Kilz is bad stuff!

wendalsue

H is replacing the flooring in the dining room (which will soon be the nursery), and had to put Kilz on the subfloor because the people who lived here before us kept 2 big labs in there that pissed all over the place (yeah in the dining room which is why we've never used it anyway!)  We took up the carpet and it was so disgusting underneath, and then found that the padding was glued to the floor.  So after scraping up padding, it smelled even worse in there!  So I left while he did the Kilz, because I know that it's toxic stuff.  Well, even after it had dried for hours and he had the new flooring put down, I came home and the smell was still so strong!  I went to bed and woke up with a killer headache and feel sick to my stomach.  I'm going to leave for the day, but I'm thinking that this Kilz smell is here to stay for awhile!  I hope it goes away in the next 10-12 weeks, because I certainly couldn't shut LO in that room!!  I'm sure it will...does anyway have experience with this stuff??

JanessLynn

We used Kilz for the exact same reason when we bought our condo. The previous owners had dogs who used the carpet as a potty and we ripped everything out. The Kilz really helped.. I can't remember exactly how long the smell of the Kilz stayed but I know it wasn't too long. You won't regret using it, that's for sure!! Good luck =]

Kate_C

Did you use the original oil based stuff or latex based?  Definitely air things out as much as you can - maybe use fans. 

The oil based version is SUPER flammable - had a case several years ago involving a painter who sustained very serious burns from using Kilz in a paint sprayer.  Still don't know what caused the fumes to ignite, but he was in the burn unit for 3 months.  That stuff (and any paint remover or similarly flammable product) scares the crap out of me.

cheesecakerunner

We just poly'd the floor in the new nursery and it's been pretty bad in there. For the first few days, we cracked a few windows in the house (thank goodness for a warm spell last week!), shoved towels under the door so the smell wasn't getting into the rest of the house and I wore a respirator. I focused on keeping as many doors with towels underneath as possible between me and the room. I also made sure to keep our bedroom really aired out. We timed it so we would be away for the weekend when it was the worst, too.

Now that the floor is dry and the cold air won't hurt it, we're going to start airing out the nursery so it's not all chemically when baby comes. 

NativeFloridian

God, Kilz will melt your freaking face off.  At least, that's what it feels like when that smell hits you.  It's awful.  Can you open one window and stick a box fan in it so it's blowing air outward?  Hopefully that will suck some of the Kilz-y air out and you can get some decent airflow to really get rid of the stink.

wendalsue

To answer a couple of questions...he used the Kilz original primer/sealer.  It's an oil-based interior primer.  People use it to prime surfaces before painting, flooring, etc.  It's usually being used in place of a less toxic primer because people are trying to cover up some awful smell.  It will seal in smells, but it's very toxic and no one is supposed to breathe the fumes.  I'm annoyed that H waiting until the coldest week we've had this winter to do it!  It was in the 50's here over a week ago, and will be back in the 40's next week...but he was off work this week.  Anyway, it won't dry if it gets too cold, so opening a lot of windows wasn't going to help much yesterday. We're in single digit wind chills here in central IL. We do have a box fan that we're going to set up in a window today to suck some of the stink out!

keado

I've used it frequently to refinish furniture.  I think the recommendation is to let it cure for a month, but I think you have enough time for the fumes to dissolve prior to baby coming.  

On the note of doing a project during the worst months, we redid the wood floors in our house in July in Texas - we had to as we were about to move - but oh my lord it was misery!  No air flow, nowhere to retreat, not a good idea, so I can relate!  

BrittBrittM

cheesecakerunner:

We just poly'd the floor in the new nursery and it's been pretty bad in there. For the first few days, we cracked a few windows in the house (thank goodness for a warm spell last week!), shoved towels under the door so the smell wasn't getting into the rest of the house and I wore a respirator. I focused on keeping as many doors with towels underneath as possible between me and the room. I also made sure to keep our bedroom really aired out. We timed it so we would be away for the weekend when it was the worst, too.

Now that the floor is dry and the cold air won't hurt it, we're going to start airing out the nursery so it's not all chemically when baby comes. 

we used poly when we redid our cabinets  OMG!! its the worst!

mypalbabs

This is the wackiest thread:

Killz will kill you!

It's the best stuff ever!

It will melt your face off!

It will land you in the burn unit!

Hey, that's awesome, where can I buy it!?!

wendalsue

mypalbabs:

This is the wackiest thread:

Killz will kill you!

It's the best stuff ever!

It will melt your face off!

It will land you in the burn unit!

Hey, that's awesome, where can I buy it!?!

I just genuinely LOL'ed at this.  After I read all of these responses, I went in and asked H why he used the "flammable" oil base and why he didn't do it when there could be more ventilation.  He just shrugged his shoulders and said "hell, I didn't know!"  haha.  He just knew that Kilz was good to cover up piss soaked flooring, so he bought the "original" stuff to make sure it would work.  It's a lot better just since this morning, so I'm not worried at all that it will be gone well before LO gets here.  But I love your summary of responses...they should print some of these straight onto the can.