Polyurethane Foam (PU)

All branded PU foam underlays are part of the Tredaire brand, a byword for luxurious, underfoot comfort. PU is particularly good at insulation and impact sound reduction as well as being inherently comfortable and durable. This makes it a favoured material for carpet underlayment. It is also lightweight, so it’s easy to carry and fit. PU foam is economical to manufacture and can be produced with either an open or closed cell structure. Open cell is usually the best for underlay due to it’s flexible and elastic properties.

So how is it made?

The foam used in PU underlay is either from offcuts or trimming from other processes, or are recycled after use such as furniture foam, so all of the foam is recycled in some way. This foam is shredded and then granulated into smaller pieces. It is mixed and coated with a binding agent before moulding into a large ‘log’ of a pre-defined density. The log is subjected to steam under high pressure to cure the binding agent and bond the material together. The log is then dried to remove residual moisture and peeled to a pre-defined product thickness.

During the lamination stage, backing and films are applied. The underlay is then finished, trimmed, cut and rolled, and finally wrapped into branded polythene packaging.