The answer to self inflating air mattress how does it work is similar to how self-inflating pillows work. We mean that the mattress’s overall design and construction affect how it inflates and retains the structure. Do you want to find out more?
We will discuss it in more detail below. Furthermore, you should know what to expect with this product type by the end of this article. Continue reading now, and you might consider ditching the pump for your next trip!
How Does A Self-Inflating Mattress Work?
Design and construction
There’s no need for a complicated explanation about how self-inflating mattresses work. Imagine it as a bed composed of a foam layer between a fabric shell with a valve or multiple valves. When you need to use the mattress, you’ll open this valve to expand the foam layer.
Once you’ve reached the desired mattress structure, you can close the valve. You’ll also be closing this valve when you store the air bed rolled. Because of this overall design, you don’t need an air pump to blow up the bed.
Foam core
One can say that the success of the self-inflating feature depends on the foam core in the middle. It is designed by the manufacturer to compress and inflate thanks to the air chambers that open when needed. However, you must also understand the valve system and fabric that make up a self-inflating air mattress.
Valve system
The most common self-inflating beds in the market typically use one valve, but you should expect twice the amount if it’s a double mattress to inflate or deflate quickly. It’s also worth noting that the air mattresses’ original valve is a brass valve, which later improved into an Air Flow Control valve. The former is essentially open, so you always deal with the bed inflating if you try to roll it for storage.
Therefore, manufacturers now use the AFC valve because it has inflating and deflating settings to solve this issue. Some models even use a cyclone valve, which gives you an inflate and deflate setting separately as well. Overall, remember that the valve’s effectiveness to suck in the air will dictate your air mattress’s resulting depth.
Fabric shell
As for a self-inflating bed’s fabric shell, the material ranges from polyester, polyester pongee, and nylon. Polyester is the most popular because it’s durable yet affordable. But if you want something more lightweight and long-lasting, we recommend nylon because it can withstand wear and tear.
What about polyester pongee? More common in self-inflating mats, polyester pongee is on the expensive side. However, it feels very soft to touch because it’s a brushed fabric.
How Long Does A Self Inflating Mattress Take To Inflate?
A self-inflating bed can take several minutes to a few hours to finish inflating. You have to consider how long it’s compressed or if you’re using a relatively thick model. We recommend lying on the mattress after it finished expanding to check if you reached the desired firmness.
If you’re using a mattress with two valves, there is no difference in using it. Being bigger will make it take longer to finish inflating. Just make sure that you open and close both valves to make the self-inflating feature effective.
How Do You Inflate A Self Inflating Air Mattress?
As we have mentioned earlier, you can lie on the mattress after it finished expanding to check the firmness. If you find it underwhelming, you can add extra air onto it by giving your mattress a few puffs. However, we want to remind you to be extra careful when blowing air into the bed.
Remember that you might introduce moisture inside the mattress when you do this. If the interior doesn’t dry up, it can lead to mold growth. Be sure to open the valve for a few days to dry up any moisture, or use a pump instead (although, this defeats the purpose of a self-inflating mattress, isn’t it?)
How to deflate a self-inflating mattress?
Deflating a self-inflating mattress is as easy as inflating it. You only need to open the valve or valves and apply light pressure on the bed to push any excess air out. Then roll the mattress from one side towards the valve to further force air out and close it.
At this point, you can fold the bed towards the valve. You don’t need to fold the mattress tightly that it will form creases. A tip to remember is to open the valve once more when you’re close to it until you finish rolling and closing it for good.
What to do with a new self-inflating air mattress?
If you have just gotten your new self-inflating bed, please follow the directions accordingly. Typically, you want to unroll and let the bed self-inflate for half an hour before closing the valve. The key point here is that you must leave the first inflation alone without intervening, which you can in the subsequent uses.
Conclusion
Do you want to experience a pump-free life with air beds? If you ever wondered self inflating air mattress how does it work, we have explained earlier how the construction helps with this feature. By opening the valve, the foam core will expand.
And you can quickly deflate the mattress as well by simply opening the valve. Overall, this innovation is very convenient, especially when traveling. You don’t need to worry about bringing a separate pump to have something comfortable to sleep on.