Mattress Typesee allSizesee allRoomsee allBrandsee allFeaturessee allComfort Levelsee allConditionsee allPrice$-$Buying Formatsee allItem Locationsee allDelivery Optionssee allShow onlysee allMore refinements...Got one to sell?Get it in front of 160+ million buyers.The future looked bright and the popularity of waterbeds was on an upswing. How many people do YOU know who still sleep on a waterbed today? Certainly, waterbeds have died out as a major mattress category, so it would be easy to say that they failed. Or maybe they were just a fad. As I look back from my 45 years hence vantage point, I’d argue that this isn’t true. In fact, I’d propose that waterbeds were phenomenally successful, winning the battle but unfortunately losing the war. Think back to the 1970s (if your memory or your birthday goes that far back). If you went to buy a mattress in the 70s, your choice of densities were firm or firmer. Mattresses were, of course, two sided, as they always had been since the earliest days of mattresses.
They had a heavy duty coil spring system and minimal padding. Padding consisted of a compressed fiber pad, usually made of cotton (similar to a thick carpet pad), sheathed in a thin quilted cover. The whole mattress was 7 to 8″ thick. Doctors of the 1970s (chiropractors had not hit the scene yet) recommended a firm mattress for back support. If you could sleep on the floor, that was the best thing for posture and support, they said. Waterbeds were the diametrical opposite of the very firm mattresses doctors had been recommending for years for back relief. Water supports the body evenly due to the natural laws of hydraulics, pushing back with equal force to the force of the person’s body when lying down. Sleeping on a waterbed leaves you delightfully free of pressure points — you only experience conforming, enveloping support. So many benefits from a mattress that costs very little and lasts a very long time. Bonus to the economy: in those days, a waterbed business was something that a young person with barely two nickels to rub together could start, feel good about, and feel they were saving consumers from some hard-as-a-rock torture rack known as the innerspring mattress.
What better business to start could there be? Truth be told, the waterbed people — many of them hippie, non-business types — were stupid. (Don’t get me wrong. We like hippies, but the waterbed industry hippies were apparently not in the right frame of mind to make good business decisions.) The public bought in to the idea of “flotation sleep” and often put up with inconvenience and sometimes poor quality, all to get that warm, wonderful sleep provided by natural water. Over the industry’s 20-year heyday, consumers purchased between 25 and 30 million waterbeds. This surge in sales did not go unnoticed by the spring coil bed industry. While some of the “spring bed” manufacturers did add some waterbed-type beds to their lines, most did not. Instead, unlike the stupid waterbed people, the spring coil bed makers were smart. Waterbed retailers tried to see how cheap they could sell their products. At the final showdown, waterbeds were available just about everywhere for $99 for any sized bed.
Now the spring bed folks, seeing the success of plush, conforming sleep surfaces, started making plush, even pillow top and Euro top mattresses, offering them to consumers for the unheard of prices of $1000 and more. All this at a time when those “firm,” thin mattresses (you know, the original types of mattresses) were selling from $200 to $400. I told you they were smart! And thus the popularity of waterbeds waned, slumped, and slid out of the industry. But their influence can still be felt in the mattress industry today — literally. Today, if you go shopping for a mattress, you can hardly find a truly firm model – everything is plush and thick. Even the “firm” mattresses are cushion firm or plush firm. We’re now in the era of the big, thick, fluffy mattress — at least if you’re shopping the mainstream lines. So while it may be true that waterbeds are dead and gone, the legacy of the waterbed era is evident in the choices you find in mattress stores today.
And for those customers who love their waterbed more than anything and refuse to give it up — good for you! You’ll find that we still stock waterbed mattresses and parts.Have you ever had a waterbed? Check out our waterbed parts. Browse our Beds → Waterbeds → Softside Waterbeds It’s time to feel good about the choice you make when purchasing a softside waterbed mattress. Sterling’s modular design allows for adjustment of the firmness of the bed, part replacement which extends the life of the mattress and reduces your carbon footprint! Sterling’s softside waterbeds are ideal for the perfect night’s rest thanks to the customizable firmness design. Other softside waterbeds for sale can’t match the comfort of a Sterling waterbed mattress. 8500 Euro Top Super Waveless Waterbed Delivery Included 8400 Pillow Top Waveless Waterbed Delivery Included 8300 Plush Top Waveless Waterbed Delivery Included ER600 Super Waveless Softside Water Mattress ER400 Waveless Softside Water Mattress
ER9254 Waveless Softside Water Mattress ER9256 Super Waveless Softside Water Mattress 8.0" fill depth 12 mil contour safety liner 6621 Waveless Softside Mattress 6 1/4" fill depth 6.25" fill depth 12 mil contour safety linerWaterbeds are available in 2 different categories. a "hardside" waterbed that has a wooden frame that holds a water mattress, and a "softside" waterbed that looks like a regular innerspring mattress and has a soft foam edge that holds the water mattress. guide is set up to talk about the advantages of softside waterbeds , and to help you choose the type of bed that is right for you. Softside waterbeds offer many benefits over the "old style"Because they look like just like a regular innerspring mattress, you will not have the added expense of buying new linens for your bed because regular sheets fit a softside waterbed just fine! Many people also find that a softside waterbed also fits in well with the decor of their bedroom because
they don't have to match their furniture to the wood frame like a hardsideBelow are some of the important features you should look for when purchasing a softside waterbed. Unlike a regular mattress, the box spring of a softside waterbed has no springs. Because the foundation will be supporting a large amount of weight is very important that the foundation be as strong asAll of our foundations are made of solid wood. We even offer a split foundation on our Queen and King size models to increase the structural integrity of the foundation. foundation in 2 pieces, no bowing, flexing or warping can occur. makes the foundation much easier to move. (ever try to carry a box springA split foundation makes moving your bed a snap. The foam rails on a softside waterbed are incrediblyBecause this foam tub is holding the water mattress, and because you will be getting in and out of the bed it is critical the rail is of highOur foam rails are 2 pounds per square density.
(the strongest on the market), and have been torture tested to last more than 50 years. foam rails are thinner at the top, and wider at the bottom to increase sleeping area and to prevent bowing. The softside cover is very important as it will have direct impact on the way the bed feels. This is why we have 3 distinct covers for our softside beds. We do not offer 4 inch thick tops loaded up with memory foam as you will not even feel like you are on a waterbed. Our "plushtop softside waterbed" is designed to be most like a regular waterbed. We use approximately 1 inch of fiber fill in the quilted top cover so that you will be as close as possible to the waterbed mattress. This allows for maximum benefits from the heater and mattress, just like you get from a traditional hardside mattress. The quilted cover comes completely off for cleaning. Our "Pillowtop softside waterbed" has approximately 2.5 inches of fiber fill and a minimal amount of supersoft foam.
This prevents body impressions and adds to the life expectancy of the cover. It also is completely removeable for cleaning. This bed will be more luxurious than the plushtop, but still allows for heat to come through the top. This is a medium firm choice. Our firmest bed is the "Visco Pillowtop". By adding just 1 inch of memory foam, it makes the cover tighter and as a result it yields less and supports the body more. If you want the support of a waterbed but you like a firmer feel, this is your bed. This is the heart of the bed and we make absolutely noSome beds have one mattress on the inside, while others have 2. dual system) If you chose a bed with a dual system, you will have the ability to also control the temperature of either side of the bed to your own personalWith 24 mil thick virgin vinyl and injected molded corners, you will be hard pressed to find a better quality mattress. With a unique tethering system that has an injection molded loop on the inside of each corner,