I made a balloon arch with a pump, after few minutes they all popped! :(

I'm pretty new at doing balloon decorations, I've done around 3 o 4 arches so far. They all looked so pretty and lasted a long time. I used to inflate them myself by mouth and leave them over night in an air conditioned place and next day outdoors and they lasted for a long time.

So I decided to buy my first electric pump for my last project, I used black and white color. 12" inflated pretty large probably 11" each. First time that I didn't tie them individually but I inflated 2 and just tied them together.

This one I made the same day and as soon I was done I put it outside. I live in Miami so weather was suuuuper hot! And after a few minutes all black balloons where gone!! :( and only few whites stayed in place...

What did I do wrong? Anything for me to change? Or should I just blame the the hot weather?

ANSWER: Preventing Balloons From Popping

Hi,

I think it's safe to say that you can blame the hot weather. ;-)

From what you describe, you made a perfect balloon arch for using indoors. Decorating with balloons outdoors is always a bit tricky, especially in hot and humid weather.

Here are some tips for preventing balloons from popping:

• Use only high quality latex balloons (e.g. from Qualatex).


• First over-inflate your balloons, then deflate and inflate again, now to their proper size, using a balloon sizer.


• For decorating outdoors, or in rooms that heat up, make sure to under-inflate your balloons (8 inches for 11 inch balloons, 9 inches for 12 inch balloons, etc.) so that the heat won't expand them to the point of popping. Some balloon professionals report best results when they use 16 inch balloons inflated to only 10 inches.


• Again for outdoors, use light colors rather than dark ones (as in your example, all black balloons popped, whereas some of the whites stayed in place).


• Place table plastic on the floor underneath you column or arch, as even the tiniest bit of sand on the floor can pop the bottom balloons.

Some related questions that may interest you:

Why do balloons pop randomly?

In general, a balloon pops when the pressure of the air or helium inside the balloon gets so high that the balloon skin can't withstand the pressure any longer, and it bursts.

This happens especially in outdoor conditions on hot, sunny days. I've written more about what causes balloons to pop here.

Sometimes though, balloons start popping randomly and seemingly without reason when working indoors. In this case, the culprit often is a build up of static. For example, if you work in an area with carpets on the floor and/or in low humidity (think heated room on a cold winter day) there's a high risk for static build up.

Static electricity sparks can then cause your balloons to burst, seemingly on their own, without any outside influence.

What can you do against the static build-up? Some balloon professionals recommend the use of Static Guard, an anti-static agent that you spray on your clothes. The spray prevents electric charge from accumulating on your clothing.

The principle behind Static Guard is that it extracts humidity from the air. So you could simply try using a spritzer bottle of water to achieve the same effect.

Now that we talked about why balloons pop on their own, let's look into another question that I often hear when it's about balloon arches and outdoor balloon decorations:

How long will a balloon arch last outside?

How long a balloon arch will last outside depends on several factors: the weather conditions, the quality, type and color of the balloons and the type of balloon arch.

To give your arch the best chances of lasting longer outdoors go for an air-filled arch design on a sturdy frame. Use latex balloons in light colors. Check out these best brands of outdoor balloons.

If at all possible, position the arch in a shaded area, away from direct sun and wind exposure.

Although a balloon arch can last overnight, it's safer to create it on the day of the event. If you build it the night before, the dew that condensates on the balloon surfaces can cause adjacent balloons to stick together and - as they warm up the next day and expand - several balloons in a row might pop.