When selecting a PID care must be taken to make sure that the instrument is equipped with a lamp that has the ionization potential necessary to detect methylene chloride (11.7 eV lamp). I blog often and I really appreciate your content. Her writing on New York City, parenting, events, and culture has also appeared in Parents, Red Tricycle, BizBash, and Time Out New York. My puppy also is constantly licking the floor. So, once workers can smell methylene chloride they are already being overexposed. (323) 396-1030. sales@reglazinglosangeles.com. good cotent, i like it. According to OSHA, you must also provide local exhaust ventilation and make-up air to replace the vapors removed by the exhaust. A fresh air system is critical. Some many companies and professionals are offering their services for the people for refinishing, repairing, remodeling things. It took me a little bit to get used to, and while it doesn't look super cool, it's clean and an upgrade from the '90s pink tile for sure.. Of course I wont be using it for a good week or so just to be safe, but I dont even use bleach or Flash to clean my tub because of the chemicals getting into the bathwater; even rinsing thoroughly. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I will stress this to home owners wanting to get bathtub resurfacing done. I think this post was very helpful in knowing the bad effects of such dangerous products.I think this type of finish should be banned.This is great information to share to hopefully make us more aware and careful. I take epsom salt baths and the salts are absorbed systemically. The apt right next to me was just resurfaced and the chemicals came through the air vents. Most professionals use alternative methods when possible. Im going to book mark your blog and keep checking for new information about once per week. They take the dirt out but also take part of the glaze, he says. THANK YOU! The product they used is from Napco and is supposed to a lot less toxic than other products. I like taking baths, but will not do so in this tub now knowing how unhealthy it actually is. This post was helpful to me too. *By signing up you agree to receive occasional emails on behalf of our sponsors, Copyright 2009-2022 by BrickUnderground | PrivacyPolicy | TermsofService | AdChoices | Login, National Association of Real Estate Editors. Until the finishing dries, it is a good idea to leave the house. I did two tubs in old houses yesterday. We do not have any information about the paint chips that are peeling off of your refinished bathtub. Hi, this is all so helpful. Very good to know, Ill let the pros do it from now on, and let my readers know the same. Please let me know where to seek more information, particularly in the Australian climate? In years past, when lead-based paints were used in various home applications, various studies showed that small children (toddlers) were known to ingest (eat) paint chips. I figure if its being done, it must be safe, or why else would people do it? The Health and Safety Executive is our policing force that helps prevent the tragic consequences of injuries and even fatalities in the workplace. The Perfect Drying Conditions You should let the tub surface to cure for 24 to 48 hours. I opened my windows, all four. Remove the overflow plate from the tub and begin the caulk removal stage.Start by removing the caulk around the tub where it meets the tile surround. The company who gave me 6 year warranty has disconnected the phone number. Keep posting as I am gonna come to read it everyday! I sure wish homeowners not use those diy Kits. Extraction during the process is everything. Why can strippers with this ingredient be sold to consumers in U.S. hardware stores that do _not_ sell the full-face air supplied respirators that should be worn while using it? If it is an occupied apartment, they have to sign a waiver that they will be gone the required amount of time. When the door is closed for a while it gets very strong and when its open one can hardly smell it but that does not mean it is not there. The fumes were so strong that it gave me a headache and caused me to become nauseated. All comments posted become a part of the public domain, and users are responsible for their comments. Having your bathtub professionally refinished will cost around $460 (the national average), but you can expect to pay between $200 to $900 depending on the type of tub you have and the cost of labor in your location. (Obviously, no, but you get the idea.). loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. However since Kevin was an organ donor, they kept his body on life support, in order to preserve is heart, liver, and kidneys. (Removing a tub and installing a new one can cost thousands, and if youre in an apartment building, it might even require getting your downstairs neighbor involved as it may impact plumbing beyond your apartment. Hovering over a bathtub, unprotected, while stripping it would overtake anyone in a very short amount of time. Leave the room immediately after applying the methylene chloride-based stripping agent to limit exposure to methylene chloride vapors. However, the human body can quickly become desensitized to the smell and a worker may be overexposed even if he or she can no longer smell it. Im a Painting Contractor in Anchorage, Alaska and this is a really good post for me to see! Our blog focused on the exposures from methylene chloride to workers during the process of stripping the old paint off of the tub prior to refinishing. Thanks for sharing. Some will work but they require 24 hours of wet saturation and even then they require a lot of hard work. Posts: 19. Hover Image to Zoom. Methylene chloride is a volatile liquid and will fully evaporate shortly after the project is completed. For consumer-related questions after the tub has been refurbished, please contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Thanks for the great post. A 2015 report by the Center for Public Integrity on U.S. deaths connected to methylene chloride noted that researchers have argued for 30 years that regulation of methylene chloride in the U.S. isnt strong enough to protect workers and that warnings on labels for consumers are insufficient. We are sorry to hear about your symptoms. Changing ones business practices and methods can certainly be a daunting task and a big decision, but in the case of methylene chloride and bathtubs it is an important, potentially lifesaving one. It is now 5:30 p.m., and the fumes in the apartment are too much to bear. My husband and I have been thinking about getting our master bathtub refinished so we will have to keep this information in mind. (Fun fact: You can make it any color you want, so if youve ever wanted a purple bathtub, that dream can be realized.). and products contain ISOs. The tub needs to go. The nearby exterior door was open for ventilation and the overhead fan was blowing and although they had a pipe going from the bathroom down the hall and out the front door this was not sufficient. Thank you for your comment. It is the first time I visit your blog, but I was extremely impressed. I hope the fumes and the tub return to a safe level. tl;dr: Accidentally fell in the bathtub so hard it left a hole. Thank for sharing about bathtub refinishing. Surface Designers have been in business for over 20 years resurfacing bathtubs and countertops. And Bathtub Aliphatic Acrylic Urethane MSDS. Follow the links to the Material Data Safety Sheet (MSDS) that the search will find. I regret it so much now and want the tub out of the house. I had no problems with it and thought they knew what they were doing as it happens all the time here. Im not aware of any can anyone point me in the right direction please? I use it in good ventilation and, if Im going to be doing much work, I use a respirator. Alternatively, you can search on Methylene Chloride and Safety Data Sheet for a listing of various SDSs for similar products. I went to clean out the tub to take another shower myself and by just barely cleaning it a whole bunch of paint came off, like over a foot and I was just barely scrubbing! Takes longer and cost more but the client can pay the labor or feel free to do it themselves. The two maintenance men pulled the man off of the tub. When we find a company to do it, Ill be sure to make sure that there is plenty of fresh air. They were wearing some gas mask type stuff while they were doing it, but I have noticed even after spraying the fumes were strong; and I was outside when they did this. I washed the tub thoroughly and have been using it since. Did you know that the fumes from the chemical used to refinish or reglaze your bathtub can be hazardous to your health? Agree with your perspective. Scratching the tub would not release any methylene chloride vapors. Perfect for renters, apartment dwellers, and residential or commercial tubs, sinks, showers. I think this type of finish should be banned. These chemicals are no joke and need to be taken seriously. The fumes are strong in the bathroom so I have the bathroom door closed, vent on. The Centers for Disease Control has more information on lead hazards on their web site. How Long Does Reglazing a Tub Last and How Does it Work Half-mask respirators may NOT be used because methylene chloride may cause eye irritation or damage. Proper ventilation and a proper fitting organic vapor respirator are an absolute requirement for DIY bathtub refinishing. Reglazing a tub doesnt actually take that long to do. Thank for speaking about about tub refinishing. and it was very helpful for people, In addition to the hazards of strippers, old porcelain bathtubs, sinks and tiles manufactured before the mid-1990s could also have lead in the glaze, which could leach into bathwater, or if sanded or scraped could form a dust that if ingested by young children (who touch it with bare skin) could cause lead poisoning. Sad to hear, but at least proves to me that I was right! No warning that fumes would make me sick. Bathtub Reglazing Experts. Id thought of using a refinishing kit, but after reading this, I guess Ill just live with the chip. What's the difference between jumbo and conforming loans? However, during the refinishing process, it is not possible for us to guess what the airborne concentration of methylene chloride may be in your home without knowing how the workers will be using methylene chloride and how they plan to ventilate the work area and the house. Never stay where resurfacing is being done. The NIOSH studies pertained only to workers who were applying methylene chloride directly, and we have not studied consumer-related exposure such as you describe. Thank you for this post. Methylene chloride is a volatile liquid and would fully evaporate shortly after a project is completed. Hi, so I had my bathtub reglazed in March. Resurfacing is when we paint the counters, cabinets or tubs. How Long Does It Take the Tub to Dry After Reglazing? How to effectively get rid of bathtub resurface smell in my apartment? Thank you for your comment. I smelled that horrible smell for nearly 3 weeks after he was doneeven my cigarette smoke couldnt compete. Its either not portable or cost prohibitive. Some healthcare providers specialize in assessing environmental exposures (see http://www.aoec.org/index.htm). I started reading articles and ended up reading most of the comments in this blog. very useful post thanks for giving this bath tub repair information. Bathtubs should be refinished every seven to 10 years, or more frequently if there is significant damage, stained, or you (or your homes previous owners) havent been cleaning your bathtub the right way. Theres no such thing as excessive safety precaution. Fumes associated with bathtub stripping chemicals have taken the lives of those that did not follow the warnings on the product. I manage a home related business in Australia and we are often exposed to applications that we are unsure of what dangers we could be exposed to. Our apartment building had the next apt tub realized these morons did this in winter and there was no windows open. Bathtub Refinishing vs. Liner: Whats Right for Your Home. Thank for sharing about bathtub refinishing. Is that smell dangerous for children? It is often referred to as dichloromethane and has many industrial uses, such as paint stripping, metal cleaning, and degreasing. There may also be substitute stripping products or methods however, please be aware that substitute stripping products may include other harmful chemicals or hazards, so use substitutes safely. If you are concerned for your pets, it may be a good idea to remove them from the home during the stripping process. She her nextwalked over to-door neighbor's apartment, where a team weari ng respirators was refinishi ng the bathroom with a spray-on resurfacing material and a chemical accelerator. thanks Ron Hall for such a valuable information, its horrible, why its still available in the market, it should be banned from the market. The standard also sets a 12.5 ppm action level (AL) which triggers periodic monitoring and medical surveillance provisions. I would really like some reassurance. sprayed with materials that emit fumes which may be hazardous to the tenant's health if inhaled in the working concentration within the first 4-6 hours after completion of the job. Remember, if it smells new, the fumes are too. Bathtub Refinishing Countertop Refinishing Vanity Refinishing Fiberglass Enclosures Wall Tile https://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/09/21/17991/common-solvent-keeps-killing-workers-consumers. Our apartment filled with these toxic fumes. You may want to contact Product Safety Australia http://www.productsafety.gov.au, who assists with consumer concerns like the one you posted. The fumes are stronger fumes so we do not allow anyone to be in the apartment for 8 hours. What that means is that at room temperature, methylene chloride will evaporate very rapidly, much more rapidly than water. In September 2011, a worker using a product containing methylene chloride to strip the glaze from a bathtub collapsed in the bathtub and later died. To ensure their safety, the employees should have left the room immediately after applying the methylene chloride-based stripping agent to limit exposure to methylene chloride vapors. My cat and I were both really sick afterwards and my cat has now passed on.no one told us to go anywhere else, my cat was unable to be transported anyway and so was I since Im handicapped. The past three days have been the hardest in my entire life. Does anyone know if I should be worried? A person directly outside the door and 30 seconds could have saved our best friends life. There is apparently limited research on this issue, but there are case studies of some children getting lead poisoning from bathing in an old bathtub that was leaching lead. I did not use any safety precautions, but I was in the garage with a fan and the garage door opened. (273) Questions & Answers (148) +3. Bathtub refinishing fumes are dangerous and you do not want yourself or anyone in the home breathing them. If the room where it was used is flushed with fresh air, perhaps by using a small fan, it is unlikely that any methylene chloride will be present or continue to leech out days after the re-glazing was done. Usually coatings can be removed with a good razor scraper.sure it takes longer but it keeps me from using more harmful chemicals. Pacific Reglazing provides high quality, affordable kitchen and bathroom repair and refinishing services throughout the Greater Los Angeles area, the San Fernando Valley, Ventura, Orange County and Riverside County. I certainly will be approaching this much differently. [Its] a great way to make a grimy, stain-ridden bathtub look new again, says. Care must be taken to ensure that workers are not overexposed to particulates being generated during sanding operations. But if we ever have it done again, I will definitely check to be sure its a safe process for the workers AND the homeowners. This bathtub renovation option goes by many names resurfacing, recoating, refinishing or reglazing but has a pretty straightforward process. We had one bathtub redone in our old house a few years ago but I think they just re-coated it. I use all chemical-free products to clean, and cannot use otherwise or it affects me. Works on all types of surfaces. Dust masks do not protect you from bathtub refinishing vapors. It can and will save your life. What separates a good job from a not-so-good job is not so much how it looks, its the prep. Here's how to do it, How buying real estate in NYC is unlike anywhere else, A guide to using a no-fee renovation loan from a NYC real estate firm, How to make your NYC renovation more pet-friendly, From Boerum Hill to Prospect Lefferts Gardens: After years of renting, we wanted to buy a condo with amenities, What to know about buying in Briarwood, Queens, where you may score a house with a driveway and garage. Im not familiar with the Australian occupational health and safety system but you might want to start with Safe Work Australia http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA . All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. print Print. We sure take a lot things for granted. The home I purchased a few years ago came with cast iron bathtub and ceramic tile walls that had been covered with a 2-step epoxy finish. I have read many articles but this is different one. I think this type of finish should be banned. It was not difficult and required no chemicals; the refinisher evidently did a very poor job of it. If you have a tub that has seen better days, but you dont want to remove and replace it completely, then you may need to have it reglazed or refinished to restore it to its original state. I am unknown form this . Enter a zip below and get matched to top-rated pros near you. The restrictions on placing on the market and use is a consequence of many incidents with lethal outcome. Its better not to use methylene chloride for the safety of everybody. I asked the doctors if they collect lifestyle information and report it to the government so correlations can be made about cause and effect they said no. A bathtub replacement can cost around $2,900 on average and may add value to your property. How to get your plans past the board, 3 NYC apartment bathroom renovation veterans on what they learned from the process, How to read a NYC co-op or condo buildings financial statement. How to effectively get rid of bathtub resurface smell in my apartment Ive also learned that without experience or training, what may be simple in concept is often the opposite in practice. My tub was removed from my home and refinished by a company here in Portland, OR. You also want to keep shampoo bottles and other products off the surface, aswell as a mat with suction cups. I think this post was very helpful in knowing the bad effects of such dangerous products. Thank you. 9 Easy Steps to Refinish Your Bathtub | Lowe's NIOSH work in this area only pertains to workers exposed when using stripping agents containing methylene chloride during bathtub refinishing. Tub Cast Ekopel 2K Bathtub Refinishing Kit - Made In The USA - Odorless But because were low income, we also do not get the luxury of telling management or housingno. I worked at [Company name removed] for 14years. If the room where it was used is flushed with fresh air, perhaps by using a small fan, it is unlikely that any methylene chloride will be present or continue to leech out days after the re-glazing was done. Opening the windows is necessary, but it's certainly not enough if you're working with methylene chloride. Wow, great article on the dangers and Health Effects when methylene chloride is used. As a point of comparison, water boils at 212 F and has a room temperature vapor pressure of 17 mmHg. These instruments are non-specific and will measure other VOCs present in the area in addition to methylene chloride. If those working with these finishes have concerns about their health they can request a Health Hazard Evaluation from NIOSH at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/. My Landlord is planning on re glazing our tub and we are leaving for the weekend. And I havent been able to use mine in years to due mobility being so compromised. Since methylene chloride is a volatile organic compound that will evaporate faster when sprayed, brushed, or poured, the chemical vapors can quickly build up in small spaces. White advises keeping away fromcleansers likebleach oreven Soft Scrub. They agreed to resurface it for me as they would not replace it. I own a home built in 1940 and have been considering getting my cast iron bathtub refinished. The odor is still very strong and I am wondering how long it will take before I can go back in that room? Hi I have very sensitive skin, and covered in psoriasis and eczema. Great information. This is a great article. Tub reglazing: What you need to know about this affordable but stinky So, once workers can smell methylene chloride they are already being overexposed.. The fumes had traveled through the vent into her adjacent room. Opening windows and moving away from areas with vapors can decrease or stop continued exposure. Stay safe! If youre nervous, leaving your apartment for the duration of the job is always an option. If you are referring to paint strippers (which is what methylene Chloride is used for) one consideration would be using alternative methods, such as sanding. This seems informative and makes a very nice image on the topic in my mind. What if your bathtub could be transformed in one day from embarrassing to your bathroom's sparkling centerpiece? We were told when we did it that it only lasts about five years and I'm finding that to betrue, she says. You may want to ask the installer for the products safety data sheet which may have useful information on curing times and precautions. The specific effects of methylene chloride exposure will vary depending on several factors, such as the amount of methylene chloride the worker is exposed to, how long the exposure lasts, and whether the worker has a higher susceptibility (for example, having a preexisting heart condition). This study is great for warning against the potential dangers. Ron, I have a similar question to the one already asked. Its in our best interest to devise a way to remove these coatings without harming ourselves or the environment. It has one small rust stain and is still moderately shiny. They were all exposed to open tanks of Methylene Chloride and cutting up bodies causing carbon monoxide. I have used this product recently on a tub used all the proper PPE and approved NIOSH mask and jump suit and I have tasted this awful taste in my mouth for a couple of days its been 2 weeks and I still kinda feel it in my chest. Stripping products may also contain flammable solvents and flammability may be a concern. The whole job will take around 5 hours after which you will have a reglazed bathtub. It is unsafe that s why we recomendto contact a professional to stripit for you. As exposure increases so do the health effects, with a potential for suffocation, loss of consciousness, coma, and sudden death. You should always wear protective clothing and use the appropriate safety-rated equipment whenever you are doing any household repair or remodeling work, and reglazing a bathtub is no exception. Use long-handled tools (e.g., scrapers, brushes) to avoid leaning into the bathtub. Is it safe to bath in especially for my toddler??? What to know about adding skylights to your NYC brownstone or apartment, How to evaluate different types of NYC contractor bids when you're renovating, New Yorkers moving out of state save more money on housing than taxes, 5 houses for sale in Margaretville, NY, a small town in the Catskills, 5 houses for sale in Sagaponack, the most expensive zip code in NY. It was a cold day, so I went back inside. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page. Thank you! OSHA has regulations that sets a permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 25 parts per million (ppm) as a time-weighted average (TWA) exposure over an 8-hour work shift. I am sleeping in the living room under many blankets with the balcony door wide openis it safe?

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