Waterbeds still have a loyal customer base decades after going out of fashion

One of the iconic inventions of the 1960s and the summer of love, the waterbed, is still widely used today.

Although it is no longer as popular as it was in the 1980s, when some people accounted for 20% of beds sold, a water-filled mattress is the key to a good night's sleep. .

The modern waterbed was designed by San Francisco designer Charles Hall, according to University of Technology Sydney cultural and design historian Emily Brayshaw.

“It's a bit like everything collided at the right time,” Dr Brayshaw told ABC Radio Perth's Christian Horgan.

“Charles Hall worked in the design department at San Francisco State University, and it was a hotbed of alternative technology. People liked to riff on all kinds of crazy ideas and designs.”

By 1968, a vinyl fabric had been formulated to make the waterbed practical and durable, while traditional innerspring mattresses had not evolved much and were still quite firm.

When waterbeds first went on sale in San Francisco, they were sold in “head shops”, which sold cannabis smoking accessories but not the drug itself, helping to establish at least partly the distinguished reputation of water beds.

Hall's slogan for the waterbed was “liquid support for the human body”, and although they were designed to provide a better night's sleep, Dr Brayshaw said they quickly became associated with sex.

“There's a history of designers coming up with fantastic designs and objects and people using them in a different way than the designer intended,” she said.

“Vinyl itself has long been considered a wee bit perverse.

“[Playboy founder] Hugh Hefner had one made of possum fur, and you could get them in all kinds of colors and shapes, black vinyl, red vinyl, you could get them with mirror panels and built-in sound systems.

Australia discovers the waterbed

Waterbeds arrived in Australia soon after and sales peaked in the 1980s, accounting for a fifth of all beds sold, but declined sharply in the 1990s.

Dr Brayshaw said mattress manufacturers have started to improve their products, with the introduction of memory foam, latex and softer options.

Waterbeds also have significant disadvantages, including leakage capacity.

“They're quite complicated, high maintenance, they had extra parts that needed maintenance, they needed special sheets,” Dr Brayshaw said.

Unlike regular beds, waterbeds have ongoing running costs because the water must be heated in winter to keep the bed at a comfortable temperature.

“And they were terribly difficult to fill. You had to run a hose from your bathroom to the bedroom and there would be literally hundreds of gallons of water,” Dr. Brayshaw said.

It was the need for water that spelled the end of Dr Brayshaw's parents' waterbed in the 1980s.

“There was a leak and we lived on a farm in the middle of a drought,” she said.

“We just couldn't get enough water to refill it. Water was such a precious commodity.”

Waterbeds are still “alive”

Although its popularity waned, the waterbed never completely disappeared.

Today, there are still sellers and repairers of waterbeds, and if ABC Radio Perth listeners are to be believed, a waterbed remains for some the best place to sleep.

James said he and his wife have been sleeping in a waterbed for more than 40 years.

“The original was a full bladder queen size and over time we now use a double bladder queen size,” he said.

“The beauty of this is that you can adjust the amount of water to suit your particular sleeping style.

“They're confused so the movement of the water is nice and subdued and we find we don't sleep as well on anything other than water.”

Jane: “Waterbeds are certainly alive and well today. People are buying them, they are much more comfortable and maneuverable than the ones from the 80s.”

Sarah: “I still have mine. I wouldn't have anything else. Both my kids had them until recently. They now regret going back to normal mattresses. It's the best night's sleep. “

Tide: “I still have one, with soft sides. The best part is that it's cool in the summer and just warm enough in the winter.”

However, not everyone converted.

Grindstone: “We had one in the 90s and I don't know why. It was responsible for the partial collapse of the wooden floor in our bedroom in our first little house. It leaked and when the heating failed it was a devilish cold.

Greg: “I had one in the 1980s and it was the worst thing I ever slept on. When I got rid of it, the electric bill improved by $80 a quarter.”