# air mattress question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 27, 2003, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-mattress-question/171552 "2003-04-27T23:11:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-mattress-question/171552/1 "2003-04-27T23:11:20Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-mattress-question/171552/2 "2003-04-27T23:18:56Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-mattress-question/171552/3 "2003-04-27T23:21:39Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-mattress-question/171552/4 "2003-04-27T23:22:35Z")
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… ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-mattress-question/171552/5 "2003-04-28T00:09:11Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-mattress-question/171552/6 "2003-04-28T00:52:28Z")
thanks, mangetout! (btw, what’s a pound store?) hh ---
**Author:** ![Zazie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Zazie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zazie)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-mattress-question/171552/7 "2003-04-28T00:55:14Z")
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! ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-mattress-question/171552/8 "2003-04-28T00:57:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handsomeharry \* > \*\*thanks, mangetout! > (btw, what’s a pound store?) > hh \*\* It’s like a dollar store here in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-mattress-question/171552/9 "2003-04-28T10:18:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\*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. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-mattress-question/171552/10 "2003-04-28T10:49:49Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-mattress-question/171552/11 "2003-04-28T10:53:27Z")
…anyway, [this](http://www.firepies.com/footbellows150.jpg) is exactly the type of foot pump I am thinking of. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-mattress-question/171552/12 "2003-04-28T14:44:31Z")
Many stores offer “universal” battery-operated pumps for air mattresses. Look in the camping section. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-mattress-question/171552/13 "2003-04-28T16:25:56Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-mattress-question/171552/14 "2003-04-28T19:26:20Z")
> [@](#): > > You can also get one if you smoke and collect 18,000,000 Marlboro miles. Because, ironically, you won’t have the lung capacity to be able to inflate it by mouth at that point… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-mattress-question/171552/15 "2003-04-28T22:44:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dogzilla \* > **You can also get one if you smoke and collect 18,000,000 Marlboro miles.** Removing the pump from the iron lung is a job for an engineer though. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-mattress-question/171552/16 "2003-04-29T08:23:33Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Hobie\_the\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e99b99/32.png) [@Hobie\_the\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hobie_the_One)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-mattress-question/171552/17 "2003-04-29T17:05:25Z")
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.