4 min read
Air-filled or helium?
Most large balloon displays are air-filled, not helium. Knowing which yours needs is the single biggest saving available on a decorating job.
The rule
If the balloon is attached to something — a frame, a wall, a pole, a stick — fill it with air. If it has to float unsupported, it needs helium.
That covers almost every case. Organic garlands, arches, columns, wall displays and backdrops are all fixed to a structure, so float would only fight the shape. Table bouquets, ceiling clouds and anything handed to someone on a ribbon need gas.
What it saves
Air is free, so an air-filled garland costs you the balloons and nothing else. The same garland in helium would need gas, would pull against its frame, and would be sagging within a day.
Air-filled latex also lasts far longer — a week or more indoors against 8 to 12 hours on helium. For anything that needs to stand for a weekend, air is the better product as well as the cheaper one.
What you need
A hand pump is fine up to about a hundred balloons. Past that, an electric pump does a 12 inch in a second or two and saves an afternoon.
For hand-held balloons, a cup and stick holds an air-filled balloon upright and is the sensible choice for outdoor events and children's giveaways, where helium balloons mostly end up in the sky.