My apartment manager refinished my bathtub about 2 1/2 years ago instead of buying a new one. If youve got an old bathtub(or bathroom) and youre investigating your options for giving it an upgrade, youve likely come across the term reglazingalso known as refinishing or recoating, which can revive a tiredtub or evenold bathroom tile. I had no problems with it and thought they knew what they were doing as it happens all the time here. I just rented a housing association flat with an unsightly, badly marked tub. I wish they warned me and Id have had means to stay out of house for a few days. I have read many articles but this is different one. I do home remodeling in Dallas, and many homeowners want to try to salvage some tubs, which is cost effective for some, but certainly a chemical risk for the workers and I would think the homeowners need to be made aware of this type of chemical being used in their home. Im 70 and have no place to go except my apartment. Also, you may want to ask the installer for the products safety data sheet which may have useful information on curing times and precautions. CDR Hall is the Deputy Branch Chief of the Engineering and Physical Hazards Branch in the NIOSH Division of Applied Research and Technology. Stripping products may also contain flammable solvents and flammability may be a concern. Then, remove any cover plates, drain plugs and bathtub spouts. I opted in for your Feed too. But it's not just about looks. Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. Note that humidity affects both dry time and how well the topcoat bonds to the surface, so the cool, less-humid seasons of fall or spring providethe best conditions for this type of work. The epoxy coatings used to finish bathtubs can also emit dangerous vapors such as isocyanates when sprayed. Proper ventilation and a proper fitting organic vapor respirator are an absolute requirement for DIY bathtub refinishing. ive found a majority of the time the diy kits people use never adhere well. I have read reglazing tub reviews where a few customers couldn't take the scent while others had no issue with the bathtub reglazing odor. His go-to isScrubbing Bubbles. I had my cast iron tub reglazed on a very hot humid day. Using methylene chloride products in a bathroom is extremely dangerous as bathrooms are often small, enclosed spaces with little or no ventilation. The story notes also that worker protections are weak a shop in Chattanooga TN with numerous OSHA violations got fined only $1500 for the death of a teenage employee in 1999, and 7 years later, still had not implemented required safety measures. I have one side of my nose feeling congested and post nasal drip and a headache. 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. If you just bought a Mercedes, would you put a rubber mat on the roof? White asks. Bathtub refinishing can be very dangerous indeed, I have seen many poorly trained so called bathtub refinishing specialists using dangerous chemicals to refinish bathtubs in peoples homes without the proper ventilation systems in place and without using the proper protective equipment necessary. I have no experience in this type of work, my day job is a guidance counselor, but I started thinking about how we might prevent these fatalities from happening going forward, if using MC. I thought it would be a simple spray paint job. I could not believe how hard it was to even find a kit to purchase, which led me to wonder why. The prep is the most important part of the job, says White. I have 2 small kids and an infant. Sometimes workers are not educated, companies should invest in staff training to work with these materials. The tub needs to go. Surface Designers have been in business for over 20 years resurfacing bathtubs and countertops. The process commonly involves removing the bathtub's existing finish before applying a new coating, usually a synthetic finish such as polyurethane or epoxy. The product they used is from Napco and is supposed to a lot less toxic than other products. I think this post was very helpful in knowing the bad effects of such dangerous products. discovered that the fumes were coming through the vent in her bathroom. The concentration of the exposure is important too. *Note that there are reports that a fresh air system is . Thank you. Especially if chosen to be done in small places like a bathroom. NYC Renovation Chronicles: 5 ways to save on your bathroom renovation, Renovating a co-op? Barely 3 days later I now have pluracy and bronchitis, i feel the building should be held responsible as we werent notified of the dangers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website. However, it's not necessary if the bathroom is properly ventilated. ARE THESE REGLAZED TUBS DANGEROUS AFTER THE PROCESS DRIES? Renewing is the affordable and fast alternative to replacing. After collecting these samples following the NIOSH analytical method the samples are sent to a laboratory for analysis. Capital region housing in edmonton is the worst. Thank you for your comment. Bathtub refinishing is being used more by hotels, apartment complexes and homeowners because of a housing downturn, a mortgage-meltdown, and overall depressed and depressing economy as a way to save money in their bathroom renovation. I would like to know. good cotent, i like it. If safety is not enough to discourage the DIY Kits then maybe aesthetics will. Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We are not familiar with the finishes you mention. Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. There is not any ventilation in the bathroom either. The odor and fumes were suffocating. Products with these types of known harmful ingredients must require special labeling with clearer health and safety warnings for users. For consumer-related questions after the tub has been refurbished, please contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Being relatively poor most of my life Ive always been a do-it-yourselfer. Its worth looking into how long a company has been in business andits rating with the Better Business Bureau to get a sense of their track record before commissioning a job. I also had diarrhea several times this morning. Thanks to those whoever posted this article. i like it. Bathtub refinishing is the process of restoring the surface of an old bathtub to improve the bathtubs appearance and repair surface damage. As a point of comparison, water boils at 212 F and has a room temperature vapor pressure of 17 mmHg. Hello In our blog we state that methylene chloride cannot be smelled until the level in the air is higher than OSHAs permissible exposure limits (PELs). Thanks if you reply. Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data. Most professionals use alternative methods when possible. When the project is complete, you can take a relaxing soak in your new tub, knowing it was refinished correctly and safely. I refer to this CDC article a few times a month when answering questions from customers. Opening windows and moving away from areas with vapors can decrease or stop continued exposure. I opened my windows, all four. Every 10 minutes or so I would have to leave and go outside because my eyes burning so bad. This is great information to share to hopefully make us more aware and careful. Step 2: Clean the Tub Thoroughly Step 3: Protect Areas Around the Tub Step 4: Remove the Glaze Step 5: Sand the Surface Step 6: Prep the Surface for Glaze Application 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? I own a small bathtub refinishing business and we have committed to stay away from M.C. Its either not portable or cost prohibitive. In order to assess learn more about the products that are being used for the re-glazing, assess the air quality of your apartment, prevent exposure or remediate any hazards, seek assistance from the building owner or manager. The company who gave me 6 year warranty has disconnected the phone number. My business is in the UK, safety of workers is as important over here. I stripped the lead paint off the outside of an old cast iron tub using a low-VOC paint stripper suitable for lead paint, and then primed and painted the exterior. It is a less costly alternative to replacing a bathtub; however, the process often involves the use of hazardous chemicals including methylene chloride, acids, and isocyanates. Ill mention it to my readers on my real estate site. It's also possible to injure yourself if the product comes in contact with the skin. 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. Refinishing a bathtub is a less costly . Pre-leasing now launched at 595 Dean St., the newest rental development in Brooklyn's vibrant Prospect Heights, The roommate dilemma: It's much more expensive to rent an apartment in NYC all by yourself now. These are classified as potential human carcinogens according to the U.S. Department of Labor, and protective gear should be worn when working with them. Thats perhaps the number one reason trying to DIY it is not advisable (kits are available, but just leave it to the professionals). $ 89 00. Thanks for your comment. Mimi OConnor has written about New York City real estate for publications that include Brick Underground, Refinery29, and Thrillist. Thank you for this post. Your new bathroom's finish won't have any . Some will work but they require 24 hours of wet saturation and even then they require a lot of hard work. 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. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. My friend was in the bathroom for only 4 minutes until his co workers had discovered him lying head first into the bathtub, still wearing proper mask and gloves both of which in good condition. Bathtub refinishing is very dangerous. Today, my apartment filled with fumes, and I feel sick. I have an article on my site entitled Are Bathtub Refinishing Fumes Dangerous. This is great information to share to hopefully make us more aware and careful. Lowering exposures, even below the permissible exposure limit (PEL), is considered to be good industrial hygiene practice. Hi, this is all so helpful. There are a few scratches and black marks from a previously installed shower door that was installed on the tub. She refinished furniture in our garage. Great amazing blog post I really love such lovely blog posts. TENANT INSTRUCTIONS: . This post is so informative and makes a very nice image on the topic in my mind. Workers are exposed to methylene chloride by breathing it in and by absorbing it through their skin. We tried to open our window a bit. What separates a good job from a not-so-good job is not so much how it looks, its the prep. (Airoldi'scontractor brought a fan and blew air out the bathroom window, and she was home during the job, but didn't find the smell intolerable.). I have stripped hundreds of tubs. Methylene chloride is a volatile liquid and would fully evaporate shortly after a project is completed. 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. Thorough prep and and cleaning can preventbig headaches down the road. Tub and tile were original to the 1957 home and were actually not in bad shape. Thanks for telling us now. I cannot replace the tub without it being a major, expensive remodel. We use MC (methylene chloride) in my furniture shop. HomeAdvisors True Cost Guide puts the average cost to refinish a bathtub at about $450, while installing a new one runs about $3,000. 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. Price changing out your bathtubs before ever considering a refinishing product that is known to be toxic! 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. Lead poisoning is a serious risk for young kids. Keep in mind that alternative products and other stripping agents may pose additional risks. I figure if its being done, it must be safe, or why else would people do it? Contact me via e-mail njtragroup@gmail.com and send me your ideas. If I had of done a little research I guess I would of been more informed. Methylene chlorides boiling point is just over 100 F, and has a vapor pressure of 350 mmHg. If the job is not done right it starts to peel, he says. I had my tub reglazed recently. It smelled awful for days. The fumes from stripping a tub of its previous coating(s) can contain methylene chloride, a colorless liquid that smells similar to chloroform and emits VOCs, aka volatile organic compounds. Coatings suitable for bathtub reglazing include: You can use these materials on several surfaces, including acrylic, ceramic, porcelain, and fiberglass bathtubs. What is this stuff? (273) Questions & Answers (148) +3. I have blocked the drain over night but it did not eliminate the smell. And I havent been able to use mine in years to due mobility being so compromised. Thanks! I like taking baths, but will not do so in this tub now knowing how unhealthy it actually is. Bathtub refinishing is the process of restoring the surface of an old bathtub to improve the bathtub's appearance and repair surface damage. Wow this is kinda hard to believe that even a thing such as messing with a bathtub can be so dangerous. Bathtub Refinishing vs. Liner: Whats Right for Your Home. It is an odd sized bathtub so I did not even consider ordering a replacement custom-made. I went outside after he was finished. Publication number 81-8b-2012, Successful bathtub stripping using sanding as an alternative to methylene chloride After the surface has dried, it is 100% safe to use the bathroom fixture. Your article has truly peaked my interest. She enjoyed improving discarded furniture, then selling it it was like art to her. And again, dont be afraid to ask. I very much agree with you, that safety and health is a very important thing in our lives, The Centers for Disease Control has more information on lead hazards on their web site. It hurt to know my best friend was no longer alive but his body stayed warm and breathing only by use of machines. She wont fix it since they are going to remodel in the future. When engineering and work practice controls cannot decrease methylene chloride levels below OSHAs PELs (25 ppm over an 8-hour TWA or 125 ppm over a 15-minute period), employers must provide their workers with full-face atmosphere-supplying respirators. So we need extra care. I have 3 kids in a tiny apt in Brooklyn. This bathtub renovation option goes by many names resurfacing, recoating, refinishing or reglazing but has a pretty straightforward process. After an hour again, I decided to take a ride to feel fresh air. You may want to contact the Environmental Protection Agency or The Consumer Product Safety Commission. If you are considering refinishing your bathtub or shower, click on Find a Location or call our toll free locator number, 1-888-271-7690 . 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! Concessions return to the NYC rental market as recession fears slow leasing activity, The pros and cons of buying a penthouse apartment, Racism and the lack of diversity in the appraisal business, Making sense of the NYC real estate market with Jonathan Miller, The Brick Underground Podcast: Predators in the NYC rental market, with Hannah Levintova from Mother Jones, The Brick Underground Podcast: Protecting against fire and floods in your NYC apartment, The Brick Underground Podcast: Finding a deal as NYC landlords pull concessions and raise rents, The Brick Underground Podcast: Trading your NYC apartment for a cheap(er) vacation. Long-term exposure may cause cancer in humans. You may want to contact Product Safety Australia http://www.productsafety.gov.au, who assists with consumer concerns like the one you posted. This situation creates dangerously high concentrations of methylene chloride and even replaces the breathable air. My apartment is very small and I sat in bedroom with my elderly cat not 20 feet away. What if your bathtub could be transformed in one day from embarrassing to your bathroom's sparkling centerpiece? That is pretty serious stuff. I wish I had read this blog before the procedure. As far as we are concerned, 2k urethane systems should not be allowed in residential use. If the vapor smell continues and is persistent you should call a safety and health professional to evaluate the area. I blog often and I really appreciate your content. His death could have been easily prevented if he had simply had a co worker outside the door to verbally check on him every 30 seconds. Methylene chloride is a volatile liquid and will fully evaporate shortly after the project is completed. I am a first time user of the refinishing kit. If methylene chloride is used, ensure that the room is adequately ventilated during the entire refinishing process. We understand the importance of protecting ourselves, the environment and most importantly our customers. Sometimes, its less expensive to replace a tub than to get it refinished, especially if its a rare type of tub made of an unusual material. Is there any danger that the enamel could have absorbed the refinishing chemicals to be released into my bath water at this later date? I use it in good ventilation and, if Im going to be doing much work, I use a respirator. Real time instruments such as Photoionization detectors (PIDs) can be used to measure volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Jimmy White of Staten Island-based Custom Spraying and Reglazing, who has been doing it for more than 30 years and is considered the reglazer to the starsheworked on Faye Dunaway's and Candace Bergens bathroomssays it can be done in a few hours, plus 24 hours of dry time. NIOSH research and prevention efforts focus on worker risk, so we are not able to address this kind of exposure. We would appreciate your assistance in circulating the information in this blog and the Hazard Alert to those involved in bathtub refinishing. I wonder if it healthy & ok to use the tub for baths after a certain period of tome (days?). So, once workers can smell methylene chloride they are already being overexposed.. When is the best time of year to buy or sell a NYC apartment? My question is, am I in danger using the peeling bathtub??? Please let me know where to seek more information, particularly in the Australian climate? I personally have never heard of this being such a serious problem. Its better not to use methylene chloride for the safety of everybody. She and her contractor agreed to wait until the weather cooledto remedy the situation. I think this post was very helpful in knowing the bad effects Bathtub refinishing of such dangerous products. I have personally resurfaced in the past for investment properties, and have smelt the sweet smell, but never was affected , luckily. thank you so much. I did two tubs in old houses yesterday. In order to assess whether you may be experiencing health effects due to a toxic exposure, seek a medical evaluation from a healthcare provider. I live in low income housing, a few years ago they said my tub need to be refinished. Brooklyn resident Emily Gilbert had her familys tub and part of the bathroom wall reglazed four-and-a-half years ago (, Moving to NYC after college? I didnt realize this was so deadly. Very helpful and will definitely be one of the things to look out for on my rehabs.. Great article. Your email address will not be published. I would also like to issue one other caveat. Step 1: Remove Tub Hardware Shut off the water supply to your tub and drain any water from the line before you begin. Since Bathtub Refinishing can also be a consumer issue, another potential resource is Product Safety Australia http://www.productsafety.gov.au. I own a home built in 1940 and have been considering getting my cast iron bathtub refinished. I've set up fans to direct the fumes out the screen door and left the premises. Specifically, typical mobile LEV units have a fan, flexible ductwork, and a hood near the tub that exhausts hazardous vapors to the outdoors. The fumes were in her room not mine, i didnt know until i opened the door, we had put on the fan origionally for the smell, fumes came full blown after. It is now peeling off. Comments listed below are posted by individuals not associated with CDC, unless otherwise stated. keep blogging~! White advises keeping away fromcleansers likebleach oreven Soft Scrub. These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. Thats why we see it a lot in historic neighborhoods.. Our apartment building had the next apt tub realized these morons did this in winter and there was no windows open. Successful bathtub stripping with benzyl alcohol as an alternative to methylene chloride-based paint strippers I hope the fumes and the tub return to a safe level. Thetoxic fumesreleased during the processnot only make your apartment smell bad, theyre dangerous if not dealt with properly. I had no choice but to return home. Most tubs can be reglazed if they are not overly damaged, but the process is generally recommended for steel, cast iron, or fiberglass tubs. Thanks for your comment. Keep posting at all like me gonna turned up at write out paper everyday! I was doing some research on tub reglazing when I found this article. 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. 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. Bathtub refinishing is very risky. But I keep on hitting dead ends. Thanks for this information. I learned a lot and want to ask a question about the dangers. I had to keep the windows shut with the air on all night. I think there are actually regulations on workers on how long they may be subjected to this chemical during a work day. Its staff and technicians from any and . Thank for sharing about bathtub refinishing. Hello. We do have pets and have young kids. Workers often spray or pour a bathtub stripping product into the basin of the bathtub and then brush the product onto the tub surface. Because this process, which involves spraying a new topcoat on your existing tub and/or tile, is significantly cheaper, easier, cleaner, and less time-consuming than actually replacing a tub. Many stripping products (including those that may also be available to consumers) contain high percentages of methylene chloride. What that means is that at room temperature, methylene chloride will evaporate very rapidly, much more rapidly than water. Its like trying to paint a car yourself. 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. We'll put an entirely new finish over the existing tub or tile in your bathroom. What a Useful Post and great shared to Plumbing Service, Thanks author your Awesome tropic and Excellent Content.

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