The portion on the right is dry and has been wiped down. The portion straight ahead I did this morning and the oil is soaking in and drying. Obviously the dull part on the left is the floor before I refinished it. I love this!
Question from EAS
A friend just moved into an apartment with a beautiful and newly-refinished wooden floor. Beautiful, but the smell was very noticeable when she first moved in. Her eyes became bloodshot and she began having other “allergy” symptoms — headache, stuffy and runny nose, ect. soon thereafter. She suspects that the floor may be the problem. Short of moving apartments — which she is considering — is there a solution? What in the floor might be causing the problem, and how big of a problem? Will it go away? Thank you very much for the advice!
Debra’s Answer
FInishes for wood floors can contain many toxic elements.
Sounds like she needs to do a “bake-out”. This will help the volatile chemicals evaporate faster. Just remove all plants, pets, and people, and turn up the heat for a day. Then open the windows and ventilate. Repeat as many times as needed. Usually doing it every day for a week handles it, but she may need only a day or two.
