We had carpet removed and an Anderson maple hardwood floor professionally installed in a bedroom. The wood floor was glued to the slab foundation and the installer used odorless mineral spirits to clean the excess glue off the hardwood. The smell was immediately noticeable and permeated the house. The window in the room has been open for four days and fans have been going in the room continuously. We were assured by the installer that this is a common practice, even though it is not recommended by the label on the can of mineral spirits. Is it? How long can we expect the smell to linger? We had a hardwood floor installed in another room by the same company, who contracted the work out to a different installer and we did not have this problem because they did not use mineral spirits to remove the excess glue.

 

Linda:

This is interesting. I've been involved in over 100 gluedown engineered floors such as your Anderson product and heard only one complaint from the odors. That particular "complaint" came from some folks whereby I left the can and rag indoors overnight. Yes it is common practice but there are other products available to use besides mineral spirits. One is made by Bostiks, who is the leading producer of urethane wood flooring adhesives.

Linger? Difficult to answer, as one persons sensitivity may be greater than another.

Ken Fisher

www.floridawoodfloors.net