How to Install a Waveless Mattress & Cover

Cover the frame brackets securing the screws with strips of duct tape. This helps prevent any screw heads from puncturing the waveless mattress in the event they become loose over time.

Lay the bottom half of the zipper cover on the water bed frame. Align the corners and sides of the cover with the corners and sides of the frame.

Install the water bed heater according to manufacturer instructions. Generally, lay the heater mat flat on the bottom of the waterbed base, ensuring that it is not straddling a seam between the boards. Insert the heater power cord through the hole in the corner of the bed frame to plug it in once you install the waveless mattress and cover.

Unfold the water bed safety liner and set it up inside the waterbed frame. The safety line has four semi-solid walls that fit against the inside of the water bed frame, with a plastic liner that lays flat on the bottom of the waterbed frame. Once the liner is in place, check to ensure the bottom cover zipper is pointing upward along the entire perimeter of the bed between the bed frame and the liner.

Place the waveless mattress into the liner inside the water bed frame. The corners of the waveless mattress should be at the corners of the frame, with the fill nozzle pointing upward and at the foot of the bed. Some waveless mattress manufacturers have two valves instead of one.

Connect a garden hose to a kitchen faucet. Fill the water bed according to the instructions that come with the fill kit. Each fill kit that comes with a mattress is different, depending on the manufacturer. Generally there is an adapter that you screw into the end of the garden hose.

Pull the waveless mattress fill nozzle up so it protrudes from the mattress. Remove the nozzle cap and fit the hose adapter into the fill nozzle. If you have two nozzles, pull the other one out and remove the cap. The second nozzle is an air release.

Continue filling the waveless mattress with water until the top of the mattress is even with the top of the bed frame. Turn off the water and remove the adapter from the fill nozzle. Replace the cap on the fill valve and press the valve into the mattress if you have a separate air valve. If you only have a single valve, do not close it at this time.

Ask a helper to hold the nozzle upward while you press air out of the mattress. Place a broom handle across the waveless mattress at the head of the bed. Press down lightly and move the handle down the length of the mattress. Air will expel through the nozzle. Repeat this procedure until all air is out of the waveless mattress. Place the cap on the nozzle and push the nozzle into the mattress.

Find the starting point for the zipper on one corner of the bottom cover sides. Position the top cover on the bed with the zipper over the starting corner. Zip the two covers together.