Some might think that water beds were invented in the 1960s, and although they were loved by the young people of that time period, the date they were made is not really accurate. The water bed was first thought of in 1871. They were used for the disabled. They were even talked about in writing by Mark Twain. Later in 1883, a Doctor named William Hooper attempted to try to sell the water bed, but did not succeed because he did not develop a way to heat the bed or hold the water. He had first intended it to help relieve bed sores on bedridden patients.
The first sales of the modern water bed did happen in 1968 by a man called Charles Hall. He attended the San Francisco State University and he was a design pupil. Hall could not obtain a patent because in prior years a water bed similar to his was spoken of in fiction books by a writer, Robert a. Heinlein, even though Heinlein never actually carried out his version of the water bed.
What could be the association with water damage you ask? If you have used one and it sprang a leak you may know why already. In the first types, just a small pin puncture might seep out for days before you paid attention to it. Depending on where the drip is placed, it will gradually seep onto the floor. Today most people make sure there is a liner in place, but even the liner is not invincible since they are usually made of vinyl material also. If something with a sharp point or edge gets positioned between the frame and mattress or liner and mattress, pin holes or larger tears could happen.
If this occurs when you are dressing for work, when you arrive back home, it can have made a big puddle in the liner. If you are gone a number of days, it might wet a large area of your bed room floor. In one situation I know of, because it happened in my home, my water bed was leaking. I did not realize it of course, when I left for vacation. I shut off the air conditioning and the house was very hot. When I came back the water bed had soaked one quarter of the bedrooms hard wood floor. It had dried with the heat and had bulked up a 1/4 foot high. It did happen.
Gratefully, the new styles of water bed mattresses usually have separate compartments and are made from sturdier materials, but if you may be using one of the older water beds, be advised of the danger of water damage to your home.
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