Parties usually aren’t complete without balloons and depending on how many you may need, you may want to consider renting a helium tank. If you do choose to rent, here are some things that you should know about helium and filling up the balloons:

Effects of inhaling helium
Just a quick coverage of this topic being as how it’s what most people think of when it comes to helium: While sucking up helium may give you a funny voice, it can be very dangerous despite being non-toxic. Helium is lighter than air and when inhaled it deprives your lungs of oxygen. The fact that it is lighter than air is also why the balloon floats. As a note of caution, you should never let anyone inhale helium straight from the tank as it is potentially fatal.

Now that we’ve gotten the safety precautions out of the way, here’s how to inflate a balloon:

- Place the mouth of the balloon onto the release valve of the helium tank. Make sure that it is fully secure or it might fly away on you.

- Depending on the type you have, either release the helium with the knob or bend the valve down to release the gas and fill to the desired size.

- Grip the mouth of the balloon and remove it from the release valve. Tie it in a granny knot and then add the string.