How to Drain a Low-Motion Waterbed

Unplug your low-motion waterbed's heater before beginning the draining process.

Remove all sheets, pillows, blankets and other bedding from the mattress. Remove the mattress cover.

Fold a towel and place it under the mattress, below the valve. Though low-motion waterbed mattresses contain less water than full-motion mattresses, spillage may still occur.

Remove the valve cap to open the valve. Some valves burrow into the surface of the mattress. If this is the case, pull the valve out of the mattress, extending it to its full length before removing the cap. Hold the valve so it points upward to prevent spills.

Apply gentle pressure to the surface of the mattress to release any excess air it contains. Keep holding the valve upward. Enlist a partner to help apply even pressure across the mattress' surface. Keep pressing until the mattress stops “burping” — this means you've released all the air. Quickly replace the cap to keep new air from entering the mattress.

Attach one end of your garden hose to an outdoor water faucet. Uncoil the hose and run the other end to the mattress's valve. Have your partner stay at the faucet.

Open the valve, pointing it upward, and quickly insert the hose connector into the valve. Screw the free end of the hose onto the connector.

Signal your partner to turn the water faucet on, pushing a stream of air through the hose and into the mattress and creating a continuous siphon. Let the water run for 15 seconds.

Turn off the water faucet and disconnect the hose. As long as the hose is free of kinks and its draining end rests on lower ground than the mattress, water will gush through the hose as it drains from the mattress.

Hold the head end of the bed up as it drains. This directs water toward the valve, preventing the baffled layers of your low-motion mattress from shifting. Once the bed is entirely drained, carefully fold the mattress. Fold slowly to prevent the interior layers from shifting.