An old post of mine seems to be the reason for a lot of hits on my blog. Actually, there are several of my older posts that do this. This particular one is about waterbeds. In an effort to give my readers and other potential readers some answers, this post will attempt to answer the three most googled questions about waterbeds that bring readers here.
1. To the person who keeps googling “how long does it take to heat a waterbed” the answer is that it varies. It depends on how big the waterbed is, how cold the water was when you filled the bed, and how good your heater is. There are probably other variables but these are the ones that come to mind. I know that my California King waterbed took quite a while to heat. If we filled it in the early evening, it MIGHT be ready late that night but most of the time we had to put an electric blanket under our sheets to be able to sleep on it that night!
2. To the person that has googled “how to repair a hole in a waterbed,” the answer is that it’s actually easy. Your waterbed should come with a patch kit. Cut a small piece of plastic for the patch and have it ready, along with the glue. When you locate the hole, mark it with a pen or marker then pull the mattress away from the water and dry it off as best you can. Apply the glue and then the patch. Keep the patched part away from the water (hold it away from the water) for a few minutes, to let the glue dry. Release the patched area. Push down on the mattress to see if the hole still leaks. If it does, repeat the process. It shouldn’t though.
3. To those that keep googling “how comfortable is a waterbed” the answer is EXTREMELY. Waterbeds are the best surface to sleep on, when properly filled. You have to find the right level for your comfort. It’s better to start off with it not filled enough and then add water than starting with it too full and having to siphon the water out. I can honestly say that my days (well in my case, years) of sleeping on a waterbed were the most comfortable nights I have ever had. Even when I was pregnant, I slept well, because of the waterbed. I could even sleep on my stomach during my ninth month. The bed just conforms to your body. Very comfortable!
Some day I hope to have a waterbed again. It is the best sleep I have ever had.
I’ve only slept on a waterbed once. I was so hot I thought I’d die. I don’t think the mix of menopause and warm waterbed are a good match!
I just read that someone found me today by googling “air got into my mattress”. Yeah. That happens. Especially when it is first filled. Fill the mattress with water, sleep on it for a couple of nights, then burp it. To burp the mattress, it works best if TWO people work on it. First, one should pull up on the filling opening so it is above the water. Then open the two caps (there is an inner seal and an outer one). A gush of air will come out. Then have the second person start at one corner of the bed and move their arms, applying firm pressure in a motion sweeping toward the opening (while person number one holds it open). Do this across the entire bed a few times. The air will come out.
It is necessary to do this once in a while. I used to do it about once a month. It’s not difficult and it will give you a much better sleeping surface.
Wow! You get really normal questions.
I keep getting questions like: “why do people sniff panties” and “why women get pimple at age of 38″. Some of the questions don’t seem even vaguely related to anything I can remember writing.
Sue, the waterbed was probably over heated. The heaters have thermostats and it was probably set too high. When heated properly, they’re the best!
This is a great public service! I’m alarmed at how many people find my blog by searching “can I take expired Darvocet?”
I haven’t even THOUGHT of a waterbed in many, many years. I had one when they first came out and remember sleeping on my stomach at 9 mos. pregnant, too.
Hmm. My best search term recently was “Canadian Humour”. I’m really not funny. Bet they were disappointed.
My back won’t stand for a waterbed anymore, but we use to love ours.
Now I kinda want a waterbed. Waterbed warehouse should higher you, you just sold it.
and hire you, too.
Amuirin, if they would hire me at a higher wage, I’d grab it!
There are still waterbed stores around and I am thinking that the next time I move, I might just get a waterbed.
I would like to know why a water bed is supposed to be the best surface to sleep on ?.
these theory’s make me think it wouldn’t be to comfortable
1.The top of your body would weigh more than the lower 1/2 so shouldn’t your ass sink in lower than the rest of ya back same with shoulders this would then lead to a bend spine correct me if i am wrong.
2.if you were to put 1 arm on ya chest and the other out across the bed wouldn’t the uneven weight distribution with the extra pressure from the arm course you spine to bend side ways ?.
just a few questions id like to answer before i invest in one for my self as i suffer from a muscular skeletal disorder that makes my joints sore and i don’t want to waste a whole heap of cash on a bed that courses more pain.
maybe a scientist who is familiar with the laws of fluid dynamics would be the best person to answer this question but any help/input on this topic is muchly appreciated.
Thank you kindly.
I have to disagree with your comment about waterbeds being comfortable. I used to own a waterbed back when they were popular and couldn’t wait to get rid of it because it was either too hot or too cold and made my back hurt something awful regardless of how much, or how little water I had in it. I would suspect that waterbeds went out of style for many good reasons and do not miss them at all.
Max, I think it depends on the kind of mattress you had. The kind I had at first was not very comfortable, however, we later got a waveless mattress that didn’t even move when you got in and out of it. It felt like a regular mattress. That was more comfortable than any mattress I have ever slept on, including expensive ($800 and up)ones. It just depends on what you’ve got and what you’re used to. I would gladly give up my fancy mattress for a waterbed right now. I might actually do it.
So I just moved into a house share sight unseen (just moved cross-country and needed something transitional – I took what I could get with three cats). My “king-sized bed” in my furnished room turned out to be a very, very cold waterbed with a mirrored canopy. LOL. I felt like I’d moved to 1983.
The first thing I did was take down the mirrors (duh, lol). Then I tried sleeping on it – OH MY GOD IT’S COLD. So I found the thermostat and cranked it. Then, of course, got here by googling “how long does it take to heat a waterbed.” 
I’m trying to figure out if the heater is even working… I started digging around and found an old CD which made me wary about digging around some more. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that the heater doesn’t work…. (the guy that owns the house is off somewhere so I can’t ask him – plus it’s 3AM)… I can put an electric blanket on it and it won’t hurt it?
Some people use only an electric blanket on the bottom, under sheets, to heat their water beds, so yes. You can do that.
If the heater doesn’t work (they don’t last a long time) then it’s sort of a pain to replace because, although not expensive, you have to empty the water from the mattress, remove the old one and put in the new one then refill the mattress with water. So it can be a pain, especially if you don’t have a second person to help you.
In the meantime, yes use an electric blanket to heat it up or it is waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy too cold to sleep on.
Good luck!
Corina-you have a very interesting blog and I am enjoying the questions and answers. As a veteran of over thirty years experience in the waterbed industry and a current waterbed sleeper for almost forty years, perhaps I can offer some advice that will help your readers.
Disclaimer-I still sell waterbeds but have an open mind to all of their advantages and disadvantages!
If you fill a waterbed with luke warm water, you can immediately sleep on it comfortably. How do you mix the water to be luke warm? The fill/drain kit that is usually obtained at purchase or can easily and inexpensively be replaced if you have lost it, contains a faucet adapter. By temporarily replacing the faucet aerator on bathroom or kitchen sink with this garden hose adapter one can mix the hot and cold water to be luke warm. If your hot water heater runs out of hot water, turn off the water and wait for it to reheat.
I wouldn’t recommend using an electric blanket on a waterbed. It’s kind of an accident waiting to happen. Waterbed heaters are safely designed and electrically protected for heating a waterbed.
If a waterbed heater conks out and needs to be replaced, there is a quick trick to putting in a new replacement that does involve a bit of effort but not draining. Modern waterbed heaters have longer cords leading to the pad that goes under the mattress. One or two strong people can carefully lift or pull the bottom corner of the mattress back so as NOT TO bunch the fiber while a light weight person slides the new pad under the mattress. Care should be taken to make sure that the pad is situated at least 6″ in from the edges of the mattress under the liner and that there are NO wrinkles in both the mattress and liner over the heater pad. It is not necessary to remove the old heater pad; simply unplug it from the wall and hide the cords. It is doing nothing good nor bad by remaining there. And, yes Corina, it can be a pain if you are alone! That’s what friends are for!
For DonkyBoY-Modern waterbed mattresses have multiple layers of fiber and even extra optional layers in the center mid-body area called “lumbar support” that cradle the floating unevenly weighted body as you mention for excellent spinal alignment and back support.
Most folks that complain about waterbeds being uncomfortable are referring to experiences on old, cheap full wave mattresses popular over 20 years ago, not the modern redesigned waveless waterbed mattresses of today.
There are several good informational waterbed articles on our website that might help your wonderful readers gain more perspective and I would be happy to personally answer any questions that they may have related to water beds.
More information may be found here: http://www.AwesomeWaterbeds.com/Why_a_Waterbed.cfm .
Corina-Keep up the good work and have fun! I hope that I have helped and I’d love to hear from you.
Okay I just bought a waterbed after not sleeping on one for quite some time. It is a kingsize hardside and has the thermostat on the side. The thermostat itself seems to be very warm on the top. There is nothing covering it or blocking the circulation around it. Is this normal or is there something wrong?
how would i go about finding a hole in a waveless matress. We noticed it was wet on the bed. How do i start to find it? please help. or call 7076012600. if you know anything. thanks
You need a couple of people to help you find the hole.
First, dry it off completely. Start in one corner (try the area where the moisture seems to be first) and have one person press down firmly on the mattress. Look for water coming coming out some place. Remember that you just dried it so any moisture appearing could be the hole.
Keep doing this until you find the hole or a likely area. You’ll need to keep drying and looking closely til you spot the hole. Mark it with a permanent marker.
Dry completely again. Apply patch to hole. Then look again and make sure there are no other holes. Just repeat the procedure til you’ve found all the holes you can.
Terrific information, hope to come back.
What brand is the best in hardside waterbed mattresses. It has been 20 years and it’s time to change out my waterbed mattress. I have a “Pleasant Rest” motionless, but I see there are Strobel, Boyd, American National, genesis, Land & Sky, ….. I would like a 100% motionless with lumbar support. Please help!
we just bought a used waterbed, and we set it up 3 days ago. and it seems that we are now stating to bottom when we sit or lay on the mattress (king size) i think there might be a whole in the bottom of the mattress, on the bottom left side. because i have lifted up each corner of the mattress, and all of the sides are dry ecsept when i lifted the bottom left side up it flet like moisture was on the mattress. (which was not on the other sides) and as i lifted the mattress even more on that corner it seemed to be getting even wetter. (i have unploged the heater already.) the liner is even wet. its not really wet but there is deff some moisture type of water. if you know what i mean. how do i fix this? do i have to empty my mattress? or is there no whole? also how can i change the water heater? the one we have will only turn on if we set it at 100 degrees, and then SLOWLY (if we go fast it will shut off automatically) turn the dial down, but when we do turn the dial down, we can only turn it to 85 degrees or the heater shuts off. but i know that the water in the bed is not 85 degress because when i lay on it the bed is freezing cold!! what should i do? any info will be much appreciated! thanks for you time -Amanda
(this message adds on to my previous comment)
oh and my mattress is a motionless one and i think it has hard sides, well im not really sure. the corners have these like patch looking things on them. but you can tell they are suposed to be there.. their not patches that someone put on ther. i thought i should add this info, wasnt sure if it would help or not.
It does sound like there’s a hole. You will most likely have to empty the mattress because the hole seems to be on the bottom. You will have to find the hole or holes, patch it/them, then refill it. Before you refill it, replace your heater. It sounds like you need a new one and to replace it, the bed has to be emptied.
I hope you got some kind of a guarantee on it because it might not be a usable mattress which means you will need an entirely new one. I hope that’s not the case.
We are on our second waterbed. We have a softside now (for 10 years) and love it. I have always been puzzled but this: Once or twice a year I have to add up to 4-5 gallons of water to keep the mattress to the firmness we like. Where does the water go? Does the mattress just stretch or does the water just lose oxygen and the amount of water lessen? We had to do tis with our old hardside as well. I always add conditoner and burp it when its noisy, but at times it will get so soft my bottom touches the base? Is the answer obvious?
Waterbed mattresses can stretch. This happens especially if you overfill the mattress. The pressure and weight of the excess water will cause small amounts of stretching in the mattress. Eventually, it will stretch enough so that the water level seems to have gone down and you’ll have to add water.
We had to put an electric blanket under our sheets to be able to sleep at night and can feel the wave in a waterbeds