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Flame Retardant Specialists
Absolute Home Textiles provides a place where you can get the best home textiles for your needs; be it a hotel, nursing home, restaurant or other institutions. We ensure all of our products are manufactured to the highest quality in our own factory, making sure to provide our customers with comforting luxury products at an affordable and competitive price.
We offer an extensive range of products that cater for all needs, with an array of towels and countless choices of bed and table linen in a variety of colours and styles to suit all requirements. Our bespoke range is designed with the customer in mind, ensuring that any requirement, no matter how small or large, can be catered for via our renowned customer service team.
Absolute Specialists
AHT are industry leaders in Flame Retardant bedding, supplying BS 7175 certified products to establishments around the globe. We provide safety tested products to all institutions, providing comfort and safety to thousands of people. Our extensive flame retardant range covers all essentials needed to ensure any establishment looks visually put together. From duvets and pillows to flat sheets and covers, we offer choice for all in a variety of appealing colours, that not only look stylish but provide total safety. The importance of establishments finding what they are looking for is of utmost priority, hence why we offer such a large selection of bespoke products.
Testing and Safety
To ensure the reliability of our flame retardant bedding, we meticulously test our products to ensure they meet and pass BS 7175 Source 7 testing. The tests have been conducted under strict conditions and put through various situations that are similar to real life occurrences, meaning extensive research has been conducted into the many different ways in which a fire could potentially start in different situations and causing it to spread. Safety tests are conducted in different conditions to allow for any eventuality and show that the products are safe no matter how the surrounding environment is.
How FR Works
Flame retardant products burn slowly and self extinguish which means that they limit the spread of fire, assisting in the reduction of built up heat, preventing rapid fire development which are commonly known as flashovers. Fire tests show the speed at which a blaze can spread in a room with conventional textiles which is why flame retardant textiles are a better option as they do not spread fire and allow it to extinguish. Normal textiles will catch fire very easily, with a simple drop of a cigarette or a candle falling over, the flame will catch and burn through the material at a rapid state. With fire retardant textiles a fire will start yet not spread, the material is either treated with chemical or inbuilt within the fabric grains with repellent that forces the fire to burn slowly and in some cases extinguish the flames allowing those in the surrounding areas to reach to safety and the correct actions to be taken. Chemicals are used in FR textiles to form an insulating char when exposed to flames, this protects the fabric and provides an outcome of being flame retardant. Fire retardant textiles provide time for actions to be taken so that devastating situations can be halted in time, meaning lives are protected as well as establishments.
Research into the causes of fire show that unsuitable textiles can contribute considerably towards a fire spreading, hence why national and international standards regulate protection against fire. Consumers buying from ourselves can have peace of mind for their establishment, they can be sure when using the products that the spread of fire will be considerably lowered, and know that the products conform to the important BS 7175 source 7 standards.
Where To Use Flame Retardant Fabrics
Textiles used for industrial purposes or in a contract environment are commonly referred to as technical textiles or high performance textiles. In these industrial and commercial applications, stringent performance requirements must be met. One sector of high performance textiles is Fire Retardant Textiles. The use of fire retardant textiles in establishments have become so vital that laws have now been passed by Parliament stating different levels of fire retardancy. They state which environment requires what level, these are split into low, medium and high risk locations. A high risk example would be a prison, a detention centre or an oil rig. A psychiatric hospital or a care home would be of medium risk and low risk would be holiday accommodation; such as caravans and hotels. It is vital to know that fabrics used in a majority of public places are required by law to be certified as flame retardant. The importance of fire retardant materials cannot be stressed enough in public places. The dangers and risk of situations occurring where a fire can start in numerous ways is of a much higher rate than in a standard home. The variables are too high and countless ways of it happening hence why it is vital for fire retardant textiles to be in place.
The Importance Of Flame Retardant
Falling asleep with a candle on could lead to dramatic outcome if a gust of air has it’s way, causing a fight between life and death. Standard materials catch fire easily and begin to burn quick with no haste, unlike Flame retardant materials which do the opposite. When exposed to a small scale ignition such as a cigarette or candle, FR textiles slow down the burning process, ultimately extinguishing the blaze. Fire retardant fabrics effectively counteract the source, usually in less than a minute, ensuring that anyone in the vicinity remains safe and giving them enough time to evacuate the area if need be. Fire retardant textiles are now such an integral part of the industry, the advantages of having fire retardant products are such widespread that it has become a norm and a necessity in one of the fastest growing industries contributing towards safety. No matter where we go or what we do, chances are our lives are made safer by flame retardants, which provide an important layer of protection in our everyday lives.
The Standards and Range of Flame Retardants
The melting temperature is one of the many factors that is considered when producing fire retardant fabrics. To meet a standard of flame retardancy a fabric must not ignite or create a self-sustaining flame when subjected to a heat source for a given passage of time. Most flame retardant compounds share common elements such as phosphorus, nitrogen and halogen. Transition, melting and combustion temperatures and the limiting oxygen index (LOI) must all be taken into consideration when determining the flame retardant factor. All this is thoroughly tested in numerous ways.
Fire retardant fabrics that are certified as FR has been treated in an immersion process with a chemical fire retardant after the fabric has been woven. Because the treatment is a chemical, it will wear out in time, and repeated cleaning will cause the flame retardancy to dissolve sooner. Most flame proofing chemicals are water soluble and will also dissolve through dry cleaning. For this reasons, “FR” flame retardancy is certified for a number of washes. There are different levels of fire retardant textiles, fabric that have been certified as Inherently fire retardant (IFR) or Permanently Fire Retardant (PFR) has been woven from fibres that are intrinsically non-combustible. The fire retardancy of IFR and PFR fabrics will last for the life of the fabric and will not dissipate after cleaning.
When a fabric is designated as “inherently flame retardant,” “permanently flame retardant,” or “durably flame retardant,” the flame retardancy will last for the life of the fabric. In the case of fabrics that are designated as “flame retardant,” that have been topically treated with chemicals, the flame retardancy of the fabric will dissipate over time, particularly with repeated cleaning. These fabrics must be dry-cleaned with a non-liquid cleaning agent. Flammability of fabric can be drastically reduced through the use of fire retardants. Many natural fibres, 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 flame retardant. This is because the fabrics are manufactured utilizing fibres for which the flame retardant properties are built directly into the molecular structure of the fibres.
Other synthetic fabrics may be considered durably fire retardant, fire retardant, or non-fire retardant. “Durably fire retardant” refers to a process in which polyesters are chemically treated during the manufacturing process with a non-water soluble chemical. In other cases, synthetic fabrics may be topically treated with chemicals after the manufacturing process (in the same manner as natural fibres such as cotton), or may be untreated (or untreatable) and therefore considered non-flame retardant.
Where to get fire retardant textiles
The importance of fire retardancy has been looked into thoroughly over the years and many companies offer different items. Absolute Home Textiles take pride in being a part of such a vital aspect of providing items to their consumers that are not only filled with choice and options but also provide safety and protection. Fire retardant textiles may not be the first thing someone thinks of, yet they are a vital and integral part of providing safety whilst looking chic. It will give peace of mind that a deterrent is in place in case such situation arises. Our highly attentive customer care team will listen to what is required and will do their utmost best to meet the your requirements. For our complete Flame retardant range, visit our site.