Fold-up Basin
Made of PVC
Poly (vinyl
chloride) is the
plastic
known at the hardware store as PVC. This is the PVC from which pipes are
made, and PVC pipe is everywhere. Your house plumbing is probably PVC pipe,
unless it's an older house. PVC pipe is what rural high schools with small
budgets use to make goal posts for their football fields. But there's more
to PVC than just pipe. The "vinyl" siding used on houses is made of poly
(vinyl chloride). Inside the house, PVC is used to make linoleum for the
floor. In the seventies, PVC was often used to make vinyl car tops.
PVC is useful because it resists two things that hate each other: fire and
water. Because of its water resistance it is used to make raincoats and
shower curtains, and of course, water pipes. It has flame resistance, too,
because it contains chlorine. When you try to burn PVC, chlorine atoms are
released, and chlorine atoms inhibit combustion.
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