During the hot Summer months we’re often asked what the maximum temperature inflatables are allowed outside?

It’s a brilliant question and one we understand can often be ranking high on people’s minds when schools are taking special measures and red weather warnings are being issued.

Just like Schools allowing PE kits to be worn instead of uniform, we also offer special measures and mitigations.

This is a tricky question to provide a straight answer to. Ambient temperature doesn’t always directly translate to the surface temperature of the PVC (which is the actual important part).

While the forecast for the day is indicative and important, the real core question is how hot can the PVC itself be before operation is unsafe?

While the temperature of the day can be hotter, the inflatables themselves can be kept cooler by site positioning and the inflatables bounce or slide area being positioning and sited away from direct facing sunlight.

With the above in mind, here is a hand chart for the temperature ranges of inflatables and safe use operation in the heat.

Below 40°C – Generally considered comfortable and low risk.
40–45°C – Can become uncomfortable, particularly for children with bare skin.
46–50°C – Burn risk increases, especially with prolonged contact.
Above 50°C – Considered unsafe for children. Contact burns can occur surprisingly quickly, particularly on PVC or vinyl surfaces in direct sunlight.

Firstly, do not panic if your event date is during a forecast heatwave. Bouncy Castles are operated perfectly safely all year round in much hotter countries than ours.

We’re often whipped into a frenzy by media reports of record highs, but the reality is that forecast hardly ever meets reality – Even if it does it’s usually in one very isolated part of the country and not nationwide and certainly not as hot as other countries.

There are however steps we recommend taking if the day is planned to be very hot.

Take regular hydration breaks. Children are often having so much fun bouncy castles and inflatables that they do not want it to stop and overlook stopping for a short break to take a drink – You may need to remind them and ensure you have water available for them.

Wear appropriate clothing. Light, loose fitted clothing is best – It’s recommended to wear tops with long sleeves and bottoms that cover legs appropriately; This helps prevent the surface area of the PVC coming into contact with the bare skin in particularly hot days.

Wear sun-cream! No one wants to pause and have their parents apply sun-cream, they’re all eager to go and “have a bounce”, but applying sun-cream is an important step and measure you can take yourself to ensure that children remain safe in the sun.

We can’t control the weather, but we’re experienced operators and bouncy castle companies do have options available to them to help your event proceed as planned and help reduce the impact of hot weather!

Our biggest trump card is the site positioning of the inflatables. Even in an open field with no shade, we can create our own!

Bouncy Castles and Inflatables are big! If they’re positioning correctly then we can reduce the impact of the hot weather by placing at an angle away from the direct sun-light.

Big set-ups for events often occur several hours before the event itself. We place the angle of the inflatable away from where the direct sunlight will be at the time when the event takes place.

The sun rises in the East and sets in the West, travelling through the South.

We carry a compass with us and based on the actual event start and end time predict with fair accuracy where the sun will be in the sky at that time, placing the inflatables accordingly.

We angle the bouncy castles so the sun is beating against the side of the external wall, not the bounce area of the inflatable. We position the slide ends away from the sun – It’s often possible to ensure that the tall back wall of the slide is facing the sun, creating it’s own shade for the slide end and taking it out of the direct sun-light!

These steps come from years of experience and ensure that the inflatable’s surface area are the lowest they can possibly be – Meaning that regardless of the temperature predicted on the day, we can offer some mitigation and respite for the children to carry on and have fun!

We get it – Someone asks a direct and simple question “What is the max temperature it’s safe for bouncy castles?” and we have provided a very long answer to that – You’re looking for a number, something that can be quantified and put on a sheet so that decisions can be made.

It really isn’t that simple and the above should go quite some way in helping alleviate concerns, but we understand that sometimes you just need an abridged answer.

It’s a very large over simplification and we wouldn’t want it taken out of context, but the ideal range for operating inflatables outside is between 10°C – 39°C.

The short answer is that inflatables should be a max 42°C - Anything over this can start to become uncomfortable.

However it’s important to understand the difference between the temperature of the inflatable is not the same as the temperature of the day and it’s often possible to take simple steps to ensure safe use!