Nowadays, no holiday is complete without balloons. From them create whole figures of birds, flowers, butterflies, cartoon characters and make beautiful arches for weddings. No store opening can be imagined without a composition of balls. They decorate holidays in kindergartens and schools, corporate parties at firms and enterprises, helium balloons, which are sold in all parks and on the central streets of cities, cannot be ignored.
Balls are loved by all children, but not all adults love to inflate them. Especially if a lot of them are needed for the holiday. Of course, it’s hard to inflate thin long products from which you can make figures. Therefore, it will be useful to learn how to facilitate this work and how to replace helium at home.
How easy is it to inflate the ball?
How to inflate a ball without a pump? The first option is the simplest. Blow it with your mouth. Before inflating , the balloon must be stretched in different directions, but gently so as not to tear. It is recommended to hold especially tight (small round or long thin) balls under a stream of warm water. The rubber will warm up and the inflation process will go better.
The ball is taken with two fingers, forefinger and thumb, and press it to the lips. Take a deep breath and gently release air into the toy. At first it is inflated tightly, but after several deep exhalations, the process will go more freely. It is not recommended to blow very strongly, a threat of a headache is possible, especially if there are a lot of balls.
After the ball has become dense, it is not necessary to blow anymore. The hole closes tightly so that the air does not come out, and a knot is tied. There are several options:
- Leave the long end and, stretching it, tie a knot just out of rubber.
- Continuing to hold tight, tie a thread.
- Buy plastic sticks with a circle for tying. They are convenient to use. If using them to wear a ball, then it will always be at the top. Children love this option.
Chemical reaction
An interesting way, how to inflate a ball without a pump, was invented by chemists. For the experiment you need to have a plastic two-liter bottle, table vinegar, baking soda, a ball. You can take several bottles and inflate 2-3 toys at the same time.
It will be interesting for children to participate in a chemical experiment, but safety precautions should not be forgotten. Wear glasses and gloves for the little experimenter to understand the importance of the situation and the danger to the eyes.
In a bottle, one-third you need to collect vinegar. Next, pour a few tablespoons of baking soda through the funnel. Immediately after this, a balloon should be pulled over the neck of the bottle. During the chemical reaction, carbon dioxide will be released and fill the volume of the ball. When the latter inflates to the desired size, holding the hole with your fingers, remove the ball from the bottle and tie one of the already known variants of the knot.
These were ways to inflate a ball without a pump. But the process can also be carried out with its help.
Pump blowing
Before you inflate the ball at home, you need to buy a pump for the balls. Special pumps for inflating balls are currently on sale. There are 4 spouts on them, for simultaneously inflating 4 balls. If you don’t have one, don’t worry - even with a simple pump with one nozzle, things will go quickly.
For this process, you do not even need to crush and stretch the balls. The ball is put on the ribs of the nose, and air is pumped with your hands. When you see that the ball is inflated, you need to carefully remove the product from the pump and tie a knot. It takes half a minute, no more. For the holiday, pump a few dozen in 10-15 minutes.
How to inflate a ball with helium?
To make the ball lighter than air and rise up to the ceiling, it is filled with helium. At home, it can not be reproduced in any way. Therefore, you need to buy a small, 5-liter gas cylinder. On it is, like on a pump, a nozzle on which a ball is put on. We open the valve a little and smoothly fill the ball with gas.
At the end of the procedure, gently close the valve, and then remove the ball from the nozzle. Tie a knot. Many on the sites write that helium can be replaced with gas from the reaction of soda with vinegar. It is not true. Carbon dioxide is released, and it is heavy, and the ball will lie quietly on the floor of the room, but will not take off.
If you want the ball to become light and fly, then the following recipe for how to inflate a ball without a pump is just for you. You buy alkali ("Mr. Muscle" is suitable), add a little, literally a couple of pieces of food foil and mix. A chemical reaction immediately begins, resulting in hydrogen. Filling them with a toy, you can see the effect of a "flying ball".
But there is one thing - hydrogen burns well, and at a holiday situations can be different. Yes, and it will be dangerous for children to play with such balls, so before you inflate the ball without a pump, you need to think and decide, maybe you do not need to experiment with children's health and still buy a pump and calmly blow them balls for all the holidays? It serves for a long time, and you can pump them balls quickly and reliably.