WaterbedGuru had written this in response to
http://www.thestuccocompany.com/main...ss-389688-.htm
:

Phisherman wrote:


My waterbed mattress has finally sprung a leak after 22 years of use.
It was made in Canada and high quality. Now I'm confused which brand
is a good one or which ones to avoid. I like semi-wave for a
hard-sided waterbed frame. Is Strobel a good brand? Legacy Ruby?
S-Series? I am leaning toward the brand with the longest warranty
and vinyl mil thickness because I have no other comparison study. It
looks like many are made in the USA but I'm not convinced about
quality.


-------------------------------------

Hi Phisherman,
Hmmmmm...only lasted 22 years huh...not a bad investment! A couple of
hints based on more than 3o years of all facets of the waterbed industry:
All brands are pretty decent if purchased from a legitimate retailer or
they would no longer be in business. Full warranty of almost all water
mattresses is 4-5 years then pro-rated out to the end of time. The
pro-rated warranty is usually not worth shopping for or using! You end up
buying at a small discount on an inflated price with the warranty starting
date on your new mattress the purchase date of your old mattress; in other
words no warranty! Read the fine print. Do you have your original purchase
receipt from 22 years ago? You would need it and the manufacturer would
have to be still in business with the same name. In general, if something
is going to go wrong with your new mattress it will happen in the first
month to a year.
Second: mattresses made of thicker vinyl may not last as long as some
thinner mattresses. The "sweetspot" seems to be 22 mil. Thinner mats
obviously may not last as long but thicker vinyl needs more plasticizer to
keep it soft and supple. Since plasticizer is volatile "new mattress"
smell and will leach into the air over time, some of the thicker mats
become brittle sooner than the 22 mil!
If you or any of your readers have any questions shoot me an email or call
1-888-288-4523. Oh, disclaimer--we sell waterbeds, too!
Regards!


##-----------------------------------------------##
Delivered via http://www.thestuccocompany.com/
Building Construction and Maintenance Forum
Web and RSS access to your favorite newsgroup -
alt.home.repair - 369747 messages and counting!
##-----------------------------------------------##