What to fill a Puff with?

Have you ever wondered what material puffs are stuffed with to make them so comfortable? If the answer is YES, this post will interest you.

We are going to reveal curious facts about the type of filling of our puffs, the material, the characteristics and advantages that make it so special. We also provide information that can be of great help, such as where to buy the puff filling, the amount of filling your puff needs to be perfect.

What material is a Puff filled with? Expanded Polystyrene Beads

If there are two important factors that we at Fiaka have taken into account when manufacturing our poufs, they are undoubtedly comfort and durability.

After several years of research focused on the search for the best material for puff filling, we discovered that Expanded Polystyrene was the most suitable for this purpose.

We meticulously analyzed over several years how this material performed when exposed to continuous use, the degree of comfort it provides and its ability to recover when subjected to pressure. The results were surprising.

We were able to see that this material was the key to creating the perfect rest piece. When you drop into one of our poufs, and lie down, you can experience a unique sensation of comfort as these small beads adapt to your body contours, wrapping around you completely, making your whole body feel supported and relaxed.

In addition, once you wake up, the pearls return to their previous appearance quickly. This is because it is resilient.

Polystyrene beads combine comfort, flexibility and adaptability like no other material for total relaxation.

Elasticity, adaptability and comfort are the strong points of expanded polystyrene compared to other types of filling materials, which is why we have chosen it at Fiaka to fill our cushions and poufs.

What is expanded polystyrene?

The expanded polystyrene EPS is a material that you surely already know, since its use is very widespread nowadays.

It is known by many names such as white cork balls, corchopan, techopan, porex, porexpan, dry ice,… Although its more correct denomination would have to be “poliexpan” since it is a contraction of the name of its chemical composition.

Beads for Puff Filling
Expanded Polystyrene puff padding

In addition to being used as puff filling, it is also used as a packaging material due to its impact absorption capacity or as an acoustic, thermal and electrical insulation panel for construction, among other uses.

It is a white foamed plastic material produced from solid polystyrene beads.

The filling is produced from:

  • Styrene – which forms the cell structure.
  • Pentane – used as a blowing agent.

Both styrene and pentane are hydrocarbon compounds and are obtained from petroleum and natural gas derivatives.

EPS is very lightweight with very low thermal conductivity, low moisture absorption and excellent cushioning properties.

Fiaka Puffs Stuffing Box
Fiaka Puffs Stuffing Box

At Fiaka we use this material in the form of beads or pellets of a certain density, so that each of our poufs is filled with thousands of expanded polystyrene pellets. These beads are responsible for providing the necessary consistency to each of our poufs and keep them firm.

Advantages of Expanded Polystyrene Beads

Beads for filling puffs
The best puff padding on the market

High compressive strength

EPS has a high compressive strength due to its resilience. It can support a lot of weight without affecting its technical characteristics.

Moisture resistant

This material has almost zero water absorption. This is why our furniture pieces filled with this material can remain in outdoor areas and be exposed to humidity without deteriorating.

Antibacterial

It is an antibacterial material, preventing the proliferation of fungi, bacteria, mites and other types of microorganisms, etc. It is a material that does not harbor insects or other bugs. You won’t have to share your puff! It is also a rot-proof material, as mentioned in the previous section, it does not rot, decompose or mildew.

Resistant to extreme temperatures

This material is highly resistant to thermal and atmospheric fluctuations. That is why our pieces of furniture filled with polystyrene balls can remain in outdoor areas, even in the summer epic with temperatures above 40ºc without losing their qualities.

Very economical

Polystyrene is much cheaper than other materials.

Non-flammable

Our poufs fillings have a self-extinguishing (flame retardant) treatment against fire, which means that they do not spread fire and extinguish by themselves as soon as the heat source is stopped.

For safety reasons we advise you when buying EPS beads anywhere else, other than Fiaka, to make sure of these characteristics, because if they do not receive this treatment EPS beads can be very flammable.

Non-toxic

This material is also odorless, NON TOXIC and antiallergic. All these qualities make it an excellent element to live with all the members of the household.

Recyclable Material

Expanded polystyrene is a 100% recyclable and reusable material . With the “worn” pouf filler, blocks of the same material can be made and used to manufacture raw materials for other types of products.

The main method used for recycling this material is to mechanically shred the material and then mix it with new material to form EPS blocks with up to 50% recycled material.

When disposing of used refill, it should be deposited in the yellow container, just like plastic containers. It can also be taken to a Punto Limpio.

When buying puff padding What to consider?

What to fill a Puff with?

If you need to buy puff padding, there are several things to keep in mind.

You must make sure that the material chosen is expanded polystyrene and that it is of good quality. If it has a flame-retardant treatment, all the better. There are other types of fillings for pouffes, such as Paper Strips or Recycled Polyurethane Foams.

Paper strips are not recommended due to their short life span, as they should be replaced at least twice during a year as they degrade.

On the other hand, recycledpolyurethane foams last a little longer but they also have other disadvantages, one of which is their low adaptability to the body, which will result in a loss of comfort when we sit down. Another disadvantage is that they weigh more than expanded polystyrene (EPS) balls making the part not as light.

These two materials (paper strips and polyurethane) are quite flammable.

When buying puff filler, you should take into account that the package contains the amount of filler you need according to the size of the puff.

Logo
Logo