Waterbeds were once a trendy bedroom staple in the 70s and 80s, accounting for nearly 20% of the mattress market. However, by the 1990s, the waterbed industry had dried up, leaving behind thousands of unsold vinyl shells. Today, waterbeds make up only a very small fraction of overall bed and mattress sales. Here are some reasons why waterbeds declined in popularity:

• High Maintenance: Installing a waterbed meant running a hose into your bedroom and filling the mattress up with hundreds of gallons of water—a precarious process that held the potential for a water-soaked bedroom.

• Competition: By the 1990s, competitors like Tempur-Pedic and Select Comfort were coming out with mattress innovations that offered softness and flexibility without making customers run a garden hose through their second-floor bedroom window.

• Consumer Awareness: As consumer awareness grew for the pain and complications that came with owning a waterbed, they rapidly fell out of fashion throughout the ‘90s, becoming near obsolete by the end of the decade.

While waterbeds may seem like they disappeared entirely, some manufacturers continued to produce them, albeit on a much smaller scale. Today, waterbed customers are fiercely loyal to their retro trend.