

 

2. Partially inflate your air-mattress: try to partially inflate your air-mattress so that you can be able to see the escaping-air when the mattress in placed under water. In fact, fully inflating the air-mattress makes it difficult to submerge this mattress into a bathtub or pool.

 

3. Submerge the valve-stem into a pool or bathtub: first submerge the valve-stem into a bathtub or pool filled with water but make sure that the valve is properly closed before submerging it into water and then apply some pressure around this valve to see whether there is any escaping-air from it.

 

4. Submerge other mattress-sections into water: after, try to submerge other mattress-parts under water while looking for any bubbles that indicate escaping-air from a leak. In fact, pay close attention to the areas around the seams because they commonly known for developing tears and holes.

 

5. Dry your mattress in wind or direct-sunlight: after spotting the leak, place your air-mattress into direct sunlight or wind for about 1 or 2 hours in order to dry it up and then apply an adhesive-patch to repair any leaks on your air-mattress.