Are you thinking about refinishing your bath but wondering if it is toxic? You’re not the only one. There are many people who are in the same situation as you and not sure if painting their bath is dangerous.
You have two categories of reglazing products, toxic and non-toxic.
Professional bath refinishers traditionally use spray methods to apply their paint. The chemicals they use to strip and remove the old paint from the bath is very strong and sometimes very dangerous.
If you have ever used these services you might have experienced this first hand. They will wear full face masks with carbon filters and may even use a portable exhaust fan to push the odors out of the house through a window.
A bath refinishing Montreal company used to spray baths. The odors were too toxic and on several occasions one of their technicians had to go to the hospital because he had a hard time breathing, especially after finishing a job.
Surprisingly, there are many traditional bath refinishing companies that experience this problem but no one really knows and they don’t share this with their potential customers. The sad thing is that many customers only experience this after the job has been completed and the refinishing technicians have left.
But, the good news is that there are options for you where you don’t have to endure the toxic odors.
It’s not fair to say that all professional bath refinishers use toxic or dangerous paint or stripping products. But, we have read about a few stories online where bath refinishing technicians were found dead while refinishing a customer’s bath.
Many good refinishing companies that spray their paint try to reduce the odors that linger in your home by using a fan which blows the paint fumes out an open window. But, even with the fan, the smell can linger between 1 – 3 days and if you have breathing problems this can be a big challenge for you. And if it’s winter, you can’t leave your window open for the next 3 days.
We have seen some starting to introduce products that are more eco-friendly. But, you have to do your research and make some calls to your local bath refinisher and ask them questions about their paint and stripping products.
If you’re looking at resurfacing your own bath you’ll need to get a DIY Bath Refinishing Kit.
Here again you will find products that are toxic and non-toxic. They will either have strong odors or very faint smells.
You have bath paint that can be sprayed, rolled on or poured. The solution that has low odors are 2-part epoxy paints that are poured on. This paint is also the strongest product for DIYers which also creates a great finish.
They are the most expensive products on the market but if you are looking for a product that doesn’t smell much then you should look for a 2 part epoxy pour on paint.
And if you really can’t or don’t want to resurface your own bath, looks for refinishers that don’t use traditional spray methods. Slowly but surely more and more resurfacers are starting to use the pour-on methods which are safer for both the technicians doing the work and for you, the customer.
So before you embark on this type of home improvement, do your homework. If you really can’t find the safer option with a professional company. Make sure you have the option of being able to stay at a friend’s house or hotel for a few days. It’s not very enjoyable having to stay in a house that smells like an automobile paint shop.
