Will icicle lights straighten out over time?

Icicle string lights, as a festival and decorative scenes in the “regular”, with its unique appearance is loved by everyone. It usually consists of multiple sets of slender “icicle” shaped bulbs or LED lights hanging from, like the winter eaves of the frozen ice prisms, crystal clear, adding a dreamy atmosphere to the environment. Commonly used during the holiday season, people hang them on eaves, windows, doors, Christmas trees, and the exterior of shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, and other buildings, and when lit, they shine brightly and attract everyone's attention.

However, in the enjoyment of icicle string lights bring beauty at the same time, many people have found a small problem: just bought, string lights icicle lines straight and natural, very beautiful, but after using a period of time, part of the icicle no longer seems to be so straight, appearing bent, deformed. This not only affects the aesthetics, but also makes people worry about the quality of the string lights. Thus, we can not help but have doubts in mind: icicle light string will not be straightened over time? Next, we will explore this issue in depth.

Influence of material structure on morphology

Material Characteristics

Icicle string light shell is usually made of flexible plastic or rubber materials, these materials in the initial state can be molded into a straight form according to the mold or production process. Take the common PVC as an example, it has good plasticity, the newly made icicle light string PVC shell can maintain a regular shape.

Similarly, the silicone material icicle string lights, although better flexibility, cold and high temperature performance is outstanding, but the same “flexible deformation” problem. In the outdoor temperature changes, wind and sun and other environmental factors, the elasticity of the silicone shell will be slightly changed, a long time in the stretch or bending force state, it is difficult to return to the initial straight model, and then the phenomenon of bending deformation.

Internal wire support

Icicle light strings have internal wires for conducting electricity, these wires play an auxiliary role in maintaining the shape of the string. Generally the wires are made of metal and have a certain degree of rigidity. During the production of the string, the wires are encapsulated within the housing and fit tightly into the housing, which to a certain extent provides support for the housing and helps to keep the string straight.

But with the use of time growth, the wire may face aging problems. For example, long-term power heating makes the wire insulation layer aging, brittle, and even cracking, peeling, which not only affects the conductivity, but also weaken the wire on the shell support. And daily use, the string may be accidentally pulled, collision, so that the wire local deformation, change the original and the shell of the synergistic support of the state, can no longer effectively maintain the icicle string straight, accelerating the bending of the string deformation.

Role of external environmental factors

Temperature variations

Temperature has a significant effect on the morphology of icicle light strings. During the cold winter months, outdoor temperatures often drop below freezing. When icicle light strings are exposed to low temperatures for a long time, the internal materials will shrink. When the string is moved from the cold outdoors to the warm indoors, or when it experiences a large temperature difference between day and night, the material rapidly expands again. This frequent thermal expansion and contraction process is like repeated “pulling” on the string, and over time, stress fatigue occurs within the string structure, making it difficult to return to the initial straight state, and the bending deformation becomes more pronounced.

Prolonged exposure to the sun, the string light shell material becomes soft, rigidity decline, by gravity is more likely to sag and bend. If the string contains some components that are not resistant to high temperature, such as part of the poor quality glue used to fix the bulb or wire, high temperature may lead to glue failure, so that the components are loose, further destroying the string's original straight form.

Humidity erosion

Humid environment is the “big enemy” of icicle light string. In the rainy season, or outdoor places that often encounter rain, the air humidity is at a high level for a long time, and even the light strings are directly exposed to the rain. Icicle light string shell material more than a certain degree of water absorption, moisture infiltration, material properties change. Like paper, fabric material wrapped decorative icicle light string outer layer, water will become soft, swelling, deformation, and in serious cases, mold, rot, completely damage the appearance and structure of the string.

Even plastic, silicone and other relatively waterproof shell, long-term high humidity environment, water vapor may also penetrate to the interior, and metal wire contact, triggering electrochemical corrosion, so that the wire rust, brittle, reducing its support for the string shell, prompting the string to bend. Moreover, the humid environment is easy to breed microorganisms, attached to the surface of the string, will also erode the string material to a certain extent, affecting its flatness and straightness.

Wind pull

Outdoor installation of icicle string lights also face the wind test. When the breeze is light, the light string will swing slightly, it seems to have little effect, but the long-term continuous breeze, so that the light string connection part of the constant force, resulting in a small displacement. When encountered in windy weather, especially the strong wind whistling past, the string lights by the lateral tension increases dramatically. If a typhoon comes to the coastal area, or a gusty wind rages in winter, the light string may be blown to shake and twist dramatically. The connecting parts between the string and the hanging point, such as hooks and ropes, may be loosened, deformed or even broken under the strong wind, resulting in the string falling partially and the overall shape of the string being disorganized, and the originally straight icicles being blown to the side and difficult to restore the original shape.

Product design and process considerations

Shaping process

GUOCHONG icicle string lights have strict technology in the production of stereotypes. Such as the use of high-precision mold injection molding, mold internal structure fine, can accurately shape the shape of the icicle shell, so that all parts of the icicle size uniformity, straightness. And after injection molding, it will go through a specific cooling process, so that the material cools evenly and slowly, stabilizing the internal stress structure and reducing the possibility of subsequent deformation. Some high-end products will also increase the tempering treatment to further eliminate residual stress, enhance the rigidity and stability of the material, and maintain a good shape for long time use.

On the contrary, low-quality icicle light strings to save costs, mold rough, molding icicle shell uneven thickness, local weaknesses are easy to deform after stress. Cooling link is simple and sloppy, rapid cooling of the material, the internal generation of large stress concentrations, the use of a short period of time will be bent due to stress release. This kind of light string lacks effective tempering and other post-treatment processes, can not guarantee the long-term stability of the material performance, the form is difficult to maintain a lasting.

Quality Standard Differences

GUOCHONG meets the high international standards for icicle light strings, and has strict requirements in material selection, process control, performance testing and other aspects. Tensile strength, for example, the standard requirements of the string lights in a certain weight when the tension, the icicle part of the deformation needs to be controlled within a very small range, which ensures that the daily use, even if hanging for a longer period of time, subject to their own gravity continues to act, it is not easy to bend. And in the waterproof, moisture, weather resistance and other indicators of strict control, so that the string lights to adapt to a variety of complex environments, reduce the risk of deformation caused by environmental factors.

Low-quality icicle string lights do not follow strict standards, the material selection of cheap, substandard performance materials, such as the shell plastic aging resistance is poor, wire corrosion, assembly process at random, the connection is not solid, the overall structure of the loose, can not withstand the normal use of external forces, environmental erosion, within a short period of time may be icicle bending, bulb loosening and other deformation problems, seriously affecting the use of the aesthetics.

Maintenance Recommendations

After understanding the reasons for the bending and deformation of icicle light strings, in order to extend its service life and maintain its beauty, daily maintenance is crucial. First of all, the cleaning part, regularly use a soft dry cloth to wipe the icicle string lights, remove dust, stains, to avoid the accumulation of impact on the luminous and heat dissipation. If the string is stained with stubborn stains, wipe it gently with a damp cloth, but make sure the cloth is wrung out to prevent moisture from seeping into the interior. For strings covered with dust and mud after outdoor use, use a small soft-bristle brush to gently brush away large impurities on the surface, and then wipe with a slightly damp soft cloth.