Polystyrene your supportive lifesaver

We bet you’ve forgotten about the crucial part polystyrene played in your life as a child (or an adult). In fact, we’d go as far to say that it was once your lifesaver and, despite it’s lightweight composite of around 98% air, it was your rock too.

Yes, we’re talking about the extraordinarily simple yet life-changing product that is the … swimming float. Tried and tested, the swimming float comes in many guises but all offer universal support for beginners, developing swimmers and competitive use.

Here at Vertapak, our main focus is the production of high-quality polystyrene packaging and insulation solutions but occasionally we thought it would be fun to review some of the other important and uses of versatile polystyrene.

Polystyrene’s part in developing your water skills

Think back to when you first entered a body of water. You may have received the supportive hands of your mother or father gently immersing you into the water of a swimming pool on holiday or the local leisure centre. Blowup armbands were probably your first recollection of a swimming aid but budding swimmers cannot get far with expandable multicoloured biceps. Soon, a polystyrene aid is called for.

Not only does this essential item help with confidence building in the water but it also encourages the swimmer to develop their technique.

Nowadays, swimming aids that help toddlers and small children to learn how to swim and feel confident when buoyant in the water, come in all shapes and sizes. Choose from ‘kick board’ shapes in the form of wild animal characters, numbers or letters to lean on or grasp with the hands to practice the leg kick or a ‘pull buoy’ held between the thighs.

Supportive polystyrene

The main purpose of a polystyrene float is to support your weight whilst on your front or back and therefore leaving your limbs free to practice movements and to aid muscle strength. Because of this, the size of the float is important, as it has to hold a person’s weight. A quick guide is to measure the float against your arm.

Tubular Woggles are polystyrene cylinders about 1.5 metres long which can be used to support swimmers whilst also keeping legs and arms free for full movement front or back.

Disc bands, sectioned padded jackets and baby grow costumes are alternative polystyrene float aids.

Polystyrene recycling

Polystyrene contains no harmful CFC gases and is easily recycled. If you have any old polystyrene materials, consider reusing them as storage or packing aids at home or in the workplace. It can even be broken down into beads and mixed with new polystyrene beads in order to mould it into new materials.

Contact us on 01384 457730 for more details about any aspect of polystyrene design, production and packaging solutions.