A Waterbedtime Story™ by Irvin Saathoff
Once upon a time in Waterbed retail shop out West, I was prompted to look up from my office work to see what commotion was happening on the El Camino Real outside our San Mateo, California store only to observe the Waterbed I forgot I was filling now bulging a couple feet above the 4 foot front window partition. While this is a recollection I would forever after think of and recite whenever a customer asked me “Will it break?”, fortunately Waterbed industry technology had evolved enough by then that even though I had grossly overfilled that Waterbed, perhaps by double, it did not break.
Note the over-filled waterbed in cameo lower left here.
Meanwhile over in Denver, Colorado the President of InnoMax Corporation Mark Miller recalls another popular Waterbed misconception “I may drown if my waterbed springs a leak“, of which Mark says “Certainly a primary concern of a novice waterbed owner is the fear of puncture. First of all, water mattresses are constructed from strong, durable vinyl. If the water mattress were accidentally punctured, the water will not spurt or gush out any more than water in the kitchen sink will jump out, any leakage will be captured by a sturdy safety liner fitted around the mattress. The fact is a failure from a home’s water heater could be a much greater problem. In addition most waterbed chambers come with a vinyl repair kit and a puncture (Boo-Boo) can be fixed in only a few minutes. In most cases it is not even necessary to drain the bed to make a simple repair. Innomax utilizes some of the most durable materials and advanced construction available in of our water mattresses and to prove our point take a look at this video.”
Will it break??
According to Tommy Stricherz, InnoMax General Manger and co-mastermind of the Will It Break video with Mr. Miller, “In the video we wanted to address a couple of issues.
First, we wanted to combat negative narratives with a strong visual that our waterbed is strong enough to be dropped off a building and not leak. Second, as we all know some companies take shortcuts to find less expensive ways to bring products to market. The waterbed industry certainly has been influenced by this as well.
At InnoMax we resisted the need to make things cheaper and instead went the other direction by innovating ways to make the waterbed stronger, more durable for the best nights rest possible.”
Tommy also added “For your reference, the Will It Break video was produced in 2012 and compared an InnoMax Waterbed to a brand X product which included the following differences respectively;
1. Highly plasticized 35 hand vinyl versus 28 hand vinyl,
2. 3-D reinforced corners versus T-corner seams,
3. Recessed underside seams versus Box cut side seams,
4. Full depth versus 7-3/4 depth corner seams,
5. 24 mil thick vinyl versus 18 mil and additional features not found with brand X included InnoMax full overcut and
enhanced 3/4 inch lap seam designs.”
In conclusion with the development of stronger vinyl with incredible elasticity and other innovations InnoMax, established in 1975, has continued the evolution of Waterbed technology for the past half century. Check back in with the next episode of Waterbedtime Story™ when we share yet another perspective. Sponsored by InnoMax Corporation established 1975 (Sleep@InnoMax.com).