Non-toxic soundproofing solutions is a request I’ve received for many years. Customers call and while they want the best acoustical solutions possible, they want to make sure that the products are safe for their families or customers. Nowadays, there’s another request: eco-friendly products.
While they may seem different, it’s essentially the same request: customers want to make sure the products they’re buying are safe for the environment or—rather how they are produced—aren’t causing environmental harm.
AudioSeal® Mass Loaded Vinyl Sound Barrier
At Acoustical Solutions, we’ve long heard the request for non-toxic soundproofing products and solutions, and we have worked hard to be able to provide non-toxic solutions as well.
Let’s take a look at the options for soundproofing and how we can achieve your acoustical goals while also helping the environment and protecting your family and customers.
Understanding the Needs of Soundproofing Materials
Material selection with soundproofing is extremely important. Soundproofing, also known as sound blocking, is when we utilize materials that physically block soundwaves from entering or leaving a space. Sound is made up of mechanical waves, like water waves, that radiate through a medium and we hear them as they pass by us in the air (a medium). As you may have noticed in your home or other buildings, sound can be heard behind some walls that you certainly can’t walk through. That is because the energy of sound waves is enough that they can pass right through many materials by bouncing through the atoms that make up the material.
In order to block sound, the material’s atomic structure must be capable of eliminating the energy of the sound waves before they exit the other side. With a rough analogy, let’s consider the difference between a wall made of studs and drywall and one made of concrete. Theoretically, you could punch and eventually step through a wall made of drywall, at least the part in between the studs! However, you’d have no chance of punching through a concrete wall. This is essentially how sound waves work and why we select soundproofing material to act like the concrete and provide a barrier that doesn’t let any sound through.
Non-Toxic and Eco-Friendly Soundproofing Options
It’s important to realize that when sound leaves a source, it does have directionality to it, but it will still vibrate through the entire medium of air regardless to some degree. Let’s compare this to another kind of common wave: waves in a pond. If you were to throw a rock in a still pond, waves would radiate outward in all directions through the medium of the water from the source of vibration. This is how sound works, but because air is a three dimensional surface, rather than the two dimensional surface of a pond’s surface, the waves are traveling from the source point in all directions.
This matters because when we soundproof, we have to take into account that sound will go in all directions, whether directly from the source or after it bounces off walls and anything else in the room. This means that we need to address ceilings, floors, and walls.
Eco-Friendly Soundproofing Materials for Walls and Ceilings
Closeup of 1 pound per square foot AudioSeal® Mass Loaded Vinyl Sound Barrier
Walls account for the largest percentage of the surface area that needs to be soundproofed. Our non-toxic AudioSeal® Mass Loaded Vinyl (MLV) Soundproofing Barrier is an excellent soundproofing product that goes behind the drywall to block sounds from leaving the room and help block sounds from outside coming in. It is made from POE (polyolefin elastomer) which does not contain plasticizers or unsafe chemicals and it doesn’t pose a health risk if it’s burned. AudioSeal® MLV Soundproofing Barrier is 100% recyclable and qualifies for LEED credits.
Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound – 28 oz. Tubes
To help the effectiveness of the MLV install, we offer Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound, also a non-toxic, water-based product. Combining these two products with Resilient Sound Isolation Clip (RSIC-1) offers a powerful soundproofing solution for walls and drywalled ceilings whose materials are environmentally responsible as well as non-toxic.
Eco-Friendly Soundproofing Materials for Floors
Iso-Step® Floor Underlayment
In addition to walls and ceilings, it’s important to apply soundproofing treatment to flooring. Interestingly, soundproofing the floor is typically aimed to negate the sound of footfalls rather than blocking sound leaving or coming in. Each type of flooring makes some level of noise with some louder than others. In order to avoid this, soundproofing underlayment is applied above the subfloor and beneath the flooring of your choice. We recommended our Iso-Step® Soundproofing Underlayment, an eco-friendly choice as it’s manufactured in the U.S. using recycled material, requires no new materials, and has short transport distances. It can be installed under most types of grouted, glued, and floating floors, including ceramic tile, stone, marble, brick, pavers, hardwood, engineered wood, laminate, parquet, luxury vinyl tile, and carpet, for exceptional soundproofing to eliminate “neighbor noise.”
Discover Non-Toxic, Eco-Friendly and Effective Soundproofing Products from Acoustical Solutions
Part of why I love working in acoustics is because the result is to make aspects of life more enjoyable and our communication more effective.
It only makes sense to pair this with prioritizing healthy living with non-toxic acoustic materials to take care of our shared world with eco-friendly materials. At Acoustical Solutions, we’ve worked hard to achieve this and are proud to offer products that meet these desires.
Give us a call today and we’ll help craft a plan for your unique space and its soundproofing needs!
To learn more about how Acoustical Solutions can solve your noise control problems, use our contact form, call one of our Acoustical Sales Consultants at (800) 782-5742, or visit us on the web at acousticalsolutions.com.
