Repair of Intex air mattresses: malfunctions and methods for their elimination

Country trips to nature or to the country house imply the presence of a set of tourist equipment. In addition to provisions and a reliable tent, it has become a tradition to take air mattresses with you to sleep. They are very easy to operate and take up little space as luggage.

Intex products are in great demand. Mattress of this manufacturer provides a full and comfortable rest for both adults and children. Unfortunately, during operation, the air bed can be damaged. How to repair it yourself, we will tell in this article.

Intex mattresses have a very aesthetic appearance. Velor (flock) is used as the top layer. All air beds are not very durable, only with very careful storage and use they can serve for a long period of time. Modern mattresses are sold complete with a pump for inflating them or are initially produced with a built-in pumping mechanism.

There are a number of reasons why your favorite upholstered bed will develop one or more holes. As a result, the mattress creaks, lets air through and deflates (lowers).It may also be that one of its edges is suddenly swollen. It says about the rupture of internal partitions.

Damage to Intex mattresses occurs due to:

• their excessive inflation;
• due to violation of storage conditions;
• as a result of a cut on sharp objects;
• due to pet bites;
• with a weight load that significantly exceeds the weight limits allowed by the operating instructions (this is how a crack forms in the seam).

Since the surface of the air mattress is velvety, it is very problematic to find a hole in it.

Manufacturers recommend using several techniques in order to identify damage.

1. Velor bed must first be inflated and immersed in water in this form. Bubbles will begin to appear at the location of the hole. This method is convenient if your home has a large water tank, such as a pool, or you are in nature next to a river or lake. Lowering the mattress into the bath is unlikely to succeed.
2. The second method can be applied both indoors and outdoors. You should also inflate the mattress and apply pressure with your hands over its entire area. A slight whistle will be heard at the site of the gap. If you bring your palm closer to this area, you can feel a faint stream of air coming out of the hole.
3. The third verification option is used extremely rarely, but is very effective.. To control, you need to press a little on the inflated mattress, take a lighter and, at a distance of 3-5 cm from its surface, move it lit along the canvas. In the place where the damage is formed, vibrations of fire will certainly begin. You need to work very carefully, because any careless movement will contribute to the fact that you simply burn the air bed.
4. The mattress can be evenly dotted with powder or any other powder. A cloud of dust at the site of the hole will be evidence of an air leak from the mattress.
5. Soapy water is often poured inside the mattress. As a result of pressure on certain parts of the outer velor surface at the site of damage, water seeps from the inside out with a characteristic whistle. It will become evidence of the formation of a crack.
6. The most effective and commonly practiced method is to use soap suds or shaving foam. It covers the entire surface of the inflated mattress. Bubbles appear at the site of damage to the bed. Thus, you can accurately locate the area where the air is leaking.

As a rule, a standard ready-to-sell mattress is supplemented with a repair kit. It includes glue, a set of patches of various sizes and a vinyl film. Additionally, you will need sandpaper (sandpaper), acetone or another solvent, scissors.

With the help of these simple materials, you can repair a damaged mattress at home.

If for some reason you did not have a standard set of materials, then at home you can always find something suitable from improvised means.

1. In the store, you can easily purchase Super or Uranus glue. All of them firmly glue the rubber. If you are lucky enough to buy adhesive material from Intex, specially designed for repairing air mattresses, then the quality of work will be 100% guaranteed.
2. You can take an old rubber toy in order to cut a patch out of it.
3. You can also make this item out of fabric. To do this, use velor, cotton base or PVC fabric. The shape of the patch should be round or slightly elongated, like an oval.

You can fix a leaky air mattress with your own hands at home without much difficulty. You need to follow the instructions for repairing holes and ruptured seams.

The whole process should be divided into stages.

1. The area damaged in the mattress on the velor side is treated with acetone. This must be done in order to remove the villi present on the material. After the surface is carefully cleaned with sandpaper.
2. Lay the mattress upside down with the damaged area on a flat surface, such as a table or ironing board. They take the prepared patch in their hands and simultaneously smear it with glue and the place in the mattress where the hole was found. Allow the glue to soak for 8-10 minutes and repeat the procedure again.
3. They turn on the hair dryer and direct hot air from it to the patch, keep it in this position for several minutes, and then the heated element is applied to the velor surface of the mattress. To better glue the surfaces together, the patch can be pressed down with something heavy, such as a glass lemonade bottle.
4. Leave the mattress and patch in this position for 24 hours.

To do this, pass the velor fabric through the valve and carry out the entire workflow in the same way, but from the inside out. The patch after the repair must be completely dry so that the inner surface of the mattress can be returned to its original position.

The most difficult types of damage to an air bed are seam divergence and replacement of the cuff inside the valve. In this case, not everyone can glue the mattress at home. Usually people turn to specialists from the repair shop for help.

1. Cuff replacement. First, you should make it yourself or buy a part that resembles this element in a hardware store. To do this, carefully unscrew the valve and pull the cuff out. If you could not buy anything suitable, then make it at home from a rubber mat or boots. The finished part must be returned to its place in the internal section of the valve and screwed into the mattress.
2. Air vent valve. To verify this, inflate the mattress and pour shaving foam into the valve hole. The foam and bubbles that form around will indicate valve failure. After detecting a problem, remove the valve, remove the gasket from the rubber located under it. Sand the end of the valve, and put a new rubber part made of any similar material in place of the old gasket. Next, coat the gasket with rubber glue and carefully place it in its original place.After fixing the valve itself in its original position, screw it into the mattress.
3. Rupture of internal partitions. This is one of the most difficult injuries. Removing it yourself is very problematic. This requires special equipment and experience. As a rule, such a defect is corrected in a repair shop.

After that, a long incision is made in the place where the swelling of the mattress is found, they penetrate inside and eliminate this problem. The inner side is carefully glued with sealed waterproof glue along the entire length of the incision and left to dry for 8-10 hours. After turning the mattress, give it its original appearance.

A strip of rubber treated with glue is attached along the entire length of the seam so that it covers it and falls on the sides. For reliability, the coin is heated on fire and applied to the rubber along the entire length, carrying out a kind of vulcanization. The heated rubber will grab the seam on both sides very tightly.

When purchasing an Intex air mattress, you should initially understand that using such a thing as a sofa will not work. Only with careful storage and operation will there be no need to repair certain components of the product. By following a number of rules, you can use the air bed for a long time.

1. An inflated mattress should not be thrown onto the floor or the ground without first making sure that there are no cutting and piercing objects that could damage it.
2. It is recommended to additionally lay a dense, non-slip fabric under the mattress.A thin blanket is best for this.
3. Children should not be allowed to jump and run on the air bed.
4. Try to isolate pets from where you plan to place the mattress.
5. In order to avoid cracking at the seams, it is not recommended to inflate the bed too much.
6. Store the inflatable product deflated in a dark, dry place.
7. In case of contamination, wash the mattress with standard detergents, without resorting to any strong powders and mixtures.

To repair a broken partition at an air mattress, see the following video.