---
title: "What around the house things are made of"
description: "21 around the house objects broken down component by component, with the reason behind each material choice."
url: https://atoneplace.net/made-of/household/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Around the house — what they are made of

21 around the house objects, broken down.

| Object | Made of |
| --- | --- |
| Banknote | Cotton and linen rag paper, or polymer film — never wood pulp, which is why notes survive the wash. |
| Lego brick | ABS plastic moulded to a tolerance of about ten micrometres — the tightness of the fit is the whole product. |
| Soap | Fats reacted with lye to make fatty acid salts — and most modern "beauty bars" are not soap at all. |
| Toothpaste | Mostly abrasive and humectant, with a detergent for foam — the active ingredient is about 0.15% fluoride. |
| Coin | Base-metal alloys chosen for wear and cost — most modern "silver" coins are copper-nickel and most "copper" ones are plated steel or zinc. |
| Sunscreen | UV filters — mineral, chemical or both — suspended in an emulsion whose job is to hold them in an even film. |
| Credit card | Laminated PVC sheets 0.76 mm thick, carrying a silicon chip in epoxy and a copper antenna coil. |
| Candle | Wax that is really a fuel, and a braided cotton wick that acts as a pump rather than as the thing burning. |
| Lipstick | Castor oil carrying pigment, set into a stick with waxes — the oil is the workhorse, not the colour. |
| Shampoo | Three-quarters water, a primary detergent, a milder secondary one, salt to thicken, and silicone to make hair feel smooth. |
| Balloon | Party balloons are dipped natural rubber latex; foil balloons are metallised plastic film and are not rubber at all. |
| Deodorant | Deodorant kills the bacteria that cause the smell; antiperspirant uses aluminium salts to plug the sweat duct. Different products. |
| Toothbrush | Nylon filaments stapled into a polypropylene handle with a wire — three plastics that cannot be separated for recycling. |
| Match | An oxidiser and a fuel in the head, with the phosphorus that starts it moved onto the striking strip. |
| Mattress | Steel springs or polyurethane foam, comfort layers, and a legally required fire barrier under the quilted cover. |
| Carpet | Face fibre tufted through a woven backing and locked in place with latex — three layers, two of which you never see. |
| Nail polish | Nitrocellulose lacquer — the same film-forming chemistry as 1920s car paint — with pigment and a clay suspender. |
| Dice | Cheap dice are injection-moulded plastic with painted pips; casino dice are machined cellulose acetate with density-matched fill. |
| Pillow | A fill of polyester fibre, foam or waterfowl down inside a tightly woven downproof cover. |
| Banknote ink | Stiff intaglio paste ink pressed into the paper under tonnes of force, plus colour-shifting metal flakes. |
| Duvet | A downproof shell divided into baffled compartments, filled with down, feather or hollow polyester fibre. |

- [Banknote](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/banknote/) — Cotton and linen rag paper, or polymer film — never wood pulp, which is why notes survive the wash.
- [Lego brick](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/lego-brick/) — ABS plastic moulded to a tolerance of about ten micrometres — the tightness of the fit is the whole product.
- [Soap](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/soap/) — Fats reacted with lye to make fatty acid salts — and most modern "beauty bars" are not soap at all.
- [Toothpaste](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/toothpaste/) — Mostly abrasive and humectant, with a detergent for foam — the active ingredient is about 0.15% fluoride.
- [Coin](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/coin/) — Base-metal alloys chosen for wear and cost — most modern "silver" coins are copper-nickel and most "copper" ones are plated steel or zinc.
- [Sunscreen](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/sunscreen/) — UV filters — mineral, chemical or both — suspended in an emulsion whose job is to hold them in an even film.
- [Credit card](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/credit-card/) — Laminated PVC sheets 0.76 mm thick, carrying a silicon chip in epoxy and a copper antenna coil.
- [Candle](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/candle/) — Wax that is really a fuel, and a braided cotton wick that acts as a pump rather than as the thing burning.
- [Lipstick](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/lipstick/) — Castor oil carrying pigment, set into a stick with waxes — the oil is the workhorse, not the colour.
- [Shampoo](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/shampoo/) — Three-quarters water, a primary detergent, a milder secondary one, salt to thicken, and silicone to make hair feel smooth.
- [Balloon](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/balloon/) — Party balloons are dipped natural rubber latex; foil balloons are metallised plastic film and are not rubber at all.
- [Deodorant](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/deodorant/) — Deodorant kills the bacteria that cause the smell; antiperspirant uses aluminium salts to plug the sweat duct. Different products.
- [Toothbrush](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/toothbrush/) — Nylon filaments stapled into a polypropylene handle with a wire — three plastics that cannot be separated for recycling.
- [Match](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/match/) — An oxidiser and a fuel in the head, with the phosphorus that starts it moved onto the striking strip.
- [Mattress](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/mattress/) — Steel springs or polyurethane foam, comfort layers, and a legally required fire barrier under the quilted cover.
- [Carpet](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/carpet/) — Face fibre tufted through a woven backing and locked in place with latex — three layers, two of which you never see.
- [Nail polish](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/nail-polish/) — Nitrocellulose lacquer — the same film-forming chemistry as 1920s car paint — with pigment and a clay suspender.
- [Dice](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/dice/) — Cheap dice are injection-moulded plastic with painted pips; casino dice are machined cellulose acetate with density-matched fill.
- [Pillow](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/pillow/) — A fill of polyester fibre, foam or waterfowl down inside a tightly woven downproof cover.
- [Banknote ink](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/banknote-ink/) — Stiff intaglio paste ink pressed into the paper under tonnes of force, plus colour-shifting metal flakes.
- [Duvet](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/duvet/) — A downproof shell divided into baffled compartments, filled with down, feather or hollow polyester fibre.