Soft floor for children's rooms: getting to know EVA technology
Want to learn about the revolutionary new flooring called soft floor? What is it, how is it produced, how to choose environmentally friendly and high-quality material, and how does such a floor differ from soft squares on a playground? In this article we will tell you about EVA - a new word in technology, its products and how to choose a safe, durable and stylish soft floor. You will be surprised!
Many of us for the first time saw a real soft floor in playgrounds - in the form of lined dense rubber squares. The practical benefit of them is obvious: if the child falls, the landing will be as soft as possible, and just walking on this floor is very pleasant. Wouldn't that cover in the children's room be wonderful: shock-absorbing, quiet, unpretentious in cleaning? Easily repairable and interchangeable, in vibrant colors and colors?
Yes, but the rugs from the sites for this purpose are definitely not suitable. They consist of fine rubber crumb, which has a slight specific smell. Put these on the floor - and it will be hopelessly spoiled, because will turn black. But soon something more eco-friendly and aesthetic, enterprising manufacturers began to do for gyms, however, in the nursery, and those soft rubberized mats also did not fit. Then there were soft tourist rugs. Until, finally, until EVA technology appeared.
Interestingly, rubber crumb floor - it's just recycled car tires. After all, this material does not decompose in nature, and until 1985 it was simply taken to a landfill. And now the rubber soft floor is really more suitable for gyms and car repair shops, because such a coating is well resistant to deformation, ultraviolet and chemical reagents. Even in an ordinary garage, you can forget about dust, dirt and puddles.
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Soft floor EVA technology
EVA stands for Ethylene Vinyl Acetate. This polymer is close in its properties to rubber materials, and it also does not conduct electric current, it is almost impossible to break when bent. Its second name is ethylene vinyl acetate, which is essentially a foamed microporous polymer.
In simple terms, EVA is a hypoallergenic flexible polymer. Such a soft floor is especially popular today abroad, and is gaining momentum in Russia: this flooring is assembled from separate soft puzzles, as a result has sealed seams without glue, and pleases with its characteristics:
- It does not emit any harmful substances and does not smell.
- Easy to assemble, you can play with color and design.
- No need to stick to the floor.
- Bends.
- Does not collect dust.
- It is easy to clean and serves for a long time.
- It has excellent sound insulation.
- It does not fade in the sun.
- Not afraid of neither water, nor colors, nor plasticine.
- Very soft and feels warm.
- It is convenient to play with a child.
- In the nursery - what you need!
- The soft floor is not slippery at all.
On this surface there is no trace of slippers, nor the claws of dogs or cats. Even a dent formed from a heavy object is still straightened, albeit with time.But remember that this same soft floor is not intended for sports, especially in shoes, because it will quickly wear out.
And, which is important for arranging a room for a very young child, such a floor does not absorb moisture, and therefore an unpleasant odor will not accumulate in the room over time.
This coating is easy to dismantle, put in a bag and bring with you to the country. Even on the grass, it can be collected and is not worried that some insect will bite a small child by the leg or it will step on something sharp. And, interestingly, a soft floor can be laid on absolutely any surface - even uneven!
Modern options for a children's room
EVA floors today are often arranged in kindergartens and special rooms of shopping centers. This gender is especially indispensable for children who are just learning to walk. After all, they still don’t know how to keep their balance, and they easily fall — hence the injuries. And it’s not scary to fall on soft puzzles - wonderful depreciation functions here.
The soft floor consists of separate puzzle segments. Such a coating can be used as permanent, or as temporary and removable. Puzzles themselves come with letters, and with numbers, and in the form of a whole highway for cars. Pictures, however, wear out on such a floor over time - therefore, if you plan to use it for a long time, purchase either with inserts or plain color.
Only when buying, be sure to keep track of who the manufacturer of the mat you have chosen. You don’t want the child’s room to have a sharp chemical smell, and the child was covered with an unknown rash. And care for such a floor is extremely simple: it is enough to wipe it with a damp sponge from time to time. You can’t wash it with too aggressive household chemicals - a rather weak soap solution.
If you want the process of laying such a floor to be as simple as possible, then take bigger puzzles (1mx1m also exist), and without plug-in elements. If you don’t then disassemble the floor and don’t want the child to do this, lay it straight under the baseboard. If you want to make the floor even warmer - put a soft floor in two layers.
Designer soft floor - a step into the future
But the designers really liked the idea with a soft floor in the form of puzzles for children's rooms, and now they exist for offices, but in other colors and increased rigidity, like Studio Line. It is also convenient to lay such a floor in those interiors that have a complex design. After all, some floors are sold in the form of puzzles 30x30 cm.
So, in Japan and China, this type of coating is quite popular - even in offices and commercial premises. After all, such material allows you to save on heating. Modern manufacturers even offer the opportunity to order the desired color of the soft floor - right under the existing or planned interior design.
The standard soft floor has a thickness of 10 mm to 13 mm. Using the same technology, EVA floor tiles are made with designer thermal printing and a protective special film. And most often - with the texture of natural coatings.
The floor itself does not slip on the surface, and its joints are difficult to notice if the elements are the same color. That's why it - a wonderful solution: soft as a carpet, but it does not accumulate dust and is easy to clean.Moreover, such a floor can be used even in the bathroom:
How to lay such a cover?
To lay a soft floor is not difficult:
- Step 1. We learn to assemble such modules: one of the corners of each element has the shape of an arrow, and styling should occur so that all these arrows “look” in the same direction.
- Step 2. Connect all the modules.
- Step 3. Now “stretch” them a little.
- Step 4. Install border strips around the perimeter to protect the mounts from damage.
- Step 5. Make sure that 2 cm is left between the coatings and the wall.
- Step 6. If you want to make such a floor also fixed, then on the back of the tiles stick double-sided tape.
The mounted modules hold together tightly enough to form a single web. Although today you can find on sale the whole floor, not in the form of separate puzzles. Having laid such a floor, you no longer need to think about a separate place for games with a child. And yet - do not use chipboard under this floor - this is not the most environmentally friendly material.
Original floor with functional cells
But here's how to experiment with a soft floor, creating its more original variations:
- Step 1. We buy a standard set of soft floors, but twice as many puzzles as necessary.
- Step 2. Divide all the elements into two groups.
- Step 3. We turn the first group with a knife into something like a honeycomb, and paste these puzzles onto others.
- Step 4. We put sea stones, dried medicinal plants, and whatever your heart desires into the cells obtained for glue.
Therefore, if you have laid a beautiful but cold laminate in the nursery, do not worry: at first you can lay such a soft floor, and the child will learn to walk in safety and warmth!
The issue of environmental friendliness: dispelling rumors
So, in 2011, in Belgium, a separate provision was also adopted on soft floors for children. In some species sold, toxic substances have been identified that children easily absorb through the respiratory tract and “second lungs” - the skin. Some brands of such a soft floor were withdrawn from sale. Therefore, when buying, carefully study the accompanying documents on such a floor - so you will find a good and safe material.
The modern soft floor has both European necessary certificates, and domestic ones. And here if you buy a too cheap version of an unknown production, such a floor may unexpectedly be tougher than necessary, dirt will accumulate in it - and this is at best. But also pay attention to color. The brighter the coloring - the more harmful substances were added to it, this is a well-known fact, and even the household can start to dazzle in the eyes over time. Choose better tones.
Follow our advice - and you will get a really high-quality soft floor!
Galina 
Arina 
Anna
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