A Bed For More Than Sleeping: The Latex Vacuum Bed

Posted by Andrew Schroeder on May 03, 2018

There is no piece of furniture or part of the home connected more intimately to sex than the bed. It is both the place where steamy play sessions can occur and the place where you can cuddle in one another’s arms after finishing. Romance novels are constantly choosing language that emphasizes the bed’s importance – “he took her to bed” “they fell together onto the bed”. The verb “to bed” has even come to mean “to have sex with!”

Given this, it should come to nobody’s surprise that a wide variety of beds have been designed specifically for the purpose of having sex in them. From the vibrating “massage beds” which were once a staple of roadside motels to heart-shaped ones with equally heart-shaped pillows which usually decorate honeymoon suites or Japanese love hotels, creative minds all over the world have thought up beds which create a sensuous, adventurous atmosphere for lovers.

And, of course, the ever more inventive bed designs eventually led to one ideally crafted for kinky bondage play. It completely immobilizes the submissive while simultaneously leaving every part of them on perfect display beneath their partner’s hungry gaze. It is easy to use, durable, long-lasting, not to mention as arousing as anything you could possibly imagine.

Just what is this special kind of bed beloved by kinksters everywhere?

Why, of course, it’s none other than the latex vacuum bed!

Although this product has actually been around for quite a while, it has only recently gained any sort of popularity or notoriety. Even if you have been involved in the BDSM (bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadism and masochism) community for years, you may have never heard of this wonderful invention.

But never fear! The Laidtex staff is here to explain not only what a latex vacuum bed is, but exactly why you should want one for your bedroom – or your dungeon, if that’s more your style. So read on and join us on an intriguing, arousing journey through the mysteries of this one of a kind product!

Just What is a Latex Vacuum Bed, Anyway?

As its name suggests, a vacuum bed or “vacbed” is a type of bed – but, unlike most beds which you have probably encountered throughout your life, not one designed primarily for sleeping. A typical vacuum bed consists of a frame, made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) piping or other hard plastic material and covered with at least two layers of thin latex bed sheets, usually black in color. Most are equivalent in size to a standard “twin” or “double” bed, and are meant to be used by one person at a time, but “queen” and “king” vacbeds capable of fitting two or even three people at once can also be found.

While it might resemble a standard bed at first glance, a closer look will reveal that the vacbed most likely does not feature pillows, comforters, or anything else which you might find in your own bedroom. It is a bed which has one purpose and one alone: sex and sexual play.

The person who will be using the vacuum bed lies on top of the frame and beneath the top layer or “sheet” of latex. Their mouth will be aligned with a tube, hole, or other apparatus which will allow them to breathe normally and comfortably throughout the process. Their partner or partners then attach a household vacuum (or other pump or “sucking” device) to the bed and turn it on in order to remove all the air from the space between the latex sheets.

Once the air has been fully sucked out, what remains is the top latex sheet conforming perfectly to the body of the individual. The person in the bed has been in effect “shrink-wrapped,” and are rendered completely immobile by their tight, airless prison. They cannot escape. They are completely at their partner’s mercy. Said partner can tease, smack, stroke, touch or torture them without them being able to resist in the slightest.

(If you’re still having some trouble picturing exactly how a person inside a latex vacuum bed ends up looking, imagine the scene from the Star Wars film franchise in which Han Solo is frozen in carbonite as a punishment. Many kinksters actually cite this scene as the thing that got them into vacbeds in the first place, and like to pose their partner or be posed in a similar manner, with their hands out in front of them and their face open and frightened. You can even find vacbeds which use gray or silver latex instead of the traditional black for the full “Han Solo in carbonite” experience!)

Once the person inside the bed has been “shrink-wrapped,” the play session is led and directed by their dominant partner. Some people prefer merely observing their partner inside a vacbed, and are aroused by visual elements such as their sexy pose or the sleek shine of the latex. Others prefer to get more hands-on, touching or teasing their partner while they are forced to remain still. You can even find vacuum beds with “access zippers” allowing the un-bound partner to touch the bound one’s breasts, buttocks or genitals. With the properly placed access zipper, it is even possible to have full-on, totally penetrative, genital or anal sex while one partner is inside the vacbed!

Why Vacuum Beds?

Now that we’ve explained exactly what a latex vacuum bed is, it’s time to look at why BDSM practitioners and kink enthusiasts all around the world are so captivated by this unique piece of equipment. Like many other pieces of latex gear, there is no one sole reason why vacuum beds are popular. They are extremely versatile, allowing users to engage in a wide variety of play scenarios and incorporate practically any kink or fetish that they can think of.

However, a couple common reasons why someone might be interested in adding a vacbed to their play sessions include:

Ease of use. OK, so this might be an odd place to start. A vacbed doesn’t seem at first look like something which would be particularly easy to use. However, in fact, it is! All you need to do is hook the bed up to your house vacuum and set it to “suck”, then turn it off once your partner is sufficiently shrink-wrapped. Compared to rope bondage with its complicated knots and handcuffs with their multiple keys, a vacuum bed is a surprisingly simple method of creating an arousing bondage experience!
Full-body immobilization. Ropes can come untied and handcuffs can be unlocked or even broken out of, but there’s absolutely no way that a person can successfully escape from a latex vacuum bed. Their arms, legs and body are kept fully immobile by the suction of the latex against their skin – and, as a bonus, every inch of that skin is available for their partner’s access, rather than being covered or blocked by thick ropes or chains. For extreme, full-body bondage enthusiasts, a vacbed absolutely cannot be equaled!
Dehumanization / object fetishism. The term “dehumanization,” alternately “objectification” refers to a fetish in which a person is treated as or reduced to an object. They are forbidden from moving, speaking or reacting and are roughly handled, touched, posed or more by their partner. Vacbed enthusiasts describe feeling like a “shrink-wrapped product, ready for consumption” while in the bed. Meanwhile, those who prefer to observe others in a vacbed describe “the human body becoming art” and the aesthetic appeal of the “sleek, shiny, completely still body” which can be compared to a doll or a painting. Vacbeds are especially wonderful for objectification enthusiasts are they are extremely versatile – a person can adopt a different pose each and every time they enter the bed, creating a practically infinite amount of arousing “art pieces”.
Sensory deprivation. A vacuum bed creates the perfect experience of a fetish called sensory deprivation, in which a person loses access to or control over their five senses. The person inside said vacbed cannot move, see, or speak. Their other senses are completely overwhelmed by the latex, totally overpowered by its distinct smell and sleek, sensuous feel of it against every inch of their naked skin. As a bonus, the lack of access to their senses means that they cannot guess or predict what their partner will do to them, meaning that every touch, stroke or smack comes as a surprise.
Enhanced physical sensations. While the individual bound within the bed loses access to their senses of sight, smell and hearing as well as their voice for the duration of the play session, they gain something just as powerful in return. Physical sensations and feelings of touch are intensified due to both the absence of other senses and the latex clinging to their body like a second skin. A brush of a lover’s fingers against a bound leg goes from a simple, pleasurable sensation to something that leaves you quivering on the brink of orgasm. Pain, too, is intensified – a single smack to a breast or buttock sends needles of indistinguishable agony and pleasure shooting up and down your entire body. And when the release finally does come, after all of that teasing and buildup? Well, let’s just say it’s a good thing you’ll be lying down on that bed, because your legs will definitely be going numb with pleasure for at least several minutes!
Breathplay, bodily fluid play and related fetishes. The last advantage of a latex vacuum bed is the fact that it is extremely versatile and can be combined with a wide range of other kinks and fetishes. In fact, if we tried to list them all, we’d be here for weeks! So we’ll stick with just a couple common examples. You can incorporate breathplay by limiting your partner’s access to to air (allowing them only a small breathing hole or tube, for example). Alternatively, give bodily fluid play a try by giving your partner an orgasm or forcing them to urinate while in the bed and then leave them trapped in there with their own fluids for a little while, as the slick latex will not absorb anything! As long as you stay safe and make sure to have your partner’s consent at all times, the sky is truly the limit when it comes to kinky vacuum bed play!

Wow! The list of reasons why a vacuum bed is so great just goes on and on! There’s even more that we didn’t have enough space to include in this article. Heck, all of us here at Laidtex already adore our vacuum beds, but this article has just made us fall in love with them all over again!

Saying Safe & Healthy

Of course, there’s one more element of vacuum bed play which you should consider before hopping into one and starting up a sexy session, and that’s safety. When used carefully and responsibly, vacuum beds are completely safe and do not present any risk or danger to either (or any!) of the participants involved in play. However, if you ignore proper safety procedures, the partner inside the vacuum bed could be at risk of pain or injury.

But don’t worry! Your friendly Laidtex staffers have compiled a list of the most important safety tips. Just make sure to keep these few simple points in mind each time you bring your bed out to play and you can enjoy hours and hours of safe, healthy, erotic fun with your favorite latex toy!

First and foremost, you should avoid using a latex vacuum bed if you are experiencing or recovering from any ear-related health conditions. The suction which you will feel while inside the bed is not normally dangerous, but it can worsen or delay the healing of certain inner ear issues. These include ear infections, broken or damaged eardrums, or larger overall conditions which affect the ear such as a sinus infection or even severe seasonal allergies. If your ears are bothering you in any way, simply take a short break from being inside the vacuum bed until they are feeling better!

Next, and perhaps most important of all, you should never use a vacuum bed for solo play. Most vacuum beds are difficult for a person to get into on their own, due to featuring zippers and needing to be hooked up to home vacuum cleaners. However, some types of vacbeds can be entered solo, such as those which feature neck entrances rather than zippers.

Regardless, you should never enter a vacuum bed unless another person is present. This is an extremely dangerous practice which can result in bruising, discomfort, light-headedness, fainting, injury, or even death. While you may be able to successfully enter the bed on your own, you will not be able to get out on your own and could remain trapped for a long period of time, causing significant damage to your body. Only engage in vacuum bed when your partner – or another consenting individual who knows how to remove you from the bed safely – is present and watching.

Similarly, if you are the dominant partner, do not leave your partner inside the bed unattended and do not let them stay there for too long. It is your responsibility to keep an eye on their situation at all times and make sure that they are safe and comfortable. Abandoning them can lead to the risk of similar dangerous to those described in the previous paragraph.

If you have never used a particular vacuum bed before, make sure it fits properly before using it for any extended play session. Enter the bed for a short while and concentrate on how you feel. Are you in pain? Is the pressure too much? Is there anywhere where you can feel parts of your body, such as joints, muscles or bones, rubbing uncomfortably against each other? If your head is covered, can you get enough air to breathe regularly? If, on the other hand, your head is free, is your neck sore or uncomfortable? Is there too much pressure against it caused by the neck hole or entrance? Make sure to perform this test and ask yourself these questions for each and every vacuum bed that you use, as different frame sizes, latex thicknesses or other factors may affect your safety and comfort.

Lastly, you should remember to use safe bondage practices any time that you are engaging in vacuum bed play. Decide on a safe word or safe gesture that means “stop” which the bound partner can use even when they are fully sealed inside the vacuum bed. (If they cannot speak or move, try something like a cough or a specific pattern of heavy breaths).

Dominant partners, do not bind more than one person with a vacuum bed unless it was specifically creature to allow multiple users. Practice using the vacuum suction to ensure that the “seal” created by the vacuum bed is not too tight, which can result in cramping or bruising. When removing your partner from the vacuum bed, keep in mind that they may be slightly sore or numb or even have lost feeling in some of their limbs. Be ready to support and help them until they have fully recovered. Remember, mutual care and support is the best way to make sure that each vacuum bed session is enjoyable and pleasurable for all participants!

Maintenance, Hygiene and Storage

The last important part of owning a vacuum bed is keeping it clean and preventing damage from occurring either during play or the period of storage between sessions. While we’ve provided some vacbed specific tips below, we also recommend checking out our general latex storage guide here, cleaning information here, and maintenance tips found here.

It is recommended that you enter a vacuum bed either completely naked or as close to naked as possible. If you do find yourself using the bed while wearing clothing, avoid anything sharp such as jewelry, belt buckles, metal buttons or high heels. The dominant partner should follow this rule for any part of their body – such as hands, feet, or genitals – with which they intend to touch the vacbed. Sharp objects can tear or damage the latex – and, in addition, certain metals can cause it to stain or discolor, losing its sleek black shine.

Remember to clean the latex “sheets” after every play session using the vacuum bed. If not cleaned thoroughly, fluids such as sweat, blood, semen, urine or lubricant can cause mold or mildew to grow on the latex and render it unsafe and unusable. We recommend cleaning latex products with warm water and a gentle, unscented soap. (Soap and shampoo products geared towards babies are often a great option, as they tend to avoid using harsh chemicals).

To store your bed, remove all latex pieces fully from the frame. While you can keep the bedframe pretty much anywhere as long as there is no risk of it cracking or breaking, the sheets should be stored carefully in a similar manner to all other latex products. Store the latex sheets in a dark, room-temperature environment that is not moist or humid. Do not store them together with your other bed sheets, as dyed fabrics can bleed and cause the latex to become permanently stained with their color. For similar reasons, avoid storing them near or inside anything metal. A wooden dresser drawer or a carefully sealed plastic container make great, safe storage options!

If you follow these procedures, your vacbed should remain perfectly usable for years and years no matter how often you take it out for play. Of course, if you have any questions about the care, maintenance or storage of your vacuum bed, feel free to contact the Laidtex staff at any time! And, as always, don’t forget to check out our catalog found here and take a look at the huge range of latex products we currently have for sale!

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