Safety and care

Keep them indoors at a steady room temperature, away from direct sunlight and air conditioner airflow, and never leave them in a parked car. HiFloat multiplies the float time of latex.

Deflate everything before binning it: cut the neck of a latex balloon so it cannot trap an animal, and press a straw into the foil valve to release the gas. Never release balloons outdoors.

Inflated balloons are safe with an adult nearby, but uninflated and burst latex is a genuine choking hazard for children under eight. Around toddlers, foil shapes are the safer choice.

Nothing is completely sun-proof, but foil and bubble balloons handle heat and ultraviolet far better than latex. Outdoors we underinflate slightly, use shade and install close to the event.

Air-filled garlands and arches on frames last for weeks and outlive everything else. Among helium balloons, foil holds for days or more than a week, while latex needs HiFloat to reach a second day.

A foil balloon will manage three days easily, and HiFloat-treated latex usually will indoors. Plain untreated latex will not, since it stays up for hours rather than days.

Yes. Cold air makes the gas contract so balloons shrink and lose lift, the draft pushes them into walls and hot spotlights, and dry air ages latex. Keep them out of the direct airflow.

Anchor everything against wind with real weights, keep balloons away from power lines and open flames, protect latex from midday sun, and never release balloons into the sky.

Underinflated balloons look wrinkled and cheap, float poorly, make garlands uneven, and paradoxically burst more often because the soft surface folds and rubs against itself.

Latex balloons are made from natural rubber tapped from the Hevea tree, foil balloons from nylon film with a metallised coating and a heat-sealed valve, and bubble balloons from a stretchy transparent plastic.

Usually one of four things: helium escaping through porous latex, cold air contracting the gas, a valve or knot that is not sealed, or a ribbon and tag too heavy for the balloon.