Can attic insulation be used to make cushions?
January 17, 2011 1:27 PM Subscribe
Can attic insulation be used to stuff cushions or floor pillows?
I was at a Lowe's recently, and sat on some cubes of attic insulation. It struck me that if I could keep it in the package, or stuff it into fabric, I could construct a cushioned wall or floor seating. The way it's packaged, especially the fiberglass kind, seems amenable to slicing and then covering with a colorful fabric for someone as un-handy as myself. Ideally, I am looking to construct a poor man's version of the Arabian "majlis" low floor seating, and I have no handyman skills at all.
I have heard that if it flies around, it can affect your breathing and there are some other health hazards. So, this this an entirely naive idea?
What are your thoughts on this? Are there any cheap alternatives I might consider?
Thanks!
I was at a Lowe's recently, and sat on some cubes of attic insulation. It struck me that if I could keep it in the package, or stuff it into fabric, I could construct a cushioned wall or floor seating. The way it's packaged, especially the fiberglass kind, seems amenable to slicing and then covering with a colorful fabric for someone as un-handy as myself. Ideally, I am looking to construct a poor man's version of the Arabian "majlis" low floor seating, and I have no handyman skills at all.
I have heard that if it flies around, it can affect your breathing and there are some other health hazards. So, this this an entirely naive idea?
What are your thoughts on this? Are there any cheap alternatives I might consider?
Thanks!
Have you ever gotten fiberglass insulation on your bare skin? It feels terrible, all itchy and pokey, and hurty.
posted by ghharr at 1:31 PM on January 17, 2011
posted by ghharr at 1:31 PM on January 17, 2011
It's incredibly itchy if you actually touch it, what with all those tiny glass fibers burrowing into your skin...
posted by pjaust at 1:31 PM on January 17, 2011
posted by pjaust at 1:31 PM on January 17, 2011
No. Unless you want fiberglass in your skin (very itchy) or in your lungs (deadly). Their packaging are not meant to seal the materials for repeated stress. They are only meant to lessen the burden for the installer; once, during installation.
posted by curiousZ at 1:33 PM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by curiousZ at 1:33 PM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
NO! To be around that stuff you're supposed to wear safety glasses, cover exposed skin, and wear a mask. You don't want that stuff in your furniture. It's dangerous and smolders before lighting on fire, releasing nasty toxic smoke.
Consider foam instead. (I used to have a thing made of foam and fabric that folded up into a chair, and down into a guest mattress. It was freakin' cool.)
posted by goblinbox at 1:36 PM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Consider foam instead. (I used to have a thing made of foam and fabric that folded up into a chair, and down into a guest mattress. It was freakin' cool.)
posted by goblinbox at 1:36 PM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Oooh, don't. You can get long slabs of cushion foam at a craft store instead.
posted by christinetheslp at 1:37 PM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by christinetheslp at 1:37 PM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Please don't do this.
A little anecdote:
I made a suit from old drapes once on a lark.
I couldn't figure out why I broke out in little itchy welts ALL OVER MY BODY.
Couldn't figure it out.
It was because these drapes, from the 1950s, were made out of fiberglass to make them flame proof.
Even with a good lining they still tore me up.
You would have to seal the pillows so well that it would negate any savings you would see from using fiberglass as fill.
This question makes me itch just to think about it. It is nasty stuff against your skin.
posted by Tchad at 1:39 PM on January 17, 2011 [2 favorites]
A little anecdote:
I made a suit from old drapes once on a lark.
I couldn't figure out why I broke out in little itchy welts ALL OVER MY BODY.
Couldn't figure it out.
It was because these drapes, from the 1950s, were made out of fiberglass to make them flame proof.
Even with a good lining they still tore me up.
You would have to seal the pillows so well that it would negate any savings you would see from using fiberglass as fill.
This question makes me itch just to think about it. It is nasty stuff against your skin.
posted by Tchad at 1:39 PM on January 17, 2011 [2 favorites]
I'm not an expert, but I've insulated my attic.
Fiberglass generally comes in batts (strips fluffy 16" wide x 8" thick x 8-12 foot long strips) with or without a paper backing. If you're talking about cubes, it seems like maybe you didn't mean fiberglass? Cubes or bales are usually compacted fluff, either cellulose (basically paper pulp) or rock wool, neither of which is an irritant in the way fiberglass can be.
However, just because it's safe doesn't mean it's a great cushion. When you're looking at a good cushion (or sofa or mattress), a major consideration isn't how comforatble it is to sit on today, but how it's going to compact, get lumpy, squish to half its size, sag, conform to your butt, etc. over lots of time and sitting-on. The packed cubes of blown-in cellulose stuff are really densely pressed; if you popped open that bale, and scooped it into a few smaller fabric sacks or cubes, it would be really really difficult to get it packed as tightly, and to hold that amount of tension as you sew the cube shut. So over time, the part directly sat on will compact more, and your seat will end up lumpy. Or if you got it packed super-tight or just put a fabric cover over the whole packaged bale, that might work okay, but it isn't exactly soft and cushiony.
posted by aimedwander at 1:40 PM on January 17, 2011
Fiberglass generally comes in batts (strips fluffy 16" wide x 8" thick x 8-12 foot long strips) with or without a paper backing. If you're talking about cubes, it seems like maybe you didn't mean fiberglass? Cubes or bales are usually compacted fluff, either cellulose (basically paper pulp) or rock wool, neither of which is an irritant in the way fiberglass can be.
However, just because it's safe doesn't mean it's a great cushion. When you're looking at a good cushion (or sofa or mattress), a major consideration isn't how comforatble it is to sit on today, but how it's going to compact, get lumpy, squish to half its size, sag, conform to your butt, etc. over lots of time and sitting-on. The packed cubes of blown-in cellulose stuff are really densely pressed; if you popped open that bale, and scooped it into a few smaller fabric sacks or cubes, it would be really really difficult to get it packed as tightly, and to hold that amount of tension as you sew the cube shut. So over time, the part directly sat on will compact more, and your seat will end up lumpy. Or if you got it packed super-tight or just put a fabric cover over the whole packaged bale, that might work okay, but it isn't exactly soft and cushiony.
posted by aimedwander at 1:40 PM on January 17, 2011
Yeah, no.
If you hunt around, you might be able to find a source for sheep's wool insulation, which doesn't have the problems fiberglass does. But read about the environmental factors at that link. Foam or a natural material specifically designed for pillow stuffing is what you really want.
posted by beagle at 1:40 PM on January 17, 2011
If you hunt around, you might be able to find a source for sheep's wool insulation, which doesn't have the problems fiberglass does. But read about the environmental factors at that link. Foam or a natural material specifically designed for pillow stuffing is what you really want.
posted by beagle at 1:40 PM on January 17, 2011
Eek! Fiberglass insulation is not something you want to touch with bare skin - you can get slivers that are nearly impossible to see and remove. The strands of fiberglass would work their way through a fabric covering in no time. Also, it has little "spring" and the fibers would break into tiny evil splinters instead of bouncing back when you get off the cushion.
You can probably find an upholstery supply place in your area, and see what kind of foam they carry. Sit on a pile of it and if you like it, they can cut it to size for you. Then you can cover it with fabric and loll about splinter-free.
posted by Quietgal at 1:47 PM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
You can probably find an upholstery supply place in your area, and see what kind of foam they carry. Sit on a pile of it and if you like it, they can cut it to size for you. Then you can cover it with fabric and loll about splinter-free.
posted by Quietgal at 1:47 PM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Along with all these other good reasons, fiberglas won't even work too well. Fiberglass batts compress easily and the tiny glass filiaments will break, meaning your cushions will go flat and floppy in short order.
There are insulation batts made of recycled cotton. That would probably be okay.
posted by werkzeuger at 2:05 PM on January 17, 2011
There are insulation batts made of recycled cotton. That would probably be okay.
posted by werkzeuger at 2:05 PM on January 17, 2011
Even if you could somehow make the pillow casings impervious to the fiberglass, pillows like that can hang around for years and years, and someday there will be a hole, maybe chewed open by a child or pet. Said child or pet will be delighted to find all the pink fluffiness inside, will play with it, and might even eat some. I think you can see where this is going.
posted by amtho at 2:16 PM on January 17, 2011
posted by amtho at 2:16 PM on January 17, 2011
Wow, no, definitely don't do this, for all the reasons stated above. What you want is the kind of foam sold in craft/fabric/upholstery stores. Most of the places that sell foam padding will probably be quite helpful if you explain what you're trying to do and an upholstery shop may be willing to cut it for you. Don't worry about not being handy--foam padding is pretty forgiving to work with, in my experience. It's also inexpensive.
(Fiberglass does look lovely and fluffy, though, doesn't it?)
posted by corey flood at 2:22 PM on January 17, 2011
(Fiberglass does look lovely and fluffy, though, doesn't it?)
posted by corey flood at 2:22 PM on January 17, 2011
Joke shop itching powder = fiberglass = insulation. Nasty, nasty stuff.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 2:31 PM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 2:31 PM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
As an alternate suggestion, if upholstery foam is out of your price range (corey flood - where are you getting yours? it seems expensive to me), I've heard that you can cut up an old futon mattress to make cushions. Or you can buy a couple of bed pillows and stuff them into your cushion cover.
Fiberglass rash SUCKS plus fiberglass insulation is very compressible, ergo non-cushiony.
posted by mskyle at 3:29 PM on January 17, 2011
Fiberglass rash SUCKS plus fiberglass insulation is very compressible, ergo non-cushiony.
posted by mskyle at 3:29 PM on January 17, 2011
All the reasons to not use fiberglass batting are above. Here to add that sellers on eBay often have really reasonable prices on memory foam. You can also wrap the foam in polyester batting for more cushioning.
posted by vers at 4:02 PM on January 17, 2011
posted by vers at 4:02 PM on January 17, 2011
Do not do this. Well, if you do, make sure you start a blog about it from start to finish because it's on the edge of Darwin Award material. It's a spectacularly bad idea.
Fiberglass is very fine threads of real glass. It's pure white like snow before they dye it pink. Glass is made from silica. Silica dust or small fragments of silica can cause lung cancer and/or silicosis.
Fiberglass is many tiny strands of glass that's brittle and it breaks and shatters as you handle it into very small particles. It's not meant to act like a spring at all. It doesn't actually handle repeated flexing.
Since it is glass you can't really seal it in anything flexible except the thickest of plastics, and even then eventually the fiberglass will abrade or degrade any flexible film. And no woven or knit fabric suitable for cushions will contain it, either. If you make cushions out of it it will break down and escape the cushions in many small, irritating and potentially/eventually lethal particles of glass.
*itches all over, runs away from thread*
posted by loquacious at 4:27 PM on January 17, 2011
Fiberglass is very fine threads of real glass. It's pure white like snow before they dye it pink. Glass is made from silica. Silica dust or small fragments of silica can cause lung cancer and/or silicosis.
Fiberglass is many tiny strands of glass that's brittle and it breaks and shatters as you handle it into very small particles. It's not meant to act like a spring at all. It doesn't actually handle repeated flexing.
Since it is glass you can't really seal it in anything flexible except the thickest of plastics, and even then eventually the fiberglass will abrade or degrade any flexible film. And no woven or knit fabric suitable for cushions will contain it, either. If you make cushions out of it it will break down and escape the cushions in many small, irritating and potentially/eventually lethal particles of glass.
*itches all over, runs away from thread*
posted by loquacious at 4:27 PM on January 17, 2011
Are there any cheap alternatives I might consider?
Check out any big fabric store for cotton stuffing and foam. Lots of people make pillows with this material. It's inexpensive.
posted by zippy at 5:28 PM on January 17, 2011
Check out any big fabric store for cotton stuffing and foam. Lots of people make pillows with this material. It's inexpensive.
posted by zippy at 5:28 PM on January 17, 2011
Oh god, no! I realize about 25 other people have already told you this, but my reaction to the thought of snuggling up with a nice cozy pillow made of FIBERGLASS is so viscerally negative that I had to chime in. Painful, itchy, bad for you. NO!
posted by aka burlap at 5:37 PM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by aka burlap at 5:37 PM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Here's a set of workplace standards used at a particular NASA research center for workers who work with fiberglass. They recommend long-sleeved clothing, a respirator with a HEPA filter, and safety goggles. Cotton gloves are not required, but are probably helpful too. So if you're looking to make "poor man's" cushions out of these, be sure to factor that stuff into your budget.
posted by Johnny Assay at 8:46 PM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Johnny Assay at 8:46 PM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks, everyone! Appreciate it!
posted by jackfruit at 10:23 PM on January 17, 2011
posted by jackfruit at 10:23 PM on January 17, 2011
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