Safe Bouncy Castle Hire with All Star Bounce NI
So you've booked a bouncy castle, your child or children are excited and they can't wait for it to arrive but how do you know that it will be safely setup?
Bouncy castle safety should always be the main priority for you as parents and for the company delivering and setting up the bouncy castle. As with every industry there will be companies that may not do things correctly either because they don't know the requirements or because they just don't care. So how do you ensure that the company you have booked your bouncy castle from will deliver and setup the bouncy castle safely and within the requirements, laws and rules?
Before Booking:
Think about where the bouncy castle will be going:
- is the area / space big enough?
- Are there are obstacles or hazards, can they be moved?
- What surface (grass, tarmac, mono block) will the bouncy castle be going on to? Always advise the company of the surface when booking.
- Is there a power supply nearby for the bouncy castles blower?
When Booking:
Ask the business or company if they have public liability insurance. Although not legally required its good practice and should something happen that the company would be liable for you know the company may be covered. Ask the company to send you a copy of their insurance certificate as proof. Any legitimate business or company should be willing to do this. At All Star Bounce Ni we provide copies of all our insurances and our risk assessments online hereHealth and Safety
Ask to see the bouncy castles test certificate.
What does this mean? In simple terms Bouncy castles are required by law to be tested on a yearly basis by a competent person. Once tested a certificate will be given to the owner to prove that the bouncy castle is safe and has passed the required standards. The certificate should either be a RPII (Register of Play Inspectors International) or a PIPA (Pertexa Inflatable Play Accreditation) certificate.
Any legitimate business or company should be willing to provide a copy of this certificate in advance of the hire.
On The Day Of Hire:
When the company arrive they will most likely ask you to read and sign a hire agreement and/or a disclaimer form. This form will detail the terms and conditions of hire and the rules of use. Ensure that you read everything carefully and ask any questions if you are unsure about anything.
Once the bouncy castle is setup the company should advise you of any safety instructions and what to do should the weather become unsuitable.
Before the company leaves you should:
- Have a look round the bouncy castle, is there any damage? Does the bouncy castle look safe? Is it clean? A clean bouncy castle will be well looked after and maintained. If something doesn't look right advise the company of this.
- Check that the bouncy castle has been anchored down using every anchor point on the bouncy castle. These are usually located at the sides of the bouncy castle and at the rear. The minimum amount of anchor points will be 6 but some may have more, especially if they are bigger inflatables. Bouncy castles require 163kgs of weight per anchor point. On a grass surface the bouncy castle should be anchored down with metal anchor stakes. Ground stakes must be a minimum of 380 mm long and a minimum of 16 mm in diameter and their tops must be rounded.
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On artificial grass, driveways or mono block the bouncy castle will still be required to be anchored down with a minimum of 163kgs of weight per anchor point. If the company are using sand bags each anchor point would require around 7 sand bags per anchor point, around 56 sand bags in total. For this reason most legitimate companies do not hire on artificial grass, driveways or mono block using sandbags. There are other ways to anchor the bouncy castle down but this would involve drilling in to the hard surface and may leave damage. See our news letters about Artificial grass
Remember, one sandbag on each anchor point in an outdoor environment is extremely dangerous and against the law!
- Ensure that the blower tube at the rear of the castle is fully extended and that the blower is 3ft away from the castle. The blower should not be near the rear of the castle.
Weather:
It's never advisable to use a bouncy castle in wet weather conditions as they become incredibly slippery and dangerous. In windy conditions the bouncy castle should not be inflated or used where wind speeds or gusts exceed 24mph.
Where these weather conditions are forecast most legitimate companies would either postpone or cancel the booking for you and your child's safety.
Remember, if the company you have booked your bouncy castle hire from cancel your booking for safety reasons they have not done this without good reason. Please do not go phoning around asking other companies to provide a castle in dangerous or unsuitable weather conditions.
If you have any questions, Bounce & Party are more than happy to answer them or offer advice so please do not hesitate to contact us.
Our staff will be dressed to impress at your event or party
We have a beautiful range of bouncy castles for hire and we deliver all across most of Northern Ireland, we mainly cover Bangor, East Belfast, North Belfast, West Belfast, South Belfast, Newtownards, Comber, Greyabbey, Donaghadee, Millisle, Holywood, Dundonald, Belfast, Newtownabbey, Ballygowan and surrounding areas. All of our inflatables will suit every occasion.
Our bouncy castles are available to book 24/7 and we will provide you with our best service and care.
Please Contact us for any assistance or special requirements.
Call us on 07916208438 to discuss your requirements (you can also WhatsApp us or Facebook messenger the page)
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