Flame retardant clothes are necessary safety items used by workers in the power industry. Flame retardant clothing protects against fire as these clothes are resistant to fire damage. It is interesting to know that clothing can be given resistance against fire to make it flame-retardant clothing.
How To make material flame retardant? If you’re curious to know how flame retardant clothes are made, then you’ve come to the right place, as this guide will inform you how flame retardant clothes are made.
Flame Retardant Clothing: Explained
Flame retardant clothing is treated with fire retardant chemicals to provide them with resistance against fire. Other varieties of fire retardant clothing are made from fabrics that have a natural resistance to fire. Some fabrics are made by utilizing both of these methods. This clothing is utilized in various ways but mainly for utility workers that require protection from fire hazards. It’s also used in children’s products and clothing.
Bedding and clothing, especially intended for military workers and infants, must meet governmental fire-related safety standards. Fire retardant chemicals are used by coating them onto the fabric to give them fire resistance. Most FR clothing is coated with chlorine, borax, or boric acid. These chemicals can resist flames and won’t burn like ordinary clothing.
Anyone wearing clothing that has been treated with these flame-retardant chemicals will be protected against fire for a longer time compared to someone wearing ordinary clothing that is not flame resistant.
Not all fire retardant garments offer the same protection, though; some offer more protection than other FR clothes, and some provide less. This is because there are heavy-duty flame-retardant clothing items for the sole purpose of working under very high-risk situations. So, for anyone working in these situations, their FR clothing will be more resistant than most other FR clothes. High-risk situations are for the military, factory workers, and rescue workers (medical emergency teams and fire department workers).
How Do Flame Retardant Clothes Work?
Flame-retardant clothes can stop the fire from reaching the clothing and the person wearing them. The chemicals that are utilized for making clothing resistant to fire release either chlorine or bromine which mix with atoms in the fire.
This slows down the reactions necessary for flames to occur and, thus, breaks the burning cycle. These chemicals generally get rid of some elements or compounds required to sustain the fire.
Why Are Children’s Products And Clothing Flame Retardant?
Clothing for young children and infants is often made with flame-resistant material. This is because young kids and infants are either unable to move or move very slowly, making them vulnerable to house fires as they can’t escape as adults can. So, their clothes, toys, and furniture being flame retardant provides them extra protection against flames and helps slow fire from spreading to their clothes and stuff. This gives the kids and babies extra time until help arrives.
Concerns Related To Bedding Being Fire Retardant
Bedding is also often made of flame-retardant materials. However, there have been several concerns about flame-retardant materials being used in bedding. The concerns are because, due to certain studies, it has been seen that flame retardant beddings have been releasing harmful fumes.
This happens because fumes from flame retardant chemicals used in items are released into the air. This can either be a health concern or not; it has not been ascertained yet. Washing your flame-retardant clothes and bedding before using them will counteract skin irritation and gas inhalation. This is recommended especially for infant clothes and items.
Natural Fire Retardant Materials
Some fire retardant clothing is made without being treated with chemicals because they are made from naturally fire-resistant materials. These fire-retardant fabrics are called inherent flame-retardant fabrics. The materials these clothes are made up of naturally burn at a much slower rate compared to other fabrics. Some examples of such materials are wool and cotton. Wool and cotton naturally burn slowly compared to other fabrics because of their arrangement of fibers. Flames get smothered in the thick fibers of these materials.
Certain manufactured fabrics, such as aramid fabrics used in making body armor, are also resistant to fire damage. These materials are also often treated with chemicals to further increase their effectiveness against fire.
bottom line
Something being fire resistant doesn’t mean it’s immune to fire. Similarly, fire-retardant clothing and items are not fireproof but rather resistant, meaning fire takes longer to spread and burn them. The better the materials are, the more effective the clothing will be, so ensure you always purchase flame-retardant clothing made from the best quality materials.