Plug Your Air Mattress Without The Actual Plug

An air mattress is useless without the plug. Avoid this nighttime disaster by learning how to seal your air bed without the plug.

An air mattress can be plugged with a tight-fitting rod, usually made from wood and carved to resemble a cone. A few wads of duct tape keeps the rod in place and the mattress sealed.

Let’s point out the obvious! Without its plug, that bouncy air mattress is useless. But you can easily make a replacement plug with some wood and a knife.

How To Make A Replacement Plug For Your Air Mattress

The unfortunate fact about small items is this. They tend to get lost! While some air mattresses are designed with plugs that are attached to the bed, others have plugs that are not. The most common reasons people lose these tiny tools include misplacing the plug and broken plugs. But whether you accidentally stepped on it or went camping without the stopper, there is a quick fix.

In most cases, an air mattress can be plugged with a stick that is sharpened and kept in place with some kind of tape, usually duct tape.

Here are the best Vispring mattresses today.

Choose The Right Stick

The catch here is this. You need an artificial stick like a wooden rod. If you are camping and discovered that you need a replacement plug but there is nothing like that, you can hunt for a twig that is as straight as possible and soft enough to whittle into the right shape. The latter might be harder to find. Whatever wooden stick you choose, test it by comparing its thickness to the opening of the air hole. It cannot be so thin that there is space around the stick when you insert it into the hole.

While length is not a major issue it is best to choose a longer stick. You can work better, faster, and safer with a stick that is long enough to allow you to get a better grip.

Make your air bed more comfortable with the best mattress toppers.

Tips On Knife Type And Safety

You are going to whittle the wooden rod into the right shape. For this, you need the right kind of knife. Sharpness is paramount so anything like a keen pocket knife or a hunting knife is just perfect for the job. While sharpness is key, never use something like a razor blade. Whittling with a razor blade is highly dangerous and you can end up with a very deep cut.

Speaking of safety, here are some more tips to avoid injury to yourself and others.

Do not let children perform this task.
Do not work with a blade that shows any signs of rusting or nicks.
Work slowly and patiently.
Whittle with strokes that move away from your body.
Be careful with this task if you are very tired.
If you cut yourself, clean the wound with water and disinfectant.

Get all the best tips with our free guide on how to clean a bed.

How To Craft The Replacement Plug For The Air Mattress

The ultimate goal is to whittle a replacement plug that fits the air hole snugly without slipping inside completely or allowing air to leak. The good news is that you are bound to get it right the first time if you picked a stick that is slightly bigger than the air hole and the rod is very straight.

How Do I Shape The Replacement Plug?

Step 1: Firmly grip the wooden rod in one hand and the knife in the other.

Step 2: In a way that slides the movement away from your body, cut near the end of the stick and remove a sheaf of wood.

Step 3: Repeat this until you have a pointy stick.

Step 4: Most of the time, the end will be really sharp. This is normal. However, for the safety of yourself and the air mattress, you will need to blunt it. Break it off or sand it into a rounded shape.

Step 5: Test the replacement plug. Does it fit snugly when you insert it into the air hole? Is there no chance that it might slip into the hole and disappear into the air mattress? Then you are ready for the next step.

Looking for a mattress protector for your air bed? Learn how to make a mattress protector at home.

How To Secure the Replacement Plug For The Air Mattress

Creating the replacement plug for your air mattress is one half of the battle. The second half is to ensure that it stays in place. Indeed, a plug that pops out is a pretty useless plug! Your bed will deflate and you will have to inflate it all over again. Needless to say, this is hugely irritating when you hate inflating the air mattress or you are tired and just want to go to sleep.

If you love camping without power or just hate electric blankets, here are the top 6 ways to warm your bed without an electric blanket.

How Do I Secure The Replacement Plug?

Get some duct tape but avoid the heavy-duty variety. You want to avoid damaging or leaving behind strips of duct tape once you remove it. This happens rarely but rather save yourself a boatload of trouble (or cleaning effort) and use every-day duct tape.

How you start will depend on the design of your air mattress. Some air mattresses have a separate inflation mechanism while others pump air into the bed via the plug hole.

Option 1: A separate mechanism. Plug the hole with the new plug you just made and secure it with a few strips of duct tape. Make sure that there are no spaces between the tape and the plug for air to leak through. Once that is done, you can inflate your air mattress.

Option 2: A shared plug hole/inflation mechanism. Cut a few strips of the duct tape beforehand and place them somewhere easily accessible. Then fill the air mattress as you usually would. Once the bed is fully inflated, quickly add the new plug and use the strips of duct tape to seal the plug in place.

Tips To Avoid A Lost Air Plug

If your air plug is not permanently connected to the mattress, then make a habit of placing it in a certain bag, pocket or container that is not easy to lose. This can become a mind-numbing chore but consider the alternative! You can also opt to buy only air mattresses in the future that have plugs that are permanently connected to the beds.

A Quick Summary On how To Plug An Air Mattress Without The Original Plug

An air mattress without a plug is pretty useless.
Air mattresses with plugs that are not permanently attached risk losing the plugs at some point.
It is easy to make a replacement plug from a wooden stick.
Safety measures need to be taken to avoid cutting yourself or puncturing the mattress.
A plug can be made by carving a pointed cone-shaped end and securing it inside the air hole with duct tape.