From: WynnLindyB@aol.com Date: Tue, 16 May 2000 11:50:05 EDT Subject: HiFloat Poppers To: balloondeco@balloonhq.com I decided to add to the discussion. The following is part of the answer I sent to Holly: "We used to have the problem you had in many of the buildings of Silicon Valley. Static may very well be your problem. The number of horror stories we had through the years was incredible. We had one job where it was the carpet. As we inflated balloons, if we moved our feet, the static would build up and get tranfered to the balloons. They exploded on the spot, or just as the people would take them to distribute them about the building. We had to touch the tank before we inflated each balloon, just to de-static ourselves. Another time there was a thunder and lightning storm going on. We had one client that ordered balloons every three weeks for some kind of in-house thing, and they always had to be HiFloated. We could be just standing in the room, and lose half the balloons at once. I started doing the balloons up the night before, and then when they were delivered in the morning, they had deflated just enough that static didn't bother. Another instance was cold and dry at Valentines day one year. Every third balloon was bursting. This on non-static carpet. Sometimes there is no way around static. And with HiFloat being water based, I think it tends to accentuate the problem. It's really tough, and messy when it happens. Some industrial buildings have those little stirps you wear on your shoes to stop you from creating static, and those might help. But if it is atmospheric, you are at the mercy of the gods." So what we have done if there is any indication that static may be a problem, we HiFloat and inflate several hours ahead of time. This allows the HiFloat to dry, and the balloons to deflate just enough so that they are less likely to burst. Hope this helps for some of you. Wynn Wynn and Lindy Bell, cba's The Final Touch Balloon Decor Portland, Or. 503 579 9499 www.finaltouchballoons.com