Try This Clever Hack To Inflate An Air Mattress Without A Pump

Loud as they are, leaf blowers might just save your sleep. They can help you inflate your air mattress without using a traditional pump. After all, don't we all love our air mattresses? They've been with us through thick and thin. Whether it be for moving in, moving out, or a sleepover with relatives, one thing is for certain — these things have always been there for us. But they can be extremely difficult to work with sometimes, and you might find yourself without your trusty air mattress pump.

Air mattresses, as the name indicates, need to be inflated before they can be used. Upon purchase, they typically come with a pump to inflate them. However, sometimes you don't have immediate access to your pump — the batteries can die out, you might misplace it, or you might be traveling and have left it at home. In circumstances such as those, never fret, because even without your pump, you can still inflate your mattress and get a quality night's sleep using a leaf blower.

Before you give this air mattress inflation hack a shot, be warned: Leaf blowers are noisy, so you should probably try this trick outdoors rather than inside the house. Here's how to do it: First, measure the leaf blower's usual attachment against the inflation valve of the mattress. If it is similar in size, then leave the leaf blower's usual attachment in place. If it is too large, then compare the leaf blower's alternative attachments. If those do not work, then hold the leaf blower with one hand and cup your other around the valve.

Lay the mattress flat on the ground, and place the leaf blower inside the mattress' inflation valve. Turn on the blower and allow it to inflate the mattress. Since leaf blowers are automatic, you should notice the mattress inflating at a faster pace than what it would with a traditional air pump.

If you do decide to try this trick indoors, then for safety measures, use an electric leaf blower for this trick. For obvious reasons, a gas-powered leaf blower should never be used indoors, as it runs the risk of emitting harmful, toxic chemicals into the air.

If you're wondering why opting for a leaf blower is more effective than using other tools, such as hair dryers or vacuums, for example, well, the answer lies in its cubic feet per minute. CFM measures the amount of air or gas a device expresses into something. The higher the CFM, the more air that is expressed.

Generally, leaf blowers have a CFM ranging from 400 to 700 for an average-sized blower and around 200 to 400 for a smaller blower. Electric leaf blowers have lower CFM on average than their gas-powered brothers, but those are still more efficient than hair dryers, which have an average CFM range of 10 to 100, and vacuums, which have an average CFM range of 50 to 100. Since leaf blowers have a higher CFM than other household tools that you might opt for, leaf blowers will be able to express more air than these tools, and they will do so at a faster pace as well. So if you are looking for a quick, simple alternative to your air mattress pump, using your leaf blower is the best way to go!