Water Beds Buyers Guide

What’s more fun than a water bed? Not much! Water beds are symbols of fun, and for good reason. Water beds can also be very problematic though - especially you don’t care for and maintain them properly.

The first thing to know about water beds is the levels of firmness: Free Flow (also called Full Motion), Hydraulic, and Fiber Fill

Hydraulic and Fiber Fill mattresses use ‘baffles’ to reduce the wave action of mattresses. Free Flow mattresses do not have any ‘baffles’.

A Free Flow bed lets the water flow freely (it has no fill on the inside of the mattress), and thus is always rocking gently. They are the stereotypical water bed. Sleeping on a free flow bed is like sleeping in a cabin bed on a ship for the first few seconds, however ’sea sickness’ should not be an issue for someone sleeping on a water bed. Free flow water beds are not recommended to anyone who needs their mattress to be firm and give support though - they are quite the opposite of firm. Free flow beds are also not balanced, so if one’s partner is heavier, the bed will be lopsided. Someone who tosses and turns a lot at night will experience a lot of movement as the bed will rock in reaction to any movements. When purchasing a free flow mattress, you should make sure it is made of high quality vinyl which is not recycled.

Hydraulic water beds have round vinyl coils (these coils or hydraulic cells are the ‘baffle’) that float near the surface of the mattress. Each partner will be sleeping on different coils, thus they serve as a balancing mechanism. Hydraulic beds are also firmer than free flow beds. The more coils a bed has, the firmer and more balanced it will be. Hydraulic beds are much easier to drain then fiber fill mattresses, because there is no fiber to retain water.

Fiber Fill mattresses are, as one would expect, filled with fiber (the fiber serves as the ‘baffle’). This fiber reduces the movement of the water and increases the firmness of the mattress. The more fiber a mattress has, the firmer it will be, and the greater the motion reduction. Some fiber filled water beds also have increased lumbar support. There are some problems with fiber filled beds however, as they can be difficult to drain because the fiber retains water. The fiber inside the mattress can also shift. We recommend mattresses with the fiber “tethered” to the corners to prevent the shifting problem, and using an electric pump to help with draining a fiber-filled mattress.

Waterbeds require special care. You should clean the mattress once a month with a vinyl cleaner. The main danger is rips and tears. While small punctures are easily repaired, a large tear can destroy a mattress and make it unusable. Be very careful with sharp objects around water beds.

Water beds do have safety liners which should prevent water from leaking despite any puncture - as long as the mattress is filled to the correct level. Thus filling the mattress to the appropriate level is very important.

When it comes to benefits, a primary one is the reduction of insomnia. While the increased motion of water beds might cause some to experience greater insomnia, many will experience improved sleep. This is because regular mattresses exert enough pressure on the body to cut off blood supply in your circulatory system (this is what causes ‘pins and needles’ and numbness in limbs). Water beds do not exert enough pressure to do this, thus your blood flow will not be restricted.

So while water beds will move more in reaction to tossing and turning, they eliminate a very major cause for tossing and turning - restricted blood supply. Needing to release pressure to permit blood flow is a major cause in eliciting tossing & turning. Water beds can improve sleep by eliminating this factor.

Water beds have also been shown to be helpful for arthritis suffers, and are a major help to those who are immobilized, as they greatly reduce bed sores.

Pregnant women who like to sleep on their stomachs could also use water beds. Women in late pregnancy are discouraged from sleeping on their stomachs on regular beds, however usually this restriction does not apply to water beds. Pregnant women should consult their physician before sleeping on their stomachs on water beds however.

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