Just picture yourself waking up on a lovely air mattress only to find it flat in the morning. It’s annoying not to be able to sleep when you’re out camping. In this article, we take a look at what causes air mattresses to lose their air. If you want to get a decent night’s sleep when camping, you’ll need an air mattress, but you can’t use it if you don’t know what causes it to lose air. Let’s find out what causes air mattresses to lose their air and how to fix that so you can sleep soundly.

There are 5 main reasons why your air mattress deflates: 

1. You’ve Got a Leak – Why Your Air Mattress Deflates

A leak is the most likely culprit behind a deflated air mattress, as this is the most evident cause. However, even if it sounds like a no-brainer, the leak itself might not be that evident.

To put it another way, finding the source of the leak might be quite difficult.

To begin, it is important to perform a careful visual examination of the entire air mattress. Examine the item from all angles, including the front, the back, and the sides.

Check the seams for any damage using your fingers. The next step is to inspect the region surrounding the pump as well as the location where the pump is connected to the bed.

If you are still unable to determine where the leak is coming from, you should wash the mattress with soapy water. If you look in a certain location and notice that bubbles are foaming up or frothing up, then you’ve won! You have located the problem area.

2. You’re Going Camping When It’s Cold – Why Your Air Mattress Deflates

It may be hard to believe, but fluctuations in temperature are a primary factor in the deflation of air mattresses.

You are not to blame for this circumstance; this is simply how air behaves. It contracts when the temperature of the surrounding environment is low and expands when it is high.

Think about the tires on your car, for instance. Do you take note of the fact that the warning light that instructs you to “inflate your tires now!” turns on during the chillier months of autumn? 

The issue also applies to mattresses that use air pressure. Because the air within an air mattress literally contracts when the temperature drops, you may find that your air mattress loses some of its comfortable volumes if you go camping when the temperature is lower.

Do you think that this will be too much of a hassle? Do you have an interest in exploring additional possibilities? With these 11 alternatives to air mattresses, you won’t need to worry about a thing. 

Oh, and while you’re at it, check out our full comparison of cots, air mattresses, and sleeping pads to get a better idea of how these various options stack up against one another.

3. Your Air Mattress Loses Its Inflated State Despite Being Brand New – Why Your Air Mattress Deflates

You’ve just finished blowing up your brand-new air mattress, and you can’t wait to get a good night’s rest on its velvety surface. Imagine your disappointment when it deflates!

Surprisingly typical of brand-new air mattresses is their propensity to exhibit this behavior. It will take some time for the material in the mattress to fully expand out.

If you don’t remove yourself from it before you go to sleep, it will keep stretching while you’re in bed. This, of course, causes the mattress to sink, as well as the sensation that the mattress is losing its air pressure beneath you.

4. You’ve Put Too Much Weight on the Air Mattress – Air Mattress Losing Air But No Hole

There’s a good reason why air mattresses have weight limits. If you don’t adhere to them, you really shouldn’t be surprised if this results in a deflated and overstressed mattress. It’s really not your fault.

It makes no difference if you put too much weight on it last night or three months ago; the consequences are the same. The damage will still have been done regardless of what happens.

To avoid this, all you need to do is check the weight restriction in the user manual and maintain a weight that is significantly lower than that.

Check out our ranking of the top 10 most durable and heavy-duty air mattresses if you’re concerned about this particular issue because you need to accommodate a large number of people on your bed.

5. Even if there are no leaks, air can still escape naturally – Air Mattress Losing Air But No Hole

Unfortunately, if you’ve checked out everything else that could be causing it but you’re still seeing that your air mattress is slightly deflated, the problem could be due to the laws of physics.

Imagine a balloon filled with helium. They don’t have any holes in the system, do they? In spite of this, a balloon will lose its air pressure over time on its own.

This is due to the fact that regardless of whether or not there are leaks, air will inevitably seep out of any substance. 

Tips To Prevent Air From Leaking Out Of Your Air Mattress

1. No Weapons or Sharp Objects… Obviously. – Why Your Air Mattress Deflates

You might be astonished to learn how many leaks are caused by human error, despite the fact that this one is a no-brainer. A significant number of these mistakes are due to the use of pointed objects in close proximity to the air mattress.

Therefore, make sure not to bring anything pointy near the bed. 

This covers tools that are really visible, such as scissors and knives, as well as those that may not be so evident, such as forks, nail clippers, pens/pencils, or essentially anything with a rough edge.

2. The air mattress is not to be used for excessive rolling or play fighting of any kind… Children and Adults, Too! – Air Mattress Losing Air But No Hole

Tumbling around, playing wrestling, and roughhousing, in general, are all great ways to have a good time, but the strain that this puts on the air mattress might not be as delightful.

It has the potential to apply pressure to the seams of the more delicate mattresses. Rough play further stretches the fabric of the bed and causes it to lose its shape. All of this can increase the likelihood that something will fail or that there will be air leaks.

3. Make an Investment in a High-Quality Air Mattress – Why Your Air Mattress Deflates

It’s true, even a mile away I can make out the sound of your pocketbook yelling at me. 

But the truth of the matter is that if you want something of high quality, you will almost certainly have to shell out a little bit more money for it. This is especially important to keep in mind while purchasing air mattresses.

(Hey, we know that camping may be pricey, so to make things easier for you, we’ve broken down the overall cost of camping with a budget that’s already been completed.)

Cheaper air mattresses built for use in living room settings, such as the kind you can buy at Walmart, are not going to be as durable as more expensive camping-specific kinds of air mattresses.

Because of this, they are able to tolerate sitting on gravel, for instance, because their skin is significantly more resilient.

4. Make Sure the Air Mattress Is Not Overinflated – Why Your Air Mattress Deflates

It’s possible that you believe it would be a good idea to overinflate the air mattress just in case it goes flat, but doing so is a terrible plan in reality. 

An excessive amount of air causes the fabric to stretch, which, in turn, exerts unnecessary stress on the seams. Or, if you overinflate it enough, the seams could pop open, which would be the very worst-case scenario. 

In point of fact, it is prudent to inflate the air mattress to no more than 90 percent of its total capacity when doing so.

Are you starting to grasp the concept that applying force on the mattress is probably the cause of a good deal of your issues with the air mattress deflating?

5. Keep the Air Mattress Deflated While Storing It – Why Your Air Mattress Deflates

This seems like such a trivial thing to do, however, as is the case with many things, trivial things may have a significant influence.

When you deflate your air mattress the next time to put it away, don’t just toss it into a corner of the garage while it’s still inflated.

Instead, you should deflate it and fold it neatly. Then you should make sure to store it in an area that is both clean and dry to lower the possibility of any harm being caused by an excessive amount of moisture.

6. If you can, avoid sitting on the air mattress in order – Why Your Air Mattress Deflates

I totally agree that air mattresses are the most comfortable option. The unfortunate reality is that sitting puts a significant amount of pressure on the mattress in a localized area: your behind.

When you do this, as opposed to laying on the mattress, your weight is distributed over a much broader surface. This is a significant difference. 

Therefore, you should do your best to fight the temptation to utilize the air mattress as a couch. Instead, you should keep it only for the sake of getting some shut-eye.

7. Position the air mattress on a level surface that is free of any obstructions – Why Your Air Mattress Deflates

Before you even begin to inflate the mattress, you should think about where in the tent you are going to set yourself up for the night.

You are going to want to select a level area, and ideally, one that is also smooth. In other words, there are no pebbles or other bumpy regions on the ground that could cause the mattress to shift or become uncomfortable because of the pressure they would apply.

In addition, make sure to be on alert at all times for any pointed items that your air mattress might accidentally come into touch with. They don’t even need to be something as apparent as a knife to be effective.

One of the protrusions on your camping table, the foot of your chairs, or anything else that sticks out could be considered a sharp object.

8. If possible, go camping during the summer months – Why Your Air Mattress Deflates

Do you remember what we mentioned about how changes in temperature will cause air mattresses to behave in accordance with the rules of physics?

When temperatures drop, there is a natural deflation that takes place in the air, and camping in warmer temps can help reduce this effect.

When traveling to the South or during the hottest part of the summer, you might want to think about bringing an air mattress with you.

9. Position a Heater in the Neighbourhood… But Not Too Close – Air Mattress Losing Air But No Hole

Even if we recommend summer camping with an inflatable mattress, the temperatures will still drop dramatically after 3 a.m. even if you follow our recommendation.

To prevent this from happening, position a compact, portable camping heater close to the air mattress. This will assist in maintaining the temperature around the bed, which will reduce the likelihood of the air within the mattress compressing.

Do not position the heater too close to the object it is warming, as this tip should go without saying but we will reiterate it nevertheless. Guys, don’t forget the fundamentals of fire safety!

Oh, and if you happen to be in the market for a warmer of this kind, we have put up a list of the top 10 tent heaters specifically for you!

10. Consider purchasing an air mattress that comes with a dual pump – Air Mattress Losing Air But No Hole

If nothing has worked and you are completely sick of sleeping on a bed that is sinking, then you should look into dual-pump air mattresses.

These innovative new stars of the industry come complete with an additional air pump that is integrated into the mattress itself. In addition to that, there is not a single sound. 

And things get even better! If you leave the bed plugged in, the second pump will detect when there is a need to inflate the mattress and will do so automatically.

This basically does away with the need to replace deflated mattresses forever! If you have tried everything else and it hasn’t worked, then you shouldn’t be afraid to make the investment.

Conclusion

When it comes to an air mattress losing its air, there are, as you can see, more than a few things that could be to blame. 

Even if the majority of them are due to user error, you won’t be making the same mistakes because you are now aware of how to avoid them! …Right?

In all seriousness, we hope this has helped alleviate some of the anxiety you’ve been feeling over the mysterious deflation of your air mattress.