The Most Seamless Material used for Healthcare Furniture

Within our blog series surrounding the five furniture surface characteristics we have shown that the most important aspects of healthcare furniture includes the following; durability, cleanability, inability to support microbial growth, surface porosity and absence of seams. These characteristics were defined by the American Society of Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) in collaboration with the CDC in the publication titled Using the Health Care Physical Environment to Prevent and Control Infection. Our past blogs have covered why durability, cleanability, inability to support microbial growth and surface porosity make a huge difference in healthcare as well as why acrylic solid surface is one of the best choices in upholding these standards.

For our last post we will be covering the absence of seams. Though often standard with many materials used for creating furniture, seams can cause unnecessary stress in a healthcare setting by allowing bacteria to flourish in an environment that can be almost impossible to clean. Using a seamless material allows more time to be focused on patients and their well being instead of the surfaces around them.

Why do Seams Cause Stress?

When you first think of seams you may not consider hard building materials but instead fabrics like upholstery or vinyl. For these kinds of materials a seam is when two pieces of fabric are brought together and connected with a stitch to create one larger piece of fabric. In hard building materials this idea is quite similar. Two pieces of steel or other composite materials are brought together to bring a piece of furniture to life.

Within this process for many materials it can be difficult, if not impossible, to create a seamless finish. For many materials there will always be crevices and places for debris to hide due to the limitations on molding and shaping.

As reported by AHE (Association for the Health Care Environment), "Joints and seams complicate effective cleaning, creating organism reserviors that can further the spread of contact transmitted healthcare associated infections."

What Material keeps Furniture Seamless?

Stainless steel, a common go-to for healthcare furniture can often find troubles when having no seams is necessary as the material can only be shaped to a certain extent. In order to mold stainless steel, it must go through a process called injection molding where the material is melted down and placed into a pre-shaped mold. As the material must be molded from the outside and cannot be manipulated as easily on its own, this puts limitations on just how much of a seamless finish can be achieved.

Acrylic solid surface tends to be limitless in how it can be shaped. Solid surface uses a process known as thermoforming where the material is heated to a certain temperature and then molded and trimmed into whatever form is needed. Due to its production process, creating a seamless finish is much less difficult as well as much more cost and time effective for the producer and consumer.

As told by the Rodon Group, "Depending on a project's needs, thermoforming can offer several distinct advantages, including: lower tooling costs compared to injection molding, quick product development and prototyping, bright color and texture options and extreme adaptability and simple adjustments."

Why Does it Matter?

Crafting pieces that are aesthetic and functional for a healthcare setting can often be a losing battle. You may pick a material like laminate that looks nice in the beginning, but then degrades when it is put up against the spills and happenings of a hospital. You may pick stainless steel that will hold up better but has minimal customization, is much more expensive and often looks sterile. There are many materials such as wood that cannot even be considered for health care furniture due to its porosity and as such, it can often feel as though you are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

With acrylic solid surface your worries can fade with the knowledge that your furniture will look appealing and will stay that way while upholding the functionality that is necessary.

Due to the use of thermoforming you will be able to customize your pieces however you see fit, without the worries that the customization will lead to more difficulty in cleaning and sanitization. With the seamless nature of the material, cleaning doesn’t have to be a labor intensive task because you can see everywhere that needs to be sanitized and your costs can stay minimal no matter what gets thrown (or spilled) on the furniture.

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Do you have a design project that you think would be well-suited for acrylic solid surface? Contact Shield to learn more about our custom design services or visit our products page for more information.