Truth Behind Why A Balloon Stretch

Wow, did the balloon get bigger or stretch out?

Do you remember as a child inflating a balloon, and when you let the air out, the balloon stretched in width?

This childhood memory is one reason why I think people assume stretching a balloon makes it easier to inflate.  I’ve seen this time-after-time at birthday parties when making balloon animals. Somebody asks for a balloon and instantly starts to tug at the balloon violently before a failed attempt at inflating the twisting balloon.

Using this knowledge, I decided to make a video showing how to take a balloon animal balloon (260). With repetition of inflating and deflating, show the viewer how the balloon stretches in size.

@daleobrochtaThis is how I stretch a balloon to make it bigger. #foryou #fyp #balloon #balloonanimals♬ Ppap (Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen) – PIKOTARO

Balloons do lose elasticity when inflated in cold weather and then deflated. Look at the picture above. The first balloon is uninflated, and the second balloon has been inflated in cold weather then deflated as you can see, the latex did not hold its shape.

Latex molecules react differently and expand.  Balloons that have lost their elasticity are challenging to twist when twisting balloons in cold weather.  However, who really wants to work in the bitter cold?

For those not in the balloon entertainment industry, there are different size balloons.  Twisting balloons, animal balloons, or pencil balloons are the names of your standard balloons used by balloon artists and entertainers.

There are four sizes of twisting balloons commonly used in the balloon industry.

• 160
• 260
• 350 or 360
• 464

The numbering system for these balloons is as follows.  The first digit defines the balloon’s diameter, i.e., 1, 2, 3, and 4 is the diameter measurement when inflated.  The second group of numbers identifies the balloon length in inches; 50, 60, 64 is the length.

The balloon manufacturers are defined by a letter after the number; a 260Q balloon is made by Qualatex, whereas a 260B is a Betalatex balloon.  Qualatex produces a 350Q balloon – 3-inch diameter, 50-inches in length. Betallatex  360B is 3-inches in diameter, 60-inches in length.

In the TikTok video, I used 160B, 260B, 360B, and 646B, and with a little video magic, it appears that the balloon stretches in width with each inflation. I hope you found this article interesting, and now you know the secret behind how a balloon stretches.