With the ever increasing focus on different types of domestic cleaning fluids, creams and powders, it is important not to underestimate the importance of the right cleaning implements. Choosing the right sponge for different types of cleaning can make a huge difference in terms of effective hygiene maintenance and dirt removal.

Cellulose sponges, for example, are highly absorbent, hard-wearing cleaning sponges that can easily remove light dirt deposits and stains on a number of surfaces. Large cellulose sponges will soak in a great deal of soapy liquid so are ideal for large areas such as walls and floors.

Meanwhile, cellulose sponges with an added abrasive coating at one end can be used to tackle heavier, more ground-in stains.

A natural sponge on the other hand is extremely soft as well as being highly absorbent. Not only are natural sponges extremely kind to the skin in the form of bath sponges, they are also kind to vulnerable man-made surfaces such as car bodywork and glass, greatly reducing any chance of scratching.

For stains and marks that are very difficult to shift, such as crayon marks and carpet spillages, a special type of sponge made from melamine foam will usually prove extremely effective. Known variously by the trade name Magic Sponge or Great White Sponge, melamine sponge foam is an extremely rigid and ultra-absorbent substance that is ready for use simply by being dipped in water.

At Technical Foam Services, we have a wide range of foam products and ample experience in providing a large variety of cleaning sponges for a wide range of domestic and commercial needs.

The major advantage of foam is that it can be machined and engineered in ways that are customised towards the particular requirements of any business. Although the average consumer often remains unappreciative, or even completely unaware, of the presence of foam, those in manufacturing and retail simply cannot afford to be blind to its almost limitless potential.

Machined foam and engineered foam can be produced, for example, to protect important items and equipment during transportation. Not only does this protective foam include formats such as undulating ‘egg crate’ (or ‘convoluting’) foam, it also extends to the production of specialist foam inserts that can hold and support items such as delicate tools or medical equipment within small travel cases.

Ironically, the fact that such foams perform their protective function so perfectly is often the reason why their contribution often goes unheralded among users. Any business, however, that fails to protect its items to these high standards greatly risks disappointing its customers.

Some foam applications can be almost invisible to the user.

Car manufacturers, for example, are not only using foam for car seats, in car doors, and as a material for car mats; they are also increasingly employing foam on their exteriors: on such items as bumpers and spoilers. Not only do such features contribute greatly to passenger comfort and help prevent unnecessary damage to the bodywork, they also help keep the weight of the vehicle to a minimum.

At Technical Foam Services we have the machinery to produce a vast array of shaped foams and engineered foams for a surprisingly wide range of business needs.

Foam and foam products are generally understood by both consumers and businesses to possess considerable advantages over other building, DIY, and general home applications, owing to their durability, flexibility and ease of handling.

Many potential purchasers are however often confused by the sheer plethora of products offered by foam and foam rubber suppliers who always appear keen to offload stock items without sufficient interest in the purchaser’s underlying needs.

In the area of rubber foams, for example, there are many confusing alternatives available, but with qualities that may appear similar. When one starts to look closer, however, particular preferred applications begin to come clear.

Sponge rubber, for example, is essentially synthetic rubber which has benefitted from the introduction of gases during the manufacturing process in order to render it more flexible and absorbent. Like synthetic rubber it is long-lasting, temperature-resistant, and impervious to oil and chemicals, making it ideal for such items as toys, gaskets and draught excluders.

EPDM on the other hand is a high density, intensely water resistant rubber foam used in such applications as vehicle manufacture and electrical insulation.

A third example, PVC foam sheets, are purchased by those customers looking for a highly flame-resistant product that can be used in the construction of items such as false ceilings and partitions.

When choosing a foam producer it is important to select one where the customer’s needs are listened to and clear, honest explanations are given regarding the most appropriate products on offer.

At Technical Foam Services we pride ourselves on developing trusted trade relations with customers.

There are many types of foam, each one produced by a carefully controlled chemical process that determines the precise growth of particular polymer chains and the exact input of particular gases. That so many types of foam are produced reflects a varied and healthy demand from both industry and consumers.

One of the general reasons why foams are so much in demand is that they are chemically inert; in other words they do not react with chemicals in the environment. They can therefore be used both indoors and outdoors, and in a wide variety of wet and dry atmospheric conditions, without any noticeable physical degradation over the long term.

Foams are also generally favoured over other materials because they are extremely lightweight, making them easy to transport and handle.

Beyond these general advantages, certain types of foam are favoured for their particular qualities.

Rigid foams, for example, lend themselves perfectly to applications such as flotation devices and insulation panels. Flexible foams on the other hand are crucial for diving suits and other forms of protective clothing where body movement cannot afford to be restricted.

Specific foam types also possess particular tendencies.

Neoprene, for example, is especially impervious to oil and petrol, making it the ideal material for use in the construction of certain car parts such as shock absorbers. Nitrile on the other hand has strong fire-retardant properties, meaning that it is much in demand by the building trade.

At Technical Foam Services we can shed more light on the wonders that different types of foam can do for your domestic or business needs.

Foam is a lightweight, inexpensive, and versatile material that can be cut, shaped and altered cosmetically for almost any application. When cutting foam, however, there are several major variables that need to be taken into account. It is therefore recommended that such cutting tasks always be carried out by a trained professional.

One of the most frequent methods of foam cutting, for example, is by using hot wire cutters. Hot wire cutting involves the application of oscillating blades cutting vertically and horizontally to produce an extremely smooth and accurate cut. Hot wire cutting is robust enough to cut rigid foams as well as flexible foams.

Hot wire cutting may however be dangerous if used on polyurethane or PU foams, since the process can result in the release of toxic fumes. It is vital therefore that such cutting is carried out by a trained professional using the appropriate protective clothing.

When cutting polyethylene, or PE foams, on the other hand, their firmness, and therefore difficulty in cutting, may tempt the inexperienced operator to increase the heat. This action, however, will be avoided by an expert foam cutter as it will tend to leave a PE residue on the blade.

Other methods for cutting foam include water jet cutting, whereby powerful shots of abrasive materials suspended in water are fired as a continuous stream, to effect a swifter and smoother incision.

At Technical Foam Services we have ample experience and facilities for cutting any type of foam to any size, both quickly and cost-effectively.

Extreme sports, such as mountain biking, rock climbing, and indeed any activity in which participants subject themselves to extraordinary physical challenges in order to obtain thrills, have grown in popularity in recent years.

The increasing popularity of extreme sports has brought with it of course the greater likelihood of serious injury. Fortunately, many such injuries can be significantly minimised by the use of appropriate safety gear such as helmets and body protection.

To encourage sports participants to wear such protective gear it is important that it is lightweight, comfortable, and unobtrusive. The use of various polyethylene or PE foams, in the construction of these safety items has gone a long way towards ensuring their successful take-up by extreme sports fans.

The major advantage of PE closed cell foams, including plastazote and jiffycell, is that they do not collapse and shrink under pressure like spongy, open cell foams. Instead such closed cell foams retain their essential cushioning and buoyancy qualities whilst remaining lightweight and completely flexible.

PE foams are also temperature-resistant and do not therefore contribute any additional heat discomfort to the wearer.

In short, used for such applications as helmet linings and knee and elbow pads, PE closed cell foams offer full protection whilst doing nothing to impede the comfort or movement of the user. PE foams moreover have the added advantage of resisting the impact of dirt and the growth of mould.

At Technical Foam Services, as experienced foam suppliers, we supply a wide range of PE foams for a number of extreme sports applications.

With worries about fuel bills and concern for the environment being very much at the fore, many households are currently seeking ways of insulating their properties so as to prevent unnecessary heat loss.

Professional cavity wall insulation can be expensive but there are alternative DIY insulation methods that can be employed, principally involving the application of foam sheets.

Whilst polystyrene foam sheets are effective insulators, sheets made from polyurethane foams, or PU foams (polyester foams for example) are generally considered to provide by far the best insulation, even at a mere thickness of only one inch. This is primarily owing to the fact that PU foams have a higher R-value than polystyrene (R-value being a scientific measure of a material’s heat resistance). PU foams are also far better insulators than many other materials, even fibreglass.

For the DIY enthusiast, it is certainly far easier to install foam sheets than it is to spray an equivalent area with liquid foam. Foam sheets also have the advantage over other insulating materials, such as fibreglass, in that they are far less obtrusive inside tight, enclosed spaces.

PU foam sheets are also favoured because of the ease with which they can be cut into different sizes without the need for any specialist tools. In this way even the most awkwardly-shaped or difficult-to-get-to areas can be secured against unnecessary heat escape.

At Technical Foam Services we can explain in more detail the options for buying and installing foam sheets for home insulation purposes; and all of course at great value-for-money prices.

Years of technical development and experimentation have resulted in there being many precise variations of foam type. Selecting the correct foam for a particular application can therefore be a more difficult task than first meets the eye.

In the case of slow recovery foams, for example, knowing that a mattress made from such a material can provide a more precise and contoured support for the human body is only part of the story.

Slow recovery foams are in fact produced according to varying indentation force deflection (IFD) measurements. These measurements show how much force or weight is needed to sink 1 inch into a 50 square inch disc of the foam in question.

Another important factor to take into account when choosing slow recovery foams is their relative weight or density, as this can also influence how firm or soft a mattress feels.

A completely different example of the difficulty in choosing the correct foam is in the sphere of domestic noise absorption, or acoustic, foams. An increasingly important requirement of modern close-built homes so as to minimise extraneous sounds, acoustic foams are produced from a wide range of materials, including various polyurethane or PU foams, and are also available in a variety of format shapes and densities.

When choosing acoustic foams it is vital to seek expert advice on the most appropriate foam products for particular building types and noise reduction needs.

At Technical Foam Services we have the experience and the technical means to find the most appropriate and cost-effective engineered foam solutions for your needs.

Rubber foams have become a necessity to the householder in recent years, providing many people with an easy and cost-effective means of sealing off and weatherproofing vulnerable parts of their property.

The best foam rubber suppliers are now able to offer a range of rubber foams including neoprene, EPDM, nitrile and PVC. These various rubber foams are used extensively throughout industry in such applications as cable insulation, hoses and gaskets, and it is some of these foams that are now being used increasingly in a domestic context.

EPDM, for example, provides the basis for DIY kits that are used to seal off and protect flat roofs. Such roofs are of course notorious for collecting water and allowing that water to leak into the room below, (as opposed to it being diverted away, as would be the case with a more traditional sloping tiled roof).

Use of EPDM foam sheets or foam rolls for such roof sealing and weatherproofing has saved many householders the cost of calling out a professional to install a traditional felt roof. Such EPDM roof seals are also highly age, UV and temperature-resistant, and therefore far less likely to need replacing as soon as a traditional felt covering.

Rubber foams can also be used in other locations around the house that are vulnerable to the impact of the weather, such as windows and doors, particularly where casements and frames are old or broken.

At Technical Foam Services we can supply a full range of rubber foams and foam products in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Manufacturing in the UK is still a potent force in the world economy in spite of the claims from so many harbingers of doom amongst the media and political elites. One of the key product areas in which the UK takes a decisive lead is in the manufacture of foam and foam products.

Foam can be produced from many materials and take on many forms. There are two main types of foam: open cell foams which permit air or liquid to be absorbed (and subsequently either held or released at will); and closed cell foams which are made with air or other gasses trapped inside.

Generally speaking, those foams with open cells tend to be flexible foams and used for applications such as cleaning sponges and filters; whilst those with closed cells tend to be rigid foams and are used in the manufacture of, for example, toy building blocks and floatation devices.

Many a UK foam company has earned its success by targeting a wide range of industrial and professional needs, including those of the automotive industries, the medical professions, and heating and air conditioning system suppliers.

However, if a UK foam exporter merely sticks to generic foam rolls or foam sheets, or even a limited range of foam products, it may well find that it is missing out on the burgeoning market for customised shaped foams and engineered foam.

We at Technical Foam Services have fully exploited both the generic and custom markets in foam and foam products and can therefore provide expert advice on any requirements for economically-produced specialist foam products.