How to Locate a Leak in an air Mattress

The obvious way to find a leak in an air mattress is to blow it up and hold it under water and look for the bubbles as the air rushes out of the hole. But there is a much easier way to find it unless you really want to fill up a tub and drag your air mattress into it and hold it down while you search for those tiny bubbles.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Blow up the air mattress with an air pump. You can't bypass this step because you'll need to find out where the air is escaping from.

2. Haul the blown up air mattress outside. Hose the mattress off so the entire mattress is wet, and then watch it dry. Obviously you'll need a nice sunny day. The warmer the weather, the shorter amount of time you'll have to wait.

3. Wait. The air coming out of the leak will act like a blow dryer on the mattress. All you have to do to look for the spot on the mattress that dries first and there is your leak.

4. Cover the mattress with newspaper. If you don't want to take your mattress outside, you can try this technique first. Place dry newspapers over the dry blown up air mattress and see if you can spot a bead of moisture on the paper where the air will be blowing out.

5. Add glycerine to the tried and true soapy water technique. Add a Tablespoon of glycerine to about 1/3 cup of dish soap and a gallon of water for greater bubble retention. Spray down the mattress and look for a large growing bubble. There's your leak.

6. Sit on the mattress. While sitting on the mattress, run your hands over it to see if you can feel the air escaping. Sometimes, there is a slight whistling noise as the air escapes.