Are The Fumes From Wood Flooring Finishes Harmful For Kids?

by Alex M. Worked as a Business Development Manager

Adding the finishes and coatings that add shine and style to faded hardwood is an important part of the installation process, but some food finishing products contain chemicals that may cause harm to children if not used correctly.

Some refinishing products contain high levels of VOCs, or volatile organic compounds. When the area is not properly ventilated, VOCs may reduce the quality of the air in your home.

Exposure without safety measures can cause minor issues, such as nausea or headaches, to more serious effects.

Hardwood Pasadena flooring experts take every precaution to ensure your floors are safe. We'll discuss some of the potential issues with VOCs and how you can avoid their effects.

VOC Off-Gassing

In most cases, VOCs are harmful due to off-gassing. As a result, the chemicals in the finishing product become airborne and are expelled as gas. The vast majority of VOC chemicals are released as the finish dries.

Most finishes are mostly dry after 24 hours and fully dry after 4 days. The potential for harm can be greatly reduced simply by allowing proper ventilation in parts of the home with finishes applied.

Some homes with small children, who may be more susceptible to VOCs, may benefit from improved ventilation in the areas of the home with newly applied finishes since the finish can take 30 days to fully cure.

Curing is the process by which the finish adheres to the wood and achieves equilibrium with its environment.

Depending on the type of finish being used on Pasadena flooring, a small amount of particles may continue to be released.

Reducing VOC Exposure

To reduce your exposure to VOCs, you should make sure your home is well-ventilated, especially in areas where the finish was applied.

Depending on the needs of your family, you can take further steps to reduce your exposure to VOCs.

Considering VOCs are a known hazard, there are rules in place to regulate them. Commercial varnish products must contain less than 450 grams of VOC per liter under federal law.

Lacquer has a limit of 350 grams per liter. These laws reduce the amount of VOC in the home since fewer VOCs mean fewer chemicals are released.

Safe Wood Finishes

While VOCs cannot be entirely eliminated, they are present in extremely low levels in a number of finish products.

If you're concerned about VOC exposure, you'll want to check out a number of natural and water-based finishes, as all of them have low levels of VOC.

VOC levels in water-based finishes are as low as 50 grams per liter. Water-based finishes on Pasadena flooring are safer for many reasons.

First of all, water-based products dry faster, which means that the amount of off-gassing is greatly reduced and chemicals are released more rapidly.

Second, these types of products contain fewer VOCs to begin with, meaning they will release fewer. VOC levels are also reduced in products made from natural oils such as tung and linseed.

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Created on Nov 17th 2021 05:50. Viewed 708 times.

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