A clogged cork can cause a very difficult situation. Depending on where the blockage is, it can be detected by a characteristic gurgling noise. Usually, it is localized in one place: washbasin, toilet or sink. If the water leaves poorly at all points, the whole system is clogged.
Unclogging cork is easy with the right product and the proper technique. It is also a very good idea to prevent the problem from happening in the first place. This is why we offer a range of products to ensure the cork surface in your kitchen, bathroom or any room is kept clean and free from clogs.
Cork is a natural material which offers many advantages over synthetic alternatives in terms of sustainability, durability and a unique and beautiful appearance. Its unique properties include a high resistance to pressure and an excellent ability to absorb moisture. Its natural surface also features a non-porous quality, making it dust and dirt repellent and almost immune to micro-organism proliferation.
When you purchase a cork product, you can feel confident that the raw materials used were harvested from carefully managed forests. The cork oak trees (Quercus suber) which supply the majority of wine bottle stoppers in the world are grown sustainably in countries that line the Mediterranean Sea, where the climate is ideal for their cultivation. The cork is extracted from the bark of these trees with a special hatchet, without removing any part of the tree itself. The process is entirely environmentally friendly, and each cork oak can be harvested for its cork a maximum of 16 times over the course of its lifetime.
The cork is then made Debouchage liege into a variety of products, from insulation and composition cork to flooring, furniture and fashion accessories. The most famous use of the cork, however, is as a wine bottle stopper. Its unique ability to seal a bottle while still allowing for subtle breathing during ageing is a key feature of fine wines, and something that no synthetic alternative can replicate.
As for the taints that can occur in some wines during their ageing under cork, over the last three decades the situation has been steadily improving. Our cork partner Amorim has perfected a steam sanitization process that eliminates TCA from the raw material, reducing it to such an extent that it is not detectable in the finished product. The result is a very high level of quality in the 5.5 billion corks that we produce each year.
TCA is a naturally-occurring compound, and as with all natural materials, it will infect some of the raw materials used to make our wine bottle stoppers. The key to preventing TCA from contaminating the finished product is to apply steam, at just the right temperature and for the exact duration required. Using this method, Amorim is able to achieve a level of TCA contamination in the finished corks that is far lower than in previous years. This has helped the reputation of cork as a taint-free material.
