As anyone who works in the storage industry will tell you, there are some moments which call for a pause and the arrival of obscure goods for storage is certainly one of them. Over the years, we’ve seen a vast array of obscure items from unusual household furniture to rare collectables but one of the more sensational items we’ve seen are bouncy castles.
When it comes to the storage of obscure items, we’ve gained a lot of experience advising customers on the safest way to store their possessions in a way that best protects them from any damage. For large, expensive items such as bouncy castles, finding an appropriate, safe storage space is vital to protecting your investment.
Whether you’ve got a small bouncy castle for personal use or a collection you rent out as a business, follow our advice to ensure no damage comes to your bouncy castle while it’s out of use.
How do you store bouncy castles?
For large and expensive items such as bouncy castles, your primary concern should be to ensure that it remains in perfect condition throughout its time in storage. This includes making sure the item is clean and in full working order before storing, as well as ensuring the storage space used is appropriate and will protect it from any damage whilst in storage.
- Step 1: Inflate and Inspect – Whether you’ve just used your bouncy castle or haven’t used it for months, you should always inspect its condition before storing and the easiest way to do this is to first inflate it. Once inflated, finding tears and identifying spots of wear is significantly easier and you can make any small repairs before folding it away.
- Step 2: Clean and Dry – Once you’ve checked the bouncy house over for damage and wear, you’ll also need to wash it. This ensures that the bouncy castle is in its best condition possible for being stored away. It’s also very important that the castle is completely dry before being folded as damp will form on the damp surface when given the chance.
- Step 3: Deflate and Fold – Once the bouncy castle is completely dry, it’s time to deflate it once more and fold it up. Folding a bouncy castle up can be a tiresome process, so read more about how to do this effectively below.
- Step 4: Store – The best way to store a bouncy castle is in the corresponding bouncy castle bag but, in lieu of this, a fortified cardboard box would suffice provided the wider storage environment was suitable.
What do you clean bouncy castles with?
For the cleaning phase of preparing your bouncy castle for storage, it’s important to know exactly what you should and shouldn’t use, as well as how often it should be cleaned when in normal use. Typically, the best practice for cleaning a bouncy castle is to vacuum it to collect any small dust and debris and wash it with warm soapy water after every use. This ensures that the bouncy castle is kept clean constantly and is always ready for the next use.
If your bouncy castle has been out of use for some time and wasn’t properly stored, you may also find that mould has grown on it. Harder to remove than typical dirt and grime, in order to fully remove mould you may want to use a pressure cleaner (if you have one) on its lowest setting to ensure the material of the bouncy castle doesn’t take too much of a battering. If you don’t have access to a pressure washer, using a combination of bleach and water to handwash the spots of mildew is an effective, if time consuming, alternative.
How do you fold a bounce house?
The ultimate goal in folding a bouncy castle is to ensure that it is as compactly folded as possible. The smaller you can make it, the easier it’ll be to transport and the smaller a storage space you’ll need.
In order to fold your bounce house, you must first fully deflate it. Once fully flat, fold over both edges of the deflated bouncy castle so that the edges are in the centre, then fold again. The next step is to slowly roll up the folded material as you would a sleeping bag, keeping it as tightly packed as possible. Once fully rolled up, secure it with your attached fasteners and it’s ready to go into a bouncy castle bag.
Where do you store a bouncy castle?
Due to the need to keep a bouncy castle completely dry in order to avoid the growth of mould, choosing a suitable storage location is very important. Beyond simply not wanting to cause any damage to the material itself, which could be costly and time consuming to repair, replacing a severely damaged bouncy castle could cost you anywhere from £700 to £1500, and that’s just for a standard bouncy castle.
The best place to store a bouncy castle in order to avoid these pricey repairs and replacements is in a secure storage facility. Selecting a facility that is completely secure and monitored by security cameras will give you peace of mind regarding theft of such an expensive item. On top of this, you’ll want to ensure that your storage space is cool and completely dry in order to further discourage the growth of damaging mildew.
Use self-storage for your bouncy castle
A huge monetary investment, a bouncy castle represents a lot of money whether you have one for personal use or are operating as a bouncy castle hire business. Ensure your property is stored safely in a cool, dry environment by making the most of self storage solutions.
If you live near Manchester, Storage World has three safe, secure storage facilities that are easily accessible for whenever you need to retrieve your bouncy castle. Whether you’re looking to store it long term, short term or as a storage base for your bouncy castle hire business, we can accommodate your needs.
