If you’ve come this far looking for how to make soap bubbles, I’m sure you’ve had the same problem that all mothers and fathers end up having sooner or later: you’ve run out of soap bubble mix and you’re not able to find the formula to make large soap and water bubbles out of your soap and water mixture. Don’t worry, the solution is much easier than you think. Needless to say that a good place to do them is in a campsite in Benidorm… (wink, wink).
Tips for making giant bubbles with children
Use the correct proportions to make pompero soap.
You are not getting the desired result because you are not mixing the quantities properly, and the specialists in making pomperos do not want to tell us their “magic” formula, but we know it.
To make bubble mixture, you have to combine one part soap to three parts water. That is, if you add one cup of soap, add three cups of water.
Although the result will also be good with tap water or mineral water, there is a trick that will allow you to make bigger and more resistant bubbles: distilled water. It is a product that you can easily find in the supermarket, usually in the cleaning products section, because it is the water used for irons and steamers.
As for the soap, in principle any soap will do, even bath gel, but the best results are achieved with liquid dishwashing detergent.
Stirred, not shaken
We all have the same tendency, mix the water with the soap, close the container tightly and shake hard. And we all find the same result when we open the jar: a lot of foam with which we can barely make a few small bubbles.
The key is to prepare the mixture as if it were the drink of the mythical James Bond, stir, but do not shake. Put the soap first and then the water, and stir well and slowly so that the ingredients mix, this will avoid generating more foam than necessary.
In addition, to make good soap bubbles, we must cultivate patience. Because the mixture will only be really effective if it is left to stand for a few hours. It is advisable to let it stand uncovered overnight.
The secret ingredient
The big secret is how to make soap bubbles that do not break, large and resistant. Here’s where there’s a little trick. When creating the mixture in the pompero, you should add a little glycerin (half a part). This helps the liquid to thicken and, by having more consistency, we can make larger bubbles.
How to make homemade soap bubbles without glycerin? Don’t worry, you don’t need to go out now in search of a pharmacy to buy glycerin (Amazon), because you can get a similar result with products that you surely have more at hand. For example, a little fixing gel or hair gel. If you use this ingredient, add two parts to your mixture.
Another option is to add a little powdered sugar or powdered sugar, in which case half of it will be enough. How to make colored soap bubbles? Well, simply add food coloring, the typical ones used in baking.
Where to make the mixture?
If you want to make really big soap bubbles, or have enough soapy water to keep the kids entertained for a while, a classic pompero will not be enough. You can prepare the mixture in a milk bottle that you have previously cleaned, or directly in a bucket.
Shaping the bubbles
If the kids have lost the typical pompero stick, no problem, a straw is a good substitute. Just place it on the soapy mixture, remove it and blow on the opposite side. The longer they are able to keep blowing, the bigger the pomp will become.
Another alternative is a funnel, which allows us to make giant bubbles. What we do is to dip the wider part into the mixture, and then blow through the narrow part. Even if we do not blow for a long time, the bubbles we will get will be noticeably larger.
Older children, and adults, can blow bubbles without having to blow. All that is needed is an oval-shaped instrument, for example, a strainer from which the mesh area has been removed and the edges lined with a bit of cloth or insulating tape. We dip it in the soapy mixture and when we shake our hands we will obtain a big bubble.
There are many ingenious ways to make your own bubble-making apparatus, for example, with a coat hanger or wire. Even with two sticks and a circle of wool, very good results are obtained.
Finally, keep in mind that if you make the bubbles outdoors on days with a very dry environment, it is possible that they will explode sooner. See the Soap Wiki for more information and tips.
What was the largest giant soap bubble in history?
According to the Guinness Book of Records, there are different giant soap bubbles registered:
- The largest floating Giant Soap Bubble made outdoors was 96.27 m3 and was made by Gary Pearlman in Cleveland (USA) in June 2015. We are talking about a pomp of more than 5.5 meters in diameter.
- The largest Giant Floating Giant Soap Bubble made indoors was 21.45 m3 and was also made by Gary Pearlman, in May 2019. This is almost 3.5 meters in diameter.
- The highest Giant Soap Bubble was 10,750m and was made by Graeme Denton, nicknamed Marty McBubble, in Adelaide (Australia) in September 2020.
Now that you know how to make soap bubbles in a big way… It’s time to have fun! A perfect activity to enjoy with the family and that, of course, you can put into practice in our campsite with children’s entertainment.
