Intense long stink after refinish
#1
10-12-15, 07:18 PM
Intense long stink after refinish
I had a professional crew come in and re-do section of the house...about 500 sq ft total...the typical treatment; sand, apply oil stain, then oil based sealer and 1 coat of semi-gloss top coat also oil based.
The work was done over a week ago but the place still has intense odor despite the fact that about 12 hrs a day I have all the windows open and I have a nice draft going by placing a fan in the window.
The floors are obviously dry by now.... in fact they were dry within 24 hrs after last coat.... but still off-gassing.
Few questions:
1. Anything good to get that smell out quicker ?
2. Would covering with rugs help or should I leave the floors exposed to allow all those fumes to freely escape ?
Thanks !
The work was done over a week ago but the place still has intense odor despite the fact that about 12 hrs a day I have all the windows open and I have a nice draft going by placing a fan in the window.
The floors are obviously dry by now.... in fact they were dry within 24 hrs after last coat.... but still off-gassing.
Few questions:
1. Anything good to get that smell out quicker ?
2. Would covering with rugs help or should I leave the floors exposed to allow all those fumes to freely escape ?
Thanks !
#2
10-12-15, 07:23 PM
Group Moderator
Wow... what a smell. 
I can sympathize with you there. We've all been thru it. Supposedly water based finishes don't smell as bad and actually they don't but they don't hold up as well either.
I've found that only time lessens the smell and that increasing the heat will cure the finish faster. Pretty hard to open the windows and run the heat.
I can sympathize with you there. We've all been thru it. Supposedly water based finishes don't smell as bad and actually they don't but they don't hold up as well either. I've found that only time lessens the smell and that increasing the heat will cure the finish faster. Pretty hard to open the windows and run the heat.
VOC off-gassing is most acute during application and the drying of hardwood floor finishes. Even long after these finishes have dried, however, smaller amounts of VOCs continue to off-gas into the home. The length of the off-gassing period can vary significantly based on the amount and type of finish you use, conditions in the home, and how much ventilation is available. The U.S. Green Building Council reports off-gassing of oil-based finishes can last for months or even years. Some lower-VOC, water-based products largely finish off-gassing within a few days.
#3
10-13-15, 03:29 AM
Fresh air ventilation/circulation is the only good way to remove the odor quicker but as Pete said this time of year isn't very conducive for doing that 
Some folks are more sensitive to the odor than others.
Some folks are more sensitive to the odor than others.
#4
10-13-15, 05:05 AM
Super Moderator
My neighbors had their floors done at the beginning of the summer. The smell even came thru the walls and I smelled it for at least a month. They kept their windows open the whole time and it still took weeks till the smell went away.
#6
10-13-15, 08:22 AM
thanks guys....for some reason I thought it would be a week or less for all of the VOC to evaporate.....
BTW.... little shocked and concerned by the quote above about the duration of off-gassing.... this can't be good for the brain / nervous system if exposed for months to low levels of VOCs
BTW.... little shocked and concerned by the quote above about the duration of off-gassing.... this can't be good for the brain / nervous system if exposed for months to low levels of VOCs
#7
10-13-15, 08:29 AM
The majority of the off gassing happens in the 1st 12-24 hrs. If you work or otherwise are out of the home a lot - that further reduces your exposure. Even so, your exposure is a lot less than those that work with these coatings on a regular basis. Those with respiratory issues are generally more affected than those in good health.
