The fact that bounce houses will sometimes get punctured or torn while in use is inevitable. However, what is consoling is that you don’t have to discard your beloved bounce house of fun your kids love to play in just because of a little rip or tear.
You can easily patch that tear yourself following simple steps, except if the tear has gone far beyond what you can handle. Let us state here that you can only patch a bounce house hole that is not more than six inches in length.
For larger size tears, it is advised that you get a professional to fix the unit to do a good job that will see your kids enjoying their bounce house for longer before they need it to be fixed.
Reasons Why Your Bounce House Always needs a Patch
We have already established that it is normal for a bounce house to be torn and hence need fixing from time to time is a must. If, however, you are doing more patchwork on your unit every so often, then maybe there are reasons out of the ordinary why your bounce house is always getting torn; it could be for one or more of these reasons.
- You allow adults to use your kid’s bounce house, and so the unit carries more weight than it is designed to carry. This is a good reason for the most tears in the seams of a bounce house. If adults must use your bounce house, then only a couple or so of them should use it at a time, that is if they must. Always resort to your manual to determine the maximum weight limit that your bounce house can handle so that you do not exceed the limit
- Too many children using your bounce at a time can lead to a tear: Every bounce house unit has the maximum number of people it can carry optimally. If this number is exceeded, the consequence is that the bounce will get weak at the seams and then will tear. So always be sure your font overloads your bounce house, be it with kids or adults.
- You allow kids to bring sharp and prohibited objects into the bounce house: Objects like knives, blades, stones, and sticks are a No, no in a bounce house as they can puncture the unit and create holes. So, if you always allow kids to bring prohibited stuff to the bounce house, you should be ready for the consequences.
- Holes in your bounce house can result from normal wear and tear that results from continuous use of the unit. It is not much you can do to stop the consequences of your bounce house from getting old.
- When you place your bounce house near metal stakes or any other sharp objects within the environment, chances are that they will get punctured. It is not even advisable to fix your bounce house close to trees and any other structure that can potentially pierce it
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How To Find a Leak in A Bounce House?
There are simple techniques that you can resort to if you are seeking ways to know if your bounce house is leaking or not, and they include:
- Air escape: this technique seeks to discover where the air is escaping from the bounce house as that is the place that will have a tear. All you need to do is inflate the bounce house and then walk slowly round the unit while feeling with your hand for any place that air is escaping from; that spot is where the bounce house is torn.
- Check for air-escaping sound: when air is escaping from an inflatable material, it always makes a sound. If you want to know the spot torn on your bounce house, make sure the environment is quiet, then walk gently round the bounce house, listening for a sound that says that air is escaping from the unit. Check the spot, and you will discover a rip there.
- Use the soapy water technique: This involves making a dish soap solution with a quarter of a cup of dish soap and a tablespoon of glycerin mixed in a gallon of water. Mix this solution properly, and then pour lightly on the deflated bounce house every small area at a time.
As you do this, watch out for where bubbles are forming because that is the place that your bounce house is torn. The bubble formed is a result of air coming out from the torn spot in the bounce house as the soapy water is replacing it. Remember to dry the bounce house before attempting to patch or store it.
Quick Repairs of The Holes in A Bounce House
There are temporary and permanent solutions to fixing the holes you have in your bounce house. The temporary solution is used in case of an emergency.
For instance, if your kid is having a party and the kids start playing on the bounce house, only for you to discover it has a hole or tear. You don’t need to stop the kids from enjoying themselves on the bounce house; resort to a quick fix by doing the following:
- Take your time to spot the exact spot where there is a hole or rip in the bounce house.
- Clean the area carefully and gently with a non-acetone cleaner. You want to clean off any debris from the spot, but you do not want to be so carried away that you cause the rip or hole in the bounce house to get any bigger.
- Get a vinyl repair tape and paste it on the hole, ensuring that it covers the tear completely; if not, it will still be leaking air, and this new patch can attract the attention of a curious kid who might poke their finger into the uncovered part of the hole which will worsen the situation.
- Use a seam roller to press the tape to stick firmly to the bounce house. This will ensure that no air gets trapped in the tape that might cause the tape to pull up.
Your bounce house can stand some few hours of play now. When the kids are done playing, you can apply a more permanent fix to the tear.
Find Out: Can A Bounce House Be Used in The Rain?
Steps To Apply a Bounce House Patch
For a more permanent solution to your ripped bounce house, you should follow the steps below:
- Clean the area to be patched: You might have debris, grease, and dirt on the spot that you want to patch. The first thing to do is use a non-acetone cleaner to clean the area carefully and thoroughly. If not, you will be left with a patch that will not look smooth, and this will draw the attention of curious kids who might want to peel up the patch.
- Get a good patch material: if possible, 8let your patch material be of the same material and color as your bounce house so that the patch will blend into the unit and not stick out like a sore thumb. The closer the patch material is to the bounce house material, the better and firmer the patch will be.
- Cut the material into a circular or oval shape: You cut your patch in a circular shape because other shapes like rectangles or squares have edges from which these patches can peel up. Ensure that the diameter of the patch is large enough to cover the hole. Anything shorter will not completely cover the hole. It is wisdom to make the patch an inch or two bigger than the hole it will be covering.
- Flatten the patch: Use a weight to flatten the patch to ensure that it is as flat as possible so that there is no chance of it ever peeling up.
- If your bounce house has a zipper with which you can gain access into the inside of the bounce house, then get into the inside and apply some vinyl glue around the hole. Do not coat the hole directly because it will make the patching process a little difficult.
- Apply vinyl glue to the patch: You should then apply the same vinyl glue on one side of the patch, ensuring that the coat of glue is light and does not touch the other side of the patch, because if it ever does, it will stick to your hand when you try to paste it on the hole. This can be inconvenient and can even glue up the entire patch and make it unusable. Allow the glue on the patch to sit for a minute before pasting it on the hole.
- Press on the patch and apply pressure: Paste the patch on the torn area and hold the patch there for about two minutes to adhere to the bounce house. If your bounce house is deflated, you can put a weight on the patch and leave it for about 10 minutes for the same reason.
- Check that the edges are sealed: When you release your hand from the patch, which is now glued to the bounce, ensure that all the patch points are properly glued to the unit. If you notice a place that can do with a little glue, add a little glue there so that the patch doesn’t peel up.
And there you have it, your bounce house patch completely fixed.
Permanent Professional Repairs
There are other permanent professional repairs you can apply to a leaking bounce house. One of the most effective is the use of a sewing awl to fix this leak or tear.
A sewing awl kit comprises a handheld awl, interchangeable needles, spools of thread, and a manual to guide you. This tool is useful for fixing mostly a tear in the seam of the bounce house. To use this sewing awl to fix your bounce house, you can do the following:
- Deflate the bounce house, as you can only use the sewing awl on a deflated bounce house.
- Clean the area that needs to be fixed gently yet thoroughly.
- Cut out enough thread or string that will be enough to sew the tear.
- Use the sewing awl to sew stitches, holding together the two edges around the hole and then sewing the ripped seam or hole. Any stitch you make must end in a quick stitch lock so that the seam does not come undone too soon.
- Do as many stitches as the tear requires until you have sown the entire seam.
- For the last stitch, securely tie the thread two or three times and nip off the remaining thread material with scissors.
To further ensure that your stitches are as secured as possible and that your bounce house is permanently fixed, then paste a patch on the sewn area following the procedure that we mentioned earlier. (This is optional)
There you have it, a bounce house tear that looks as if professionals fix it. However, if you don’t want to take any chances, you can get a professional to do it for you.
How To Fix a Net on A Bounce House?
Nets in bounce houses can add to the fun kids get as they jump, but when it gets ripped, there is a need to fix them. The steps below will tell you what to do with a torn bounce house net:
- Measure the area of the net that is torn using a measuring tape.
- Cut off the entire net hanging from the torn area of the bounce house to ensure that the area is smooth.
- Then, get a similar net and cut the exact dimension of the hole you now have in the house on the net. This net patch will fill up the hole that you have on the bounce house.
- Get a string and then use it to tie the new net patch to the bounce house net so that the net patch covers the hole. As you tie the new net patch to the hole, ensure that you use a fast lock stitch to ensure that the knots you tie are secured.
- Finish off this knot-tying with 2 fast lock stitches to firmly secure the net patch in the bounce house net.
- Cut off any extra string remaining. And there you have it; your bounce house net is fixed.
How To Fix a Bounce House Discoloration?
There are different reasons why a bounce house may be discolored, including:
- The use of harsh detergent or dish soap in cleaning the bounce house.
- The use of bleach in cleaning the bounce house.
- Too much unit exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays causes its color to fade.
- Discoloration caused by mildew, molds, and other such pests and nuisance.
- Normal wear and tear happen to all materials as they are used for a long time.
To take if the discoloration in your bounce house, tackle the cause of the discoloration, and you will see a difference.
You can restore or at least try to restore the colors of your bounce house by cleaning them with mild dish soap and nothing else. Bleach should not be used on cleaning bounce houses because it will cause their color to fade.
The place of hygiene in restoring your bounce house color can never be over-emphasized. When you clean your bounce house promptly and roper, you stop the growth of molds and mildew that causes discoloration of bounce houses.
You can also resort to using a plastic restorer to deal with the wear and tear caused by discoloration in your bounce house and never leave the bounce house inflated or out in the sun when it is not in use.
By and large, there is nothing you can do to keep your bounce house looking like it did the day you bought it, but I’d you follow these few tips, you will see an appreciable difference.
Watch the Video Below to Learn How to Patch a Bounce House
Conclusion
Bounce houses will always get torn not just because all materials do naturally but also because the users of these units are kids who are so active, adventurous, and can be a tad too inquisitive.
When they do, all you need do is to use any of the techniques we have talked about to detect the spot and immediately fix it. And what if it is the nets or colors that have issues? Those too can be taken care of.
So let your kids enjoy their time in these beautiful units that are good not just for their bodies but also for their minds. Don’t let a little ripstop them from catching fun. Patch it up.
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We trust this article helped you learn How To Patch a Bounce House. You may also want to check out our article on Bounce House Weight Limit.
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