air mattress question

i just got a dandy air mattress at a garage sale. for only one buck! i am so proud! so proud, that i forgot to get a way to inflate it. the opening looks suspiciously like a water bed opening. i talked to one person and she said to just stick a vacuum cleaner hose inside and reverse the vacuum switch to pump. that isn’t my style. how do i inflate my air mattress?

Some air mattresses come with a little electric device that inflate the mattress through an opening like the one you describe. I guess you get what you pay for. Might as well try your friends vacuum cleaner idea; who cares about style?

You can get a bellows-style foot pump at most large hardware stores and camping/outdoor stores (I even saw some in a pound store recently) - they typically come with a set of different adaptor nozzles (check that there is a suitable one for your bed before purchasing).

well, i’m thinking about the crud that is in my vacuum cleaner at the moment. THAT’s the part where the style element comes in. that and potential leaks, etc…

There should be no way for the crud in a shop vac to get inside of the mattress if you have a decent filter in it. If the crud in the vacuum could escape through the vacuum’s exhaust, that would defeat the purpose of using a vacuum cleaner. I have an old shop vac I use just for inflating air mattresses and other inflatables.

thanks, mangetout!
(btw, what’s a pound store?)
hh

An hair dryer… if it’s got a “cool air” setting. Don’t do it with the regular hot air blowing, believe me, my husband melted the opening of our air mattress!

It’s like a dollar store here in the US.

(That was in reference to a “pound store.”)

Considering the pound is worth considerably more than the dollar, I hope the stuff it a little better. :slight_smile:

Typical pound store items:
A set of six gel pens
A retracting steel tape measure (of fair quality)
A pine 6"x8" picture frame
A small stainless steel colander
A set of four different-sized plastic food storage containers
A pack of 30 C5 resealable envelopes
A blue LED keychain light

Pound stores tend to carry a very diverse assortment of stuff here; some of it I would describe as absolute bargains, but a fair proportion of it is such poor quality that I’m surprised anybody even considers buying it.

…anyway, this is exactly the type of foot pump I am thinking of.

Many stores offer “universal” battery-operated pumps for air mattresses. Look in the camping section.

In addition, your camping section will also carry air mattress pumps that have adapters so you can run the pump from the cigarette lighter in your car.

You can also get one if you smoke and collect 18,000,000 Marlboro miles.

Cheapest solution: huff and puff a lot.

Because, ironically, you won’t have the lung capacity to be able to inflate it by mouth at that point…

Removing the pump from the iron lung is a job for an engineer though.

You can now buy electric pumps at stores that are good for air mattresses. Not sure about the exact fittings to your style of air mattress.

The electric pump I’ve used had a number of attachments connected with cord to the pump itself. Wide variety. Try Brookstone if you have one nearby.