How to choose your material: Tempered glass

Tempered glass is a safety glass processed to have high levels of strength, stability, safety and impact resistance.

This material is popular because of its relatively high strength, but since the glass, as a material is still breakable, wrong applications of tempered glass will still lead to breakage.

Therefore, when using tempered glass items, you should always take extra care so that the material can have a longer lifespan.

Here are some points of consideration when using tempered glass.

AVOID COLLISION WITH SHARP, HARD OBJECTS

Tempered glass is especially fragile around the corners. When the corners experience damage from impact, the material is much more likely to break.

For the purpose of maintaining safety, do not hit the corners of tempered glass with sharp, hard objects.

AVOID UNEVEN HEAT EXPOSURE

When a glass panel is at a high temperature on one side, and low on the other side, the glass is surely going to break.

Although this is less likely to occur on tempered glass, always make an effort to avoid uneven heat exposure on this material.

PROTECT THE CORNERS

As a rule of thumb, taking extra care to protect the glass's corners effectively lowers the risk of breakage. Applying edge guards to the corners is the easiest way to do this.

AVOID PROLONGED PRESSURE APPLICATION

For aesthetic reasons, a lot of homeowners opt for dining tables and coffee tables made of tempered glass. They might place a lot of heavy objects on the furniture for an extended period of time.

This, in fact, increases the chance of the glass breaking.

AVOID CONTACT WITH ACIDS AND ALKALIS

The material in the glass might react with acids and alkalis. Be sure to prevent the glass from getting in contact with harsh chemicals.

MAINTAINING TEMPERED GLASS

BE GENTLE

Place objects on glass surfaces in a gentle manner. To avoid scratching the material, use table cloth and placemats.

KEEP CLEAN

Tempered glass should be clean regularly to avoid mouldy stains. Remove stains right when you find them so that they cannot spread.

AVOID EXPOSURE TO THE ELEMENTS

Prolonged exposure to the elements might cause any material wrapping the glass corners to expand, breaking the glass material.

CLEAN UP IN TIME

When spilling accidents happen, you should always clean the glass right away so that the glass is not stained.

When cleaning, do not use detergents with an extreme acidity or alkalinity. Cleaners with a neutral pH value are your best option.

This article was first published in Renonation.