Every now and again I come upon a product that makes me say “I could use that”. The products usually do not include building materials like insulation but I am married to a Contractor. The thought of working with insulation just does not invoke warm and fuzzy feelings deep down in my heart. Quite the opposite actually, the fiberglass getting into my skin and eyes is just not at all pleasant, not to mention the off-gassing of formaldehyde that comes with standard insulation. Then a product comes along that changes all that. There was a product introduced in 2007, Dow chemical has created a solution to the itchy and off-gassing problems called Safe Touch Insulation.
Safe Touch insulation is, well, safe to touch. Although not the only safe to touch product on the market it is more affordable than the other options. It is made up of polyester strands the same as what was commonly used in clothing in the 1970’s. This is excellent for those of us who want to improve our energy efficiency but have a limited budget and no desire to work with itchy insulation. They also produced it with no harmful chemicals that off gas. The thought of installing a product with no harmful off gassing is a big plus especially if you are concerned with indoor air quality. Whenever we can make choices that improve our air quality in our houses this is a very good thing.
Safe touch is available through most building supply centers. I have noticed it at Lowe’s most recently, although you cannot find it on the web site. Like my husband would let me go to any other home center! Perhaps the best part is that this product does qualify for the 30% tax credit refund up to $1500 of the cost of materials but you only have a couple more weeks to purchase before the rebate is history. It is available in both R-13 and R19 varieties and is an excellent choice for additional attic insulation. The cost is about 10-20% higher than comparable fiberglass insulation but well worth the additional investment in my opinion. There are other types of insulation utilizing greener products like recycled blue jeans but unfortunately the prices are nearly triple the cost of conventional insulation and availability is limited. This product by Dow gives us another healthier alternative to fiberglass.
Now if we could just get them to make it out of recycled, out-dated 70’s leisure suits, it would be perfect.
