How can you make a waterbed mattress firmer? Many people believe that best way to firm up a water mattress is to add more water to it. Others say filling it to its recommended fill level will achieve the firmest feel, which way is right? We will cover both methods in todays blog.

Adding more water to a waterbed to make it firmer:
This method will make a firmer surface feel in your waterbed, however it can cause other problems that may not make worth your while. Vinyl stretching, fatigue cracks, and out right failure of the seams or corners are just some of the problems that result from an overfilled waterbed. Many people often complain that they feel as though they are rolling off of the water mattress when they are overfilled, along with complaints of increased motion. This extra motion in the waterbed mattress is due to the increase of water to baffling ratio.

Firmer mattress from proper fill level:
The firmest and best support comes from a correctly filled baffled mattress. This is how the mattress was designed to work. It’s really just this simple, X amount of baffling is designed to work with Y amount of water. This this combination equals the best all around support, best wave control, and firmest support. Correct fill level also extends mattress life expectancy and protects the waterbed heater. Contrary to many thoughts out there the baffling or fiber system inside a water mattress controls the bed’s overall firmness much more than simply adding more water to the bed. The more fiber or baffling the mattress has the greater the firmness and more supportive the waterbed will be.

So what do I do to get a firmer waterbed?

We think it is more important to purchase a firm quality waterbed bladder in the beginning. as apposed to trying to make a mattress into something it cannot be, by adding more water. Adding additional water to a waterbed we believe is a risk that should not be taken.Knowing  How to properly install a waterbed mattress is the the key to acheiving the perfect waterbed firmness.

If you have questions about how much water to put in a waterbed give us a call at 636-296-8540 or Contact Us by email.

Can I just siphon a waterbed mattress out a window, into a tub, or a basement floor drain? The answer is yes, however you must be extra careful if you have a baffled mattress. The reason is that the materials on the inside of the waterbed mattress may not drain completely or eveb worse if handled incorrectly could shift out of position ruining your mattress.
 
There are a couple methods to starting a gravity fed siphon for both the hardside or softside waterbed. First you will need one or all of the proper attachments to connect your garden hose to the waterbed mattress:

A drain and fill kit includes
1 Venturi pump
1 mattress adapter
1 faucet adapter
The kit will also include hose washers for all the female fittings.

All 3 methods require your to make sure that the waterbed heater has been unplugged and that the mattress has been burped and bled of any air bubbles before starting any draining process. 
 
Choose the Method below you would like to start the siphoning process with.
 
Method 1

Gravity siphon started with drain and fill kit.
Follow the drain and fill kit Instructions and turn the faucet all the way up. Let the water run until you hear a change in pitch of the exhausting water from the Venturi pump. While running disconnect the female end of the garden hose attachment from the side of the Venturi pump. Drop the hose to the ground immediately. If the end of the hose is lower than the bed the siphon will now start. You will obviously need to make sure that the draining water is going into a tub, basement floor drain, or out a window or you will have a mess on your hands.
 
 
Method 2

Gravity siphon started with only a mattress adapter.
Connect the female end of the garden hose to a faucet and the mattress attachment from the drain and fill kit to the male end of the hose. Over the sink carefully flush all air from the hose and then shut off the water. With a towel in hand, walk to the bed and connect the mattress adapter to the mattress then push valve in. Go turn on your water and count to 10. Then shut off the water disconnect and kink the hose. It is best to carefully drop the end of the hose out of a window. The lower the end of the hose the greater the tronger the siphon be due to gravity the drop.

 
Method 3

Gravity siphon started with an electric pump.
Follow Electric Waterbed Pump directions. Once the pump has been primed and water is flowing, shut off the pump and again carefully disconnect the garden hose and drop out of a window to a lower point than the waterbed. 

Many people choose the siphoning method to save on water consumption, electricity, or they just aren’t aware that there is better ways to drain a waterbed. If you have a wave control mattress, siphoning a waterbed mattress can be very tricky. In order to achieve the necessary vacuum required for moving a baffled mattress so you do not ruin It or Damage it by bunching or shifting the baffling system you must achieve a vacuum. You will need a very large drop around 8 to 10 feet or you will need to finish the vacuum process with a wet dry shop vac or Venturi pump and replace the cap and plug insert immediately to maintain the vacuum on the mattress. It should look like a package of beef jerky in the shrink wrap when finished.

Contact a waterbed store for more detailed information.

• It seems no one can clearly and intelligently explain what it is they are selling and what the difference is between a competing product?
  As a 22-year veteran of sales I expect people to be able to answer at least the simple questions and be knowledgeable about the furniture and mattresses they sell. I have noticed that sales people do not want to spend any time answering questions. They more often than not offer yes or no answers with no real detailed explanation to the questions we ask while they look at you with a deer in the headlights look.

• Unpredictable delivery times from large mattress and furniture stores are exceedingly common
  Big stores don’t seem to understand that you have things to do also.
  They set up delivery times that are narrowed down to an AM or PM delivery. If you’re lucky some companies may narrow the time down to a 3 – 4 hour window, which still results into the taking off of a half of a day of work.

• Where do furniture and mattress stores get these delivery and installation people?
  Installation people clumsily carry in furniture with little regard to walls and flooring, much less the furniture pieces they delivering. They do not take time to assemble your furniture instead they throw it together and to top off the cake they are over scheduled with deliveries and installations.

• Small mattress and furniture stores are more effective at giving personal service
  Small stores know when you need help and don’t avoid their customers. You won’t feel alone like in a big box store where everyone seems to disappear when you need him or her.

• Family owned furniture stores like The Water Works Sleep Center care about the mattresses and furniture they sell
  This is because we not only sell our products but we buy our products, and handle customer service issues. We believe if a job is worth doing right its worth doing right the first time.

• Many St. Louis mattress and bedroom furniture companies use a separate service department to handle customer service
  Mattress or furniture claims for things like damage from delivery, warranty issues, or even something as simple as the wrong product being delivered are turned over to customer service departments. Sales associates are not tied down with customer service problems so they can generate more revenue for the company. Is this separate service department designed to keep disgruntled customers from mingling with customers who are looking to buy?
  

• Service issues are not handled through the sales associate.We believe the key to getting good service is dealing with the same person through out your sales experience. Often times stores will use service departments so they can release sales staff from handling service issues that can bog them down. Stores believe this leaves them to what they do best, sell mattresses and furniture. We think they are best equipped to handle service problem and keeps an additional person from becoming involved. This can add possible confusion, misunderstanding, by a person who knows nothing about the purchase or what was promised and discussed at the time of the sale.

• A commissioned sales staff is only interested in the numbers game
  A sales persons thought process is, will this sale help me make my monthly goal or quota or sales goal? Your best interest is often overlooked in order to meet mandatory goals set by the chain or large conglomerate.

• Hourly sales staff often lacks the knowledge of commissioned staff due to less training.
  We all say we do not want to be bothered by a pushy salesman, with an hourly staff we usually get the opposite result, a staff that is not eager to help us with little to no knowledge about what they sell. They often are nothing more than a body to write up the purchase.

• Phone in questions and calls are kept short and vague
  Information is rarely offered and getting it is like pulling teeth. The communication skills it takes to present, explain, and answer your tough questions is almost always lacking and helpful information is rarely volunteered.