Should inflatables be kept Inflated when not in use?

[dollwacker]

I almost always deflate after using but admit that its a pain to re-inflate a few days later. Some opinions would be helpful. I feel that leaving them inflated may shorten their lenght of use? Am I wrong?
DW

[Warlock13]

Thats a very good question, I have never seen it discussed on the forum before. I too am interested to hearing members opinions on this topic. I remember a discussion along time ago about inflating a doll by mouth, therefore putting moisture into the doll.

[jonnydisco]

I use a battery powered inflatable mattress air pump to fill up Letha, takes less than a minute,

then "top" her off with a few puffs by mouth, firm up those titties!

nothing like blowing em up entirely by mouth & getting too dizzy to do anything,

Debra would probably be good sourse for extended inflation question,

I don't know, because I always deflate & put Letha away after I've had my way with her,

She REALLY gets pissed off too, the next time I let her out, she is meaner than a hornet!

[technoguy]

DW...

Of the three inflatable vinyl dolls I owned years ago, I kept all of them inflated when not in use. It did not cause any problems and, of course, made them instantly available for "use".

However, it might not be a good idea to keep them overinflated at all times. The extra pressure inside the doll might slowly stretch the material and in the process cause it to thin out all over. IF there was a spot that was already a bit too thin, that extra thinning might really weaken it and promote a blowout the next time the doll was used.


technoguy

[Jerry]

The plastic the dolls are made from is weekend every time it is flexed a great deal such as when folded. Every time you deflate a doll, fold it up, and push it into some kind of box the plastic has a tenancy to "remember" that folded shape. It goes to reason that over time it would be the weakest area of the doll in my opinion.

Keeping the doll inflated will mean that you don't have that excessive flexing every time you deflate. While on the subject... both latex and plastics tend to react with the oils and acids in our skin. Cleaning you doll and keeping her fresh will increase the life of the doll a great deal. In the case of the vinyl dolls the seams are the weak points. EVERY vinyl doll I have ever own failed along a seam. (One of the reasons I went to latex years ago... no seams.)

Before you get up-in-arms over the vinyl/latex doll issue... I do keep a vinyl doll around just for "old times" as it reminds me of when I first started. I tend to think of "her" as a temporary toy... they never last... the seams go and you can only fix them so many times. Also, as I am not with Adriana anymore, my girlfriend has absolutely zero interest in the dolls, doesn't want to see the dolls, and doesn't want to be around when I want to enjoy them.

Anyway... over inflation on a vinyl toy will really shorten it's serviceable life much more than inflating/deflating will do... next comes the oils as they will cause the plastic to become stiff and brittle and can actually make it crack. (Not to mention it won't feel nearly as good or supple.) Don't use oil based lubricant on your doll... no matter what type... it's just a bad idea.

Inflation is best done with an electric air blower like the kind for camping air mattresses. Blowing by mount introduces huge amounts of moisture, bacteria, etc... and the insides of a doll is probably a good place to grow icky stuff. Air compressors should be avoided for two reasons... one is the compression of air into a cylinder then it's release will cause condensation... the other reason is that most compressors use oil somewhere in the system and small amounts are transferred into the doll. The blower types don't really compress air so much as move it around... so they are not prone (or far less prone) to putting moisture into the doll. (This goes for other inflatables including balloons and latex dolls.)

I hope this helps,
Jerry

[silverbull]

When I got my doll, at first I deflated her every time after using and cleaning. Jerry is absolutely right, some folds kept their position after several inflating/deflating. But since more than 9 month I never deflated this doll again. And what a surprise the folds vanished restless after a few weeks, and in this long time doll wasn't loosing any air. You can see some pics of her at this link:
http://www.dollforum.com/modules.php?na ... ic&t=20518 (look for my postings "Modified Jessica Talking Doll")

I think it's also important where you're storing your doll after using and cleaning. It's good to have a dark/dry place with a regular temperature, because all plastic materials will loosen their typical material properties by the influence of light and temperature. I'm storing my doll in hanging position in my sleepingroom's wardrobe, where it's not too cold or too hot.

For example, if you are exposing for 8 hours highly flexibel and airtight plastic based material directly to normal solar radiation in summer, it will loosen more than 25 percent of it's fabric breaking strength. Heat will do the rest. I've got this info by a friend of mine who is a tester of materials for inflatable dinghies and paragliders.

So if you want to have fun with your doll for a long time, please follow this:
· for inflating, only use an electric air blower or an manual air pump
· don't over inflate your doll
· store your vinylic honey in a dark/dry place with a regular, and not to high temperature
· to prevent 'memory' folds like Jerry described, don't deflate the doll
· don't use oil based lubricants - only water based lubs are the right choice
· for cleaning only use water or special cleansing products for love dolls
· after cleaning dry your doll completely
· never ever use a hot hairdryer for drying your doll!

I think, if you handle your doll in this way you will have fun for many years.

My first love doll I stored deflated for more than ten years in my wardrobe. When I discovered it a few weeks ago, I inflated my ol' vinylic girlfriend just for fun, and used it after this long time of storage. Result: no damages and absolutely airtight, but some folds in material.

Greetz
silverbull

[Warlock13]

Great post, I don't currently own an inflatable doll, but I wouldn't be able to leave a doll inflated, it would have to be deflated and put away. I hope to be a doll owner again in the near future! Thanks for providing all the valuable information, I appreciate it.

[SwedishBoy]

Hi,

I keep my dolls inflated.
My opinion is that inflateble doll lasts longer, when it comes to leak problems.

I have now 5 inflatables , all are inflated, but of course some will deflate if i have not used a doll in a while.

A good thing is not to overinflate a doll. That is really bad for the doll.

[Entity2020]

If you've got the space, use it!

INFLATED.png (636.18 KiB) Viewed 578 times

I can give some feedback after four years of owning LOVE AND VIBES DIAOSHI dolls...

My first realistic inflatable sitting doll Chelsea died after six weeks because I had stressed one of her ankle seams. She never re-inflated after storage for a weekend in her shipping box as that was too much for her weak ankle. Sure, I could have fixed her but I was newbie

Sitting doll Chelsea made me think twice about constantly deflating/inflating any future dolls and I eventually found information on the vendor's website confirming the fact that they should not be deflated too often.

All of my inflated dolls are standing models and I do use soft white pillows to keep their feet/ankles straight and stress-free when required. Joe 90 has warned not to leave a sitting doll inflated on its back with its legs up: Re: Question to members. Help! How do you find leaks.


Once a doll has remained inflated at a reasonable pressure and the vinyl stretches, my policy is to keep it inflated. I'm allowed to let some air out for cosplay but no extreme folding or compacting.

I keep some of my newer dolls at lower pressures because they do go into large storage boxes for long periods. Their vinyl remains thick and almost factory-new when they only receive low-pressure inflation. The side effect is that they look crumpled. Higher pressures remove creases over time and give your doll that smooth shiny texture but it will thin out depending on how far you push it. It's my call on arrival day to decide if a new doll will be mostly kept in storage but brought out for short periods at low pressures...


Keeping your doll inflated can mean that you may need to adjust the pressure if their environment is affected by the weather as cold/warm air temperature fluctuations do make a difference to their pressure, even by a handful of degrees. Trial and error for that one I'm afraid.

One last note is the loss of plasticizer as your doll ages transforming it to UPVC - this is a killer as the brittle vinyl can split where it folds.

My oldest constantly inflated doll is Layna at just over 2 years! Her vinyl has lost a fair amount of plasticizer so I have to treat her with kid gloves even though she is retired. Layna is a bit of an exception because she is partially stuffed with bean bag filling and saw 60 crazy days of action when she first arrived, sleeping with me every night and having exposure to fabrics and my oily skin. Her legs don't collapse when l let air out of her because the vinyl has hardened.

These dolls are not used for sex.

Entity.

[Joe 90]

I tend to deflate my dolls after use. However, they may stay inflated for up to a week.

I have always rotated my dolls and it is coming up to 3 years that I have not lost any dolls. In fact up to a few months ago I had only done two tiny single patch repairs.

Thank you Entity2020 for mentioning one specific doll.
I had her inflated for a long time and she sprung multiple and complex leaks.

But the situation may be different for other users as I have multiple dolls and it is easy for me to rotate them quickly. This may not be the case for others.

[Kimmi Lovecok]

I can give you my personal experience...

I'm an Air-Vinyl-Girl who was practically inflated only once,
about a year ago, and I'm always inflated, but I do a lot of sports every day.
Over the course of a year, I was blown out only during quick repairs,
and because of my horny husband, there were about 6-7 repairs so far.....


I really like this "Topic"!
Thanks for this "Resurrection"

[rubbersheep]

Hey all
I rotate my dolls thru the bed a few weeks at a go the other girls , hide in a dark cupboard rolled up in a beach towel with a thin coat of talc in a draw string bag , I always bulk in flats with a battery camping air bed pump , takes 2xd size batterys, not fast but quite ,
Most of my girls have there clothes, just to be nice ,

Rubber sheep
Baa means inflate them all !

[Aerial]

Latex dolls should be always deflated, rolled up and put away into an airtight PE/PP bag (but never in moist state) after use to protect them from ozone and UV light.

PVC dolls (and other inflatables) are safe to stay inflated. I keep various PVC inflatable mans etc. always inflated to populate my home. But this does also stress them, because increase of ambient temperature and decrease of barometric pressure makes them expand and the opposite collapse, which can break seams over time, especially when over years the material looses plasticizer oil and eventually becomes more brittle.

Particularly "curly" twisted spots in seams and spots where more than 2 foil pieces join tend to split by this. They can be patched with transparent household glue (most ordinary "vinyl" glue is the same) and preferably a piece of similar PVC foil if you find the leak. (Apply soap foam or dip into a bath tub for detection.)

[yorktown]

Howdy

Ah, one of the great questions to ponder - almost like the question what came first the chicken or the egg

I say this in jest as there is no right real answer - its up to the end user really - to be very honest

Keeping an inflatable ready for flight (pumped up) - will in fact remove over a time the wrinkles that are common to all vinyl inflatables due to being folded up in box

My only real advise is to keep her from natural sunlight and florescent tube lighting - the UV rays will damage the PVC skin over time - use a blanket to keep her warm & out the UV rays

I do/ did leave inflata babes (PVC) partially inflated that are to be used soon - it could be days or weeks - but never more than that -

Not that this is the Latex section - but leaving a Latex air doll inflated over time requires - the same care from UV rays - maybe even more - I do not leave the air babes with clothes on as its almost inevitable that color transfer from the clothes' will get into her PVC/ Latex skin - an almost impossible task to remove

Also a quick note on Latex - they leak - yes they aren't perfect - no matter the make over time they do deflate the French Lassies would leak from the PVC head to Latex body joint and the Hungarian Latex dolls would just leak - many from their inside of their mouths - a sort of design flaw - nothing bad - but over the course of days you would have to puff them up again

As to temperature/ Ambient pressure - I live near sea level so pressure changes aren't an issue for me per say - it would have to be a major storm front with an Low pressure system of crazy proportions to effect inflata babes - but temperature is a big thing in deep winter (they tend to contract in air pressure) whereas summer brings its worst effect of very high temps and much increased internal air pressure - made worse by the PVC skin becoming very soft due to the high temps - not ideal for blow up babes

An inflata babe shouldn't be blown up more than say 60 to 75% for long time periods - which would allow for temp/ pressure changes not to be damaging to the doll

Stay inflated

[Aerial]

Minor overinflation in warm state (due to ambient summer temperature) isn't that risky. PVC however does not like cold overinflation, which may happen during storm (rapid drop of barometric pressure) in winter or careless reinflation (against contraction) in a recently vented too cold room. My inflatable mannequins stay always inflated; the white one tended to leak by several small seam damages by possibly wrong material composition. (I patched these and already had to do surgery to him because internal structures of his muscle pattern had come loose.) It may be a problem of titan dioxide (a common white dye) that by exposure to daylight produces free radicals those tend to decompose white plastic (particularly in PE/PP) by UV light. The "glow in the dark" print of my heatstretched "Gorgeous Gavin" muscleman doll otherwise still functions despite over years it has eaten fairly much daylight (which was reported in clock forums to quickly ruin the luminous paint of clock faces).