Party and Gifts Archive Page
Friday, April 22, 2011
Helium balloons are a fun and inexpensive way to decorate for many occasions, but we all want to do our part in keeping the environment green and safe. By following a few simple rules we can enjoy balloons and still be friendly to the environment. Always remember to attach the proper size weight to your helium-filled balloon so that it doesn't float away. Balloon clusters should be properly anchored by tying all ribbons to a weight individually. Never tie ribbons together before attaching to the weight. If the balloons accidently become loose from the weight they will float away individually and have a smaller chance at getting tangled in power lines.

Children can be drawn to brightly colored balloons, but for child safety reasons balloons are not intended for children under 3 years old. Un-inflated and broken balloons can be a choking hazard and ribbons can pose a possible entanglement or strangulation injury to a child. So be sure to discard all balloon pieces and ribbon from a broken balloon at once.

You should never release helium-filled foil balloons into the air. Metal foil balloons and metallic ribbon conduct electricity and could become entangled in power lines and cause damage to the lines or cause power outages. Latex balloons are a 100% natural product of rubber tree sap and therefore are the only type of balloon that can be used in a balloon launch. Latex naturally breaks down when exposed to the elements at about the same rate an oak leaf breaks down. On a release a balloon will float up to about 5 miles, it then becomes brittle and shatters into tiny pieces scattering over a wide area. Make sure that every latex balloon is properly inflated so that it reaches the height at which shattering occurs. The latex balloons should be hand tied and released without string or if you wish to attach string you should use a short bio-degradable cotton string; NEVER metallic or plastic ribbon. Don't forget to check your local and state regulations before organizing a balloon launch.


by: Party and Gifts