How To Blow Up An Air Mattress Without a Pump

How to blow up an air mattress without a pump

While owning an air mattress can be a convenience under the right situation — such as hosting unexpected guests, making camping more comfortable and more — it can become a headache if your air mattress pump is missing or broken and you find yourself wondering if theres a way how to blow up an air mattress without a pump.

So don’t panic. We have some tricks, tips and ideas up our sleeve to help pump up your queen-sized air mattress. In fact, we have a hunch that you may not have even thought about some of these in the first place.

Let’s dive in.

Use Your Home Vacuum

How to blow up an air mattress without a pumpUsing your vacuum to blow up an air mattress without a pump is probably one of the most popular ways of going about it when you have to rely on unconventional methods. As long as your vacuum has a hose attachment — and you know how to turn your vacuum on so it blows air outward — you should be able to blow up your air mattress.

Here’s what to do:

  1. Use the thinnest cleaning nozzle you have for your vacuum (the one you use for hard-to-reach spaces). If you don’t have one of those specific attachments, you most likely can use the hose without one, depending on your vacuum.
  2. Lay your air mattress flat on the floor. Make sure it’s completely spread out, as this will help ensure fast and even inflation.
  3. Do your best to attach the vacuum hose to the air mattress inflation valve. You might need to adjust the attachment a little bit until it fits snug — or at least tight enough to inflate.
  4. Turn your vacuum on and inflate. Once it’s fully inflated, remove the hose, and close the air mattress valve as you normally would after blowing it up with a pump.

Use Your Lungs

How to blow up an air mattress without a pumpWe would strongly recommend against this option if at all possible. It’s the least effective, not to mention exhausting, option on this list.

The method is pretty straightforward. Just take a deep breath and blow as much air as possible into the air mattress. It’s worth noting, though, that this method can be fairly dangerous, so be cautious as to not over-exert yourself.

Use a Hair Dryer

How to blow up an air mattress without a pump

This method might seem a bit tricky at first, but with a few tips, it can be quite effective.

The most important factor here is going to be the setting of your hair dryer. Ensure your hair dryer is switched to its cold air setting before attempting to inflate your air mattress. If you continuously blow hot air into your air mattress, it’s quite possible you’ll melt or damage the insides.

As far as the actual process, it’s going to work just like the vacuum earlier in the article. Place the hair dryer up against the air mattress valve and turn it on. If the fit is snug, it should fill up relatively quickly. If not, it might take some time, but it will eventually inflate.

This process isn’t as good or effective as a real air mattress pump, but it’ll work in a pinch — as long as you have a power source for your hair dryer.

Use a Leaf Blower

How to blow up an air mattress without a pumpYes, you read that right. If you’re at home and don’t have access to an air mattress pump, or your hair dryer and vacuum just can’t get the job done, a leaf blower can do the trick.

Place the end of the leaf blower over the air mattress valve and let it rip. This method should fill up the air mattress pretty quickly, so watch out and be careful not to over inflate.

Of course, this method isn’t going to be practical if you’re camping, but could be ideal for an at-home situation if it arises…especially if the air mattress is being inflated close to your backyard or garage.

What If I Don’t Want to Do Any of These?

In the short term, you don’t have a lot of other options if you need to quickly pump up an air mattress without a pump. But, in the medium-to-long term, you could easily invest in a self-inflating air mattress.

When it comes to convenience and ease of use, self-inflating air mattresses are king. Some mattresses pump up in a matter of minutes, allowing you to save your breath and leave your leaf blower in the garage every time you want to have guests over every time you want to have guests over. We’ve even curated a great guide of the best air mattresses for your convenience.

Bottom Line

Whether you’re having overnight guests on the living room floor, or you’re out camping in the wilderness, now you’ll be able to figure out the best way for you to blow up an air mattress without a pump. 

Honestly, whatever option you choose — it’s never going to be as easy as having a self-inflating air mattress. But when the time calls, sometimes you have to make due with what you have. As long as you follow our tips above, you should be able to inflate an air mattress without a pump in no time.

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