We have set out below some pointers to take into consideration when ordering balloons for an outdoor display:

• Avoid dark colours where possible – dark colours soak up the heat of the sun a lot quicker than light colours will, so it’s worth considering this when deciding on your scheme.  Ultimately white is your best friend in hot, sunny conditions but pastels will also serve you well.
• Avoid using helium if possible – extreme heat can accelerate the diffusion process thus speeding up the escape of helium and in turn reducing your “float time”.  Shade is your friend when placing helium balloons outdoors.
• Underinflate, underinflate, underinflate – this is crucial.  Professionals never inflate, for example, an 11” balloon to its full 11” capacity; they will inflate fully and then deflate slightly by a few inches and use larger balloons to gain the sizes required.  This will give your balloon some extra elasticity and breathing space, resulting in a more robust balloon, much less vulnerable to bursting of natural causes (aka the death of a balloon, which must be avoided at all costs!).
• If you are being particularly advanced and using poles or framework to attach your balloons to and it is dark in colour, it’s always worth covering this with either white duck tape or white modelling balloons if you have them, prior to attaching the rest of your balloons.  The latter will be biodegradable along with the rest of your high quality latex balloons supplied by Balloonista so this is the preferable route.  This will keep the metal a lot cooler and prevent any unnecessary balloon melting!
• If you are feeling ambitious and fancy your skills at a bit of double stuffing, this can be a good trick to bolstering the top layer of your display or arch, by creating a slightly tougher shield to the rest of your display beneath.
• Never douse – watering your balloons to cool them down is never a good idea, and keeping them out of the rain is!  So where possible, try to plan for your external balloons to be in a covered area.  Wet latex can become sticky and if the balloons stick together they can weaken.