DIY Home Projects: How To Use Spray Insulation For Your Boiler Room Safely

Construction & Contractors Articles

There are some home projects you can do yourself with the right precautions, including insulating your boiler room with spray insulation. Spray insulation keeps heat inside the room that houses your boiler. If cold air seeps into the boiler room through defects in the wall or flooring, the boiler might receive damage to its housing or parts. If the temperatures drop below freezing, your boiler may also experience frozen water lines. Here's how you insulate the area around your boiler with spray insulation.

Keep It Safe

Before you purchase your spray insulation product, you need to be aware of the chemicals inside the spray. There are some spray insulation products that contain formaldehyde, which is a dangerous ingredient that may cause a host of health issues if you inhale or touch it. These health concerns include allergies, cancers, lung infections, and skin rashes. In order to be safe, choose an insulation spray that doesn't contain any type of formaldehyde. Instead, purchase a spray insulation with polyurethane.

Polyurethane is an advanced plastic-based ingredient used in many home and business applications today. The American Chemical Council regulates the production and safety of polyurethane-based products, including spray insulation. If you have concerns on what polyurethane-based insulation to buy for your boiler room, contact a reputable heating and cooling provider in your area. You may also contact the American Chemical Council for assistance.

Once you purchase your spray insulation with polyurethane, you need to prep the boiler room, as well as clear out your home for the day.

Clear Out The Home For A Day And Get Your Boiler Room Ready

Although polyurethane-based spray insulation is a safer product than a formaldehyde-based product, you still need to take precautions when you use it. The application can give off a strong odor that irritates the eyes, nasal cavity and lungs once it comes into contact with oxygen. You should have every adult, child and pet removed from the home during the project. The spray insulation usually dries and hardens within 24 hours, so the move won't disrupt your household's comfort for very long.

Now, you're ready to prep your boiler room for the insulation. Here's what you can do:

• Remove any dangerous obstacles from your work area that can make you trip and fall, including any unused heating equipment you may store in the boiler room
• Use a mop and broom to sweep or clean up any dust and dirt in the boiler room — these contaminates may stick to the wet spray insulation, which interferes with its ability to keep heat in and cold out of the boiler room
• Place plastic or cloth over the flooring to keep any spray residue from affecting the appearance and color of your flooring 

Try to do this step of your project very early in the day to cut back on the time needed to spray and dry your insulation. In addition, it gives you a chance to go out and buy a face mask with a nose protection feature, as well as thick goggles for your eyes and long utility gloves for your hands and arms. You also need to secure a long-sleeved shirt, pants and footwear that covers your exposed body areas. You're just one step away from placing your insulation on the walls of your boiler room.

Apply Your Spray Insulation

Applying the spray insulation takes several hours. Before you begin the project, read the spray insulation's directions carefully. Your insulation typically comes with special equipment, such as a sprayer and nozzle, that you may need to assemble. Reading the instructions cuts back on user and application errors.

Once you assemble the sprayer, you can insulate the:

• Floorboards and baseboards around the room
• Open areas around the pipes and structures of the boiler
• Ceiling, including open areas around the ducts, pipes or lines

If you find that the job is too much for you to do, stop and contact an insulation specialist instead.

12 December 2014