Air mattress keeps deflating and no hole?
It is frustrating when an air mattress keeps deflating even when there is no visible hole.
The frustration gets worse when the slow leak in the air mattress won’t stop even when you thoroughly inspect it for holes and find none.
Let’s look into the 3 reasons that might be behind the misterious deflation.
4 Reasons & what you can do
1. There is a pinhole that’s causing the deflation but it’s so small that you have the “no-hole” impression
2. The airbed is leaking from the area around the pump
3. The bed is placed in an area with significant temperature changes – this stretches the PVC of the airbed and changes the volume of the chambers. From your point of view, it seem like it’s deflating without being punctured.
4. Worst case scenario – you have a seam-leak on your hands
Placement of the airbed might be causing the leak
It’s not enough to pump your air mattress and use it, you must check the area it is placed to ensure that it is safe.
To stop your mattress from deflating, the space should be big enough for the mattress, and the surroundings should be kept clean so that sharp objects or small stones that could cause “invisible’ pinholes and slowly deflate the airbed.
These punctures can be so tiny you could miss them with ordinary eyes, but big enough to cause a slow leak in the air mattress.
The second tip is not placing your mattress in an area of a room with significant temperature fluctuations (eg. heaters).
Give the Air Mattress Time to Stretch Out
When you pump a new air mattress, it usually appears sturdy and firm. As they start using the bed, most owners would find that the mattress sags a bit.
This slight sagging is because of the mattress stretching to accommodate the weights of the users. This stretching is normal, but it is more noticeable in some brands of air mattresses than some.
To control stretching, it better to pump the mattress, leave it be for a day or at least 8-10 hours and then add air to your desired firmness.
Temperature of the Room
The air mattress will change firmness whenever there is a significant change of temperature in the room. Just turning off your heater can be enough.
To check this, inflate your mattress fully hours before you go to bed, and when you are ready to sleep you can top up the lost air. You can, of course, use a heater in the room, but make sure it’s not close to your bed.
Ensure that you do not keep the heater too close to the bed to prevent your air mattress from deflating due to misterious leaks.
The “no-hole-deflation” can be caused by overloading
Manufacturers specify weight limits for all sizes of beds. This means that a twin sized bed and a Queen bed are not created to accommodate the same weight.
Do not over-exceed the maximum weight capacity of your bed. Also, it does not matter whether people are sleeping or sitting on the mattress, the air mattress will not develop a slow leak if the weight requirement is followed to the later. Overburdening is one of the common cause of “air mattress deflation and no hole” situation.
To stop the air mattress deflating, don’tt let kids bounce on it. This could cause wears and tears in the mattress.
If nothing else works
When enough is enough
If you own an air mattress, there’s nothing worse than the frustration of finding the mysterious leak.
You spend hours spraying the thing with soap water looking for bubbles, toss it & turn it listening with an “open ear” hoping to hear the hissing sound.
To be blunt, more often than not it’s just not worth it because if the airbed is leaking and there’s no hole to be found, it’s very likely that what you’re dealing with is a seam leak.
Leaking at the seams is common and practically unsolvable
If it’s a seam leak, it might be time to look for a new air mattress. Here’s why…
Patching a pinhole might work, at least temporarily, but with seams, it’s probably not worth it.
Even if you do manage to locate the general area of the leak, the surface of the seams is simply not effective.
- It’s not flat so the adhesives won’t stick
- There’s too much pulling and stretching at the seams for the patch to stay in place
Do all airbeds leak?
At some point, it’s just too much frustration for a patch that will hold for a few days or a week. Think about the time and the nerves you’re investing and compare that to simply getting an air mattress that won’t leak.
Easier said than done, they can all leak, right?
Well, yes and no….that’s exactly why we’ve been doing some testing to pinpoint the models that are not prone to leaks. The list of top picks here is different than the ratings in our main guide on top-performing models.
The results that we’ve seen are staggering, some of the popular models have up to 500% bigger air leak incidence than our picks in the category of the “most durable and leak-proof”.
See the results and list of most durable, heavy-duty air mattresses here >>
Hello everyone
I have a problem with my air-o space 5 in 1 sofa. It leaks especially the armrest and it is really frustrating me. I once took it back to Game and they fixed it and that time the hole was visible so this time around theres absolutely no hole but it leaks. Please help people.
Hi Kiki, I’m sorry to hear that…sofas are tricky. We never reviewed or tested the Air-o-space sofas, but what you’re describing sounds like a seam-leak. Pinholes are hard to find but at least you can hear the “hissing” in a silent room – leaks that develop at the seams or around the pump are trickier. The first thing to do is inspect it for a re-developed leak around the patch (you mentioned it was fixed before). Make a solution of dishwasher fluid and water and use a spray bottle to apply some of the solution around the patch and see if any bubbles appear. If the hole is not there and the sofa is still leaking you’ll have to do the same with the rest of it.
I know it’s tedious but I also know that some of these 5-in-1 sofas are expensive and you’re probably not prepared to give up on it. So, “split” the inflatable into areas and take your time. Bubbles will appear somewhere, that’s for sure. Make sure that you can a dry cloth and wipe the solution off as you go, you don’t want the liquid finding its way inside, it will mold.
Take a picture of the bubbles and send it bob.ozment at yahoo dot com to so that we can recommend what kind of patching might work. Let’s see if we can help
We bought our air mattress last year and had it on our deck inside a tent. An area for ourgrandsonwhenheco es over. So we set things up the same this year but the mattress wont stay blown up and is soft within about half an hour. Are we doing something wromg?
Hi Tracy,
I’m sure you’re not doing anything wrong per se. If I were you, the first thing I’d do is get some cheap foamy inserts for the tent floor. That covers the scenarios of mysterious leaks originating from the deck (if it’s wooden and making pinholes).
If that doesn’t work, you can tell us what airbeds you’re buying and we might be able to recommend a brand or a model with lowest leak stats as per our evidence.
Cheers
So we just got the bed a week ago and I found a hole yesterday so i put a patch on it. But it still keeps deflating, and I’ve looked all over it. Can you help?
Hi Nancy,
If it keeps deflating and there’s no visible leak, I’d advise using a solution of water and dishwasher and spray a bit on the area around the initial leak. In scenarios like this, the leak is usually somewhere along the edges of the new patch.
Where exactly was the leak, the naked PVC or the flocked surface?
Over 8 year’s time I have went through 12 air mattress I only weigh 105 why do they not last
Hi Bob,
That’s a complex question to be answered by a one-liner. Sometimes, it’s about the vinyl that’s prone to developing pinholes that are hard or impossible to find and sometimes it’s the seams coming apart. In both scenarios we could dig much deeper, that would branch out into dozens of potential reasons.
I don’t know which models you owned and how did they “go” but I can recommend a few beds that I’m confident would not disappoint:
Some of the models that feature an auxiliary pump that keeps the bed inflated (prevents it from losing air by quietly turning on if the sensors “notice” a drop in pressure) – like the Cloud Nine which you can see here.
On the other hand, some models are simply stronger…each of those for different reasons – you can see our guide on the most durable ones here.
How can I fix a leak i the pump wheel where the air goes in? No matter which way I turn it the air still comes out fast. I turn it to lock in the air and it comes out just as fast as it does when it is turned to deflate it
Hi Raleigh,
don’t hate the messenger but those kind of leaks are (I’d say) practically impossible to fix, especially if it’s a one-piece pump. If there’s a chance to disassemble it somehow you might be able t find a potential issue (like a crack in the plastic). The question is if it’s worth the hassle vs. buying a new one
Can I use fix a flat ? There are no visible holes. Can fix a flat seal up my mattress on the inside ?
Hi David,
I never tried it but knowing what I know it would be a surprise if that worked long term. I personally wouldn’t try it because I’d be sleeping on a potential source of chemicals/fumes.
Sorry if this disappoints
My Intex airbed would still deflate after pumping, I don’t know what else to do.
Hi Mary, are you saying you found the leak and patched it and it happens again?