The smell of acrylic bath

The first acrylic bathtubs appeared shortly after World War II. In 1948, the first batch was released by the English concern ICI. From that moment, disputes between supporters and opponents of acrylic have not subsided. Some believe that this material emits a pungent and unpleasant odor, while others praise the excellent properties of acrylic resin and do not notice any extraneous odors. Is there an odor from an acrylic bath and how to get rid of it? This will be discussed in the article.

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The benefits of acrylic bathtubs

The smell of an acrylic bath is almost always. In some cases, it is very weak and disappears without any effort on the part of the owners a few days after installation. Other consumers are less lucky - they feel not a weak, and not very pleasant aroma, but a real stink. It is so strong that it becomes simply impossible to use the bathroom. Neither detergents nor air fresheners help, and in the end, the desperate owner refuses acrylic plumbing, changes it to a more expensive, but reliable cast iron.

He refuses in vain. A high-quality acrylic bath should not stink, and it has very tangible advantages:

• ease;
• low thermal conductivity;
• good sound insulation;
• relatively low price.

Of course, light weight is important mainly for delivery and installation, so this plus can be ignored. But low thermal conductivity means that the water in the acrylic font cools more slowly than in the cast iron one, so for fans of hot baths, acrylic is a real find. It is also pleasant that a stream of water, hitting such a bath, makes very little noise. But even the most positive qualities lose all meaning if it is impossible to use the font.

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The smell of an acrylic bath - what to do?

So, the acrylic miracle was brought and installed. Everything seems to be normal, but a couple of days pass - and the miracle no longer seems to be such, because it starts to cheat. A few more days - the smell from the acrylic bath intensifies. How to be

First, make sure that it is the bathtub that smells bad or what it was installed with. This is easy enough to do. If the sewage system is faulty, the aroma will come both from the toilet and from the sinks both in the bathroom and in the kitchen.

Having determined that a brand new acrylic bathtub stinks, first of all give up attempts to eliminate aroma using traditional means. They will not help you:

• air fresheners;
• detergents;
• aroma candles;
• means for cleaning the sewer.

All of these funds for a while can clog a faint odor, but not for long. In addition, they certainly will not eliminate the causes of the appearance of a stink.

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Why does stink arise?

Where does this unpleasant aroma come from, which can permanently turn a person away from acrylic plumbing? It appears in only two cases:

• in violation of production technology:
• when using other materials instead of acrylic.

How do baths do?

Acrylic fonts are not the same at all. According to the manufacturing method, they can be divided into two classes:

• from drinking acrylic PMMA;
• from a two-layer extruded composite sheet ABS + PMMA.

Bathtubs made from these materials are distinguished by:

• in appearance;
• according to operational characteristics.

Drinking Acrylic Fonts

This material also has a scientific name - polymethyl methacrylate. Outwardly, it is a transparent polymer plastic. For example, organic glass is made of the same material.

Baths of a rather simple form are cast from PMMA. This is due to the quality of the material. The polymer undergoes heat treatment, but its amorphous properties are insufficient to make something of an exquisite shape, with carefully thought-out bumps and bends. In addition, this material has some properties that are not very convenient for the owner:

• it is fragile;
• poorly withstands sudden heat;
• Needs delicate care - does not tolerate abrasives and hard sponges.

Important! Drinking acrylic bathtubs are fairly cheap, so shoppers who don’t really care about stylish designs often choose them.

Fonts from a composite sheet ABS + PMMA

This material is intricately called acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. Baths from it are somewhat more expensive, but they also have more positive properties, because extrusion acrylic, which has good amorphous properties, is combined with a thermoplastic resin. The resin has good shockproof properties.

Advantages of fonts made of composite material:

• strength;
• resistance to heat;
• resistance to abrasives;
• resistance to aggressive chemicals.

In addition, the material is sufficiently plastic, so they make a variety of things out of it, including bizarre shapes. It would seem that the material is perfection itself. But it is the bathtubs from the composite sheet that most often emit a smell that rightly worries the new owners.

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Production technology

To understand where the smell from the acrylic bathtub comes from, let's talk about how the fonts are made, because it is precisely the violations of technology that cause the stench to appear.

An ideal font should not smell.

Drinking Acrylic Bowls

To make a quality bath, an acrylic plate is placed in a special thermoforming machine. It melts, after which it is pressed into the shape of a font using a vacuum unit. Next, the process goes like this:

1. A reinforcing layer is applied to the outside of the workpiece, which consists of a special resin - polymer or epoxy familiar to everyone, in which fiberglass is added.
2. The procedure is repeated several times, superimposing more and more reinforcing layers.
3. The workpiece is placed in the oven.
4. The layers melt until the product becomes extremely hard.

Important! This technology is quite cheap, so most manufacturers withstand it. That is, the buyer is more likely to buy a quality product that will not harm his health.

Composite sheet

The production of fonts from a composite sheet is somewhat different. A layer of high viscosity molten extrusion acrylic is deposited onto a layer of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). This makes it possible to cast a bath of any shape. Then the following happens:

1. The bath, as in the previous case, is placed in a special machine, where the material melts.
2. The composite sheet is shaped - also using a vacuum unit. But since the material has high amorphous properties, the form can be any.
3. Impose several reinforcing layers.
4. Alloy all the layers in the furnace.

Important! To apply the reinforcing layer, polyester resin dissolved in styrene is used. Free styrene should completely disappear - this occurs at a strictly defined temperature and for a given time.

Most vulnerable process

At what stage is technology disrupted? Usually this happens at the final stage, that is, the connection of the layers into a single whole. It is free styrene that emits the smell from an acrylic bath - the substance is not only smelly, but in high concentrations dangerous to health. Where does he come from?

The manufacturing technology of bathtubs from a composite sheet is quite expensive, so unscrupulous manufacturers are trying to shorten the process:

1. If the bath (or any other product) is not kept in the oven for as long as necessary, styrene will not disappear.
2. After you fill the font with warm water, the harmful binder begins to evaporate.

Important! In the countries of the European Union, the use of extrusion acrylic is prohibited where items in contact with the human body are made, but in China it is used very often for making cheap bathtubs, as in a number of other countries.

Two words about the properties of styrene

Styrene, it is also phenylethylene or vinylbenzene. It is a colorless liquid. In addition to the fact that it smells strongly, styrene has the following properties:

• not soluble in water;
• perfectly soluble in organic solvents;
• It dissolves polymers perfectly;
• a little toxic.

Important! The maximum permissible concentration in the air is 0.005 mg / cubic dm.

How to distinguish one font from another?

Is it possible to determine which bathtub will emit an odor and which will not? You won’t be able to do this “by eye” even if you are buying a font not via the Internet, but in a regular store. So - have to wait: lucky or not?

Not certainly in that way. You can take some measures:

1. Ask the seller for a product certificate.
2. Read it carefully.
3. Do not forget to ask for a certificate for the material.

Unfortunately, such measures do not guarantee that the real quality of the bath will be the same as described in the documents. Responsibility for the content of the certificates lies with the manufacturer. This leads to a logical conclusion - you need to choose only products of firms that have long and well established themselves in the market of sanitary equipment. Usually these are European companies - English and German.

Important! Some bathtubs are made so poorly that the smell of styrene from them is already felt in the store. If you are going to buy a font, do not forget to smell it from the side of the reinforcing layer: the presence of a smell will tell you that it is better to look for another bath.

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How does the sealant smell?

Even if you are lucky and you bought an acrylic bathtub that meets European sanitary requirements, after installation you will still feel a light, but perhaps not very pleasant aroma. So far, there is no reason to worry: the sealant used to process the joint seams smells, although not very strongly. When the substance hardens, the aroma will disappear.

Important! Sealants, which are used for the installation of plumbing, differ in many parameters, including the pour point. So, if you do not want the not very familiar aroma to fill your bathroom for too long, choose a quick-acting sealant.

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The smell of an acrylic bath - how to eliminate?

If the sewage system is in order, the sealant is dry, and it is still disgusting to enter the bathroom, check if the font is really to blame. It is necessary to strongly, but gently press on the surface of the font. If you hear a crunch, it means that the bath was not kept in the furnace enough and the reinforcing layer was not connected to the main one. You can try to fix the problem so that the smell from the acrylic bath does not bother you anymore:

1. Pour a full bath of very hot water.
2. Allow the water to cool to room temperature.
3. Repeat the procedure for one to two weeks.

Important! Hot water will make it possible to harden the reinforcing layer. You can use the bathroom if you are not really bothered by the smell. As the reinforcing layer dries, the smell should weaken. Accordingly - if you have done this procedure a couple of times, you feel a change for the better - continue the process.

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If the smell does not disappear

It may happen that when you pour hot water, the smell will intensify. This means that the point is not in the reinforcing layer, but in the fact that the composite itself is of very low quality.In this case, bringing the bath to an acceptable state on its own will not succeed. Just the opposite - you can harm the health of your family members.

What to do? - Try to return the bath to the supplier. If you bought it in an ordinary salon, it will not be difficult to do this. Problems may arise for those who purchased defective goods through an online store.

But what if I cannot exchange the font for a new one, but there is no money for one more purchase? It is necessary to block styrene vapors. Not the best way out, but the only one. When styrene is not active, it is harmless, and toxic fumes appear when it begins to react with the environment:

• with increasing temperature;
• with increasing humidity;
• when exposed to ultraviolet radiation.

Important! To block the penetration of styrene into the room, a layer of liquid acrylic plastic must be applied to the bath. This technology is called “glass”. You can easily find the necessary components in the nearest hardware store. Many people are facing a similar problem now.

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Baths without styrene

On sale now you can already find baths, in the production of which styrene is not used at all. The assortment, however, is still small. They are mainly supplied by Thermolux. Instead of resin with liquid glass diluted in it, a polyurethane is used for the reinforcing layer - it is neutral to environmental influences and is absolutely harmless to the human body.

Important! If in the certificate you see the Green armor mark - this is exactly what you need, that is, a bathtub that has all the advantages of an acrylic font, but is completely devoid of its shortcomings. After the installation of this model in your bathroom, there will definitely not be any foreign smell from the acrylic bathtub.

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Stock footage

We hope you were able to cope with the problem, and now enjoy the purchase and use of the new font.