How to seal an inflatable mattress

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

A life hacker will teach you how to fix a leaky mattress at home: how to find a puncture, what glue to use and how to properly seal the hole.

1. Find a hole in the mattress

Inflate the mattress, remove all sources of noise, and listen carefully. Damage to the mattress can give off a slight whistling sound. To be sure, the noisy part can be immersed in water: small bubbles will indicate the location of the puncture.

If the previous method did not help, it's time to feel like a real barber. In a container, beat water with detergent and apply a thick soapy foam to the surface of the mattress with a brush. The foam will begin to bubble at the puncture sites.

After you find the damage, circle it with a pen or crayon so as not to lose it.

2. Prepare the surface

Let all the air out of the mattress before starting repairs. Clean the area around the puncture from dust and dirt, degrease the surface with gasoline or alcohol. If you need to glue a velor or flock mattress, it is important to remove the lint with acetone or fine-grained sandpaper before applying the patch.

3. Prepare the patch

Sometimes the mattress comes with special repair kits. If you don't have one, take pieces of thin rubber from the inner tube repair kit or cut up your child's rubber toy. The patch should correspond to the size of the puncture with indents of 2-3 cm and be oval or round. Degrease its surface with gasoline or alcohol before use.

4. Cover the air mattress

How to seal the hole in the mattress? Suitable glue for PVC, universal "Moment" or polyurethane shoe glue.

How to do it? We already have a mattress ready for repair and a cut-to-size, grease-free patch. Now apply an even layer of glue to the mattress and patch, wait 5 minutes for the glue to set a little, and align them. For greater effect, a load can be put in place of gluing for a day.

What to do if you need to glue the mattress along the seam

If the mattress is torn at the seam, a patch on the outside may not help. In this case, it makes sense to glue the inside of the mattress. To do this, use your hands or a ruler to pull the damaged area through the valve opening. Then glue the patch (according to the instructions from the previous point) to the inside of the mattress. Unscrew the mattress and use it as usual within a day after the glue has completely dried.

How to avoid new damage

To keep your repaired air mattress happy for as long as possible, follow these simple rules.

• Before placing the mattress on the floor, grass or sand, inspect the surface for any piercing objects.
• Do not play with pets on the mattress; they can pierce it with claws or teeth.
• Do not pull the mattress on the floor with people lying on it: the seams may come apart.