To ensure your inflatable football tunnel serves you well for the longest time possible, clean it after every use (unless you've only used it indoors and it looks clean).
Today, we’ll show you how to quickly wash, clean, and sterilize your inflatable football tunnel.
1 - Prepare What You’ll Need
To ensure an uninterrupted cleaning process, place everything you need near the cleaning site before starting.
Some of the items you'll need for cleaning and sterilizing your inflatable football tunnel:
- Water
- Soap
- Sponge and rags
- Disinfectant
Get Sufficient Warm Water
Considering the great size of a typical inflatable football tunnel, wash it near a water tank, tap, or any other source of running water.
Although you can use lukewarm water to clean, use warm water if possible. Warm water dissolves soap better and produces a rich lather, that will remove stains faster.
Get Mild Soap
Make sure you use mild soap to avoid damaging the quality of graphics and prints on your inflatable football tunnel.
Get Sponges and Rags
Get a couple of sponges so you wash and rinse without overusing one. Use the sponges to gently scrub the inflatable football tunnel's surface and rinse the soap off with the rags.
Old towels make the perfect rags because they're made from cotton and absorb a lot of moisture.
Get a Disinfectant
You can sterilize your inflatable football tunnel using your ordinary bathroom disinfectant.
The table below shows other items you may need to clean and sterilize your inflatable football tunnel. Keep in mind that these items are optional.
| Item | Purpose |
| Leaf blower | You can use it to dry your inflatable football arch faster |
| A power wash | Use it at a low power setting as high pressure can damage your inflatable tunnel’s vinyl material |
| Rubber gloves | You may need these if you need to scrub off mold or mildew stains using a bleaching agent |
| Disinfecting wipes | You can use these for sterilizing although it’s cheaper to use a diluted mixture of your bathroom disinfectant |
Note: Avoid bleach since it can fade your inflatable tunnel's beautiful colors and damage its vinyl. Only use bleach while cleaning stains left behind by mold or mildew.
As you can see in the video below, you can also use vinegar to remove these stains.
2 - Choose a Paved Surface on a Sunny Day
Pick a clear, paved, and dry surface to do your cleaning so you don’t have to worry about the ground dirtying your inflatable.
If you were to clean it on grass or a dusty place, the inflatable would attract a lot of dirt and grass as soon as it comes into contact with water, making your job more difficult.
For example, use your driveway or a parking lot when it's sunny or your garage during the wet season.
You want to clean on a sunny day when the warm weather will make it easy to dry the inflatable after cleaning.
Drying also helps you avoid runs. Don’t store your inflatable before it's completely dry. It could get infected by mildew and mold, leaving stains that are difficult to clean off.
3 - Clean One Section at a Time
When you have everything ready, cleaning becomes super easy and quick. Below are the steps to follow to get your inflatable football tunnel squeaky clean within a short time.
Step #1: Inflate Your Inflatable Slightly
Inflating your inflatable reduces its folds, making it easier to access more areas of its surface. Don’t fill your inflatable tunnel to its capacity. As you can see below, its circular shape will make it more challenging to clean its roof.
You can slide off and even injure yourself if you get onto it. However, slightly inflating your football tunnel makes it possible to get a flat surface at the top to support you as you clean.
Step #2: Clean the Roof
Next, take off your shoes and get onto your inflatable football tunnel's roof, then begin by wiping with the sponge soaked in soapy water.
Depending on your preference, you can clean using either circular motion or horizontal and vertical movements.
Next, use a wet rug to wipe off the soap and another to dry the surface.
Clean small areas at a time while moving systematically across the roof area.
Step #3: Clean the Outside Surface
Clean the outside surface starting at the top and moving downwards. This is to avoid getting water in areas you've already cleaned.
Also, clean one area at a time while ensuring that you clean off the soap before it dries on the inflatable's surface.
Step #4: Clean the Interior
Now clean the interior of your tunnel using the same procedure (apply soap, rinse, and dry). Since the sun's rays don't shine on the interior surface, ensure you dry it well.
Step #5: Sterilize Your Inflatable Football Tunnel
Begin disinfecting the outside by applying a small mixture of diluted disinfectant to a wet rag and applying it on the inflatable's surface.
Unlike the cleaning process, you don’t need to rinse or dry the disinfectant unless stated by the manufacturer.
Sterilizing works like your regular mouthwash—you never rinse it off. Just allow it to sit and get rid of any germs on your inflatable's surface.
Step #6: Fully Inflate Your Football Tunnel
Once you've completed the cleaning and sterilizing process, inflate the football tunnel to its total volume to allow any remaining moisture to dry off.
Where to Get a Custom Inflatable Football Tunnel
Now that you know to clean and sterilize your Inflatable tunnel, you're probably looking for a place to purchase your custom-designed inflatable conveniently.
At MVP Visuals, you'll get:
- Free samples, layouts, and no setup costs
- Help from a human customer representative, not a robot
- A coordinator to help you through your selection shopping process
- Timely delivery of your custom order
As Stephanie observes, you'll also get a wide variety of designs to guide your choice of a custom inflatable football tunnel:
Essentially, you get what you want, when you want it, and, as you can see below, from a brand trusted by many global corporations.
Some of the Top Brands We’ve Worked With
Contact us today for a free quote, and let us help you tell your brand's story with a custom inflatable football tunnel.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I clean my inflatable football tunnel?
Clean your football tunnel every time you take it down to ensure it’s clean and ready for the next event. Storing while clean also increases its life cycle.
Should I use bleach on my inflatable football tunnel?
No. Bleach can fade your colors and make your inflatable football tunnel look dull. However, you can use small amounts to remove mildew stains.
Which soap should I use to clean my inflatable football tunnel?
Use regular soap to clean your inflatable football tunnel. Avoid soaps that have a bleaching effect as they can fade your inflatable’s colors.
