Thursday, November 28, 2013

Silicone Rubber - The Preferred Choice for Daily Living Aids

There are many daily living aids available today, but the materials they are made from is fast becoming an important issue, after some have been cast with doubts about their quality. Silicone rubber is becoming a popular choice in this, due to the many positive features the material carries.Firstly, its anti slip and grip properties far outweigh the contenders it has been pitted against, while keeping in mind that most of the products developed are for use in the hand, and internal areas. Silicone rubber is an extremely comfortable material in the hand, with a soft cushioning surface that can allow for efficient grip without the effort equalling it.Secondly, silicone rubber is easy to shape and manufacture, and doesn't need any additives to soften it.Silicone rubber is inert, as it does not react with most chemicals, and is also non toxic, so is suitable for using in medical devices and implants, cooking, baking and food storage products also. It's use in baking and cooking, is down to its heat resistance, most polymers can withstand temperatures ranging from -55°C up to +300°C.PVC was and is still used in daily living aids, but firstly, the downsides to it are the host of additives it needs to make it useable. Lead, cadmium or organotins are needed to be used as stabilisers. Phthalates, which are now banned in parts of Europe and in the US, with the US banning its use in childrens toys since 2008, are the most common environmental pollutant. There are various plasticisers, with around 95% of them used in the manufacture of flexible PVC.During the manufacturing, use and disposal of PVC, it leaks dioxins, the most toxic synthetic chemical known, which is also a carcinogen and hormone disruptor. Dioxins can accumulate in the fatty tissue of living beings. While levels of dioxins may be very minute in many things, the fact that such a harmful toxin is at all present in products raises a serious issue as to whether businesses would rather earn a bit more of a percentage in exchange for a potential negative effect on future generations health.Silicone has revealed itself as the future material for all products, particularly low tech daily living aids, to move forward with, as it does not seem to have any negative properties. Its chemical inertness lends to the possibility of increasing its properties by the addition of non-toxic additives, either making it even more sterile than it is already, leading to advance in the use of silicone rubber in the medical field.



Tenura daily living aids are manufactured from silicone rubber, making them non toxic, heat resistant, and above all have excellent anti slip and grip properties.

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