Thermowood

Environmentally friendly wood! It‘s been a big hit:

Thermowood, with its great range of possible uses in all areas which are exposed to moisture, is one of the important topics for the wood industry in 2008. The heat treated wood is predominantly used for patio floors, for indoor flooring and, most recently, has been used for furniture making.

Redecker has reinvented the method for all areas of the kitchen and bathroom and is currently the only brush manufacturer supplying Thermowood. The method of making wood durable, water resistant and hard is actually ancient: What else was it that the primitive peoples, e.g. Native Americans, were doing when they used to harden their spears and arrows in the fire? Even in our part of the world, it has been common practice for centuries to carbonize the bottom end of fence posts and supports in order to make them more resistant to moisture.

The Thermowood phenomenon has been scientifically researched since the 1920s, but it wasn’t until the 90s that a reliable and practical method was discovered, which combines a high level of efficiency, a low energy requirement and the maximum retention of stability in the wood.

What is Thermowood good for? And what qualities does it have?

Water runs right off - nevertheless the surface is open-pored and warm: Thermowood undergoes a type of “baking” process at high temperatures and changes its molecular structure in such a way that the wood sugar caramelizes, thus closing the pores. The wood can then either only absorb little or no moisture. It becomes lighter, harder and no longer shrinks or swells. It is practically immune to mould and rot and thus becomes as durable as tropical woods.

The effects of heat give the wood in the products a very light and pleasant smoky scent and a fine dark coloring. The dark brown color does however change to a grayish silver shade if exposed to UV light for longer periods (applies especially to wooden facades and flooring).

The wood is now ideal for all areas in which the wood is constantly exposed to moisture, from the bathroom to the sauna. However, the best thing is that the wood requires no further treatment after it has been thermally enhanced. You can completely dispense with oils, wax or lacquer coatings – whereby it is often recommendable to treat the wood with natural oil or wax. The wood is thus sealed whilst remaining breathable and is given an even darker, exotically warm shade.

Lightening caused by UV light can also be reduced by treating the wood with the respective oils and waxes. Incidentally: Thermowood does not stain, even if left to sit on natural stone or other sensitive surfaces (e.g. wash basins, floors) for long periods. We have experimented with various woods for brush production for a long time in order to find a suitable material for our needs, because heat treatment renders Thermowood “brittle” and it can split easily when punched by the bristles: But we have found it, and now almost exclusively use ash for our Thermowood collection because it has prominent grain which becomes all the more striking after thermal treatment (clearly visible in the picture of a massage brush opposite).

We are pleased to be able to provide you with an almost complete range of personal hygiene products for the bathroom and sauna in “Thermo” quality: Bath brushes, hair brushes and nail brushes, soap dishes and bath mats. The woods for Redecker‘s Thermowood products are heated for a day in large kilns