Question from NewEnglandSara.
Hi there, we are in a conundrum about our closet shelving, and I thought I would reach out for ideas….
We recently built a new house, and I became more aware of toxins as time went along. For some reason, it never occurred to me to think about what our contractor would buy for closet shelves. I think I assumed he would use wood and that we could paint the wood with Safecoat or Mythic.
It turned out that our contractor bought Melagard shelves from Roseburg. These shelves do include particle board, although they meet the California Phase 2 regulations. Half of the shelves utilize a PVC tape on the edges, and the other half utilize a melamine tape.
My husband and I are overwhelmed because we have about thirteen closets in the house: each with two shelves. We wish we could go back and choose another material, but it might be prohibitavely expensive at this point.
Any suggestions on remedying or replacing? Thank you!
Debra’s Answer
My #1 choice would be to go back and replace with solid wood. If that is prohibitively expensive, you could consider some other type of nontoxic board such as wheatboard or PureBond formaldehyde-free plywoo. I don’t know what the cost is of these boards.
Another thing you might consider is wire shelving, which is pretty inexpensive and allows for air flow. And you wouldn’t need to paint them. That would probably be my choice if I needed shelves in a closet.
What if you sealed the shelves with something like Vermont Natural Coatings…would that seal in the toxins….could use shellac, but i had some trouble breathing with it..but shellac is a phenomenal sealer.
also could look at afm hardseal….supposed to keep in the formaldeyde….actually there is afm hardseal and afm softseal….i forget which one is used for what…but you can inquire iwth afm
COMMENT FROM DEBRA:
To the best of my knowledge, Vermont Natural Coatings are NOT designed to be sealants. Don’t assume a particular paint or finish will seal in toxic fumes or heavy metals unless they are specifically advertised to do so.
Please beware of coated wire shelving. My girlfriend has some in her house that smell real bad, but due to the high cost of replacing them she has not done so, but the smell is really bad and if you keep food in the pantry I am sure the smell goes into the food as well. Sniff before you buy!