Question from DB
We are looking for a safe finish on a wood chair for our 1 year old. We are looking at a few European imports, such as the Svan and the Stokke. Actually, we ordered an unfinished restaurant high chair, but it has been on back order for months. (It is coming from China and may not really be the best choice. We want to cancel the order.) We decided to put our two older children on regular chairs elevated by the “Kaboost”. This won’t work for the little one. She needs a safety belt. Currently, she is sitting on our lap;-) So, any thoughts would be appreciated.
Also, we purchased an unfinished table from Ikea. We polish it with beeswax and walnut oil. Should we be concerned about the kids eating off this surface? Sometimes I wonder what type of glue adheres the boards together. It never seemed to outgas any odor.
I find your site very informative and interesting. I have really enjoyed the articles. Thanks.
Debra’s Answer
Readers? What are your recommendations? Not having children of my own, I have no experience with this.
I’m not concerned about your children eating off the table from Ikea. Not all glues are harmful. If you don’t smell anything, it’s likely there are little or no VOCs.
Good for you with the walnut oil and beeswax finish!
Debra 🙂
I was interested in safe seal but how can we be sure it really works?
http://www.toxictrailers.org/2010/12/safe-seal-has-no-data-to-support-claims.html?m=1
COMMENT FROM DEBRA:
Here’s what I can tell you. Many many years ago, I bought a table that I thought was solid wood. Most of it was, but there was one piece in the middle underneath that was particleboard, and I could smell the formaldehyde.
I got some Safe Seal and applied several coats. I no longer smelled the formaldehyde and I was able to sit at this table for hours every day, and use it as my desk.
That said, I generally don’t recommend Safe Seal because I don’t consider Safe Seal over particleboard to be as safe as solid wood. The particleboard is still emitting formaldehyde and it may be eroding the Safe Seal finish from the inside. It may be that as time goes on, the coating is providing less and less of a seal. It may need to be reapplied. Meanwhile, people are likely to apply it and forget about it and then be exposed to formaldehyde.
I ended up using the table for about six months, and then got a solid wood table, so I can’t tell you the long-term performance.
Now, the commenter on the Toxic Trailers website does not say why she thinks it made no difference at all in formaldehyde emissions. She does not say how much she applied. She does not mention any before and after formaldehyde testing she has done. Formaldehyde test kits are very inexpensive. I don’t know why the makers of Safe Seal don’t have test results.
ANY product that claims to make improvements in something, whether lowering emissions or removing pollutants or using less plastic, or anything else MUST, BY LAW be able to substantiate the claim. ALWAYS ask for that evidence.