Termite product manufacturer Termseal Australia has been developing and releasing innovative products for the Australian market for over 20 years.
Termite protection products for use in construction need to be high quality and durable as they need to last for the “lifetime” of the building, nominally at least 50 years. With pest managers putting their reputation on the line to protect their customers’ homes, they need to trust that the products they use can deliver on this promise.
But how can pest managers trust the products they buy?
Firstly, by knowing that a product has been developed by termite management experts, and tested in Australia, against Australian termites under Australian conditions. Secondly, by trusting companies that have been around for many years, those whose products have been installed in the field over a long period of time, giving them the opportunity to demonstrate their real-world performance. In Australia, there is one company that has built this trust over the last 20 years – Termseal Australia.
The development and testing of TERM-seal Multi- Purpose Active illustrates why pest managers can trust Termseal products.
The original innovation was only possible due to the deep level of knowledge held by the Termseal team. Traditionally, protecting areas of potential termite entry that were also exposed to moisture or water required both termite protection and waterproofing. The Termseal team believed this could be achieved with one product. But what format should the product take?
Observing that termites will often eat wood, leaving a thin veneer of paint in place, the idea of an acrylic coating was borne. But turning an idea into a viable product needs some lateral thinking and some very clever chemical engineering. After developing and evaluating various formulations in the laboratory, the final formulation needed to be tested in three ways to confirm its performance and achieve registration.
To assess its performance against termites, Multi-Purpose Active was independently tested for its performance against termites in field trials on the Mid-North Coast of NSW for Coptotermes spp. and near Kalgoorlie in WA for Mastotermes darwiniensis, over a minimum three-year period. These tests were aligned with APVMA guidelines (for registration) and Australian Standards (AS) 3660.3.
To assess its performance as a waterproofing barrier, testing was carried out by CSIRO to show compliance with AS 3740 (waterproofing standard) using methods specified in AS 4858 (wet area membranes). This is the minimum waterproofing industry benchmark.
Importantly, it is important that products such as these stick to the surfaces where they are applied and remain stuck to the surfaces, “for the lifetime of the building”. Further testing was done to prove how well it stuck to various surfaces in compliance with AS 3894.9 (adhesion testing). Multi-Purpose active was tested on a range of surfaces such as masonry bricks and blocks, AAC and FC sheeting.
In these tests, the Multi-Purpose Active was applied to the surface after a coating of TERM-Seal Prime Coat, as per the product label. Once the product was dried and bonded, a pull test was undertaken to measure the strength of adhesion to the surface. When testing its bonding to aerated concrete blocks, the Multi-Purpose Active application remained intact, actually pulling away some of the block, illustrating its excellent bonding power. However, such results also re-enforce the need for careful preparation of the surface before application, ensuring the surface is free from dust or dirt as this may prevent proper bonding.
Its combined termite and waterproofing properties make Multi-Purpose Active ideal for protecting retaining walls before backfilling with soil. However, the beauty of the innovative product format of Multi-Purpose Active is that it also gives pest managers a flexible termite protection product for use in a wide range of situations, including sealing construction joints and cold joints between old and new concrete in renovations, such as the bathroom renovation pictured above.
Like the rest of the Termseal range, Multi-Purpose Active is also approved with a CodeMark Certificate of Conformity. With no known failures since launch (over 15 years), the robust product development process and quality manufacturing from Termseal Australia delivers a product Australian pest managers can trust.
