One of the great features of an Invacare hospital bed is that it can be folded and stored away when not in use. Sometimes beds that are no longer needed are donated to local organizations for people who cannot afford a hospital bed, and that will require the bed to be stored until it is needed. If there are several beds not in use in a home or care facility, you will want to fold them and store them while they are unoccupied to save space.
Tips for Storing Bed
- Store in a cool, dry environment
- It is unnecessary to disconnect the power supply from the bus cable when storing the bed.
- When the bed is being stored for an extended period remove the plug from the wall outlet.
- Keep all products away from heated surfaces.
- When setting the bed up after being stored always check to make sure all sections of the product are securely in place to avoid injury.
Not all hospital beds can be folded. Some must be taken apart in sections to be stored. Here is a brief overview of how to fold a hospital bed.
How to Fold a Hospital Bed
According to Invacare instruction manual:
- Coil up pendent cable and power supply cable.
- Secure with hook and loop that was provided to the underside of the slat.
- This is located above the support brace bed.
- Remove the screws closest to the center of the bed on both sides.
- Lift the center of the bed and push the ends together.
- Once together secure with the provided latch and secure the screws back in place.
For beds that do not easily fold up, you will need to disassemble the bed. Dissembling the bed is the reverse of assembling the bed. You can refer to the instruction manual of your particular bed unit for instructions on how to take apart the bed. Here is a brief run through of how to disassemble an Invacare hospital bed.
How to Disassemble an Invacare Hospital Bed
Before you start, you may want to find someone to help with this process.
- First, you will want to remove the mattress
- Remove the wing nuts using a pair of pliers
- For a spring-loaded side, rails push on the spring to remove the rail.
- The rail systems will come off in one piece.
- Turn bed on its side
- Take out the drive shaft
- Disassemble the coupler on the foot end of the bed
- Remove the footboard
- Disassemble the coupler on the head end of the bed
- Remove the headboard
Steps to this process may differ depending on the type of bed and accessories involved.
Some beds have a foot spring and head spring that latch together in the center of the bed. With these beds, you will want to unlatch the springs to store the individual pieces. Some beds also have side rails that may be removed using a different process.
