Making your curtains fire safe.
Fire Rating – Curtains
The term ‘fire rating’ is used in New Zealand Building Code Compliance Document Fire Safety
C/AS1 to mean ‘fire resistance rating’. However Fire rating is a misleading term as all organic products are ‘combustible’ or ‘flammable’ to some degree. Fabric flammability is an important textile issue, especially for stage drapery that will be used in a public space such as a school, theatre or special event venue. Although all fabrics will burn, some are naturally more resistant to fire than others. Those that are more flammable can have their fire resistance drastically improved
by treatment with fire retardant chemicals.
Fire retardant treatment:
The flammability of fabric can be drastically reduced through the use of fire retardants. Many natural fibers, including cotton, can be topically treated with a chemical that reduces the fabric’s flammability to the extent that it becomes nearly non-combustible. During a fire, the chemical reacts with the gases and tars generated naturally by the fabric, converting the gases and tars to carbon char, thus drastically slowing the fabric’s burning rate. Some polyester fabrics are
considered permanently fire retardant. This is because fire retardant properties are built directly into the molecular structure of the fibers. Other synthetic fabrics can also be topically treated with
chemicals after the manufacturing process.
Fires in houses spread quickly and are deadly. Treating curtains with a Fire Retardant will slow the progress of flame upwards and may even cause the flame to extinguish.
Sources of flame vary from lighter (kids playing), to electric blankets to lithium batteries found in many of today’s devices and cell phones.
Many curtain materials are flammable. Many contain natural and synthetic fibres which can and do burn. You can protect yourself and your family by applying a flame retardant.
A flame-retardant solution makes the material resistant to burning when it encounters a low-energy ignition source, such as a cigarette lighter or a candle.
Curtain Clean can now apply a fire retardant to those curtains that are not flame retardant. This can be done on new or older curtains.
It is recommended that older curtains are cleaned before application of the retardant and the retardant is then applied as part of the cleaning process.
Have your curtains treated while they are here for cleaning.
Curtains can also be treated in SITU.
For more information, please call us on 0800 579 0501.
Poll: Does the building consent process need to change?
We definitely need homes that are fit to live in but there are often frustrations when it comes to getting consent to modify your own home.
Do you think changes need made to the current process for building consent? Share your thoughts below.
Type 'Not For Print' if you wish your comments to be excluded from the Conversations column of your local paper.
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91.7% Yes
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8% No
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0.3% Other - I'll share below!
Say goodbye to tyre waste
About 40% of the 6.5 million tyres Kiwis use every year are recycled, repurposed, or used as tyre-derived fuel. But the rest end up in landfills, stockpiled or dumped.
The good news is now there’s an easy solution to all that tyre waste. It’s called Tyrewise and is New Zealand’s first national tyre recycling scheme.
Tyrewise ensures that tyres in Aotearoa New Zealand are recycled or repurposed properly, saving millions from going to the landfill.
Find out more about the scheme online.
Unelected commissioners recommend they stay in power
That's the Stuff headline. I have watched on as these commissioners proselytize about how they respect democracy-and now this. I acknowledge Simeon Brown has rejected their proposal but all I see is these commissioners trying to cling on to power and their sinecure at all costs. It is unbelievable-they should be ashamed. Ms Tolley (who does not live here), Mr Selwood who gets flown up from god knows where, and the other two-spare me the platitudes about how they are only here for the benefit of Tauranga. No you are not. You are paid to impose what you think we want. What is that? An oligarchy? Democracy is not perfect but far better than what you propose. To completely misquote Bertrand Russell-let the people think. By the way Mr Rutherford (my absent aka missing in action BoP MP) if you can deign to read this-show some mettle.
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