What About a Waterbed?

!±8± What About a Waterbed?

Waterbeds have been around for a good few years now, their peak period of ascendancy was during the 1970's when owning a water bed was a bit of a fad. Prior to that they had been mainly used by the medical profession as they offered the long term bedridden a comfortable way of avoiding bed sores. Bed sores where avoided with water beds because of their ability to offer all round body support.

These earlier beds were generally free flow models and right through the seventies free flow bladders were the way most people went. However, free flow mattresses were not for everyone, some people got nauseous, others didn't like the way partners disturbed their sleep with ripples when they moved on the bed. For these reasons and others the fad for waterbeds just died off. They just weren't as cool as they sounded, difficult to move, more complicated than anticipated. All sorts of extras required.

So why would anyone consider a water bed? Well unrivaled comfort and quality of sleep are the major benefits from owning one of these beds. These days waveless waterbeds are cheap and easy to locate. Being waveless the old problems of seasickness and sleep disturbed by partners can easily be eliminated making these beds more attractive again. Waterbed mattresses using wave less tubes help reduce the weight when moving a bed, simply remove some tubes. Suddenly a waterbed is a more attractive proposition.

As well as the type of bladder you now get a wider selection of styles of frames to bring the waterbed right into the modern era. Previously heavy hard side wooden framed beds were the only real option when using a water filled bladder, but large cumbersome wooden frames are not to everyones taste or suitable for matching in with your current bedroom decor.

Now most manufacturers offer a wide range of softsided waterbeds. To all intents and purposes these look very much like a normal bed. The pedestal is under, rather than surrounding the bed and is often a nine legged steel frame with a suitable fabric cover. The bladder itself sits on the frame rather than within the frame, and is supported and encased by a foam, quilted liner. This gives the initial appearance of the bed being a standard bed.

Of course, the soft sided waterbed still offers choice between waveless and free flow, tubes or single or even dual bladder making the soft side a truly up to date version of the water bed. However, as with all water beds there is more to choosing a water bed than selecting which type of frame and which style and type of mattress.

Being a water infill, the water within is going to require a low level of management beyond other styles and types of bed. For instance to avoid the water in the bed going stagnant or moldy your going to have to treat the bed annually with a chemical conditioner. This isn't a difficult or onerous task, you don't need to empty the water from the bed, just add a tablet or solution to the bed annually. If you forget or aren't aware you need to condition the bed then your bed will deteriorate and start to whiff as bacteria builds up within the chamber so using a conditioner is necessary.

What about a waterbed heater? Depending on the climate your living in the water in the mattress is going to conduct temperature from the surrounding climate. Great if you live in a hot climate, the mattress will take longer to heat up and you get a cool nights sleep. In a cold environment your going to need a heater or the chill will be to much. Heaters are inexpensive but can be easily overlooked. Check out waterbed suppliers online before buying a waterbed there is a wealth of accessories available to make your purchase of a waterbed a truly great purchase.