For party rental companies, no matter the bounce houses or inflatable water slides, cleaning is mission critical. Compared with the dry bounce houses and inflatable obstacle courses, the inflatable water slides and slip N slides need to remain wet throughout the entire play time makes it more prone to germs, bacteria, mold and mildew. With water flow on the surface doesn't make your inflatable water slide clean. Therefore, clean your inflatable water slide after each use is as important as cleaning your bouncy castles for operating your rental business.


Let's take a deep look at the professional tips for cleaning a commercial inflatable water slide!

1. The Visual Inspection

The first step to cleaning your inflatable wet slides is to carefully and thoroughly examine the inflatable structure from top to bottom to make yourself know fairly well about the dirty places and how much cleaning it will require. You can do this step before you deflate it on the client's site if there is enough time.

First you should search and remove any loose debris like sticks, leaves, toys, jewelry, crayons and food. Always remember to return any property you find to your customers, especially things like toys and jewelry or anything else that might have valve or personal.

In addition to the loose objects, you should also inspect for the dirt or grime, dirty or filthy areas, mildew and mold, fading colors or worn out spots, physical damages like tears, rips, scuffs, punctures or stressed areas that may rip/tear/puncture soon. Some areas require a more thoroughly cleaning and some areas just need you to be more careful.

2. Onsite Rinsing

After visual inspection, you can ask the property owner if you can use their garden hose to rinse your inflatable water slide. This step may not always be an option but it makes sense to rinse down your inflatable unit before turning off the hose and packing the inflatable. If you still have time, you can grab a few towels and give the water slide a nice once-over. And then deflate it and roll it up, load it into your van or truck and bring it home.

3. Rinsing at Home

Regardless of whether you have rinsed your inflatable water slide on the customer's site, it's necessary to rinse it more thoroughly after back to your place. You need to roll it out and inflate it again. Inspect the entire structure again includes the underside and give it a nice full rinse. Break up any caked on mud and rinse away the debris. But don't use an amount of water pressure that's too forceful or might damage the material. A light or medium water pressure is ideal.

4. Deep Cleaning of Inflatable Water Slide

First you need to get some cleaning solution. You can buy some professional vinyl cleaners or make some at home. Use three parts water and one part vinegar and a sensible amount of mild dish soap. This homemade cleaning solution is much cheaper and convenient. However, do not use dish soaps containing bleach because bleach tends to cause varying degrees of color fading.

Once you've got your cleaning solution ready, apply it to your inflatable structure and focus on areas where people go like ladders, sliding lanes and landing ares, etc. Use soft bristle brush, a sponge or a rag to scrub these areas. Scrub the areas with dirty build ups more than occasionally. Once everywhere has been cleaned, you should give the water slide a good and thorough rinsing from top to bottom. Be sure there's no soapy residue left behind.

5. Disinfecting Your Inflatable Water Slide

After raining and cleaning, you will need a round of disinfecting to remove the germs, bacteria and viruses. In this step, you can spray disinfectants on the inflatable contact surface or use bleach-free disinfecting wipes to thoroughly scrub everywhere a child might touch like railings, guide rails, landings and sidewalls. Do not rinse the disinfectant away unless specifically told otherwise by the manufacturer.

6. Drying Your Inflatable Water Slide

The last step to clean an inflatable water slide might be the easiest which is to let the water slide thoroughly dry before wrap it up. Shake excess water away or use dry towels to wipe down areas with excessive water. Then allow the entire structure inflated to air dry and sun dry. Sunlight does a great job of drying your inflatable water slides. Although sunlight does not disinfect your equipment, but the UV rays are also a decent weapon against water pathogens. If you are in a hurry for this step, you can use a leaf blower to dry much of the water slide.

Patience and carefulness are the keys for cleaning. If you don't carry out all of the above steps properly, the mold and mildew can grow in as little as 24 to 48 hours and continues to eat fade and even eat its way through vinyl. So when you find mold and mildew you need to break out all of the stops to kill it dead and prevent it from getting worse than it is. Click here to learn how to get mold and mildew out of your bounce house.

Taking the time to carefully and methodically inspect, clean, and properly dry your inflatable water slide can prevent any number of catastrophes. If you have any questions about how to operate a successful inflatable rental business, please contact us below!