Living bath mat for your own hands

"Living" building material is known to people for more than four thousand years. His popularity then grew, it was leveled, depending on the fashion. Today, "living" technologies are again in a trend, they are durable, self-renewing, practically do not require care and in addition to everything, they are not just environmentally friendly, but improve and purify the air in the house. In order to equip a living roof or floor you need certain skills and knowledge, so start with a small one and consider how to make a bath mat.

What is a living rug?

"Alive" refers to all materials of plant origin that are suitable for repair work. Among them:

• grass,
• moss,
• turf,
• ivy,
• flowers,
• algae.

Advice: algae products are not alive, as they die without water and begin to decompose, soon there is a rubbish, and after 2-3 years the carpet completely spoils. The list came exclusively for a preventive purpose.

Some plants are suitable for decorative purposes only, others can withstand quite severe loads.

Now let's talk about a living rug. The invention of this accessory is attributed to the Swiss designer Nguyen La Chanh. She used in her composition several varieties of moss, which are combined with each other. The invention was called The Moss Carpet or mossy carpet and immediately became popular in Europe.

Despite the fact that the prototype appeared in 2009, mass production is not neglected until now. This is primarily due to the prohibitive price, which is three hundred US dollars. The cost is due to the fact that some of the types of moss used grow only in the Tropics, so their collection and delivery are quite expensive.

Nevertheless, the designer created a vector for the whole industry, which actively began to offer a variety of variations of the mossy carpet and made it more accessible to the general public. In Russia, the first models appeared a few years ago, but the fashion for them began only now.

This is due not only to external attractiveness, but also to other factors, including:

• reliability,
• wear resistance,
• regeneration of damaged areas,
• no dust and dirt,
• lack of maintenance,
• natural air purification,
• moisture reduction.

Thus, mossy mats are really much more useful and practical than ordinary pieces of plastic. In order to acquire this miracle, it is not necessary to look for rare, to date, distributors. Products are fairly easy to make independently, especially to residents of those regions where there are forests.

What can I make a rug?

In order to answer this question, it is necessary to consider in detail the conditions in which the product will be used:

• mechanical load,
• humidity level,
• access to sunlight.

The rug is needed to walk on it, therefore, the material must be strong enough, resistant to mashing and trampling and pleasant to the touch. Only grass and moss are suitable for these characteristics. The sod has the necessary qualities, but over time, in the ground, knots are formed from the roots, which will go without the slippers, this option is suitable except for a massage mat.

The humidity in the bathroom depends on the ventilation. Natural exhaust, as well as mechanical, can not provide the necessary parameters for grass. Within a few months the roots will begin to rot, an unpleasant smell will appear and after a while the carpet will have to be thrown out. Therefore, the grass is only suitable for baths equipped with windows facing the street( airing is necessary after each shower).

Right opposite situation with moss. This mode of operation is ideal for him. Nevertheless, and he has his shortcomings, the sun can kill this organism in just a few hours. Therefore, direct rays are strictly prohibited. The same is true with respect to air temperature, optimal up to +200 Celsius. Higher temperatures are only suitable for tropical moss.

If you design an interior in a lively style, to refuse flowers would be unfair. With their help they make a decorative mini bath mat. It is used as a stand for:

• shampoos, gels and scrubs,
• shaving accessories( excluding electric shavers),
• toothbrushes,
• edging on the washbasin.

Another option is the cover for the lid of the toilet bowl. In order not to renew the coating every year, use perennial flowers in combination with evergreen herbs. In addition, it is better to choose several species blooming at different times of the year. The technology of manufacturing such a rug exactly coincides with the grass. Consider the process in more detail.

How to make a bath mat from the grass

It's about the grass, and not just the lawn, because the rug and the family of used crops are completely unimportant. Lawn is the simplest solution, as it is sold everywhere. It is important to choose a variety that grows only up to a certain height and does not bite. Otherwise, your rug will need to be cut every week.

More interesting are any varieties of meadow and field grasses. The differences between them are cardinal. Meadows are high above sea level, therefore, grasses constantly feel shortage of oxygen. This circumstance causes their low growth. In addition, the mountains have a rather intense sun, which does not allow the grass to rise high above the ground. Genetics fixed these features in the biological memory of plants, therefore, even if they change their habitat, they will not start growing and beating. Ideal for small rugs.

Field grasses, on the contrary, reach 3-10 cm in height. On the one hand, it's nice to stand on the ankle in the fresh juicy grass on a cold February morning, on the other, because of the height, it will stick and look not very neat. This problem can not be solved, therefore the field grasses are used to create large enough rugs that visually allow you to hide trampled places. It takes 4-5 hours to completely restore the grass. It is quite difficult to completely render such carpet unfit for use.

Now about the sequence of actions:

• select and buy grass,
• soak seeds( if using a donor soil patch, then put it in a cool place on a wet cloth),
• prepare the base,
• install barrier bars,
• fall asleep alumina( black earth),
• plant seeds( decompose donor soil).

With the purchase of grass, there are no special questions, this is done either in the market or in specialized stores. It is much better and more practical to use the donor site of the soil. For these purposes, it is necessary to cut the top layer of the earth 5-10 cm above the expected dimensions of the rug. Naturally, this is relevant only for those who live in regions with suitable natural conditions.

Seeds must be soaked, even if there is not a word on the packaging and the seller did not give any recommendation. This is done to make every seed swell and soften. Allows you to achieve 100% germination.

As the basis it is better to use plastic or rubber, any products from a tree sooner or later will start to rot. The boundaries for the soil are made to a height of 3-5 cm. All the same flexible plastic or rubber will do. Mounted by soldering.

Alumina is more clay, black earth - from peat. The first option is relevant for low grass, the second - for high. If you buy a lawn, it is better to use alumina, as it will slow the growth of grass. The soil is covered by not reaching 0.5 cm to the edge of the boundary strip. The bases of the grass bush compensate this height and make the surface even.

In order to plant seeds, the soil is hand-held by rakes, it is well loosened, and watered. After this, the herbaceous cobs are scattered with a bulk. Donor soil, too, is laid on the poured soil. Herbal bath mat is ready for use with her own hands.

Tip: if you are making a floral carpet, then at the last stage instead of grass seeds, using flowers, you can combine different varieties, this will get a really bright and colorful product.

How to make a rug from moss

The technology of working with moss is somewhat different from a grass mat. Unlike all the others, it is used not only for bathrooms, but also for other premises, so it's appropriate to talk about how to make a home mat out of moss.

Moss do not have to be collected in the forest, there are specialized shops selling it. Most often occurs in pet food. If this is the problem, you can negotiate with the zoo staff and buy it from them( the terrarium department).

The technology looks like this:

• prepare the basis,
• prepare the vases,
• attach them to the base,
• replant moss.

As the basis, absolutely any material, even wood, is suitable, but it is important that the vases are made of rubber or soft plastic. To long not think where to get them, fit molds for baking from heat-resistant types of rubber.

To the base they must be fastened with glue, nails screws, and any other methods suggesting a violation of the integrity of the form are not allowed, since the water will drain and soil the floor.

Moss, as a rule, is already in the ground, therefore, it should simply be transferred to the pot. If the height does not match, then add the right amount of any soil.

Important: the vases are installed as close as possible to each other so that it is not visually visible that the moss grows in them.

Decorative aspect - a combination of different varieties of moss. This allows you to give the carpet a different color. In addition to the standard, light green and bottle colors from the "Soviet champagne", mosses are blue, red and brown.

Performing these actions is not the end. The blank must lie for 1-2 weeks, after which it is checked whether the moss has started. If all is well, then all visible voids are sprinkled with a very thin layer of earth, on which moss is also placed on top. Physical loads, he will experience minimal, but will give the construction a complete look.

The described method allows to create a rather heavy stationary carpet, which will be difficult to transport. There is a solution for this problem, but it will require the presence of a portable electric stove, a large cauldron or a pot, and a few kilograms of an electric cable, more precisely windings from it.

When cooking( instead of water, a solvent by type of material), the cable turns into a thick liquid mass, which is then poured into a pre-prepared mold. Depending on the thickness of the substrate, one kilogram of winding is enough for 0.8-1.5 square meters.m.

In carrying out this work, it should be noted that the vapors are toxic enough, so they cook on the street, while it is advisable to use a respirator.

The process has a lot of technological aspects, which should be read before starting the work.