Furnishings fabrics
Any fabric supplied to provide or replace the permanent cover on furniture
(except mattresses, bed-bases, pillows, cushions and baby nests) must
either
pass the appropriate match test(s) (which depend on whether the
fabric is to be used to provide a visible or non-visible part of the cover)
or if one of the fabrics listed below, it can be offered in non-match-resistant
form, provided that the furniture has or will contain a fire-resistant
interliner which itself passes the specified test. These are fabrics made
from material containing at least 75 per cent by weight of:
•
cotton
• flax
• viscose
• modal
• silk
• wool
whether used separately or together and are not coated with
polyurethane or a polyurethane preparation.
This requirement applies to any person who supplies fabric to the trade or direct
to the consumer where he knows or has reasonable cause to believe that it will be
used for covering furniture (except mattresses, bed-bases, pillows, cushions and
baby nests).
Domestic upholstered furniture (except mattresses, bed-bases, pillows and
cushions which are dealt with in the later sections)
This includes all upholstered seating furniture (including children's furniture) as
well as upholstered articles such as music stools, foot stools and pouffes, bean
bags and floor cushions, which are intended for private use in a dwelling. The
Regulations also apply to domestic upholstered furniture that is supplied in kit
form for self-assembly.
The Regulations apply to domestic furniture which contains any amount of filling
material. Domestic upholstered furniture (whether complete or ordered with the
customers' own choice of cover fabric) must:
• pass the appropriate cigarette test(s)
• contain only filling material which passes the appropriate test(s); and
• the cover fabric of this furniture must also pass the appropriate match
test(s) or the alternative route to compliance described, and carry the
appropriate display and permanent labels
The cigarette and match resistance requirements
Cover fabric on all parts of upholstered furniture (whether or not the cover is over
a filling material) must be match resistant, and the upholstery must be cigarette
resistant. The Regulations provide separate tests for different parts of the cover
on the furniture.
These are modified cigarette and match tests for fabric used on the non-visible
parts of the furniture. The non-visible parts are:
a. any part of the cover on that part of the furniture on which any back, arm
or seat cushions rest
b. the underside or reverse side of any seat or back cushions which are not
designed to be reversible
c. the underside of any arm cushions which are not designed to be reversible
provided that they are secured in such a way that they cannot be
displaced in normal use; and
d. the dust cover on the underside of the article of furniture.
The modified match test is appropriate to cover fabric on any of the above parts
of the furniture. The modified cigarette test is appropriate to the non-visible parts
of upholstery only. All other parts of the furniture are visible parts, and cover fabric on these parts must also pass the full match test. Visible parts of the upholstery must also
pass the full cigarette test.
Head-boards of beds
Upholstered head-boards must meet the requirements for domestic
upholstered furniture. Accordingly, they should pass the tests required for
this type of furniture. You should note that the fabric on the back of a head-board
is a visible fabric for the purposes of the Regulations.
Mattresses and bed-bases
Filling material
The Regulations apply to filling material in these items which must meet the
requirements described. For mattresses and bed-bases with a single filling, the
filling material should be tested using BS 5852 methods of test.
A different method of test is provided for mattresses and bed-bases which contain
two or more filling materials.
No comments:
Post a Comment