Author: BlastZone

Jill Asks:

I have been thinking of starting an inflatable slide and bounce house business and wonder what insurance I would need to cover liability when they are being rented out?

Blast Zone:

Anonymous Hippopotamus Asks:

Can I use my inflatables if it’s over 90 degrees?

Blast Zone:

Here’s the logic behind this question:  Blast Zone instructional materials mention not to use inflatables in direct sunlight over 90 degrees.  This is to keep the surfaces from getting too hot, just like a park slide or blacktop becomes in high heat, and applies mostly to dry inflatable products or wet/dry Inflatables being used dry.  However, there are a number of ways to ensure surfaces don’t get too hot, even in higher heat.

Water Parks.  Water parks are obviously popular on hot days, so it would be a shame not to use them when Mr Sun is really pumping out the heat.  By running the water in your Inflatable Water Park, the surfaces will stay much cooler, so just  check surface temps with your hand once in awhile to make sure nothing is getting uncomfortably hot.

Shade.  By Setting your inflatable up in the shade, surface temperatures should not become such an issue.  Feel for hot surfaces the same as noted above.

Wet towels.  If a surface is becoming too warm, keep a wet towel on hand, and towel off the surface to cool it down.  In this case, surfaces can still heat up pretty quickly.  This typically applies to bouncers.

Even with these recommendations, it is the adult’s responsibility to make sure surfaces do not become too hot, which is possible in high heat.  If they feel too hot, even if you towel them off, kids should go do something else.

And remember, even in a cool water park, it’s easy to become dehydrated on hot days, so make sure kids and adults have plenty of water to drink!

Have a Blast!

Tiny Asks:

Question: when my 141lb daughter goes on the slide, it sinks. is this because the product is not fully inflated or because it can not support the weight exceeding 100lb?

Blast Zone:

Blast Zone Home Use Inflatables have a maximum user weight of 100 Lbs.  As long as the blower is on and the Inflatable Water Park is properly set up, it is likely the sink is caused by the user exceeding the weight limit by 41%

In our Blast Zone Mail Zone series, we answer good questions submitted by you,  our great customers.  Pardon us if we repeat ourselves occasionally.  Some questions are asked frequently, and worth answering more than once!

Blast Zone appreciates your questions.  If you’d like to submit a Mail Zone Question, please email us at mailbag@blastzone.com.  For immediate assistance, feel free to call us at 877-889-4685, or email us at service@blastzone.com

Abegail Asks:

I’m thrilled to have received my bounce house today. I have this located in an indoor children play room. We will use the bounce house once a week for about 4 hours a week. Should I store away the bounce house after every use even though its indoors?
Looking forward to your reply.
Thanks, Abby

Blast Zone:

Hi Abegail,

The main reason we ask users to store the inflatable after each use is to keep it away from the elements:  Sprinklers, Rain, Snow, Hurricanes, Dogs, Bears,  Lawnmowers, etc.  We are assuming that you have few, if any of those in your play room.  If you do, you may need a roofer, gardener or animal control personnel to swing by.

Anyways… Because you will be keeping your item indoors, you do not need to worry about storing it after each use. As long as it is being kept inside, away from moisture and direct sunlight you will be fine just letting it deflate at the end of the day.  Of course you’ll want to turn the blower off, and move it out of the way if it’s in an area you use.  A lot of indoor bounce facilities just turn all their blowers off for the night, lock up and turn them back on the next day!  Now if you have kids that play in that play room like some of us here do, they’ll want you to turn it on all the time when they see it, and very likely will turn it on themselves, so consider that when planning a safe play room.

Greicy Asks:

I will like to know if i could build my own?

Blast Zone:

Hi Greicy,

Pardon us if you were planning to build your own inflatable from scratch… we don’t think you should try that route!

As far as customizing – There are a number of manufacturers that build custom inflatables to suit, but we do not.  Custom inflatable Bounce Houses, Slides, Obstacles, Etc will obviously be a bit costly, and take awhile to produce.  We stock our inflatables, to get them to our customers as soon as possible.  People often ask us why our Commercial Inflatables are priced so aggressively.  Part of the reason is that we mass produce our inflatables using a production line approach.  We will produce a batch of inflatables, which are cut with a special machine, so all of the patterns are identical, then assembled in steps, where each technician is responsible for a very specific part of the assembly process.  This helps us increase efficiency in inflatable production, and ensures the inflatables are consistent from one Bounce House to the next.

What we do, however, is take customer feedback and ideas into account for producing future models.  See our piece on the newly released Rocket Racer 3 for some insight into how we use customer feedback to improve and create products.

Anon (interesting yet common name!) Asks:

Hi, can this be used by a child heavier than the individual max weight?

Blast Zone:

Hi,

This question pertained specifically to a Home Use Inflatables.  We don’t recommend our home-use Bounce Houses and Inflatable Slides for any user over 100 lbs. A couple smaller products have a limit of 75 Lbs, but these are designed and fun for smaller kids, and would’t be attractive to kids bigger than that.   User limits are based on several engineering factors, including: strength of the blower and the strength of the material.

Blast Zone Inflatables come with a max user limit, a weight-per-user limit, as well as a gross weight limit (combined weight of all players).  Sometimes the Gross limit is less than the calculation of max users x max user weight.  For example an inflatable may say 6 users at 100 lbs each, but have a max gross weight of 500 lbs.  This is because each recommendation is based on different factors.  The max user count is based on space, while the others are usually based on structural recommendations.  So in the above example, there could be 4 users at 80 lbs, and 2 users at 90 lbs, for a total weight 500 and total count of 6, but is not recommend for 6 users at 100 lbs each.

Blast Zone Commercial Inflatables often accommodate users up to 250 lbs, however.  While we understand that these are not typically suitable for home buyers, due to cost, we wanted to point out that these commercial inflatables are engineered for larger users.  Users must still follow guidelines on evenly matching players on these inflatables though.

In our Blast Zone Mail Zone series, we answer good questions submitted by you,  our great customers.  Pardon us if we repeat ourselves occasionally.  Some questions are asked frequently, and worth answering more than once!

Blast Zone appreciates your questions.  If you’d like to submit a Mail Zone Question, please email us at mailbag@blastzone.com.  For immediate assistance, feel free to call us at 877-889-4685, or email us at service@blastzone.com

In our Blast Zone Mail Zone series, we answer good questions submitted by you,  our great customers.  Pardon us if we repeat ourselves occasionally.  Some questions are asked frequently, and worth answering more than once!

Christi Asks:

Pirate Blaster Inflatable Water Park.

Question: Just wondering about taking this down & storing it. Is it possible for 1 person to get it back into the storage bag/container that it comes with & what are the dimensions of that? Thanks so much!

Blast Zone:

Hi Christi,

It is definitely possible for one adult to store the Inflatable Water Park on their own, but it is also much easier to store it with help.  Specifically, the product you ask about, the Pirate Blaster Inflatable Water Park, is one of Blast Zone’s larger Inflatables.

During the drying process, it is best to turn it over to allow the bottom to dry out, which is easier with 2 people.  Fully drying the water park is critical, as we discussed in our last Mail Zone post.  Drying it will make it much lighter, and more manageable, and also keep mildew from developing.

Once the Inflatable Water Park is dry, it will be folded first lengthwise, then folded or rolled like a big sleeping bag.  Because this product is large, and will likely be about twice the size of a sleeping bag or so, moving it can then be tedious.  Some people just use a wagon or wheelbarrow to move it around.  It will be over 50lbs, and a bit cumbersome, so it may be easier for some adults to handle than others.  We also offer more compact units like the Spray N Splash 2, which are easier to handle.  If you are intent on the bouncer function, you might even consider a smaller slide, and a bouncer separately.  This way, you will not always have the water to deal with as well.

Audrey Asks:

Can you disconnect the water cannon/sprayers without turning off the sprayer to the slide?

Blast Zone:

Hi Audrey,

Great question, and one we get a lot.  The answer is, yes, you can definitely disable the cannon to save water.  There are 3 way to easily disable it, choose any of which work for you.  We’ll go in order of simplicity:

1. The easiest way is just to unscrew the attachment to the cannon, bend the hose over, and zip-tie it shut.  The tubes are flexible, so this is really easy to do.
2. Next up, you can buy a “Hose Plug” for about $1 from your local hardware store, and screw it into the female hose fitting, where the cannon hooks to the main sprayer system.  This is the easiest to “do and undo” if you want to use the cannon later.
3. You can purchase a 3/8″ insert ball valve, and install that in-line before the sprayer system.  This will allow you to permanently toggle the cannon on and off, as needed.

None of these will void your warranty, so have at it!

We have written a detailed guide including photos of the entire process for you to read here: Guide: How to Turn Off Blastzone Water Cannon

Kross Asks:

does it come with a blower to blow in the air because we don”t have one?

Blast Zone:

Hi Kross,

All Blast Zone Inflatables come with the appropriate blower that is engineered to the inflatable.  We do not recommend using any other blowers, as each Blast Zone Bounce House and Water Park is specifically engineered to the inflatable it comes with.

Home Use Inflatables come with the blower included in the main shipping carton, while commercial Inflatable Blowers ship in a separate box.

Blast Zone appreciates your questions.  If you’d like to submit a Mail Zone Question, please email us at mailbag@blastzone.com.  For immediate assistance, feel free to call us at 877-889-4685, or email us at service@blastzone.com

In our Blast Zone Mail Zone series, we answer good questions submitted by you,  our great customers.  Pardon us if we repeat ourselves occasionally.  Some questions are asked frequently, and worth answering more than once!

Jenn Asks:

Has anyone had any problems with the bounce house molding when used with water? How do you avoid this?

Blast Zone:

First, a technicality:  Blast Zone Bounce Houses are not specifically designed for use with water, and water should be avoided, unless the product is specifically designed for wet use.  If there is not a sprayer system included with the inflatable, the product is not meant to be wet.

Now onto mildew:  Blast Zone Inflatables don’t ship to you with mold, mildew or spores.  However, these issues that exist in certain areas can be problematic if the Inflatable is not thoroughly dried.  Mildew is prevalent in the most humid climates.  Mildew is unsightly, and can erode material over time.  The way to avoid problems with mildew is to thoroughly dry the water park between uses. Unfortunately, the same issues that cause mildew  also cause the water parks to be more difficult to dry.    The carrying case included with your Blast Zone Inflatable Water Park has openings in it to allow moisture to dissipate, however, it is imperative for the owner to dry and care for the Inflatable Water Park properly.

To “clean” mildew, as soon as you see any developing, wash the area with dish soap and water, dry it, and allow exposure to sun.

The simplest approach to avoiding mildew:  Keep it Clean and Dry! 

Kristen Asks:

We unpacked bounce house christmas day we set it up and is leaking air inside by seams.

Blast Zone:

We get this a lot, and the answer is very simple:  Your Blast Zone Bounce House or Inflatable Water Park, and basically every constant-air type inflatable in existence, anywhere, ever, is specifically designed to release air through the seams.  To clarify, Blast Zone Inflatables are meant to leak.  We print this in product literature, and on products, but we understand the the concept that the product is supposed to leak in hundreds, if not thousands of places is foreign to many people who are not familiar with constant-air inflatables.  Don’t worry about it!

When kids jump and slide on Blast Zone Inflatables, the pressure increases tremendously for brief moments.  It’s kind of like squeezing a water ballon.  You squeeze one end, and all the water moves to the another area.  However, unlike the balloon, which will pop if you squeeze too hard, our Inflatables also release that pressure through the seams and blower.

This is where the concept of constant inflation comes into play.  The blower runs at all times during play, providing a fresh supply of air to the Inflatable Product.  As the kids jump and slide, and pressure spikes, pressure is then released momentarily through the seams and back through the blower, and then instantly is replaced with fresh air form the blower.  This is most obvious when kids are jumping, but even with the inflatable empty, you’ll hear the seams whistling.

Jen Asks:

Hi,
What is the difference between the Big ol bounce house and the super star bounce house?
I am having a party for several 3-5 year olds this summer, and want to be able to have a bouncer there!
Thanks!

Blast Zone:

Great question!  The answer is nothing! 😉

This is obviously not the full story.  These products have a much different look, but are structurally identical.  The Superstar Inflatable Party Moonwalk was first to market, and had a lot of success, so a retailer asked us to make a variation for their stores, the Big Ol Bouncer.  While the Big Ol Bouncer was essentially a color-variation, at that time we had started manufacturing with a new type of stronger material, that allowed us to recommend the Big Ol Bouncer for an additional user.  At the same time, we also started manufacturing the Superstar Moonwalk with the new, stronger materials, so while today both are made with the upgraded materials, we did not go back retroactively and change the recommendation on the Superstar.

Some people prefer the Colorful Theme of the Superstar, while others prefer the more subtle look of the Big Ol Bouncer.  Either way, both products are of equal size and quality standards.

Blast Zone appreciates your questions.  If you’d like to submit a Mail Zone Question, please email us at mailbag@blastzone.com.  For immediate assistance, feel free to call us at 877-889-4685, or email us at service@blastzone.com