What is better - chipboard or MDF?

For potential buyers, the variety of products sometimes has its negative side. For example, tiled materials seem to be all beautiful and durable, but it is completely unknown how they will serve in practice. Comparing the facades of MDF or MDF is a vivid example. Both materials have a lot of similarities, but significant differences in the internal structure very soon manifest themselves in practice. You can suffer greatly if you buy cheap furniture in a room with a difficult microclimate. Also an important nuance is the environmental friendliness of the boards, many are willing to pay extra for ensuring that the furniture will not release harmful substances into the air. To properly determine, consider the technology for the production of facades, their composition, dignity, hidden shortcomings.

Furniture facades from chipboard

Sawdust and shavings used to go to the furnace, but soon they learned how to transform this waste into an excellent tile material for the production of facades, shelves, partitions , roofs. In the US, particle boards have been made for more than 70 years, and our production was launched later, but now the amount of furniture from this material exceeds that of natural wood. In order to keep sawdust together, a binder based on formaldehyde resin is used, which is a rather harmful component. This factor is very important in determining whether it is better than MDF or MDF.

It is necessary to distinguish between EAF class E1 and E2, because this depends on your safety. For products of the E1 class, harmful additives are much less, Japanese and European manufacturers are trying to minimize the amount of formaldehyde. Class E2 attracts cheapness, but it is better not to use it in a dwelling.

The most attractive variant of this material is the chipboard coated with a laminated film, which is produced from special paper and melamine resins. The protective layer increases the strength of the plates and greatly improves their decorative appearance. The film happens, both smooth, and with the embossed texture that allows to imitate wood of various breeds. The main advantage of such products is its cheapness, a budget kitchen with a facade made of chipboard will always be more affordable than a furniture set made of wood or MDF.

Furniture facades from MDF

The invention of dry pressing technology at high pressure and high temperatures made it possible to produce an amazing material for furniture facades - a finely dispersed wood fraction. The binding component here is paraffin and lignin, which makes MDF safer than the competitor. The structure of this material is more uniform, and its strength is twice higher than that of the chipboard. MDF behaves better in a humid environment and is more resistant to fire. In addition to furniture facades, this material is used for the production of ceilings, floors, wall panels. If it is necessary to make elite furniture, then it is better to take MDF, this material is much easier to process, which allows much more accurate imitation of wood. If you see carved backs or doors, it's far from the fact that you have an oak or pine cabinet.

What is better than MDF or chipboard for the kitchen?

We took a kitchen for comparison, because there are many harmful factors that can damage the facade of furniture - humidity, dust, steam, dirt, high temperatures, the possibility of mechanical damage to the coating. If the owner in the first place longevity and practicality, it is better to buy furniture from MDF. In addition, you will have a richer choice of colors for the facade and its texture. Such products are environmentally friendly and can be used even in pre-school establishments.

But in the question of which kitchens are best from MDF or chipboard, much solvency solves the person. The main advantage of wood chipboards is their availability, which competitors can not yet boast. That is why very often modern furniture is produced in a combined way, when the facade is made of MDF, and some internal parts and the body are made of chipboard. This method lowers the cost of products of economy class, makes it possible to improve its decorative and strength.