I'm draining the water bed

natalie_ca

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I've had a water bed all of my adult life. It was a tough decision to decide to get rid of it and go to a conventional box spring and mattress.

The bed is draining as we speak and I'll be sleeping on the couch tonight and tomorrow night. My brother is coming to take the frame apart tomorrow and hopefully my soon to be new mattress and box spring can be delivered on Tuesday.

Hopefully this will help my back and hip pain.

The cats won't be too happy with me getting rid of the water bed. They love how cozy warm it is in the winter, not to mention there won't be any place for them to cuddle with me for the next couple of nights.

It seems a shame to throw out an oak water bed frame so I've already placed a classified ad for the bed. I'm giving it away so hopefully someone will want it.
 

strange_wings

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It'll take some adjustment for you, but I hope a regular bed does help. If you want your bed warmed up at night before you get in, or just a little supplemental heat, you could get an electric blanket. I have a twin sized one I use on my side of the bed because I have trouble warming the bed up and staying warm - the cats love it.
 

yosemite

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We had a water bed until we moved to this house about 6 years ago and hubby was like you - he thought he would miss a nice warm bed. We bought a cushion-top mattress and he was quite surprised at how quickly it warms up after you get in. I have to also say that I had chronic back pain - not excruciating or anything, just always there. Since getting the regular mattress and getting rid of the waterbed, my back rarely even bothers me any more.

I hope changing to the regular mattress helps your hips and back. It may take you a few nights to get used to the different feel though.
 

trillcat

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I slept on a water bed most of my life, your back and hip pain will stop. Mine did.
It is sad day to drain the sucker, they are so nice and warm and smushy. Mine was a king size, oak bookcase headboard with, *ahem* slightly used side rails (cats)
Your babies will snugle with you on the couch to the point where you will yell "gimme some room here!"
 

Willowy

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Hehe, my mom kept her waterbed frame. It's really hard to make the bed, though, LOL!

I grew up with the waterbed and loved it. My current house probably wouldn't support the weight, though (old house---built in 1912).
 

rapunzel47

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We went through this last February. I'd been sleeping on a waterbed for 30+ years and never had a problem except when I was sleeping on something else. But DH has had intermittent back problems for a bunch of years that resurfaced late last year and were just not resolving, and he could no longer sleep in the bed, so we acknowledged that we needed to do SOMEthing, but neither of us was very happy about letting the waterbed go. I envisioned trading one set of problems for another, but how wrong I was! I totally adore our new bed, and as Linda says, it's amazing how quickly the pillow top traps your body heat and feeds it back to you.

But boy was I depressed the night we drained the waterbed! I hope your new bed is as big a success as ours has been. Incidentally, Cindy loves it.
 

ink

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I never could sleep on a water bed. I love my pillow top and woudn't trade it for the world.
 

gailc

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I remember when we got rid of the water bed too. I really missed the warmth. Get yourself a nice set of flannel sheets-they seem to make a difference in the colder months of the year vs regular sheets.

You might be able to find a home for the water bed mattress as I knew someone who used it and the heater for a really big plant starter! They just filled it a little with water and set their seed trays on it and the warmth helped the seeds to germinate!

Have fun sleeping on the couch!
 

strange_wings

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^That's certainly an original use for an old water bed!


Originally Posted by rapunzel47

it's amazing how quickly the pillow top traps your body heat and feeds it back to you.
It takes me 45 min to an hour to warm up my side of the bed - without the electric blanket or the cats having slept on that side to warm it any. BUT I have below average body temp and not enough body fat to even keep me warm most of the time. Most people don't have this problem.
 
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natalie_ca

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I just placed the ad online not even 2 hours ago and I already have someone wanting the bed! I guess FREE is the right price!


I just emailed them back and told them that it won't be able to pick it up until tomorrow evening or Tuesday.

I'd love for them to be able to pick it up tonight, that way I can maybe negotiate delivery of my bed for tomorrow since I'm going there first thing in the morning to shop for one. Unfortunately it takes hours to drain a bed and I'll probably won't be drained until probably midnight.
 

catkiki

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When we lost the house and moved to this apartment 2 years ago, we got rid of our leaky king sized waterbed. For the first 3 1/2 months, DH slept on the floor and I slept on our futon. We did try air mattresses but they sprung a leak almost right away. We didn't even have the girls yet! When we got our beds (we got twin beds as DH was quite large at the time and would take over the entire king sized bed
I would have maybe 1/4 of it) My backaches went away. We love our beds now. We both have electric blankets for cold nights and can adjust them to our individual comfort level.
 

goldenkitty45

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You wont' regret getting rid of the waterbed. I can't stand them. And good luck in trying to give it away - its like the "sleeper sofa" - no one wants them!

IMO I never understood how people could say it helps your back (pain); same for those sleep number beds that are fit to your level of comfort. How can a bed the "conforms" to your body and offers NO support be able to help back pain. IMO it would make it worse rather then better.

Let us know in a month how you like your normal mattress and boxspring
 
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natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by mrblanche

Oddly enough, I got my waterbed to get rid of my backaches!
Until this past year or two my bed has been fine for my back. Unfortunately I was in a car accident last year and ever since then my arms have started to go numb when I'm in bed.

It's also not good for my sleep apnea. I'm not only heavy but I'm top heavy so the top part of me sinks into the bed more than the bottom. This causes me to sleep with my top portion tilted down. Not good for my sleep apnea. It also causes me to bottom out on the plywood below due to the water displacement. Because of that I wake up with numb arms, a feeling like I was punched in the upper back and sore hips from basically having slept on hard wood.

My bed is about 3/4 drained. My brother is coming tomorrow late afternoon to take it apart, and someone is coming to pick it up Tuesday morning. I'm hoping that I can make arrangements for my new bed to be delivered Monday evening. But if it can't be, it will be delivered Tuesday. So I have 2 days of sleeping on the couch.
 

mrblanche

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As far as the bottoming out is concerned, you can get a mattress that is actually filled with foam and fiber. We got one the last time we had to replace our mattress, earlier this year. Big improvement over the "bag" style we had been using.
 
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natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by mrblanche

As far as the bottoming out is concerned, you can get a mattress that is actually filled with foam and fiber. We got one the last time we had to replace our mattress, earlier this year. Big improvement over the "bag" style we had been using.
Mine has fibre baffles. It's nearly motionless. With my first bed I had a plain water bladder, but after that moved up to the top of the line fibre filled ones.
 

goldenkitty45

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Nat, I just hope they do show up for your bed. We've had people say they were coming for stuff on craigslist and never show up
 
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natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Nat, I just hope they do show up for your bed. We've had people say they were coming for stuff on craigslist and never show up
There were 2 inquiries. I told each one to call before they came because I didn't have intentions of holding it for anyone and was giving it to the first person who showed up to pick it up. One guy said he would be here at 10am on Tuesday morning. Haven't heard back from the other person yet.
 
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natalie_ca

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Well, make that 3 inquiries!
The first one left me a cell phone number but there is no answer. The last one sent an email and said he would like to pick it up tomorrow evening, which is ideal for me. I'd love to have it out before my new bed is delivered. That way I can give the bedroom floor a good cleaning and figure out what to do with all of the clothing I have stored in the drawers of the bed. Might have to resort to black trash bags for the time being!
 
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natalie_ca

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I found a bed!!!


It was the first one I tried. I tried out several but the first one felt the best!

I took cash and got $200.00 off the price all inclusive of taxes and delivery, plus a free bed frame. And the good news is that they will deliver it today!!!


The bad news is that my water bed is still together. I have a drill and I'm going to try and tackle taking it apart myself. Not sure how I'll do though because it's super heavy, and awkward.

I've also had 3 more inquiries about the bed. So I'm going to see if one of them can come now with a friend and haul it out as I take out the screws!!
 
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