Is a water bed mattress everyone's fantasy? Just how comfortable are they and are they within the price range of the average Joe? Read on for some fun facts and answers.

What Does a Water Bed Mattress Consist Of?

Water beds usually come in two types - the hard side waterbed and a soft side water bed.
A hard side water bed is a water containing mattress inside a frame of wood which sits on a platform, this is known as the water bed mattress. The platforms sometimes can be designed very fancy just like normal beds with underneath storage system as well as decorative bed frames.

The soft sided water beds are water filled mattresses as well but in a foam frame, zipped inside a fabric casting which rests on a platform. The design is created to look as a traditional bed. Water beds are usually made out of vinyl or similar material.

A Brief History of the Water Bed Mattress

This goes back to 1800 - in 1871 a waterbed was used in Elmira, New York for the 'invalids' play; Mark Twain mentioned a water bed briefly in one of his articles 'A New Beecher Church" published in New York Times newspaper on 07/23/1871. The article does not give enough information to subtract the making or the components of the water bed.

In 1883 Dr William Hooper from Portsmouth, England patented a waterbed advertising it as having pain healing capabilities however; not being able to come up with a way to control the water temperature back then, it was a failure.

In 1968 Charles Hall created the modern water bed when he was still a design student at the San Francisco State University in California along with two other students Paul Heckel and Evan Fawkes who contributed to the invention as well.

Advantages and Disadvantages of a Water Bed Mattress

Advantages:

You can heat a water bed mattress which makes it very comfortable during cold winter days. A warm environment lowers your blood pressure and helps you fall asleep quicker; it also helps your muscles relax which in turn improves blood circulation. The bed shapes according to your body as it is liquid thus minimizing pressure especially around the joints, removes spinal pressure and backaches.

Disadvantages:

Heating is costly especially during winter time when you need it most so it is not cost effective. Moving a water bed mattress is a huge process as you need to remove the water and drain it fully to disassemble. The whole process has to be repeated when you reassemble the bed, heating the water for a while to get the right temperature back.
There is also the possibility that the water bed mattress may leak, and while this does not happen often, when it does it is a big hassle to repair and the potential damage the leakage can do to your home, can be rather painful.

Taking into consideration the good and bad points of a water bed mattress, it is a good investment with the pleasure and comfort far outweighing the slight negatives as far as costs and potential damage is concerned.