Your house is your sanctuary against the ravages of winter, the one place you can always return to when Mother Nature starts piling on the white stuff. For better or worse, your house can only protect you as well as you insulate it from external ravages. Recent generations, however, have introduced a list of options when it comes to selecting a type of insulation. Regardless of the variety, only one style of insulation manages to keep your home warm while simultaneously providing an environmentally green experience: Spray Foam Insulatio n.
When most people hear the word insulation, the first thing that comes to mind is the large, multicolored roll of soft material carpenters often utilize. These fiberglass batts and blankets are the most common type of insulation for homes due to their low cost of production and ease of use. Unfortunately, there are many negative factors that may be more detrimental to your home and family than helpful. Phenol formaldehyde, used as a binder in these rolls, has been notably listed as an active carcinogen according to doctors. Additionally, less than half of these materials are recyclable, making fiberglass batts and blankets extremely unfriendly to the environment.
Rockwool is another option made available to home owners, but it can be fairly difficult to find a company that actively stocks the material. While it does have the benefit of being made of approximately 90% recyclable material, there are still many health risks with this option. Rockwool contains crystalline silica, which causes lung disease and cancer if breathed in over long periods of time. Since it retains moisture, the material has also been known to grow mold that contributes to air pollution as well.
Alternatively, spray foam insulation manages to combine materials that are safe for both the environment and human body to help keep you warm all winter. With a higher R-Value than many other options - 3.5 to 3.6 per inch – warm air will have a harder time finding tiny cracks to slip through while trapped within your house. This reduces the amount of energy you should expect to expend throughout the cold season, helping you maintain a costly and environmentally friendly winter. Also, nothing within spray foam insulation will deteriorate and cause cancer or destroy the planet.
If you have moved into a new home without updated insulation, or if it’s simply time to update the insulation in your current house, stay informed before making a decision. Many people simply try to find the cheapest option, finding out too late that they’ve filled their walls with carcinogenic materials. Do your part for the environment, and your own body, by investigating the benefits of spray foam. Your family, and the environment, will appreciate it with each passing day.