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<P><BR>Here´s another thought on Borax and wool if you´re going to do testing. The people who have used Borax to protect wool (and wood, where it is not exposed to water) here in Spain usually dilute it at a proportion of 1kg Borax to 10 liters of hot water and spray it on with one of the back-pack style things they use to spray plants with chemicalst (I can´t remember what its called in english). So if you decide to test borax maybe it would be interesting to test it both ways: dry, or diluted with water. . . it may cover the wool more completely in liquid form.<BR></P></DIV>
<DIV></DIV><BR><BR><BR>MAY THE wings OF LIBERTY NEVER LOSE A SINGLE FEATHER!
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<DIV></DIV>love , RIKKI
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<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>----Original Message Follows----
<DIV></DIV>From: Jan Hollan <JHOLLAN@AMPER...PED.MUNI.CZ>
<DIV></DIV>Reply-To: strawbale@amper....muni.cz
<DIV></DIV>To: strawbale@amper....muni.cz
<DIV></DIV>CC: stork@tzu..., johannes.fechner@17und4...
<DIV></DIV>Subject: Re: [Strawbale] Strawbale roof insulation
<DIV></DIV>Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2002 23:07:10 +0200 (CEST)
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>> Moths are insects, arent they.
<DIV></DIV>> Its important not to wash the wool ( if its very dirty use only warm
<DIV></DIV>> water no kind of soap whatsoever, the wooloil ( lanolin) will act as a
<DIV></DIV>> soap and will stay in the wool)
<DIV></DIV>> Collect shitty parts out by hand, before you wash the wool.
<DIV></DIV>> The lanolin is a moth prevention by itself but it will also act as a
<DIV></DIV>> "glue" sticking the borax, wich should be applied as a dry salt to the
<DIV></DIV>> wool. This should happen in situ and most of the times this will mean
<DIV></DIV>> from above, so make sure, that the wool is not pressed to densly, before
<DIV></DIV>> the salt can penetrate thorouly.
<DIV></DIV>> Thats the way we did it.
<DIV></DIV>> Harald
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>Harald, this is a really serious topic. If it would work, it would be a
<DIV></DIV>salvation for so many abandoned pastures (at least here in Czechia).
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>Up to now, I've always reproduced the view of wool industry experts saying
<DIV></DIV>there is no way to protect unwashed wool reliably for decades (perhaps the
<DIV></DIV>pyrethroid which can stop the moth attack cannot be added in a dry
<DIV></DIV>process). I contributed a bit to the development of an original Czech
<DIV></DIV>technology for building insulations from wool and to using such layers,
<DIV></DIV>but as the price mounted to perhaps thrice the least expensive materials
<DIV></DIV>(as cellulose), practical impact has been almost none. Unlike in Austria,
<DIV></DIV>where the cheapest processed wool has a comparable price to the common
<DIV></DIV>materials as mineral wool or EPS -- they are not so cheap there as here in
<DIV></DIV>Czechia.
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>As with straw and fire, a standard test on moth resistance is needed with
<DIV></DIV>unwashed wool peppered by borax -- maybe a pre-test could be done in
<DIV></DIV>amateur conditions, before a test in a certified laboratory would be paid
<DIV></DIV>for. I am sure that some union of shepherds would be able to pay for it,
<DIV></DIV>even here in Czechia. They have always asked, if they could not avoid
<DIV></DIV>expensive processing (and transport).
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>I'd say that if using cheap wool as insulation would explode, it would
<DIV></DIV>promote even its commercial variant, with layers of defined thickness and
<DIV></DIV>guaranty, which can be simply hanged and applied by building industry.
<DIV></DIV>Its use is still too low in most of the world, esp. outside
<DIV></DIV>German-speaking countries. So even wool experts should not object to this
<DIV></DIV>straightforward alternative, after all, they like wool also because they
<DIV></DIV>like sheepherds and sheep in general.
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>Jenik
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<DIV></DIV>PS.
<DIV></DIV>the price is vital: the cost should not prevent people to insulate
<DIV></DIV>properly, i.e., at least 30 cm thick and with no thermal bridges, like in
<DIV></DIV>case of strawbales. I've recommended processed wool like just an inner
<DIV></DIV>layer in roofspaces, before the vapour barrier to serve as a best moisture
<DIV></DIV>buffer, and a plenty of cheap insulation behind the barrier.
<DIV></DIV>
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