Hey, I was at the local Home Despot recently getting some underlay for an area rug... and I saw something I had not seen before. Right there beside the regular underlay (that cheap mass of bits of foam glued together) was something new. They have this stuff called Eco Foam™. I asked if they knew whether it was ocf or ccf, but they didn't know. Here's the description from the Despot's website:
Eco Foam™ makes carpet living smart, using advanced technology to produce a closed cell virgin polyethylene carpet cushion that provides sustainable cleaner and healthier indoor air quality while greatly outperforming conventional carpet padding in strength, support, firmness and comfort throughout seasonal temperature changes and traffic conditions in all rooms and on all floor levels. In pioneering industry environmental standards, we eliminated the three VOC chemicals in carpet cushions monitored under the guidelines of the Environmental Protection Agency, and designed it to naturally repel water, mould and odours without chemical additives that are increasingly scrutinized for their adverse effects to humans and the environment. Eco Foam™ provides area rugs excellent protection for floors, but is not intended to be used as an anti-skid cushion. We take a world-wide conscious initiative to recycle Eco Foam™ into environmentally safe outdoor construction products.
After searching for a while, I think I found the manufacturer's website at www.ecosolutionsintl.com and they describe it this way:
ecoFoam™ is made from our eco-friendly, thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) material using a proprietary process of foaming and cross-linking that does not require toxic phthalates or PVC. ecoFoam™ is a virtually odorless, closed-cell, lightweight foam that can be utilized for many types of applications and is 100% recyclable. eccoFoam™ has excellent resilience, anti-slip and recovery properties.
It looks to be about 3/8" thick. I have no idea how well it insulates, but does something like this hold any promise? Should I pick up some and test, or is it not worth my time and money?
Dave
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