Whatever Happened to Water Beds?

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

Water beds were seen to be the "to have" item in the 1980's

Where are they now?

Has anyone on here got one?

What about other "must have" items from the past

 

[Clint]

No good with sharp implements methinks!
Teasmaids...that's another one. No good for us as the dogs would drink it.

 

[Appleyard]

Water beds were seen to be the "to have" item in the 1980's

Where are they now?

You are Albert Steptoe, and I claim my five free flyblown heaps of accumulated filth. Mind that bayonet!

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Whatever Happened to Water Beds?

Here’s the thing about waterbeds, though:
They were high maintenance. Installing one meant running a hose into your bedroom and filling the mattress up with hundreds of gallons of H2O a precarious process that held the potential for a water-soaked bedroom. Waterbeds were also really, really heavy. In addition to the filled mattress, the frame which had to support all that water weight could be a back-breaker. When the mattress needed to be drained, an electric pump or some other nifty siphoning tricks were required. Waterbeds could also spring leaks (as Edward Scissorhands showed), which could be patched but, again, added to the cost and hassle.

In the '90s, it became clear that the novelty of waterbeds couldn’t overcome the additional work they required. By that time, competitors like Tempur-Pedic and Select Comfort were also coming out with mattress innovations that offered softness and flexibility without making customers run a garden hose through their second-floor bedroom window.

These days, the waterbed market is still going, albeit on a much, much smaller scale. Mattress models are lighter than the models of decades past, and come with nifty accessories like foam padding and interior fibers that further cut down on the wave effect. They’re also outfitted with tubes or “bladders” that take in water rather than the entire mattress,

Full article - What Ever Happened To Waterbeds? | Mental Floss

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

Here’s the thing about waterbeds, though:
They were high maintenance. Installing one meant running a hose into your bedroom and filling the mattress up with hundreds of gallons of H2O a precarious process that held the potential for a water-soaked bedroom. Waterbeds were also really, really heavy. In addition to the filled mattress, the frame which had to support all that water weight could be a back-breaker. When the mattress needed to be drained, an electric pump or some other nifty siphoning tricks were required. Waterbeds could also spring leaks (as Edward Scissorhands showed), which could be patched but, again, added to the cost and hassle.

In the '90s, it became clear that the novelty of waterbeds couldn’t overcome the additional work they required. By that time, competitors like Tempur-Pedic and Select Comfort were also coming out with mattress innovations that offered softness and flexibility without making customers run a garden hose through their second-floor bedroom window.

These days, the waterbed market is still going, albeit on a much, much smaller scale. Mattress models are lighter than the models of decades past, and come with nifty accessories like foam padding and interior fibers that further cut down on the wave effect. They’re also outfitted with tubes or “bladders” that take in water rather than the entire mattress,

Full article - What Ever Happened To Waterbeds? | Mental Floss

So - you had one then

Do you still have it or is it in the spare bedroom?

 

[DavidHatton]

Still waiting to see a hybrid waterbed/memory foam mattress, all the comfort of your kitchen sponge.

 

[Tanglefoot]

I had one but I had to get rid of it
- I got seasick

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

You are Albert Steptoe, and I claim my five free flyblown heaps of accumulated filth. Mind that bayonet!

Wilfred Bramble - now there's a man

The story I heard about him was that he was on a private yacht, went onto the top deck totally naked and waved his "wedding tackle" at two women who were sunbathing

He said "What do you think of that?"

One of the women replied "I think it needs ironing"

 

[Chippy_Tea]

So - you had one then

I never had one (that was a copy paste from the site i linked to) i always wondered how cold they would be in winter or did they use an electric blanket on a water bed

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

I never had one (that was a copy paste from the site i linked to) i always wondered how cold they would be in winter or did they use an electric blanket on a water bed

I guess they controlled the temperature with an Inkbird 308

 

[Appleyard]

Wilfred Bramble - now there's a man

The story I heard about him was that he was on a private yacht, went onto the top deck totally naked and waved his "wedding tackle" at two women who were sunbathing

He said "What do you think of that?"

One of the women replied "I think it needs ironing"

I'm glad you got the reference! I think the episode was "And So to Bed".

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I guess they controlled the temperature with an Inkbird 308

Glad it wasn't a Sinkbird 308

 

[Griff097]

Still waiting to see a hybrid waterbed/memory foam mattress, all the comfort of your kitchen sponge.

There commonly available after a mega session, never smell the same again though

 

[foxy]

Nightmare on Elm Street drove the nail in the coffin of the water bed.

 

[NPi]

Don't know about water beds, but you never see lava lamps anymore. I remember opening one as a kid, so I could feel the wax (strange child I know!).

 

[Chippy_Tea]

And wind up alarm clocks.
I used to have a two bell one years ago it was so loud it nearly gave you a heart attack when it went off, no snooze button in these days.

 

[Covrich]

When I was a kid back in the 80s we have electric blankets on our beds which you'd switch off before you got in..

Cannot think of having one now.. I actually find something satisfying getting into a cold bed.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I am a right soft arse I hate cold beds in winter, we recently purchased a quick heat electric blanket to replace our tired old one.

 

[Worf]

So - you had one then

Do you still have it or is it in the spare bedroom?

Had one 1983-2005. A basic unbaffled water balloon in 'standard waterbed pedestal frame'. Sidn't really find maintenance any worse that an inner spring although properly fitting sheets were a pain to find.
Set up was cumbersome with the house and all, putt teardown was easy is long as it was on the pedestal. Only replaced the mattress once & the heater twice. Became an issue as I put on my 'seminary student' weight at the same time my beloved experienced a medical misdiagnosis calling for 2-3yrs of steroids (aka 'weight gain pills'). IOW: 2 overweight folks on one mattress means no one is comfortable... Ever.
We went to a standard pillowtop inner spring (w/o box spring) and have replaced that mattress once.

Although we put the mattress in that same waterbed solid wood, draw pedestal, bookcase-headboard frame. I've considered refinishing the frame when we move into our newly built home in the Spring.

 

[johncrobinson]

I don't think the upstairs floors in a modern property could take the weight of a waterbed.