Hand pump and inflation noise

[Dude1234]

Could a normal person hear a hand pump or mouth inflation from a room next to the one making the noise?

The person living in the bedroom next to mine leaves once in a blue moon so I want to loon More so I used a hand pump to blow up an inflatable. I was just wondering is inflating as loud as I think it is and can anyone actually hear me

[Mutaloon]

That depends on how well insulated your walls are. I don't think the noise of inflating a balloon by mouth or by a hand pump can be heard through walls.

[balloonPatcher]

The electric pumps sound very much like a vacuum.
I would be clean freak vacuuming every night,...

Just a thought

[b0f0s0f]

Usually things like talking, chewing, or blowing up a balloon sound louder to you than they do externally since the sound conducts through your head, so it's always a little hard to tell. At least you can be fairly certain that the external sound is not *quieter* than it sounds to you. You could record the sound of yourself blowing up a balloon with your phone and then play it back with the volume set to sound at least as loud as it sounds to you or even louder, as a sort of worst-case scenario, and then listen to it through a wall that's similar to the one that separates the two rooms. I won't encourage you to actually go into their room to test the sound through the real wall since that's a violation of their privacy, but that would be an option too.

Otherwise, your best bet is just to stay as far away from the wall as possible, so that it reduces the intensity of the sound that could make it through. You could put a white noise source next to the wall on their side (a fan or something) and then if any sound leaks through, it would only be that, and not the balloon sounds.

[Scooter]

You could put a white noise source next to the wall on their side (a fan or something) and then if any sound leaks through, it would only be that, and not the balloon sounds.

This would be my suggestion as well. Just get a small plug-in fan. Makes sense given how hot things are now (at least in this hemisphere), so it's not suspicious. I have one to keep me cool at night, and it's been able to cover most playing noises... plus it adds to the fun a little since the balloon might swing around a bit in the breeze.

As long as you aren't popping (which you aren't asking about anyway), it should do the trick if you're worried.

[Exaturbo]

One suggestion too. Most hand pumps I’ve seen come with those corrugated hoses.
The hose is responsible for most of the noise. If you can replace the hose with a smooth walled one, it will be LOTS quieter.

[Marck]

I don't have experience with hand pumps. So I'll focus on mouth inflation.

Based on your description I guess we are talking about inhouse walls and not the walls with neighbours. If I am wrong, you are safe (at least in Europe).
Mouth inflation doesn't make that much sound. Any normal sound (playing music softly) can be louder. So if you can have an additional sound source (music, fan (as earlier suggested), tv) people won't hear you inflating a balloon.
I lived in student homes. I did care about popping, but inflating and non-pop playing I didn't bother. And yes, I could hear them if they reached the "high point".

[Asclepio]

I usually try to put some music while I am blowing loons, a single speaker like a BOSE sound link mini II can be hear from the outside and it can camouflage the sounds very good, believe no one will know about the real noises on your home.