Re: OT: health issues in kids due to laminate flooring ? Sealing laminate floors ?

[Guest guest]

Yes VOCs and formaldehyde are common. Was the laminate floor glued in?

In the 80s, during a real estate boom in California, the total volume of VOCs

emissions from the building of new houses was equal to the VOC emissions from

all the cars in CA.

I don't have the reference, but I read about a study that showed a correlation

between vinyl flooring and austism. Children with autism were 6x more likely to

have vinyl flooring in their home. Now this should not be interpreted as " vinyl

flooring causes autism " . A simple correlation like this can have many possible

explanations.

Some granite counter tops out gas radon, did you get certification of zero radon

emission for your counter tops? You can also get them tested. I believe they can

be sealed if they end up being a problem.

There are contractors all over the country that specialize in non-toxic building

materials and construction techniques. There are also indoor air quality

consultants that can come take air samples and help determine your levels. You

can also get blood tests. " Sick building syndrome " is unfortunately pretty

common.

I realize this isn't a low cost solution, but you could pull all the carpet and

vinyl out and put in solid wood, site finished floors and seal them with a water

based, non-toxic sealer.

Or you could just open the windows all summer ;-)

Cheers,

>

> Hi all,

>

> We had recently purchased a home in the bay area in Jan. this year. Prior to

moving in, we had a new laminate flooring, new vinyl flooring (kitchen and

baths), and a new carpet installed (replacing the old carpet and vinyl

flooring). We also had a new granite countertop installed in the kitchen,

replacing the old tile countertop.

>

> Anyway, to come to the matter, after a couple of weeks after moving in, our

almost-3-yrs-old daughter seemed to catch a cold. She had lots of congestion

with low grade temp., loss of appetite etc. We were not too much worried and a

few days later it seemed to get better. Only, she developed the same symptoms

again a few days later.

>

> Since then, she's showed these symptoms almost continuously for nearly a month

now. She lost weight. She has very little appetite.

>

> Even my wife had got the morning sniffles for nearly a couple of weeks after

moving in.

>

> And our daughter only catches colds/flus very, very rarely. She only caught

cold about 3 times in 3 yrs, and a fever just once.

>

> Is it possible that the out-gassing from the new floors and carpets are

affecting her ? Is it something out of the ordinary or can it be fairly common ?

>

> If so, is there any way we can take care of this ? Like sealing the flooring

from releasing the formaldehyde and other VOCs ? Or do we then have to worry

about what chemicals the sealants contain ?

>

> FYI, our daughter has never been vaccinated.

>

> Appreciate your inputs.

>

> TIA,

> Suman.

>

[Guest guest]

Suman,

Totally possible. I get dreadfully ill near new carpet and laminate. Even

with the windows open (which does help), I'm still barely able to breathe.

I've heard (but never tried) that using a carpet cleaner on the carpet

several times over will alleviate the formaldehyde and other chemicals.

Hoover makes a fragrance free fluid for carpet cleaners that doesn't bother

me one bit (I was so thrilled to find it). Short of ripping it all out, I'd

suggest trying that.

-Lana

" The art of simplicity is a puzzle of complexity. " - Horton

On Fri, Apr 16, 2010 at 1:59 PM, Shakes <kvcshake@...> wrote:

> Hi all,

>

> We had recently purchased a home in the bay area in Jan. this year. Prior

> to moving in, we had a new laminate flooring, new vinyl flooring (kitchen

> and baths), and a new carpet installed (replacing the old carpet and vinyl

> flooring). We also had a new granite countertop installed in the kitchen,

> replacing the old tile countertop.

>

> Anyway, to come to the matter, after a couple of weeks after moving in, our

> almost-3-yrs-old daughter seemed to catch a cold. She had lots of congestion

> with low grade temp., loss of appetite etc. We were not too much worried and

> a few days later it seemed to get better. Only, she developed the same

> symptoms again a few days later.

>

> Since then, she's showed these symptoms almost continuously for nearly a

> month now. She lost weight. She has very little appetite.

>

> Even my wife had got the morning sniffles for nearly a couple of weeks

> after moving in.

>

> And our daughter only catches colds/flus very, very rarely. She only caught

> cold about 3 times in 3 yrs, and a fever just once.

>

> Is it possible that the out-gassing from the new floors and carpets are

> affecting her ? Is it something out of the ordinary or can it be fairly

> common ?

>

> If so, is there any way we can take care of this ? Like sealing the

> flooring from releasing the formaldehyde and other VOCs ? Or do we then have

> to worry about what chemicals the sealants contain ?

>

> FYI, our daughter has never been vaccinated.

>

> Appreciate your inputs.

>

> TIA,

> Suman.

[Guest guest]

The wikipedia article looks pretty good. The only thing I found said to open

windows and seal surfaces like wood that could be offgassing. Check this out,

tho, very interesting (from wikipedia):

[edit] FEMA trailer incidents

[edit] Hurricane Katrina & Rita

In the U.S. the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provided travel

trailers and mobile homes starting in 2006 for habitation by residents of the

U.S. gulf coast displaced by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. Some of the

people who moved into the trailers complained of breathing difficulties,

nosebleeds, and persistent headaches. Formaldehyde-catalyzed resins were used in

the production of these homes.

The United States Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) performed

indoor air quality testing for formaldehyde[32] in some of the units. On

February 14, 2008 the CDC announced that potentially hazardous levels of

formaldehyde were found in many of the travel trailers and mobile homes provided

by the agency.[33][34] The CDC's preliminary evaluation of a scientifically

established random sample of 519 travel trailers and mobile homes tested between

Dec. 21, 2007 and Jan. 23, 2008 (2+ years after manufacture) showed average

levels of formaldehyde in all units of about 77 parts per billion (ppb).

Long-term exposure to levels in this range can be linked to an increased risk of

cancer and, at levels above this range, there can also be a risk of respiratory

illness. These levels are higher than expected in indoor air, where levels are

commonly in the range of 10-20 ppb, and are higher than the Agency for Toxic

Substance Disease Registry (ATSDR, division of the CDC) Minimal Risk Level (MRL)

of 8 ppb.[35] Levels measured ranged from 3 ppb to 590 ppb.[36]

FEMA, which requested the testing by the CDC, said it would work aggressively to

relocate all residents of the temporary housing as soon as possible. Lawsuits

are being filed against FEMA as a result of the exposures.[37]

[edit] Iowa Floods of 2008

Also in the U.S., problems arose in trailers again provided by FEMA to residents

displaced by the Iowa floods of 2008. A couple months after moving to the

trailers, occupants reported violent coughing, headaches, as well as asthma,

bronchitis, and other problems. Tests showed that in some trailers, levels of

formaldehyde exceeded the limits recommended by the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency and American Lung Association.[38][39] The associated

publicity has resulted in additional testing to begin in November.[40]

>

> > Hi all,

> >

> > We had recently purchased a home in the bay area in Jan. this year. Prior

> > to moving in, we had a new laminate flooring, new vinyl flooring (kitchen

> > and baths), and a new carpet installed (replacing the old carpet and vinyl

> > flooring). We also had a new granite countertop installed in the kitchen,

> > replacing the old tile countertop.

> >

> > Anyway, to come to the matter, after a couple of weeks after moving in, our

> > almost-3-yrs-old daughter seemed to catch a cold. She had lots of congestion

> > with low grade temp., loss of appetite etc. We were not too much worried and

> > a few days later it seemed to get better. Only, she developed the same

> > symptoms again a few days later.

> >

> > Since then, she's showed these symptoms almost continuously for nearly a

> > month now. She lost weight. She has very little appetite.

> >

> > Even my wife had got the morning sniffles for nearly a couple of weeks

> > after moving in.

> >

> > And our daughter only catches colds/flus very, very rarely. She only caught

> > cold about 3 times in 3 yrs, and a fever just once.

> >

> > Is it possible that the out-gassing from the new floors and carpets are

> > affecting her ? Is it something out of the ordinary or can it be fairly

> > common ?

> >

> > If so, is there any way we can take care of this ? Like sealing the

> > flooring from releasing the formaldehyde and other VOCs ? Or do we then have

> > to worry about what chemicals the sealants contain ?

> >

> > FYI, our daughter has never been vaccinated.

> >

> > Appreciate your inputs.

> >

> > TIA,

> > Suman.

>

>

>