Air mattresses can be indispensable regardless of whether you love to spend a lot of time outdoors or your home is usually a spot for a series of activities for your guests. Of course, regular beds are pretty cool, but air beds are worthy alternatives since they are effortless to use and hassle-free when carrying and handling. So, can you overinflate an air mattress?
Yes, it is possible to overinflate an air mattress. They experience too much stress on the seams if filled to the brim. So if you’re using your air mattress for the first time, blow it to 90 percent capacity and know how much weight it can hold.
Air bed manufacturers provide little or no information about inflating limits for air mattresses, creating fears about overinflating and leaving the average consumer to use their instincts. Unfortunately, using their instincts also means they are unsure of what they’re doing because they’re uncertain how much air the airbed can safely hold. So let’s look at how much air you can put in an air mattress and what happens when you overfill your air mattress.
How Much Air Do You Put in an Air Mattress?
To properly inflate your mattress is never an easy task. How you sleep will get badly affected if you under-inflate it. You will not sleep comfortably if you over-inflate it, as it could cause backache, as well as micro-cracks.
How do you know if your mattress is properly inflated?
Here’s a tip: soon after inflating the bed, sit on it. What you should feel is your bottom close to the ground. So when you’re lying down, every part of your body will benefit from the air pressure distribution, providing you maximum comfort.
If you own a pump with a pressure gauge, an excellent tip is to have your mattress inflated until it reaches around 0.3 to 0.5 PSI. Then, if your bed can self-inflate, leave the valve open for several minutes before completing the inflating process using your mouth. However, you may need to exercise patience because the foam may require time to thicken.
Leaving your mattress in its inflated form is a good idea if you have a particular spot where you spend several nights. This will help you avoid the stress of re-inflating and deflating the mattress simultaneously.
What Happens if You Overfill an Air Mattress?
The seams in air mattresses are usually very delicate, so you should handle them with care and adequate air pressure. Your air mattress will become vulnerable to leaks either by leaking at the seams or rupturing.
The seams tend to deform from the extra air pressure, so you should leave some air space for the mattress during inflation. Check it properly with your hands. Continue pressing it gently after you’re done inflating. The response you should expect is a small amount of bounce.
You won’t get the bouncy feel if you overinflate your mattress, as it will be somewhat stiff. Stiffer than normal. If this happens, you should expect it to rupture at any given opportunity because its chances will increase.
How Much Weight Can an Air Mattress Hold?
There are different air mattresses, and their significant difference is the amount of weight they can accommodate. For example, most single air mattresses are limited to 300 pounds, while 800 pounds is the weight limit for double air mattresses. Therefore, you should always check the product details for vital information regarding its weight limit before purchasing it.
An air mattress’s weight is usually not affected by its height. Instead, the weight is generally determined by choice of materials and construction method of the bed.
There are mattresses (single air) made from firm materials like vinyl and PVC that can withstand more weight since they are heavy-duty; a 200-300 pound weight limit difference between heavy-duty and traditional air mattresses similarly sized.
Heavy-duty air mattresses are made from thick materials, an advantage over traditional air mattresses. Also, seam stitching holds together better for heavy-duty air mattresses than traditional ones.
Another advantage that heavy-duty air mattresses have over traditional ones is a higher weight limit. They are built mainly for people over 500 lbs weight who do not deem it comfortable to use traditional ones, making them well-equipped with enough strength to handle 800 lbs.
The number of sleepers also determines the amount of weight an air mattress can hold. Usually, a twin bed can handle 300 lbs. Hence, you should go for a full-size air mattress that can accommodate between 400 and 500 lbs if two people share the same bed. Some other mattresses can handle up to 800 lbs, so you have enough options to choose from.