It was not adequately explained and we should have asked more questions. I wish they warned me and Id have had means to stay out of house for a few days. Dont do it if you have to stay in your home immediately after. Its in our best interest to devise a way to remove these coatings without harming ourselves or the environment. For example, if your pipes have burst, spilling water into the unit, a day or two may be reasonable, assuming that the landlord can employ a qualified repair person within that time period . It is unsafe that s why we recomendto contact a professional to stripit for you. Can you give me any help in researching to determine if the polyurethane/acrylic finishes leaches? I had my bathroom resurfaced including the bathtub 4 weeks ago. print Print. Provided your surface was prepped correctly, you can expect your reglazed tub and/or tile to be good for about seven to 10 years, and the more you take care of it, the longer it will last. She said if its not life threatening then they wont do it. Myown life was almost cut short stripping a bathtub and I was using the best Equipment money can buy but machinery or equipment can fail. Ms. Scott thank you for your interest in our blog Dangers of Bathtub Refinishing and your question regarding how to assess exposure to toxic vapors. We can avoid being harmed if we will be knowledgeable about things. Fumes associated with bathtub stripping chemicals have taken the lives of those that did not follow the warnings on the product. I have a chipped tub that is built in with tile walls. My puppy also is constantly licking the floor. If you just bought a Mercedes, would you put a rubber mat on the roof? White asks. Stripping products may also contain flammable solvents and flammability may be a concern. 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. We have had a terrible experience. Bathtub stripping vapors must be taken seriously. I gave my 2 year old a bath a little more came off. What is the LEAST TOXIC alternative for bathtub reglazing? thank you. It hurt to know that such a good person you loved and cared about so much is now gone. The fumes had traveled through the vent into her adjacent room. We share your concern for the workers who worked on the tub in a confined space with the door closed. If they continue, you should consult your doctor. Keep up the good work! Capital region housing in edmonton is the worst. This Northern California real estate agent is living the green Dream. What separates a good job from a not-so-good job is not so much how it looks, its the prep. I have been refinishing tubs for 23 years. We do not have any information about leaching of polyurethane/acrylic bathtub finishing. I am linking an article from the Retro Renovation blog on safety that includes links to other sources on this. Look for an alternative to do the bathtub refinishing. 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 figure if its being done, it must be safe, or why else would people do it? I now have a colostomy, urostomy,skin cancers and CKD(chronic kidney disease)with only one kidney working and that only functions at 15%. Thanks for sharing such a helpful post. The paint in the bath tub is pealing off after one use. Use a qualified occupational safety and health specialist to assist in the design and installation of local exhaust ventilation (LEV) to effectively control vapors to below applicable PELs. If the vapor smell continues and is persistent you should call a safety and health professional to evaluate the area. I also have a 6 year oldshould we leave? 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. How much does moving to the suburbs cost vs. staying in NYC? 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/. AND DURING CLEANING. My landlord want to have our tub regalzed. Acid is then applied to deglaze the tub and/or tile, followed by a bonding agent or primer, and finally, a urethane topcoat is applied. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Material data sheets, now referred to as Safety Data Sheets (SDS) are prepared by those who sell chemical products. Refinishing a tub consists of applying a new chemical coating with a special brush or roller to an acrylic, porcelain, fiberglass, or cultured marble bathtub without removing the old layer first. document.getElementById( "ak_js" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); To receive email updates about this page, enter your email address: We take your privacy seriously. Contact me via e-mail njtragroup@gmail.com and send me your ideas. Always check product labels and safety data sheets to understand the recommended and required precautions. Together we can make the nightmare of stripping bathtubs a thing of the past! Ive also learned that without experience or training, what may be simple in concept is often the opposite in practice. Its in our best interest to devise a way to remove these coatings without harming ourselves or the environment. While a new tub can cost as little as $150, labor expenses for the replacement process can easily add $1,500 or more to the bill. We need to care when the baths are refinished. Specifically, typical mobile LEV units have a fan, flexible ductwork, and a hood near the tub that exhausts hazardous vapors to the outdoors. Is there some disconnect between science, policy and legal enforcement? Comments listed below are posted by individuals not associated with CDC, unless otherwise stated. You get enough toxic chemicals in your daily life without adding additional products that harm you by breathing its toxic fumes or being absorbed into your skin. As my two other friends and I stood there over our lost brother, we could not help but cry, tell stories of our past together, and wish that he could hear us one last time. We are a BBB Certified Resurfacing company located in Houston, Texas. Now what about substances that are used in bathtub refinishing as final top-coats such as Aliphatic Acrylic Urethane, or, another, as one company advertises: Porcelain Glaze-a new type of chemical finish. What is porcelain glaze? Always wear hand and eye protection. After most fumes and smell went away two days later i still had muscle pain and spasms all over, headache, very sick and weak, skin burned and stung, could feel it in my lungs. Some healthcare providers specialize in assessing environmental exposures (see http://www.aoec.org/index.htm). Any other surfaces in the vicinity of the tub should be covered in protective paper and drop cloths, and you should wait a day or two to remove everything and use your bathroom and tub. We do not have any information about the paint chips that are peeling off of your refinished bathtub. We use a spray-on compound that hardens to a polished and durable, like-new finish. But two days later it still bothers me. The fumes are strong in the bathroom so I have the bathroom door closed, vent on. If your bathtub is on the older side, then youll need to determine whether its worthwhile to refinish or reglaze it or just replace it altogether. For consumer concerns such as this you may want to contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission. It is often referred to as dichloromethane and has many industrial uses, such as paint stripping, metal cleaning, and degreasing. Im also dealing with such kinds of things because Im a plumber by profession. I noticed the odor every time they went in or out of the room, and had the bedroom doors all closed. There is a lot of toxicological information available on the Internet which can be found by joining the term MSDS with as specific a description of the product about which you are interested in knowing. You must ventilate your workspace to minimize tub reglazing fumes. Using methylene chloride products in a bathroom is extremely dangerous as bathrooms are often small, enclosed spaces with little or no ventilation. Thanks for sharing such a helpful information. Eyes, skin and residual in clothing adsorbption can also be significant and detrimental. Is it safe to stay???? It got so strong it burned my throat and eyes. So, once workers can smell methylene chloride they are already being overexposed. HomeAdvisors True Cost Guide puts the average cost to refinish a bathtub at about $450, while installing a new one runs about $3,000. The tub needs to go. There are alternatives to using methylene chloride (MC) for bathtub stripping. If you have concerns you should discuss them with a medical professional. So, if the concentration were over the PEL, for example at 50 ppm, the workers would exceed the 25 ppm average limit in 4 hours. Your email address will not be published. I attempt to lead a very clean life and avoid many commercial products (body care products, cleaning products, sprays etc). 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. Air-purifying respirators are not permitted due to the short service life of chemical cartridges when used for methylene chloride exposure. Our beloved pet went into respiratory failure the next day, was rushed to the ER and spent three nights in the veterinarian ICU. Use long-handled tools (e.g., scrapers, brushes) to avoid leaning into the bathtub. Very good info. Contact Us Today For A Free Bathtub Refinish Estimate Call [phone] or complete the contact form below for a FREE estimate! I had a tub refinished with epoxy that had a bad smell, but nothing like this. He did it 6 years ago when we moved in. My little dog had trouble breathing during the night and I had to go to urgent care for a chest xray. It was not difficult and required no chemicals; the refinisher evidently did a very poor job of it. If the job is not done right it starts to peel, he says. Brooklyn resident (and Brick Underground contributor) Donna Airoldirecently hadher tub reglazed, and she even scrubbed it before her contractor cleaned it.