Question from newhome
We just bought a home from a women who owned it for 40 years.We are pulling up the wall to wall carpet which is 18-20 years old. Under the carpet is hardwood with a beautiful polyurethane finish.I have chemical sensitivities and would never choose a floor with a polyurethane finish and am wondering if it will be ok since it is so old.
Debra’s Answer
Polyurethane itself is not particularly toxic, it’s the solvents that are used to make it liquid so it can be applied that are the problem. Water-based polyurethane wood finish, for example, is much less toxic than solvent-based. Once the solvents are evaporated the polyurethane coating that remains is not toxic.
I would say that a finish that is more than twenty years old would be fine.
