SILER CITY — Sam Milsaps, owner of The Friendly Florist in Siler City, has a supply of helium, a commodity important to one component of his business.
Helium, one of the noble gases, is used to inflate balloons, giving them their lighter-than-air buoyancy.
But Milsaps acknowledged, “I’m lucky.”
That’s because helium is hard to come by lately because of a global shortage, and many other retailers who rely on it to inflate balloons for birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day and other celebratory occasions don’t have it.
A sign at The Dollar Tree in Siler City prepares customers hoping to buy the party props: “Due to the global helium shortage we are temporarily out of helium,” reads the computer-printed sign posted inside the store. “We apologize for any inconvenience.”
Kenneth James, manager of the store, said corporate policy requires he direct all media inquiries about the chain and its products to the company’s corporate office in Chesapeake, Virginia, though James said, “I can confirm there’s a global shortage of helium.”
The store sells a lot of balloons for a buck each when helium is available. Although uninflated, sample balloons still line the front wall of the store, the local Dollar Tree hasn’t been able to inflate and sell them. The store’s “Balloon Center” — a small, caged enclosure on the ceiling near the front of the store, normally containing a supply of already-inflated party balloons for customers to select — has been empty for several weeks.
A shortage of supply, however, hasn’t stanched demand. Shoppers come into the local retailer daily aiming to purchase helium-filled balloons.
“We had customers in today asking for them,” James said mid-morning last Wednesday. “But they’re understanding. We explain about the global shortage.”
On the other hand, Milsaps has a supply of helium at The Friendly Florist. He secured it before the shortage became severe.
“I was still able to get it from my supplier,” he said. “And I’ve got it on hand, so it hasn’t been a problem for us.”
Milsaps, who noted balloons are a “popular add-on” for many of his customers buying flower arrangements, said his supply should last him a while. But future supplies are likely to come at an increased cost.
“The price has skyrocketed because of the shortage,” Milsaps said. “It’s really gone through the roof.”
Those price increases have the local businessman questioning whether he’ll continue offering helium-requiring balloons, or charging more for them, in the future. But for now they’re still available and at their normal price.
“I’m not sure which direction it’ll go,” Milsaps said.
He noted, however, this isn’t the first helium shortage, and he’s weathered those previous dry spells the same way he’s getting through the current one: by securing a supply early.
Though such shortages have made headlines periodically over the last few years, it’s not a 21st-century problem. The availability of the gas has fluctuated over several decades, including a shortage in 1958, when the iconic, larger-than-life Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade floats were, by necessity, filled with air instead of helium. That year, at the urging of the U.S. Government, Macy’s “decided to inflate the balloons with air and hoist them on trucks with cranes for the journey down Broadway,” according to the website nyctourist.com, which further notes the annual holiday parade is “the world’s second largest consumer of helium.” (The site says the U.S. Government is the first.)
Eric Patin, an award-winning teacher who heads Chatham Central High School’s science department, said he first became aware of a helium shortage a couple of years ago.
“I had a few students who were trying to get helium balloons, and they couldn’t find them anywhere,” Patin said. “So I did a little research on it. Helium is just an element and doesn’t exist in its pure state. Our supply really comes from when we drill for natural gas. It’s a by-product.”
Much of the helium created as a by-product of natural gas drilling simply isn’t captured for use, according to several online sources, in part because of the expense and complexity of storing it.
While helium does have commercial applications — it’s used in cryogenics, MRI scanners and some industrial uses — most of us need it only for balloons.
“Helium isn’t a part of our bodies or our living system,” Patin said.
A father of three children, Patin said he’s certainly purchased a few helium balloons.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “They’re fun, and kids love them.”
And inhaling the non-toxic gas, as everyone knows, makes our voices sound funny, a la Alvin and the Chipmunks.
“I’d never done that until last year when a couple of my students gave me some balloons for my birthday,” Patin said, chuckling. “It irritated my vocal chords and I had kind of a sore throat for about a day.”
Randall Rigsbee can be reached at rigsbee@chathamnr.com.