How to fix air mattress valve leak

Whether an air mattress is designed for camping or as a makeshift bed for overnights guests, it is bound to develop a leak of some sort, eventually. An air mattress leak may be found near the inflation valve stem, along a seam, or anywhere on the main body of the mattress. Any leak renders the mattress useless until it is repaired. You can use repair kits designed for for the mattresses, and even tire repair kits, when it comes time to fix that pesky leak.

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Additional Resources
How to Fix a Leaky Air Mattress: Step by Step
1. Confirm the leak
2. Locate the source
3. Clean & mark the leaky area
4. Patch the leak
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you find a leak in an air mattress?
How do you fix an air mattress without a patch?
How do you fix a leaky gasket or seal?
How do you fix a leaky seam?

Inflate the air mattress at least halfway full. Close the valve cover so air stays in the mattress. Press down on various parts of the mattress and listen for escaping air to determine the area of the leak. Mark the hole or tear with a piece of masking tape if you find the leak. If the leak is small, you may not be able to hear it or see it.
Saturate a sponge with soapy water, then rub the soapy water on parts of the mattress where a leak is suspected. Apply pressure to the mattress to force air out of the leak. Look for bubbles in the soap on the mattress to determine the leak location. If nothing shows up, apply more soapy water to another part of the mattress, including seams and where the valve stem is attached to the mattress. Continue until a leak is found. Mark the leak with a piece of masking tape.
Inflate the mattress until half to 3/4 full if it has deflated significantly, closing the valve to seal air in. Wipe any remaining soapy water off with a damp paper towel, then dry it off with a dry paper towel.
Put on the rubber gloves. To repair a pinhole leak within an air chamber, cut a piece of yarn several inches long with the scissors, threading the yarn through the needle. Apply cement from the patch kit onto the pinhole leak and all over the threaded yarn, ensuring the entire piece of yarn is well coated. Grab near the pointed end of the needle with vice grips, clamping them onto the needle tightly. Push the threaded end of the needle through the pinhole leak, pushing the needle into the mattress at least half an inch, or more if the needle is long. Pull the needle back out, keeping it near the mattress, then cut the folded yarn protruding from the pinhole leak. Allow the cement to dry thoroughly.
Repair a small leak along a seam by applying a generous amount of rubber cement from the patch kit to the seam area, smoothing it a bit with a rubber-gloved hand. Once the rubber cement is mostly dry, cut a patch from the patch kit to fit over the leak. Apply cement and secure the patch in place as per the package instructions. Instructions vary among manufacturers. If the hole is too large for a patch, the mattress might not be fixable.
Repairing a leak along the inflation valve is not always possible. If the valve itself has a hole -- rather than a crack -- in it, cement from the patch kit will help. If the valve is cracked and old, or partially torn away from the mattress, it may not be repairable. You can attempt to patch it as in Step 4 in a pinch, but chances of success are less on the valve, because it is a different material and difficult to patch.

There are very few inventions more convenient than an air mattress when it comes to hosting the occasional houseguest in a cramped apartment or enjoying the great outdoors as a glamper. Conversely, there is almost nothing worse than that “sinking” feeling when one suddenly awakes, flat on terra firma, surrounded by the squishy remains of a leaky air bed. Fortunately, there are many fixes for this deflating situation!

Learn More: Why Do Air Mattresses Deflate?

No matter the solution, here are a few universal prep steps:

Confirm that there is a leak; sometimes temperature change, or a new mattress that hasn’t had the chance to fully expand will lose air. Re-inflate and see if the same situation occurs.
If there is a pinhole, rip or tear; locate it. This is easier said than done. Position the blow-up mattress up against a wall with the bottom facing you, as this is where the majority of holes will be found. Also, check seams. If the leak is elusive, you can feel for the leak, listen for escaping air, or run a soapy sponge along the surface, looking for telltale bubbles to emerge where the leak is.

Once the leak has been located, mark it with a permanent marker and thoroughly clean the area, allowing it to dry completely before continuing.
If the mattress has a flocked or textured surface, gently sandpaper the area of the leak, exposing the flat vinyl surface and creating a flat expanse to affix the patch material.

Once you have finished these prep steps, there are several repair techniques you can choose from, depending on your circumstances.

Use the patch kit that came with the mattress. This is great advice if you can actually find the patch kit. I classify this advice with the same well-intentioned suggestion to “replace the button you’ve lost with the one that came with the shirt you bought eight months ago”. Sensible but usually an impossibility! Alternatively, there are air mattress patch kits that you can purchase if you have the time to look.
Purchase a bike tire patch kit. There are arguments for and against the self-adhesive patches that come with some of these kits, but basically, if the patch can stand up to the pressure of being ridden on, it will be more than sufficient for an inflatable bed.
Make your own patch from a shower or pool liner. Any thin plastic material will work. When making your own patch, be sure to make it big enough so that it completely covers the leaky area and actually overlaps it to ensure air tightness. Use super glue, gorilla glue, contact or rubber cement, or even epoxy as your adhesive. In other words, no. Your kid’s school glue isn’t going to work!
Use hot glue to fill in a tear along the seam. Caution! Be careful when applying the hot glue not to let the tip of the glue gun make contact. Otherwise, you will melt the air mattress and have a much bigger problem.
In a pinch, use squares cut out of a t-shirt, applying gorilla glue both to the surface area of the leak and to the cloth square before adhering them together.

Finally, as a temporary measure, there’s always duct tape. The glue on the tape will eventually wear out, so only use this method until you have the ability to replace it with a more permanent fix; and be sure to clean off all the residue from the tape before applying a patch.

Good luck and sleep tight!

Additional Resources

If your air mattress is sagging excessively or losing air at night, it’s possible that it has a leak. Depending on the type of leak, this can be relatively easy to fix. The guide below covers how to fix a leaky air mattress in a simple step-by-step breakdown.

How to Fix a Leaky Air Mattress: Step by Step

1. Confirm the leak

Before attempting to patch a leak, you’ll need to confirm that there actually is a leak happening. Air mattresses will naturally lose air over time, and this can be accelerated by temperature changes and other factors.

Before you begin trying to locate the source of the leak, fully inflate your air mattress. Then, lay on it for a few minutes, and see if it begins deflating. If it loses a noticeable amount of air, it likely has a hole or tear somewhere, meaning it’s time to move on to step two.

2. Locate the source

Air mattress leaks are usually caused by a small hole or tear in the vinyl. In some cases, the source of a leak could also be a damaged gasket. Either way, the next step is to locate the source.

Rips and tears will usually be quick to locate. For smaller holes, there are a few strategies to implement. First, fully inflate your mattress and place it upright against a wall, with the bottom facing you. Closely examine the surface, looking for any sign of damage. Check seams, as small cracks frequently appear in these areas. Gently press on the mattress, and listen for the sound of air escaping.

If you are unable to locate the leak this way, the next step is to head to the kitchen. Apply some dish soap to a clean kitchen sponge, rub it between your hands to get it very sudsy, and squeeze out most of the water. Rub the sponge all over the surface of the air mattress, and watch closely for growing bubbles. If an area produces larger bubbles, it’s likely that the leak is coming from this area.

3. Clean & mark the leaky area

Once you’ve located the source of the leak, clean the area thoroughly. Allow it to air-dry completely. Using a marker, gently circle the area of the leak so that you don’t lose track of it.

To get a patch to stick properly, you want as smooth of a surface as possible. If the air mattress has a rough or ribbed surface, you may need to gently sand it down using fine or very-fine sandpaper.

4. Patch the leak

Once the affected area is clean and fully dry, it’s time to patch the leak. Here are a few ways to do this, listed in order of effectiveness:

Using the patch kit that came with your air mattress
Using a third-party air mattress patch kit that you can purchase online
Using a bike tire patch kit
Using a homemade patch made from a thin plastic material, such as a shower curtain

If you plan to use a patch kit, simply follow the manufacturer’s instructions. If taking a DIY-approach, you may need to improvise a bit, depending on the size and severity of the leak as well as the material you are using for the patch.

Generally speaking, here’s how to go about applying a patch to a leaky air mattress:

Completely deflate the air mattress and seal it closed.
Ensure the leaky area is completely clean and dry.
Adjust the mattress to ensure the leaky area is on a flat surface and fully exposed.
Apply the patch to the affected area, ensuring there is at least half an inch of coverage around all sides of the leak.
If using a bandage-style patch, the patch itself should be adhesive and it can be placed directly over the leaky area.
If using a simpler patch, you will need to apply a strong glue or adhesive to the perimeter of the patch before application.
Once the patch is applied, place a heavy, flat object on it to ensure the edges don’t curl up.
Allow the patch to dry for at least 8 hours.
Carefully inflate the mattress, testing for leaks.

Following these instructions, you should be able to successfully patch your air mattress. Once it’s repaired, remember to check the patch frequently to ensure it’s not peeling off. You may have to repeat the process if the patch seal weakens and begins leaking again.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you find a leak in an air mattress?

The best way to locate a leak is to apply a soapy sponge to the surface of a fully-inflated mattress. Watch for any areas where bubbles form and grow, indicating a possible leak. Alternatively, you can fully inflate the mattress, and simply listen for the sound of escaping air. You can also submerge the mattress in water to look for escaping bubbles, although this is impractical with a large mattress.

How do you fix an air mattress without a patch?

If you don’t have a patch, you will need to make your own. The best materials to use are thin, flexible plastic materials, such as shower curtain liners. Cut a patch to match the size of the leaky area, ensuring that there is about a half-inch of material on all sides of the hole. Choose an adhesive and coat the perimeter of the patch with it. Fully deflate the air mattress, clean and dry the affected area, apply the patch, and allow it to fully dry to form a tight seal.

How do you fix a leaky gasket or seal?

If the air mattress leak is coming from the gasket itself, the fix may be more difficult. If you have an owner’s manual for the mattress, or you can find one online, check that first to see if a fix is described. In many cases, a leaky gasket will need to be completely replaced.

How do you fix a leaky seam?

If your leak is coming from a seam, the patching approach typically will not work. Instead, you can use a hot glue gun, or a high-strength glue, to seal the hole. If it’s a large tear, you may need to fold the surrounding material in on itself, gluing the sides together. Be very careful when using a hot glue gun, as the heat of the metal tip can melt the surface of the air mattress.