Air Bed Bladders

At the heart of every air bed are air bed bladders that contain the air and can be inflated or deflated to match the desired firmness of the user. These air chambers are perhaps the most important feature of an air bed. Without air bed bladders, there would be no air bed! Given the fact that they are so critical in an air bed design, the choice of material for air bed bladders is equally important. If you are looking for replacement air bed bladders, then you might find bladders from different companies that might work in your air bed. However, your best bet air bed bladders is probably to contact your specific air bed manufacturer.

Air Bed Bladders

Examples of some premium Boyd air bed bladders.

Some of the more common materials used in air bed bladders include: PVC, urethane, nylon, and natural rubber. Let's first take a look at PVC (which is an acronym that stands for Poly Vinyl Chloride). Most people think of plastic plumbing pipe when they hear that acronym. True, some pipe is also made of PVC; however, the plastic is especially blended and made into thin sheets when used in air beds. Just for reference, an inexpensive air bed (the type that is basically an air mattress) is typically made from PVC. This material can be reasonably durable when used in air beds. Another material that is sometimes used in air bed bladders is urethane. Essentially, it is like man made synthetic rubber. It is tough, abrasion resistant, and relatively economical. It too can be a reasonable choice for air bed bladders. Next, nylon is another tough synthetic material that has been widely used since it's creation in the 1930's. Used for making parachutes, nylon is very tough and tear resistant. Nylon can also be used in making air bed bladders.

Another good material choice for use in air beds is natural rubber. Unlike it's synthetic counterparts made in the laboratory, natural rubber comes from a milky latex liquid that most commonly comes from the rubber tree. Usually, these trees are cultivated for the purpose of rubber production. The trees are purposely injured so they leak the milky white latex fluid which is collected in containers and gathered by hand. Most of the natural rubber comes from Asia. Little by little, this fluid is gathered to the tune of MILLIONS OF TONS per year! As you can imagine, this requires a lot of trees and a lot of people to gather the latex fluid necessary to meet worldwide demand. Quite often, natural rubber is vulcanized which is a process that improves it's reliability and strength. Gathering natural rubber is a labor intensive process and so this material can be more expensive; however, it has some advantages over some of the other synthetic materials used in air bed bladders. The other synthetic materials are usually stiffer. This can make the air chamber less responsive to changes in air pressure. Vulcanized rubber air bed bladders are typically more flexible and more responsive to changes in air pressures. They can conform better to the shape of the sleeper. This can make it possible to better fine tune the firmness (or softness) of the air mattress. As a result, it can also help to increase the comfort of the air bed. Each material has it's own advantages, but some people prefer natural rubber air bed bladders because of their flexibility and responsiveness when used in air beds.