The question of how long to keep a fully inflated air mattress seems to come up over and over again. It is a common question, but a good one. When you buy that new airbed, the manufacturer’s setup instructions don’t necessarily include a lot of detail about inflation limitations, so people usually figure it out on their own. This article will provide you with guidance and, at a minimum, help you make an informed decision about what is best for your situation.

The answer is …

The short answer is: there is no set time limit associated with leaving your inflatable mattress filled with air. You will not find suggested limits or best practices in the literature provided by airbed providers. Therefore, you should ask yourself some questions to help you make up your mind, as there are several factors that can influence your decision. The first thing to ask yourself is how you intend to use the inflatable bed.

What are the intended uses of your inflatable bed?

Is it going to be a permanent bed or is it a guest bed situation? If this is going to be a bed that is used every day, you probably want to leave it inflated as long as possible, right? The real problem in this situation is prolonged exposure to things that can inadvertently puncture the mattress. The longer it is inflated, the more likely it will be a hole. This is especially true if you have animals or children who will be around your bed frequently. Come on, you know what I’m talking about! If the air mattress will be in an area where there are fewer opportunities to pierce, you can leave it inflated for as long as you like. Of course, all airbeds lose air over time (some faster than others), so it won’t be “fully inflated” the entire time anyway.

What is the impact of continuously inflating and deflating your portable airbed?

To justify the need to leave the inflatable bed up for longer periods of time, you need to consider the wear and tear that can occur on the mattress. As you fill the mattress with air, the seams that hold it together stretch out. The more you inflate and deflate the mattress over time, the more tension there will be on the air mattress seams. Eventually, this could cause joint failure and loss of ability to hold air for a significant period of time. This goes to the root of air mattress care and maintenance.

Are there cost implications? Depending on your choice, there could be. If you stress the air mattress seams too much, they can fail and cause you to spend more money on another purchase. Also, if you don’t have a built-in air pump for your mattress and you’re reliant on those huge D-size batteries, you’ll have to budget for batteries if you choose to continually inflate and deflate your air mattress.

In summary …

All things considered, there is no reason why you cannot leave your mattress inflated for weeks at a time, unless you are in an area where it can be easily damaged. Air beds do not have any requirement to deflate after a certain period of use, so that is not a factor. Lastly, everyone loses a little bit of air over time anyway, so keeping air in it, as long as it’s not too inflated, shouldn’t be a problem.