How To Find A Leak In An Air Mattress. 3 Best Ways

You have three best ways to learn how to find a leak in an air mattress. Knowing these methods will help you repair and keep your air mattress in the best condition. And best of all, you don’t need to pay someone to test it for you. 

Perhaps the damage is easily repairable, so you won’t need to spend extra on your air mattress. The following techniques are even easily doable alone and without any tools. So without further ado, find the leak and keep your air mattress perfectly inflated. 

How To Find A Leak In An Air Mattress

 

How To Check For A Leak In An Air Mattress

Before you start, please remove the sheets and bedding from your air mattress so that you can inspect it thoroughly. You also want to move it somewhere spacious and bright to help you go around it and check every part. 

 

Step #1. Check the valves

 

Valve stem

The first part that you can check to determine if there’s any leak is the mattress valve. Experienced users have noted that the most common source of leaks in an air mattress is the valve. We all know how an air mattress works, which means to ensure that it won’t deflate, the valve stem should be plugged in entirely. 

 

Valve plug

Of course, some products have modifications when it comes to their valves. If your air mattress uses a double locking valve, the leakage might be due to the valve stem not pressed against the stop perfectly. If you have issues with the plug, you can also insert a thin material to seal against the valve stem. 

But what if the valve is damaged? In this instance, you won’t have any quick fix that you can do, and it’s best to get your mattress repaired. On the other hand, checking the valve and seeing no issues means you can inspect the rest of your mattress for another source of leaks. 

 

Step #2. Manual inspection

 

Visual

Much like with our pillows, the mattress stuffing plays a significant role in your sleep quality. For air pillows, it should be inflated without leaking to stay supportive and comfortable. A test you can do to find a leak is a visual inspection of an inflated air mattress for holes and damages. 

As reminded earlier, you should make a visual inspection somewhere bright and spacious so you can thoroughly check your mattress. You can start at the sides, followed by the front, and then the bottom. A useful tip is also to check the seams as these areas get easily damaged in air mattresses.

 

Tactile

Besides looking for holes and tears, you also want to touch the mattress to ensure that you’re not missing out on any issues. Touching damages will also help reveal them as some can be too small to notice visually. You can even moisten your hand and check if it will feel colder to the leaking air from the mattress damages. 

 

Auditory

The final way to manually expect your air mattress for leaks is to listen for them. Much like other inflated objects, escaping air from the mattress will make a noise when you apply pressure on the mattress. This test is beneficial for more enormous damages and leaks. 

After doing these inspections, remember to mark the leaks with a piece of tape to help you patch them later on. However, never try to repair the air mattress yourself to avoid damaging it further. Instead, check with your manufacturer for further instructions and a potential warranty. 

 

Bonus method: Inspect for bubbles

If the previous steps failed to help you find a leak in your air mattress, you could do a bubble test. First, create a solution of warm water with some dish soap. You can use a sponge or a spray bottle to apply the soapy water to your mattress. 

Start with the valve to see if bubbles form around its area when your mattress is inflated. Then, apply the soapy water with the sponge or spray battle by parts around the mattress. You can follow the systematic checking earlier or start with the seams. 

Since the mattress gets wet, dry it with a towel, and then mark the leaks with a marker. Then, air dry your mattress for an hour before you store it. 

 

Why Does My Air Bed Deflates Overnight?

There are many factors to consider why your air mattress deflates overnight. For example, consider the conditions of the room and the pressure you put on the mattress. Cold temperature condenses air, and lying down on the mattress will affect its structure for an extended period. 

 

Conclusion

Much like the pillows we use, we must maintain our mattresses’ form to ensure that we wake up without body pain. This is why we must learn how to find a leak in an air mattress since this mattress’s quality depends on maintaining its inflated structure. You can start by checking the valve for leaks, followed by manually expecting the mattress entirely. 

Check for leaks by looking for them, touching the mattress for air leaks, and listening for escaping air. If these tests failed, perhaps you can spray or wipe your mattress systematically with soapy water and check for bubble formation. Then, mark the leaks and consult your manufacturer regarding the repair of your air mattress.