VOC Concerns – 3M 90 Spray Adhesive
PregnantRenovator
| Posted in Green Products and Materials on
Hello –
Our contractor used 3M 90 Spray Adhesive to put down some peel and stick vinyl tiles in our basement bathroom. The product is <55 % VOC. Normally I wouldn’t be concerned but I am 10 week pregnant and the smell is still quite strong 24 hours later throughout the whole house.
Does anyone know how long the spray adhesive is likely to off-gas? Curious if the continuing smell is just an odor of a sign that the adhesive is off-gassing.
Thanks for any insight
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Replies
Odors are offgassing. Odors are, quite literally, little bits of stuff floating in the air that your nose can detect -- that's what smells are :-) If you smell it, then SOMETHING is coming off as a gas. The big question is "is that SOMETHING harmful"? Chances are it's not a super dangerous thing, but if you're in the early stages of pregnancy where the baby is developing and not just growing, that's when you're most sensitive so I'd play it safe here.
What I'd recommend is to run cross flow ventillation through the room. That means put a fan at one end blowing OUT of the house through a window or door, and let air IN from the OPPOSITE end of the room. Try to block up the air intake door/window enough that you can feel airflow moving fast, which means there is a little bit of restriction to the airflow. That will ensure the fan keeps the room under a slight negative pressure, which means all the air leaks leak INTO the room, not OUT. That's the safest way to go.
If you can't ventillate the room, or if the smell is really strong throughout the house regardless, I'd stay with a friend for a few days while the space is ventilating (keep the air moving through the room and outdoors even while you're away). A lot of the smells that come from these kinds of materials are solvents, and many of those solvents aren't good to be breathing for extended periods, and if you're pregnant I'd be extra careful and try to avoid things altogether for at least a few days.
Congrats, BTW. My wife is in her third trimester right now, so I've been thinking similar thoughts lately :-)
Bill