Use A Trash Bag To Fill Up An Air Mattress, Here's How

When you have overnight guests on the way, you might need to prepare a cozy place for them to sleep. That's when you may want to set up an air mattress in your spare room. You'll also need to fill it up which can be a relatively easy task if you have a pump. On the other hand, it can be nearly impossible if you don't have something to give you a little — or a lot of — help. If you find yourself needing to fill up an air mattress but don't have a pump around, then you might want to grab a garbage bag and try a handy hack. Yes, that's pretty much all you'll need to inflate your air mattress.

In fact, in a video shared by the Crazy Russian Hacker YouTube channel, all the DIY-er uses is a trash bag and a rubber band. Beyond that, you'll simply need a few gusts of breath or pockets of air from around you as well as a bit of body weight. Although you might doubt that this hack will be truly effective, not only does it work, but you might be surprised how well it ends up filling your air mattress if you just give it a little time and put in some effort. And, to be honest, it's a heck of a lot easier than trying to inflate a mattress the same way that you would blow up a balloon.

Using a garbage bag as a DIY air mattress pump isn't difficult, however, it does take a couple of steps along with a little know-how. First, you'll want to make sure that you have a trash bag that isn't too thin. A thinner bag can tear easily which will ruin its ability to hold air. As for the elastic band, just make sure that it's big enough and strong enough to be wound around the nozzle of the air mattress opening at least two or three times.

When you're ready, you can opt for one of two methods. Both involve making a small hole in the bottom of the bag and securing it to the mattress nozzle with the elastic band. This should create a tight seal to keep the air from escaping. Now, the first method will see you blow a puff of air into the bag before quickly pulling the open end closed. Then squeeze the inflated bag using your body weight to push the air out of the bag and into the mattress. If you don't have the lung power for this, then you can simply capture some air by closing the bag quickly. Repeat these steps again and again until the mattress is filled and your guests have a comfy place to rest.