When the season changes, so does the inflatable industry. Our partners in the northern states will shut down most ot their operations (except for indoor events), while our partners in southern states will have to put away the water units for a few months. In either case, you will want to properly prepare your unit for long-term storage.
The main elements to preparing a unit for the offseason are properly cleaning and thoroughly drying. Read on for the details!
Cleaning
Remove the liner first, you will want to spray and dry the liner by itself – this allows you to clean under where the liner sits on the unit.
Vacuum and scrub the units, you want to start preparing your units by cleaning all of the debris off via a dry vacuum and good scrubbing.
Spray the unit and liner down with Fabuloso mixed with water (1/4 cup per gallon of Fab), let soak for 10-15 minutes, then rinse thoroughly.
Open the blower tube and spray Odoban/Microban into the unit, this will help kill any odor or mildew inside of the inflatable.
Gently wirebrush the velcro, in order to maintain the velcro’s grip you need to brush out the dirt and grime built up on the unit’s velcro strips, especially where the liner attaches.
Drying
Properly drying your units before long-term storage is just as important as cleaning them.
Hang your liners up so they are able to drip dry with the sun’s assistance.
Inflate the units and crack the vents, once standing use a dolly or plastic chair to prop the unit at an angle. Deflate and re-inflate, propping up the unit at different angles. This will work out water stuck in the corners and columns of the unit.
Let the units bake – Start your cleaning day early so you have plenty of sunshine to assist you with the drying-out process. After washing, rinsing, and tilting your unit let the sun do some drying the old-fashioned way.
After a good thorough day of cleaning, your units will be ready for winter. Questions, comments, or tips? Let us know how you like to prepare your units for winter in the comments section below.
Thanks to Tim Marden, Dave Mason, and Craig ‘Gus’ Gustafason for contributing their knowledge to this post.