Warning Issued To Wash Balloons Before Inflating Them

Being able to blow up a balloon is almost a rite of passage, but once you have enough lung capacity to inflate the decoration, it becomes a pretty easy thing to do, however it turns out most people are skipping an important step in the process - to clean the balloon before putting it in your mouth.

A mom shared a video on TikTok that illustrates why you want to rinse off the rubber before you do anything else. In the clip, Danielle Beardon can be seen washing a dozen balloons in soapy water. A voiceover reads the words are overlaid on the screen which say, "This is your sign to wash your balloons before you put them in your mouth to blow them up." There are also a handful of sick face emojis. The reason? Once the soap suds clear, you can see that the water is incredibly dirty.

She captioned the clip, "There's no way."

Many commenters were disgusted by the video. One stated, "New fear unlocked," and another proclaimed, "Never blowing up balloons again." A few didn't mind, with one saying, "Oh well, builds the immune system," and another writing, "I'm not this scared of germs."

Some viewers didn't think the cleaning method was great, with one asking, "But all the dirty water is going in the balloon, surely?" Another claimed washing the balloons takes off "the powder that allows friction and [for the balloons] to blow up without popping."

Many asserted how they would never spend time doing this and suggested Danielle do what they do - use a pump to blow up the balloons. Danielle revealed that's actually what she wound up doing. You can read more of the comments on Danielle's TikTok.