How to Drain a Waterbed

To drain a waterbed, you can buy an electric draining pump from your waterbed retailer. However, spending the money isn't necessary if you want to give it a try by hand. Follow these steps to drain a waterbed without a water pump.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Garden hose
• Window
• Outdoor faucet

1. Unplug your waterbed heater before starting. This is an extremely important safety precaution.

2. Run your garden hose through the bedroom window and into the bedroom. Make sure it is attached tightly to the outside faucet. If you are draining from an upper level of your house, work backwards by bringing the hose upstairs, letting it drop to the ground and then connecting it to the outside faucet.

3. Create air pressure in the mattress. Turn on the water and let it fill the bed for about 15 seconds to move the air from inside the hose into the bed. This creates an air pouch in the waterbed for siphoning.

4. Shut off the water from outside. Detach the hose from the faucet and lay it down in an area that can handle the runoff from the waterbed. Gravity will siphon out the water as long as the end of the hose is below the level of the top of the hose.

5. Allow a couple of hours for the mattress to drain entirely. If the water begins to drain slowly, lift the end opposite the valve to help the water reach the valve.

Tips & Warnings

• Quite a bit of water is contained in the bed. Drain the water into an area that isn't dirty or nicely landscaped in order to avoid a muddy mess.
• If you find that your cap is defective, replace it with a new one or use electrical tape to get a tighter fit.

[mmtrexler]

on 4/19/2008 We found using the upholstery attachment from our carpet shampooer helped remove the water that would not gravity drain. Technique would vary depending on your machine but it's food for thought!