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A waterbed or water mattress is a bed or mattress filled with water.

Construction

Waterbeds primarily consist of two types, hard-sided beds and soft-sided beds. Early waterbeds were hard-sided consisting of a frame resting on a deck and platform, upon which was the water-containing mattress.

Soft-sided waterbeds look very similar to conventional beds and are designed to fit on existing bedroom furniture.

First generation waterbeds had only one water chamber, hence when disturbed significant wave-action could be felt. They needed some time to stabilize after a disturbance. Later generations employed wave-reducing methods including fiber batting and interconnected water chambers. More modern waterbeds have a mixture of air and water chambers, usually interconnected. A typical heating pad consumes 150-400 watts of power and uses a thermostat. Depending on insulation, temperature, use and other things, electricity usage may vary significantly. The annual electricity cost may be USD 100-500. Average UK cost in 2003 was £43.80 per annum for a waterbed heater's electricity usage.

Waterbeds are usually constructed from vinyl or similar material. They can be repaired with a bicycle repair kit or a dinghy repair kit.

History

In 1871 a waterbed was in use in Elmira, NY for "invalids". It was briefly mentioned by Mark Twain in his article "A New Beecher Church" which was published in The New York Times on 1871-07-23. There Twain said that: "In the infirmary will be kept one or two water-beds (for invalids whose pains will not allow them to be on a less yielding substance) and half a dozen reclining invalid-chairs on wheels. The water-beds and invalid-chairs at present belonging to the church are always in demand, and never out of service." This article does not contain enough information to determine the form of the beds involved.

Dr. William Hooper of Portsmouth, England, patented a waterbed in 1883. He devised it to relieve bed sore pains in his patients. Unable to contain the water and control its temperature, his invention was a market failure.

The modern waterbed was created by Charles Hall in 1968, while he was a design student at San Francisco State University in California. Fellow SFSU students Paul Heckel and Evan Fawkes also contributed to the concept. Hall originally wanted to make an innovative chair. His first prototype was a vinyl bag with 300 pounds (136 kg) of cornstarch, but the result was uncomfortable. He next attempted to fill it with Jell-O, but this too was a failure. Ultimately, he abandoned working on a chair, and settled on perfecting a bed. He succeeded. His timing could not have been more perfect: the Sexual Revolution was under way, and Hall's waterbed became enormously popular, making it one of the most notable icons of the 1970s. However, because a waterbed is described in the novels Beyond This Horizon (1942), Double Star (1956), and Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) by Robert A. Heinlein, Hall was unable to obtain a patent on his creation. In 1980 Heinlein recalled in Expanded Universe that:

"I designed the waterbed during years as a bed patient in the middle thirties; a pump to control water level, side supports to permit one to float rather than simply lying on a not very soft water filled mattress. Thermostatic control of temperature, safety interfaces to avoid all possibility of electric shock, waterproof box to make a leak no more important than a leaky hot water bottle rather than a domestic disaster, calculation of floor loads (important!), internal rubber mattress and lighting, reading, and eating arrangements - an attempt to design the perfect hospital bed by one who had spent too damn much time in hospital beds."

However, Heinlein made no attempt to build his invention. Hall, like Edison and Bell, gets full credit for creating an industry.

Advantages and disadvantages

Waterbeds have several advantages over traditional beds:

• The bed is always heated, which makes it very comfortable in the winter. Falling asleep is easier with the lowered blood pressure that comes from resting in a warmer environment. The warmth of the water also helps your muscles to relax resulting in improved blood circulation while alleviating soreness of stiff muscles and joints.
• Excellent sleeping comfort. The bed shapes exactly to the body, thus minimizing pressure especially around the joints. Waterbeds remove pressure from the spine allowing the spinal muscles to fully relax aiding in the treatment of backache.
• It is impossible for dirt and dead skin particles to penetrate the water mattress, which can then be wiped periodically with a cloth and vinyl cleaner. The cover over the mattress can be regularly washed – thus virtually eliminating house dust mites in the bed. Dust mites can trigger asthma, eczema, and allergies in people sensitive to them.
• Traditional bed mattresses should be changed every 3-4 years (average recommendation time from manufacturers). A waterbed mattress has an average lifespan of over 12 years; three times that of a normal bed mattress.

But there are also a few disadvantages:

• Constant heating is costly, especially in cold environments. (The Danish manufacturer Akva says that a double waterbed bed uses about 300-500 kWh a year. This is more or less the same as a standard fridge or freezer in energy class A.)
• Moving a waterbed is a more difficult process than a normal bed; the water must be pumped out and the frame disassembled and packed up, then at the destination, the frame is reassembled, the mattress refilled with water, and heated for a period to get the water back to the correct temperature.
• Because of the volume of water the overall weight is very high and so the imposed floor loading must be carefully considered. However waterbed pedestals (bases) are designed to spread the load so that the pressure at any one point is less than at one leg of a traditional bed and frame with only 4 normal legs.
• Occasionally, water mattresses may start leaking. With modern designs the water is normally contained and a major disaster usually prevented, but with the necessity of emptying and patching the bed, then refilling and reheating it (and sleeping elsewhere until all this is completed) it would certainly be a major inconvenience.

External links

• U.S. Patent 3585356 -- "Liquid support for human bodies"
• British Water Bed Association
• Bad Fads Museum
• A New Beecher Church
• European Waterbed Association
• More disadvantages of waterbeds
• Waterbeds Frequently Asked Questions
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