How to Drain a Waterbed
Don’t you just love sleeping on a waterbed? It’s softer than your regular mattress and is just as comfy. Of course, like a normal bed, you must maintain your waterbed properly, for it to be useful for years to come. One important thing you need to do is to drain and replace its water. If you want to do it yourself, here’s how to drain a waterbed. You can try these two options.
Using An Electric Draining Pump
Most waterbed brands sold today come with electric draining pumps, to allow easier water removal. If your bed doesn’t come with any, you can easily buy one from your local retailer. Here’s what to do:
What You’ll Need:
Drain pump
Garden hose
Heavy objects, like phone books
Procedure:
Unplug the waterbed’s temperature control unit. This is a very important safety precaution you shouldn’t forget.
Get the heavy objects and use them to weight down the area around the waterbed valve. This prevents air bubbles from inside the mattress from going into your garden hose. If these bubbles manage to enter the hose, they’ll stop the siphoning action you’ll create.
Mount the drain pump to the closest faucet, and then attach the garden hose. Check the fittings, making sure they’re fitted tightly. Check the “bell valve” if it’s in the “up” position, and if it is, turn the water on, putting more water in the mattress. This pushes the air in the hose to the bed, and creates the continuous water siphoning you need.
Let the water flow for a few seconds, then turn the “bell valve” to “down” position, allowing the water to flow full blast. The water coming from the faucet and flowing through the drain pump sucks the water coming from the bed. Make sure air doesn’t get in the hose. Doing this takes one or two hours, depending on the water pressure you’re using.
If you’ve got a motion-reduced mattress, be careful when draining and moving the bed, preventing the interior baffles from shifting. before lifting up one end, hold the baffles in place. This causes the remaining water to go out to the valve.
Fold the mattress carefully, trying not to let the baffles shift out of place.
Draining A Waterbed Without A Pump
If you’ve got a waterbed that doesn’t have a pump, you don’t need to rush out and buy a pump for it. There’s a procedure that allows you to take the water out easily without any need for this equipment. Here’s how:
What You’ll Need:
Outdoor faucet
Window
Garden hose
Procedure:
Just like with the first procedure, unplug the waterbed’s temperature unit first, before draining.
Get your garden hose and take it through the bedroom window and inside the bedroom. Attach it properly to the faucet outside. If you’re draining while at the house’s upper level, try working backwards by taking the hose upstairs, letting it fall to the ground, and fixing it to the faucet.
In the mattress, create the right air pressure. Turn the water on, and let it go into the bed for at least 15 seconds, allowing the air within the hose to move to the bed, creating an air pouch inside, which will be useful for siphoning.
Shut the water off from outside. Carefully remove the hose from the faucet, laying it down in a place that easily handles the runoff coming from the waterbed. The water will be siphoned out with the use of gravity. Just make sure the hose end is below the top hose’s level.
Let the mattress drain for one or two hours. If it drains slowly, lift up the end opposite the valve, allowing water to reach it.
A Few Reminders
Make sure you drain the water in an area that’s not nicely landscaped or isn’t dirty, to avoid making a muddy mess.
Replace a defective cap with a new one, or use an electrical tape for it to have a tighter fit.
Protect the bed frame by placing towels around the drain valve.
Waterbeds are more functional and comfy, if properly maintained. Remember these tips to effectively change and drain your waterbed’s water and you’ll always have a lovely, springy mattress to sleep on.