Re: OT: Non Toxic Finishes

[Guest guest]

Sandy,

I have posted your question to an Environmental Illness group but we

are in Canada and the brands may differ.

>

> Do any of you have suggestions for finishes for hardwood floors that

> is non or at least less toxic? 

>>>>>>>

> Sandy M.

>

>

>

Carol F.

Toronto, celiac, SCD 6 years

[Guest guest]

Thanks Carol. I will be watching for results.

Sandy M.

> >

> > Do any of you have suggestions for finishes for hardwood floors

that

> > is non or at least less toxic? 

> >>>>>>>

> > Sandy M.

> >

> >

> >

> Carol F.

> Toronto, celiac, SCD 6 years

>

[Guest guest]

>

> We are going to be doing some inside painting really soon and will

be

> finishing/refinishing some oak floors.

>

> Do any of you have suggestions for finishes for hardwood floors that

> is non or at least less toxic? We will have no carpet in our home

> when we are through. Much of the area is very high traffic such as

> kitchen, family room, dining room, school room etc. Also for

paints,

> brands and such?

> Since Tobias reacts to the pool chemicals/food additives etc I have

> been wondering how I am going to get these floors finished without a

> reaction from him. It has a tendency to make me not feel good too.

> Open to suggestions.

> Sandy M.

>

We just finshed REfinishing our master bedroom and the hallway to

the back of the house. We used Sherwin Zero-VOC (volitile

organic compuonds) paint, and Tung oil/ linseed oil for the floors

(after sanding all the old varnish off (w/ plastic sealing the room

shut, all windows open, and bag collector and air filter running full

steam). I had researched " milk paint " (google that - colonial era way

of coloring the walls), but we decided to give the paint a go.

Paint was not cheap at around $25-30 a gallon, and your color

choice is somewhat limited (but we loved the options). However, we

used NO primer, and the stuff covered in one coat and dried well with

practically no odor in a matter of hours. By contrast, the " other

expensive " brand I had bought a while back, and wound up painting my

MIL's house with required two coats of primer, and two coats of paint

to look as good! We'd get this stuff every time even if it WASN'T

better for you, lol.

Our very sensative son had NO issues at all. Good luck!

-christine

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the info, . There is a Sherwin store

about 30 miles away. I will check this out this week.

How difficult is the tongue oil to use and how durable is it. Two

of the places we have oak floors is in our kitchen and dining room.

Sandy M.

> >

> > We are going to be doing some inside painting really soon and

will

> be

> > finishing/refinishing some oak floors.

> >

> > Do any of you have suggestions for finishes for hardwood floors

that

> > is non or at least less toxic? We will have no carpet in our

home

> > when we are through. Much of the area is very high traffic such

as

> > kitchen, family room, dining room, school room etc. Also for

> paints,

> > brands and such?

> > Since Tobias reacts to the pool chemicals/food additives etc I

have

> > been wondering how I am going to get these floors finished

without a

> > reaction from him. It has a tendency to make me not feel good

too.

> > Open to suggestions.

> > Sandy M.

> >

>

>

> We just finshed REfinishing our master bedroom and the hallway

to

> the back of the house. We used Sherwin Zero-VOC (volitile

> organic compuonds) paint, and Tung oil/ linseed oil for the floors

> (after sanding all the old varnish off (w/ plastic sealing the

room

> shut, all windows open, and bag collector and air filter running

full

> steam). I had researched " milk paint " (google that - colonial era

way

> of coloring the walls), but we decided to give the paint a go.

> Paint was not cheap at around $25-30 a gallon, and your color

> choice is somewhat limited (but we loved the options). However, we

> used NO primer, and the stuff covered in one coat and dried well

with

> practically no odor in a matter of hours. By contrast, the " other

> expensive " brand I had bought a while back, and wound up painting

my

> MIL's house with required two coats of primer, and two coats of

paint

> to look as good! We'd get this stuff every time even if it WASN'T

> better for you, lol.

> Our very sensative son had NO issues at all. Good luck!

> -christine

>

[Guest guest]

> >

> > > Do any of you have suggestions for finishes for hardwood floors

> that

> > > is non or at least less toxic?

Someone with Chemical Sensitivities has used this:

http://www.poloplaz.com/speccrystalshield.html

Carol F.

[Guest guest]

Thanks Carol.

> > >

>

> > > > Do any of you have suggestions for finishes for hardwood

floors

> > that

> > > > is non or at least less toxic?

>

> Someone with Chemical Sensitivities has used this:

>

> http://www.poloplaz.com/speccrystalshield.html

>

> Carol F.

>

[Guest guest]

You might also want to try looking on

http://eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_paints.htm

this is where we found our zero VOC wall paint. Not sure if they

list flooring things.

also

http://www.alerg.com/page/A/CTGY/12PNT/Offset/12/Previous_Stack_Depth/

1/Previous_Stack_1/0

might have something - it is an allergy store with lots of different

products.

greenbuilder.com may have some answers too.

Best to you. Its hard dealing with chemical sensitivities! So many

things in the homebuilding trade are toxic.

Colby

celiac

3 months SCD

[Guest guest]

>

> Thanks for the info, . There is a Sherwin store

> about 30 miles away. I will check this out this week.

> How difficult is the tongue oil to use and how durable is it. Two

> of the places we have oak floors is in our kitchen and dining room.

> Sandy M.

You could always look up S.W. on their main site, and then see if

the store near you has the paint you want (or if it can be ordered

in). There are two types of reduced chemical paints; " Zero-VOC "

and 'Low-VOC'. We opted for the zero - so that's the only kind I can

give input on.

Lol, and it is " Tung " oil - odd name, I know. It was fine - that

just took a little time. One of the reasons we used it was that you

can (and should) recoat it periodically. Unlike polyurethane or

shellac, it does not dry with a hard shiny coat (therefore no

flaking off as it ages). Rather it seeps into the wood. But if you

are doing this in your kitchen, maybe a couple of coats (w/ time to

dry in between). Probably will put those areas out of commission for

at least a weekend.

-christine

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the web sites. I will take a look at them.

>

> You might also want to try looking on

>

> http://eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_paints.htm

>

> this is where we found our zero VOC wall paint. Not sure if they

> list flooring things.

>

> also

>

>

http://www.alerg.com/page/A/CTGY/12PNT/Offset/12/Previous_Stack_Depth

/

> 1/Previous_Stack_1/0

>

> might have something - it is an allergy store with lots of

different

> products.

>

> greenbuilder.com may have some answers too.

>

> Best to you. Its hard dealing with chemical sensitivities! So

many

> things in the homebuilding trade are toxic.

>

> Colby

> celiac

> 3 months SCD

>