Economical and versatile, PVC (scientific name: polyvinyl chloride) or more known by its popular name, vinyl, is the choice material for products in a wide variety of industries, from automobiles and home fixtures to healthcare equipment and construction.
PVC is flexible and sturdy, and it can be crafted into a wide variety of shapes, whether they’re thick pipes or thin sheets. No wonder it’s the third-most used synthetic plastic polymer in the world!
Uses of PVC
Thanks to its versatility, PVC or vinyl is used in a wide variety of applications. It can be constructed to be thick and sturdy for industrial uses or thin and flexible for use as sheets or wall coverings. It can also be dyed any color as the material can hold synthetic dyes efficiently.
Another bonus: PVC is water and abrasion-resistant. It means you need less of it in the long term, making it a slightly more sustainable option than other types of synthetic plastic, not to mention making it easier to clean and disinfect. It’s ideal for all kinds of uses, such as, but not limited to:
Packaging
PVC can be spun into small, thin, yet highly durable sheets that can be used to package products ranging from household items to medicine. You’ve probably encountered it before since most consumer products and over-the-counter medication use some kind of PVC as part of its shrink wrap packaging.
Plastic Sheeting
PVC plastic sheet suppliers swear by the material’s sturdiness. Sheets created using PVC are more lightweight and flexible than other synthetic plastic polymers. PVC plastic sheets are also perfect for British weather conditions. They don’t warp easily in the sun (if there is any, that is!) and is highly moisture-resistant, so it can withstand even the foggiest of conditions (which, depending on where you are, is often!).
Cables and Wires
PVC’s ability to withstand different temperature conditions make it a great candidate for the wiring inside homes, and it is one of the most used (not to mention most trusted) materials for internal electrical wiring. PVC wires are also fairly fire-resistant, which means they can drastically decrease the risk of fire damage brought about by malfunctioning electronics.
Home Construction Items
PVC is known as vinyl in home construction, and it’s used primarily in wall sidings, windows, and water pipes. When it’s used for wall sidings and windows, vinyl provides an extremely durable yet highly affordable way to conserve energy, as it can help significantly in heating and cooling homes. Studies show that vinyl windows can insulate homes three times better than the aluminum ones.
Water Pipes
Because of its durability, PVC pipes are pretty much the gold standard for leak-free pipes. Because it’s a synthetic polymer, PVC is pretty much rot and corrosion-resistant, not to mention highly durable against environmental stressors like changing water pressures and physical manipulation. PVC pipes have a breakage rate that’s 1% of metal pipes, making it the more cost-effective solution for plumbing.
With this information, PVC becomes one of the most sought-after materials for construction. You might even use it if you have a construction project in mind.
