It's been a long time coming, but the reconstruction of our baby's nursery is nearly complete. The walls are sheetrocked and primed. The floors are sanded, stained and in the process of being coated with hydrathane.
In the interest of forming a healthier environment for our little one, we went with low toxic floor and wall coverings. Specifically we bought paints with a low volatile organic compound (VOC) content, and a floor varnish alternative to poly-urethane.
For the wall paint we used the Benjamin Moore Eco Spec paints which are listed to have a VOC content of under 1 gram per liter. Some other popular paint brands include Sherwin Williams and Pratt and Lambert. The paints are cost more, but I find it well worth the expense in consideration of my child's health. According to the EPA, the health effects of VOCs include:
Eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Some organics can cause cancer in animals; some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans. Key signs or symptoms associated with exposure to VOCs include conjunctival irritation, nose and throat discomfort, headache, allergic skin reaction, dyspnea, declines in serum cholinesterase levels, nausea, emesis, epistaxis, fatigue, dizziness.These are things an adult should not deal with, clearly I do not wish to subject an infant to them. EarthEasy.com has some more information on other brands of low VOC paints.
In addition, it's a good rule-of-thumb to allow a nursery painted with traditional paints (not with low VOC paints) to air out for at least a full month before a baby sleeps in it.
We used hydrathane, a water-based varnish, in place of standard poly-urethane on the wood floors at the advice of a gentleman at the hardware store. He informed me that it's more environmentally friendly, has less odor and is less toxic. The odor during application is significantly less than standard poly.
If you're in the process of redoing a nursery, I encourage you to seek out alternative materials that will make sure your child has a healthy start.
2 comments:
Did you sand the entire finish off the wood before staining and varnishing? Also what is your opinion between carpet and hardwood in the nursery? My wife and I are almost 7 weeks and I want to get a game plan going for this since I know I tend to drag my feet.
Thank you and it has been a pleasure reading your blog.
Hi,
Yep, sanded down to bare wood.
I go with an area rug over hard wood. Carpet can have a lot of airborne fibers and there are lots of chemicals in carpets that can be bad for little lungs. If you do get some sort of area rug, let it breathe for a while first, vacuum it very well and maybe use an air purifier in there.
You're better off to start early, it flies by and then all of a sudden you're out of time. Keep in mind, it's almost impossible to do any sort of renovation anywhere in your house when you have a little one living their. Both from a logistics standpoint and health risk to them.
Glad you enjoy reading!
Post a Comment