If you have limited space and want an affordable mattress, the Air mattress is the best option. There are many best air mattresses in the market that you can go for, but the problem with air mattresses is that they can tear or leak. If your mattress is losing too much air, then there might be a hole in it.
Fortunately, there are easy ways to repair the air mattress through the patch kit or other DIY methods. But first, you need to find the hole in the mattress, and then you need to make arrangements to repair that hole. There are many things that are used to repair the hole like duct tape, super glue, or even nail polish
One thing that you should take care of is when you know that there is a hole in the mattress, act as fast as you can because with time, the hole will get bigger, and it will be harder to repair.
What can you use to Patch an Air Mattress?
You can use many things to patch the leak or hole in the Air mattress. You can use a piece of the shower curtain, a pool liner, an inner piece of your bike tire, or even you can use nail polish to patch the hole. Of course, it depends on the nature and size of the hole and what method or thing you will use to patch the hole.
How to Fix a Hole in an Air Mattress?
Here are the few steps you can repair your mattress:
- Identify the Hole
- Clean the Surface
- Material to Patch the Hole
- Fixing the Hole
- Verification
1. Identify the Hole
The first thing you need to do is find out where is a hole in the mattress, and this might be a very easy task if you do it with full concentration. You need to put a very little bit of pressure on the mattress and then listen attentively to the sound of air leaking all over the mattress.
Make sure that there is pin-drop silence in your room when you are doing it because that way, you can easily track the leak sound. Never lie on the mattress to check the hole because it will increase the size of your home, and then it will be harder to patch.
When you listen to the leak sound, mark that spot with the marker so, that while patching, you can easily find the hole. Now before the repair, you need to deflate the mattress. If, by doing this, you cannot find the hole, then do the moisture test. This way, you will easily find the hole.
Put some dishwasher and the water in a spray bottle and spray at every mattress inch. When you reach the hole, the mixture will cause bubbles, and this way, you can easily identify the hole in the Air mattress.
2. Clean the Surface
When you are done with finding the hole in your mattress, you need to clean the hole. Make sure you clean the hole by extending the inch or two. You have to use some good all-purpose cleaner and then let it dry for some time. If your mattress surface is a bit smooth, then make sure you apply the sandpaper to the leaked place and then let it dry for some time. It will make sure that the bond between the glue and the surface is very solid.
3. Material to Patch the Hole
There are many good Air mattresses that come with the patch kits, so; your mattress might also come with the one you can use to patch the hole. If not, there are many online shops where you can find patch kits very easily. You can also patch the hole with your bike tire patch kit.
Not only this, but you can also use any plastic material from your house to patch the hole, and it would also stop the leakage from your Air mattress.
4. Fixing the Hole
Now you have to cover the hole in your air bed mattress with the material that you have selected. The patch should cover all sides of the hole by about half an inch. The center of the patch should be generously coated with adhesive. If you don’t have any of them on hand, super glue, gorilla glue, and contact cement work just fine. However, if you’re restocking, you might consider purchasing Coghlan’s Airstop Sealant, the best and cheapest option for this type of repair.
Put the sticky plastic patch over the air mattress hole and press firmly to ensure an airtight seal between the patch and the mattress. When the plastic patch has been applied, you should rub it circular to remove any air bubbles.
5. Verification
The next step is to place a weight of at least 10 pounds on top of the glued patch and let it sit on top for at least 8 hours. Make sure you follow the adhesive’s cure time recommendations, as well.
Inflate the air mattress again after the glue has dried, sprinkle talc or baby powder over the patched air mattress, and remove the weight as soon as possible. You may need to re-apply the patch if the powder goes flying when you press down on the mattress. Congratulations on a successful fix!
Best Way to Patch a Hole in an Air Mattress
The best way to patch a hole is by gluing a patch in the affected area. As we said before, there are many things that you can use to patch the hole in your air mattress. If you have a piece of your shower curtain or even a piece of a bike tire, you can patch the hole in your mattress. This is the best DIY method to patch the hole.
If you find out the material, then we are going to show you the way with which you can easily patch the hole in your mattress. Once you have selected the material with which you want to patch the hole, cut the material that would cover the whole place of the patch even one inch extra than the desired place.
Rub the whole surface with the alcohol or the nail polish remover that you will find easily in your home. Now you need to apply the glue where you need to patch the hole. Spread it all over the place, even one inch extra on all the sides of the hole. Take the material that you selected before and put it in the hole. Apply some pressure on that material and ensure there is no air inside the hole and the material.
Now put some pressure on the patch for at least 10 to 12 hours and let it dry. After 10 to 12 hours, check the patch to see if the seal is proper and if there is no leakage in the hole. If yes, then congratulations, you have patched the hole successfully. This is the most affordable and best way to patch the hole.
How to Fix a Hole in an Air Mattress Without a Patch kit?
If you want to fix the hole without the patch kit, then there are many options, but the best one you should go for is duct tape. In this method, you don’t have to put a lot of effort into fixing the hole and don’t need the adhesive to cover the puncture.
In this, you just need to cut the duct tape bigger than the hole size. It would cover the area of the hole completely and 1-inch space around the hole. Now apply the tape to the area. It would solve the air leakage problem for you.
However, you should know that duct tape can lose its grip over time; if you use this method, you might have to re-patch the hole regularly after some time. If you don’t have a patch kit or strong adhesive to fix the hole permanently, this solution may work as a temporary solution.
How to Fix a Hole in an Air Mattress With Super Glue?
If your Air bed has a very small puncture or hole, then superglue would be the best option to fix it. Two ways are generally used to fix the hole with super glue. If you have previously used the DIY patch method, you can either use it as an adhesive or squeeze the glue above the puncture without needing to apply patches.
By applying the glue with stitch-like motions, you can stitch the puncture. Apply a second layer after the first layer has dried, ensuring that at least 0.5″ of the puncture and the area around it are covered. Make sure the mattress is inflated and that no leaks are present. If you do not have a patch kit with you while camping, super glue is a good option for patching a mattress.
How to Fix a Hole in an Air Mattress with Nail Polish?
You can fix the hole with nail polish. Preparations must be made before you attempt this method. For the polymerization reaction to nail polish, you need a UV light source. You can fix any size hole with it, so it’s great.
- The first step you need to take is to sand the area around the hole, and it does not matter if the area is smooth or not.
- The second step is to take alcohol or nail polish remover, whichever is easily available, and then degrease the area then let it dry for some time.
- After applying the nail polish, set the UV light above the nail polish and drop it for 10-15 seconds to cure the nail polish. Next, you apply the nail polish to the hole you want to fix.
These were the steps you can use if the hole in your mattress is small, but what if your mattress has a very big hole? Then what would you do? So, we will show you how you can fix a big hole in the air mattress.
- Like always, the first step is to sand and degrease the area with the method we mentioned above.
- Now take the piece of clear shower curtain that would cover the whole of the mattress. It is recommended to use clear materials since they can be penetrated by UV light.
- Now you have to put a thick layer of nail polish on that material and then put that material on the hole. The material should be clean to penetrate the UV light easily.
- Now it’s time to turn the UV light on the patch material for 15 to 20 seconds. Now rub the patch and see if it’s secured or not.
There is no doubt that this nail polish method would very easily patch the hole in the mattress and would block the leakage for you, but it is a very temporary method, and if you want to solve the issue permanently, then you need to go with some patch kit.
How to Fix a Hole in an Air Mattress – FAQs
Summary
If you are a user of air mattresses, then you might know that the air bed is a very affordable option for people that have limited space, but on the other hand, they are also very prone to accidents and leakage, especially if you have pets and kids in your home. This is why we compiled an article in which we mentioned all the ways to fix the hole in your air mattress.
If your air mattress got any holes, you need to fix them; otherwise, it would be very hard to patch, so we have shown you some best ways to fix the affordable yet permanent hole. It does not matter if you are a newbie or have experience fixing the holes. We explained everything step by step to fix their air bed easily.
We hope that this article helps you fix the hole in your air bed; if yes? Then make sure you share it with your friends and family members so they can also benefit from this useful piece of content.
Thank you.
