How to Suck in a Helium Balloon: 9 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow (2024)

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Last Updated: July 26, 2022References

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   Get a balloon filled with helium. It doesn’t matter if it’s an aluminum or rubber balloon. They’re sold at party centers or you could rent a helium tank to fill up your own balloons for a special event.^[1]

   • You’ll know a balloon is filled with helium if it floats. Helium is lighter than air, so it naturally rises. If a balloon stays down near the ground, it doesn’t have helium in it.

   Warning: Never suck helium straight from a helium tank. The pressure coming from the tank is much stronger than that from a balloon, and the pressure could damage your lungs and cause a serious injury.

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   Poke a small hole near the balloon’s knot with a safety pin. If you don’t have a safety pin, a pushpin or sewing needle will work just the same. Use the pin to prick the balloon and create a really small hole, and then squeeze the hole shut with your fingers to keep the helium from escaping until you’re ready to inhale.

   • If the balloon is inflated but not knotted, you don’t need to poke a hole in it. You can simply suck the air directly from the opening.

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   Put your mouth over the hole and inhale while squeezing the balloon. Don’t just hold the helium in your mouth—breathe it in like you would a normal breath of air. Just 3-4 seconds should be enough to fill your lungs with helium.^[2]

   • It helps to exhale fully before inhaling so that you can get as much helium into your lungs at once as possible.
   • Helium doesn’t have an odor, taste, or smell, so you really won’t be able to tell that you’re breathing in an element different from oxygen until you try to speak.
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   Say something funny to hear how the helium affected your voice. As soon as you’ve finished inhaling, start talking! The helium-effect will only last for 5 seconds or so, so don’t wait too long.^[3]

   • What you say is totally up to you! Have fun and come up with unique phrases or just repeat your name over and over again to hear how you sound.
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   Wait 2-3 minutes between each helium-inhale to rebalance your oxygen. If you suck too much helium at once or for too long of a period of time, you can hurt yourself. So between each inhalation of helium, take a few minutes to breathe normally. ^[4]

   Warning: Stop inhaling helium immediately if you feel lightheaded or are unable to catch your breath.

   See Also

   Earth’s core may have been leaking helium for millions of years | CNNDoes My Helium Tank Contain 100 Percent Helium?Nitrous Oxide "Laughing Gas" for Short And Minimally Invasive Procedures – Steve Meyers, MDHelium Safety | Mad Balloons

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1. 1

   Write down a few funny lines to say beforehand so you don’t forget. Knowing what you want to say ahead of time can make your experience that much more enjoyable! Try out a few of these fun tongue-twisters:^[5]

   • “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”
   • “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”
   • “Betty bought a bit of butter, but the butter Betty bought was bitter.”
   • “Round the rough and rugged rock the ragged rascal rudely ran.”
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   Sing a short song to entertain your friends. The changes in pitch can make your helium-effected voice sound that much funnier. Pick a favorite song or make something up.^[6]

   • See how far into a song you can get before the helium wears off. You could even make this into a challenge with your friends!
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   Record yourself to post online and share with your friends. Use the video function on your phone or have a friend do it for you. Put the video on your social media pages so your friends can make comments.

   • Try coordinating with your friends to make a video of you all talking or singing at the same time right after having sucked helium.
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   Order food in the drive-through with your helium voice to crack people up. Get a helium balloon and hop in the car with some friends to go through a local drive-through. When it’s time to place your order, inhale some helium and talk as fast as you can.

   • Have someone else drive the car; otherwise, you might be too distracted by driving, sucking helium, and talking to be a safe driver.

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Tips

Tips from our Readers

The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

• Only suck in helium every once in a while. Using it too often can have negative side effects like a sore throat.
• Stop sucking in helium if you feel at all lightheaded. Any more, and you may faint or collapse.

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