Helium or air: choosing how to fill
Helium or air: choosing how to fill
Helium costs money, needs a tank, and lasts less time than people expect. Air is free and lasts for days. The decision is worth making deliberately rather than defaulting to helium because that is what balloons do in your memory.
What needs helium
Only one thing: anything that must float unsupported. That means ceiling clouds, bunches tied to chair backs that rise, and single balloons held by children.
That is a short list, and for many parties it is empty.
What does not
- Garlands and arches — attached to a wall or frame.
- Columns — built on a pole with a base.
- Table centrepieces on sticks or in weights.
- Anything taped to a wall or a door.
All of these are air-filled, and they all last far longer as a result.
Float time, plainly
A standard 12-inch latex balloon filled with helium stays up somewhere between half a day and a day. Latex is porous and helium escapes through the wall steadily.
This is the fact that ruins parties: helium balloons inflated the evening before are on the floor by mid-afternoon. Helium goes in on the day, as late as practical.
Extending float time
Liquid balloon sealant coats the inside of the latex and slows the leak considerably — often to several days. It is inexpensive and it is the right answer if helium balloons must be prepared in advance.
Foil balloons hold helium far longer than latex without treatment, which is why number and letter balloons are almost always foil.
Air lasts days
Air molecules are larger and escape latex far more slowly. An air-filled garland built on Friday still looks right on Sunday. This inverts the usual planning: air-filled work is done early, helium work is done last.
Cost and practicality
Helium requires a tank, which means either hiring one, buying a disposable one, or having balloons filled somewhere. Air requires a pump that costs very little and lasts indefinitely.
For a large build — a garland backdrop, an arch, columns — the difference is substantial, and the air-filled version also looks better for longer.
Temperature
Whichever gas is inside, it expands with heat and contracts with cold. Balloons inflated indoors and moved outside on a hot day can burst; the same balloons on a cold evening look under-filled and recover indoors.
Inflating slightly under maximum is the simple insurance if decorations are going outdoors.
Deciding for an event
Work out which items genuinely need to float. Usually it is a small number of accent balloons. Everything structural — the pieces that make the room look decorated — should be air-filled, built in advance and hung.
Practical checks before ordering
- List which items must float; assume everything else is air-filled.
- Plan helium for the day of the event, never the night before.
- Use sealant if helium balloons must be prepared early.
- Use foil for numbers and letters that need to last.
- Under-inflate slightly for anything going outdoors.
Where this sits in the shop
Everything discussed above comes back to one part of the shop: Balloons, which currently holds 1 listing. The whole of it is picked and packed at Balloons By Reina LLC, 5017 Hudson Ave, West New York, NJ, during Open 24 hours Tue–Sun, closed Monday — so anything written here can be checked by phoning the counter on ((201) 314-8483.
From our shelves
What we get asked about this
Do you ship outside the United States?
Not at present. We ship to US addresses only, including Alaska, Hawaii and territories the carrier serves.
Can I pick my order up at the shop?
Web orders are shipped, not held for collection. If you want to buy in person, come to 5017 Hudson Ave, Apt A, West New York, NJ 07093, United States during opening hours (Open 24 hours Tuesday–Sunday · Closed Monday) and buy across the counter instead.
Read next
- Building a balloon garland, start to finish
- Balloon colour palettes that photograph well
- Party favours for children that are not sweets
Ordering from Balloons By Reina
Orders of $49.00 or more ship free anywhere in the United States, and a flat $5.99 covers everything below that. Handling takes 1–2 business days and carrier transit is normally 3–7 business days. Unused items can go back within 30 days, and if the mistake was ours we pay the return postage.
Questions about anything above go to [email protected], answered within 1 business day, or call (201) 314-8483. Full detail is on the Shipping Policy and Refund and Returns pages.