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<TITLE>Re: [Greenbuilding] off-gassing and what if anything to do about it?</TITLE>
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This is very common, we deal with it several times a week. <BR>
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In short, AFM Safecoat (safecoat.com) offers several products that help to seal in offgassing. Can’t guarantee success, but we have an extremely high success rate, even with chemically sensitive (MCS syndrome) clients. A reasonable approach is to seal in surfaces as best as possible, then see if you can isolate remaining offgassing culprits to seal again. Don’t necessarily need to sand the surfaces down to unfinished unless they are oil based. Last step is to replace—which is a follow-up conversation we have on appropriate replacements depending on the space, use, functionality, durability, and personal design preferences. In any case, there’s almost always a healthy and green solution. Summary rundown:<BR>
</SPAN></FONT><UL><LI><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>for the carpets, can first try to seal with Safecoat’s carpet trifecta: shampoo, then Carpet Seal to seal the underside, then the Lockout to seal in the carpet fibers (and provide stain protection).
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>for cabinets and similar finished surfaces: coat with Safecoat Hard Seal, which is a gloss sealer specifically to seal in offgassing, or coat with Safecoat Acrylacq, which is a very nice furniture and trim finish that also seals in offgassing. Probably 2 coats. Satin or gloss options. If existing surface is glossy or a laminate, sand a little to break the skin first then clean to give some grab to adhere to.
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>for floors: coat with Safecoat Polyureseal, a very nice, durable floor/wood finish that also seals in. if over an oil based finish probably need to strip first (or at least scribe it) b/c oil and water don’t mix.
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>painted walls: repaint with Safecoat paints. Flat, pearl, eggshell, and semigloss sheens. Can most likely match the same color that’s already there, and it’s great paint plus it will also seal in the offgassing. May need to first prime with a coat of Safecoat Transitional Primer.<BR>
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Thanks,<BR>
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</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'><B>Jason Holstine<BR>
</B></SPAN><SPAN STYLE='font-size:7pt'><IMG src="cid:3520413117_81161940" ><BR>
Amicus Green Building Center<BR>
“Sustain Your Space”<BR>
e: <a href="jason@amicusgreen.com">jason@amicusgreen.com</a><BR>
w: www.amicusgreen.com<BR>
p: 301-571-8590<BR>
tf: 866-587-9140<BR>
f: 301-571-8597<BR>
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On 7/22/15 10:57 AM, "Lynelle Hamilton" <<a href="lynelle@lahamilton.com">lynelle@lahamilton.com</a>> wrote:<BR>
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</SPAN></FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'> </SPAN></FONT><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><FONT FACE="Corbel">I'd second Ron's comments. The floor may well be the biggest culprit. A tougher issue is finish on hardwood and on wood trim, as well as cabinets. It can off-gas horribly. Had this happen a few years ago. We had all ours sanded down and finished with a product from Sansin. </FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial">Sadly, some trim was impossible to strip, so was replaced. Cabinet finishes, I am told, can be sealed, but formaldehyde used in the frame construction may still off gas. <BR>
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Lynelle<BR>
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On 22/07/2015 9:28 AM, RON RANCOURT wrote:<BR>
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I'd pull up the carpet and put in flooring that doesn't off-gas, starting with the bedrooms. If she wants the carpet, she should look into post-disaster cleaning companies which may have a liquid solution to clean a carpet with the goal of removing the smell. But, this would only remove any factory-dust. I would think a sealer would at best push the problem down the road, and at worst introduce more problems. <BR>
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Ron<BR>
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On Wed, Jul 22, 2015 at 1:54 AM, Reuben Deumling <<a href="9watts@gmail.com">9watts@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<BR>
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A friend just bought a brand new house. Very efficient and also very full of nasty smells. <BR>
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Here is her question:<BR>
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<I>We're dealing with a house with all new everything. Ick. It's green meaning super energy efficient - insulation etc. but I don't think that extends to the toxic ness of the things they use to make stuff. It smells awful when you walk in. So I'm trying to figure out what to do to reduce it. Do you know much about these matters or know anyone that does? For example, I'm thinking of using this Carpet sealer, but I'm not sure how to assess if it actually makes a difference. Flooring and paint are the other major things- I think.<BR>
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Any thoughts? I have no experience whatsoever with this sort of thing. An unexpected advantage of sourcing everything from the dumpster, I guess. <BR>
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Thanks!<BR>
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