What Is iIside Our Toys?

When you look into transparent inflatable toy or into common inflatable toy through the valve - you will see ... nothing. Clear transparent medium the same as surrounding us on the Earth. The very small difference is in count of molecules in unit volume inside with respect to outside, which results in a force on the toy's wall from inside. This force give the shapes we like so much. The force is distributed amazingly equally over all the surface. This brings the unique pleasant touch. Another magical property of our toys.

How do you fill your toy? There are several methods, which people often speak about. All method needs it's own special tools and have special properties.

• Hand pump or foot pump - one of the best devices for filling your toy. There is nothing which we need to afraid as potential danger for toys, if you keep the final air pressure low.

• Electric pump (turbine, as in vacuum cleaners, air beds) - this method is the fastest, while there is not dangerous pressure achievable. You will need an electric power of 230V AC (only few pumps have accumulator or 12V car network input). The engine of these pumps us usually a terribly noisy. You will need ear protection or suitable electronic speed regulator. One my friend, who care about his toys perfectly, considered the ozone O3 produced by sparks in motor as dangerous. Ozone is strongly oxidizing gas.

Electric quick pump in DIY frame with speed regulator and frame ready for noise damping.

An example of electric pump speed regulator. Taken from HYUNDAI vacuum cleaner.

• Compressor - quite ineffective to dangerous method. Compressors usually produces smaller amount of air and very dangerous pressure which can shred your toy in pieces. Common compressors use oil for lubrication which can be present in output air as aerosol. There are filters for oil removal, but not always reliable as we need. The oil will destroy plasticizers and thus your toy. Big noise and power consumption is apparent.

• Your lungs and mouth - classic, the most magical method, due to big contact with your toy. You can say you breath life into your toy. On the other hand, this method can be designated as most dangerous. The air from lungs contains bigger amount of moisture, which will condensate inside the toy, when air is cooled down from body temperature to ambient. Water in toys can result in bacteria and mold growth after some time inside. Cleaning is very difficult and sometimes the products of life inside can damage the material. After time you will find some seams very weak, vinyl material will have plastic deformation instead elastic, etc. Also, some oil from your lips remains on the valve and it make it crumble after time. You can replace it, but it will not be original then.

• Bag pump - there is another strange method, absolutely without any danger. i don't know, but there may exist a patent for it. You can take a plastic bag, it may be a trash bag and put a nozzle on closed end or into corner. Then you can catch air into bag, close it by your hand and blow into toy through the nozzle. Very fast, and with smallest tool needed.

The bag pump full of air. Ready to fill your toy.

Folded bag pump in comparison with a credit card case.

Note about ozone - would it be possible to see small amount of ozone inside the inflatable toy as beneficial? Maybe it will not damage the vinyl or plasticizer, but it will sure destroy possible bacteria and molds? Who know.

Note about mouth inflation - maybe you heard about danger for people, from plasticizers contained in older inflatables and thus in air valves. There are laboratory tests done when amount of several plasticizers is measured, etc. I say - DON'T BELIVE BULLSHITS. There are a commercially motivated trends - phtalate free (big) toys, lead free soldering, no mercury thermometers, no tungsten bulbs, ... STOP!!! We are not talking about children dummies here. I and many people of my age grown surrounded by "dangerous" things and there is not any problem with it up to now. There are many worse modern problems today.

Sign, which some manufacturers used to say - mounth inflation of our product is safe.

Before longer time, few guys on Dollforum talked about use of nitrogen for filling blow-up dolls instead of air. One said, that this is very good for tyres, because nitrogen N2 have bigger molecules and possible leaks are lower. Second guy replied, that there is danger, when the doll will burst in your bed. You will be exposed to nitrogen. It is interesting, but what is the air? It consists mostly (approx. 78%) from nitrogen, there is better explanation. The use of pure nitrogen will not have any effect for leaks. Also, if the doll will break, you never will be exposed into clear nitrogen. You will not suffocate. But why to use the nitrogen for tyres? Because it is perfectly dry. Lower moisture will make degradation of your tyres lower, lower corrosion of metal wires inside, etc. Tyres are exposed to much higher stress, pressure and especially thermal swing, so lower moisture inside can make them good.

Note about nitrogen inside inflatable toys - if nitrogen have bigger molecules, than other components of air, what will happen, when you fill your toy with air and left for a long time? The relative amount of nitrogen will grow, because other components will fade out. It will work as a special filter. Isn't it?

The very big attention has to be paid on the pressure. More pressure will make your toy life shorter. The perfect pressure is that, which gives your toy feel like a fluffy heap of cotton when touched. Also, you must see a wrinkles on edges. At inflatable dolls, when you take her in arms, her legs and arms must hang down. It is not saddest thing, than toy damaged by much air. There will be many leaks which are very hard to find, deformed shapes... Try to imagine stress to inflatable toy as a multiple of air pressure and external force onto (from your body for example).

This picture shows how inflate the toy properly. No shape distortion, long wrinkles, soft to touch.

Roughly we can say, that the force applied on the seams and on the vinyl surface depends on air pressure and on diameter of inflated shape. In real complex shapes there are also more complex dependencies. Good manufacturers inflate their toys after welding and expose them to (well regulated) warm air. Then the vinyl will stretch and tensions in stressed parts are released, forces will be distributed better. These toys are much more durable. Similar effect can be observed in real use. In warm weather, there will be less seam split failures than in cold, because vinyl is softer and tension is well distributed.

When the toy is tressed and then released, you can see it a bit deflated. This is NOT good time for adding some air. The toy is not deflated, but the vinyl is temporary stretched a bit. Wait a minute and it will contract back to state before stress, Adding air in this situation increases the pressure and leads to permanent damage of your toy.

So inflate gently and get more from your toys!