No matter whom you are, if something is burning you want it to stop. While everything cannot be prevented, there are ways to slow down the burning process.
Fires are a serious issue,
especially if you live in a hot, dry climate. But regardless where you are, if you smell smoke, you want to be able to handle the issue before it gets too bad. That’s why it’s good to treat fabrics and other materials with fire retardant. Learn more about this chemical to see how you can protect yourself and family.
What is it?
A fire retardant is a chemical agent that can be applied to everything from clothing to building materials. Its main purpose is to help decrease burning potential and prevent large fires. This can be helpful when smoke alarms fail and a home becomes engulfed in flames. A material that has been soaked with the chemical can keep your clothing from burning as fast as it would if there was no flame-reducing chemical applied.
Why do we need it?
When you smell smoke or see flames, you’ll be happy to know your clothing or the building you’re in had a fire retardant. This type of chemical can be extremely beneficial not only to firefighters but also the people or building they’re trying to save. Although this agent will not completely prevent an item or object from burning, it can greatly reduce the speed in which it ignites. This added time can help give you a chance to get out of the burning building or clothing. Or if you can’t get out, this chemical may allow you time to find something to put the flames out. Whatever the case, if something is burning, you’ll feel more at ease if you knew it had been fireproofed.
How does it work?
Basically, a fire retardant slows combustion. The faster combustion happens, the faster flames appear. When using a flame-reducing agent, the chemicals can react in various ways. Sometimes, the agent simply halts the chemical process during combustion, which slows the results. In addition, other agents simply separate polymers which also interrupt the combustion process. Furthermore, another method involves carbon char that sticks to the polymer surface, which also makes it really hard for anything to burn.
Flammable fabrics
Although we know that just about everything will burn, some fabrics burn faster than others. For instance fabrics like acrylic and polyester do not burn really fast. Yet, whenever they do catch fire, they will melt causing extremely painful burns on the skin. Cotton, linen and silk can burn quickly. However, silk burns the fastest, while cotton and linen oftentimes have been treated with a fire retardant, which helps reduce the speed in which the material burns.
Not only does the material matter, but the weight and method in which the material was woven also matters. If a shirt or other fabric has been made with a strong, tight weave then it won’t burn as fast as a fabric that has been loosely woven with long fibers.
Furthermore, draperies and curtains are notorious for burning, but if they’ve been treated with a good fire retardant, the effects aren’t nearly as bad. Just keep mind that chemicals used to treat your draperies and other similar materials should not be used on clothing.
