Before you start. Pick flat ground clear of rocks, sticks and thorns, away from branches and power lines. Siting it along a wall, hedge or fence cuts the wind load. Avoid low spots that puddle. Because this piece is long and low rather than tall, it works well in front of a window or along a path without blocking anything.

1. Unroll it facing the right way. Find the blower, the power port, the tether loops, the base stake sleeves and the deflation zipper before you go further.
2. Attach the blower to its port and secure the collar. Close every zipper and tie off any open port. An open port is the single most common reason one of these will not stand up.
3. Test-inflate before anchoring. Plug in on a clear dry patch, check it stands and look it over for tears. It fills in under a minute.
4. Position it, then stake the base. Stakes through the base sleeves first, driven at a slight inward angle rather than straight down. Angled stakes resist the upward pull of wind far better.
5. Run the tethers. Out from the side loops to stakes at about 45 degrees, keeping tension on the fabric as you drive each one.
6. Fill the sandbag pouch with sand or gravel. It ships empty, as a pocket rather than a weight.
7. Even it out. Let it fully inflate, walk around it, adjust the tethers until it sits straight, and tug-test every anchor point.
8. Re-check the next day and again after a week. Stakes work loose as ground dries out.

Order matters: inflate, position, anchor, then tension. Anchoring it while flat gives crooked tethers every time.

Power. The supplied cord is short, as it is on every yard inflatable, so an outdoor-rated extension cord is effectively required. Use a grounded three-prong outdoor cord, 14 AWG or heavier, into a GFCI outlet. A cord that is too long or too thin starves the blower and the display sags. Keep the cord and adapter junction off the ground and out of puddles.

On a driveway, patio or deck, where stakes cannot go: put sandbags or water bags at every anchor point, or tie off to deck posts, fence rails or railings. Double up the bags in an exposed spot.

Storage. Unplug, open the deflation zipper and press the air out from the top down. Bag the stakes separately so they cannot puncture the fabric. Dry it completely before folding — this is the one step that decides whether it comes out of the box usable next year. Folded away damp for eleven months it will come out mildewed, and mildew stains on printed polyester do not come out. Fold loosely along the existing creases and store cool, dry and out of direct sunlight.

One safety note: guy lines across a lawn are a trip hazard on a night when children are walking up the path in the dark. Site it so the tethers do not cross the route to the door.