My Chemical-Free House

A Guide to Creating a Healthy Home

Healthy Building

Non-Toxic Paint Thinners (Safer Solvents)

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This article looks at safer solvents that can act as a substitute for toxic solvents like mineral spirits, turpentine, methyl ethyl ketone, acetone, toluene, xylene, glycol ethers, and fluorinated or chlorinated organic solvents.

This article provides a list of alternatives that are non-toxic or less toxic. Many of them are all-natural. But natural does not necessarily equate to safer – turpentine after all is an all-natural product.

I also list one solvent-free option for cleaning brushes used with oil paints. That’s a fantastic way to limit your solvent exposure.

The solvents in the article are often referred to as paint thinners but the products I list have many uses:

  • Thin oil-based paint to make it easier to apply or to extend its life
  • Make spray applications of oil paint easier
  • Clean up brushes, rollers, and equipment used with oil paints and varnishes
  • Wipe up oil paint splatter
  • Thin tung oil
  • Clean and degrease metal equipment or parts
  • Remove graffiti
  • Remove tar, asphalt, gum
  • Clean up caulking
  • For artists working with oil paints – to produce special effects, and to change the way oil paints handles and evaporates
  • Use with pastels, encaustic, oil-based colored pencils, letterpress, and sculptural work
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Low-VOC Sealers for Log Cabin Homes (Non-Toxic & Natural Options)

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Low-VOC and non-toxic sealers (and stains) for log cabins fall into two categories: natural oil penetrating sealers and low-VOC synthetic sealants.

For the exterior, we want something as durable as possible. There are two main options here. The first is the all-natural tung oil mix made for exteriors and the second is a low-VOC synthetic from Vermont Natural Coatings.

While there are other options in both categories – other brands that make penetrating oil sealers and other brands that make water-based or oil-water hybrid sealers, these are my top brands and the best in each class.

For the interior, you can use something that is not quite as durable. This allows for more options that are lower in odor than the exterior products. We still have the same two categories, natural penetrating oils and synthetic sealers.

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Non-Toxic Grout Sealer Options

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Whether you need a grout sealer depends very much on the situation. A grout sealer could actually do more harm than good.

For that reason, I will list out the non-toxic sealer options by application and then by type of sealer.

The densifiers are the most tolerable least toxic option, they are a very benign product. Topcoats of acrylic or polyurethane do have some odor and offgassing at first, but the offgassing comes to completion in a short time.

There is also the possibility of going with a natural product, some natural penetrating oils can be used on concrete grout.

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Study of Lead in Tile (12.5% of Tiles Contain Lead)

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I conducted a study of lead in tile in 2021. I chose 64 tiles from major retailers in the US and had them professionally tested with a handheld XRF down to 0.00 mg/cm2.

The 64 porcelain and ceramic tiles came from 14 brands and 5 major retailers in the US. Many of the tiles will be available in Canada as well.

The tiles were purchased from Flooring Inc, Stone Tile Depot, Build Direct, The Tile Shop, and Home Depot.

While there are no official limits on the limits of lead in tile in the US, I used a couple of benchmarks.

The first is the level of lead in paint that qualifies it as lead-containing paint. That is 1.0 mg/cm2; 3% of the tiles came in well above this level.

The next benchmark I used is 0.1 mg/cm2 (I actually used 0.09 since one tile came in that close to 0.1). This level of lead in mg/cm2 could still indicate a level of 500 (or more) parts per million (ppm) of lead.

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Is Plywood Toxic? (Non-Toxic Alternatives)

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This post provides an overview of the formaldehyde and formaldehyde-free glues used in plywood.

I look at the offgassing levels and rates of formaldehyde in various types of plywood so that you can choose the lowest VOC option and minimize offgassing in the home.

There are non-toxic plywoods as well as non-toxic alternatives to plywood listed here.

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Hempcrete for Mold-Safe, Healthy Homes

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Hemp can be used in building homes in many ways but building with hemp is very different than building with conventional construction methods.

Hempcrete can be tamped into board-formed walls, used as premade bricks, sprayed into cavities, or formed into precast panels.

It acts as insulation and as an interior and/or exterior surface, though it is not load-bearing – you still need a wood frame.

This article will review all the ways that hemp can be used to build a healthy home and is an investigation into whether it’s mold-prone.

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Smoothing the Seams in Mobile Home Walls (With Non-Toxic Materials)

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Walls in mobile homes have a vinyl layer on the wallboard and battens covering the seam gaps. It is possible to remove the battens and mud over the seams. It is also a good idea to prime the walls with BIN Shellac primer to stop any offgassing or leaching of plasticizers from the vinyl.

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Choosing a Non-Toxic Plaster

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Plaster usually means a material used to coat interior walls while “render” more often refers to external coatings even if it’s the same material. Stucco is another word for an exterior wall coating.

The most common types of plasters have a base of gypsum, lime, cement, or clay.

Clay plasters are not very common anymore since they lack tensile and compressive strength. They are still used in some buildings, most commonly in natural buildings, like in adobe or cob homes. Clay plaster in conventional wood-framed homes was replaced by lime and then by gypsum plaster.

This article will look at the chemical composition of plasters and where you can use each type. Plaster is generally a healthy material no matter the base mineral, but those who are chemically sensitive will want to know which additives each type contains to choose the non-toxic options.

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Non-Toxic Paint Strippers (All Types Compared)

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First, a History of “Whack A Mole” on Toxic Solvent-Based Strippers

Pre-1970s benzene was a popular paint stripper, it was later determined to be carcinogenic. It was replaced by methylene chloride, a very fast and effective paint remover. Methylene chloride/dichloromethane (DCM) is now considered a neurotoxin and a possible carcinogen that has caused many fatalities. It is banned in the US and many countries.

The latest replacement, NMP (n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone), which is not as harsh as Methylene chloride, and is actually quite tolerable for many chemically sensitive folks, does have a Prop 65 warning for birth defects or other reproductive harm. I list only one paint remover with this chemical alongside the best alternatives.

In the mainstream realm, new formulas are being sold with acetone, turpentine, toluene, and xylene. I don’t list any paint strippers with these solvents because their higher VOC levels emit the strongest fumes and they are challenging to use.

An Alternative – Safer Solvents?

There are better options now, lower (and even zero-VOC) formulas. Safer more environmentally friendly solvents include dibasic ester, bio-based solvents, and alcohol solvents.

In this article, I look at those options along with “soy-based” and “citrus-based” paint and varnish strippers – though these terms are misleading because they don’t refer to the active majority ingredient. (Often the majority ingredient is NMP, but I list brands with safer solvents).

You still need to wear protective gear including safety glasses, gloves, and a mask. Though all of the options here can technically be used indoors.

These safer solvents are effective but they take considerably longer on most coatings than the harsh solvents of the past.

Solvent-Free Options to Remove Paint

Depending on what kind of paint or varnish you are removing and what the substrate is, there may be other (solvent-free) options. In this post I discuss – boiling with baking soda, mechanical options, and eco-friendly water-based options.

PS. Paint strippers and paint thinners are different solvents. Paint thinners can be found here.

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Non-Toxic Deck Cleaners (For Every Deck Type)

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This is a comprehensive list of healthier alternatives to bleach and toxic deck cleaning formulas that still work to get your deck clean even if it’s covered in mold, stains, and debris.

I cover deck and outdoor furniture cleaners that are safe for you, your kids, your pets, and your plants.

Some are simple DIY natural recipes and others are ready to use soaps that are eco-friendly (and biodegradable).

I list which options are appropriate for wood decks, painted decks, composite decks, and vinyl decks.

The same solutions that work on decks also work on fences, siding, and outdoor furniture.

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