floor refinishing and pregnancy

NewlyWeds13 · February 2010

So i am 17 weeks pregnant. we hired someone to refinish the upstairs floors in our house.

they sanded on Saturday (I left during the sanding, so was not there as I had heard that it could have lead). Then yesterday they stained it. Again, I left from when they started until about 5 PM. I did sleep in the first floor of our house last night (after they were pretty much dried and the fumes were not there, etc) and it was not the same floor. Now-- I am nervous that might have been a mistake, but nothing I can do now. Left at 5:45 AM to go to gym to shower and then to go to work, so was not there for that long-- maybe 7 hours (again after it was pretty much dried before I got home)

Today I left for work before they got there. They are doing a 2nd coat of stain. I will just stay at work until 6, then work out, then shower, then go to dinner. Here is the questiion.... do I go home this evening around 10 and sleep there, or do I rent a hotel?

Then tomorrow they are doing water based poly. Again, I will definately not be there, but also not sure how long I should stay away.

I am thinking of just getting a hotel and not coming back until late (like 10 PM on Wedneday evening).

Anyone know?

I have read lots of sites, etc about paints, stains, etc and most say hire someone else, don't be there, but it is not very clear about how long you have to stay away.

TIA.

cearleyjay · February 2010

i would stay at a hotel just because im peranoid. plus they are fun.

AnnaBanana0327 · February 2010

We have been remodeling the room we are using for her nursery (knocking down walls, dry wall, paint, ect. More details in blog in siggy. I called my doctor and he said it shouldn't be an issue as long as the area is well ventilated and I'm not there when they are sanding the walls. He even said it was fine for me to be in the house when they are painting although I have left anyway.

I keep all the fans on in the house (3 bathroom fans and 2 ceiling fans) so that the air is being circulated and leaving the home. But I have slept at home every night. Not sure if it's the same was flooring but I just thought I'd share.

Pocky873 · February 2010

I just went through this exact thing over the weekend. The 2nd coat of staining takes much longer to dry than the 1st, but the fumes shouldn't take more than 24 hours at the most to go away (the time it takes to completely dry). I would find out how many coats they are applying. The 3rd one takes the longest to dry, at the most about 2-3 days. I highly recommend getting a hotel room. The fumes smell awful and it's not a good idea to be breathing it in.

In my situation, we didn't get a hotel room because we could successfully block off the area that we sanded and stained. I left the house during the times that they applied each coating, but returned later that night when it was drying. The fumes weren't so bad, but I could still smell them a little. Good luck.

rlscheck · February 2010

I don't think what you have done so far will be harmful, but I'm not sure about the water based poly. That sent a red flag in the air for me. I would maybe just stay at a hotel. Take time to enjoy it before LO is here

mrsjenni · February 2010

I would stay there for the staining (can you ventilate the rooms by cracking a window and shutting the doors upstairs?) But I definitely wouldn't stay there for the poly. When we redid our floors, the poly killed all the plants in our house!!! Stay away, lol.

Do you have a friend you can stay with?

MWoodside · February 2010

I would stay away until it's completely dry. When we had ours done several years ago the smell was pretty intense & chemical-like.

georgia_peachy · February 2010

My husband is laying hardwood right now in our downstairs. We will not be putting the finish on until it's warm enough to open the windows. Once he starts to put the varnish and stain on the wood we will be staying at my inlaws. The fumes are not safe for anyone, even non pg people! Look at all the respirator eqt. that the good floor finishers use. If you can go elsewhere, I would.

mexicolombiana · February 2010

Little late here on the response, but my family owns a hardwood floor company and we just had our bedrooms done in our condo (in the winter) so we couldn't open windows to ventilate the area. I actually came home for a few minutes while my brother was putting on the layers of finish on the floor and it the fumes were OVERWHELMING! I mean in my throat, mouth, nose, chest. I left right away. And by the way if you have seen the equipment the guys wear while they lay the finish, they're like super duper ventilator masks so obviously don't be around while they do the finish.

I couldn't stay for 2 nights because of our one-level condo and no ventilation. Obviously if you have ventilation and the floors are on a different level you should be ok. But test it out, see how it smells/feels and if it's bad just stay somewhere else, you'll feel better

Oh and don't forget about your pets! (if you have any!) we took my cat to my brother's place for 3 days because she's very nosy and would have pranced into the rooms and probably gotten sick.

floor refinishing and pregnancy

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