Question
In http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/buildhealthy, Gretchen wrote:
Hello, We have an acoustical ceiling in a mobile home…it appears to made from a paper product. We need to use a stain blocker, then paint the ceiling. We know of Bin by Zinser for stainblocking. The ceiling is now painted with ‘flat’ paint.
Also, we are going to paint the closets with a formeldehyde blocking product. We have used Bin in the past. My husband is very sensitive to it, so is there another product you’d recommend?
We are also redoing the floors. Some areas of the subfloor(fiberboard) will need patching. We have plywood, which seems o.k. for us.
Also, the shelves in the closets are made from a fiberboard material which seems to be coated. Should we replace the shelves with Fir which does not outgas?
We will need to use caulk, wood filler, and other products to repair, maintain and upgrade this home. (It is a 1975 Viking mobile home).
Of course, it is not insulated well…is there a product we could affix to the paneling, like a wall paper? Some people replace the paneling with drywall, but I don’t know if we could do that and live in here at the same time.
People recommend that we replace this old home with a new one(toxic!), but we are in a situation in which our HOA is not friendly, so we feel that we have no choice but to fix this up and eventually sell it and then move to our ‘non-toxic’ home.
Thanks for any information.
Answer
Mobile homes are inherently toxic, that’s is a goal of mine, to build modular with good materials. Will keep you posted. But an older one is certainly better than a new one.
For any kind of sealants look at AFM products; they also have caulks.
afm safecoat products
For products also look at www.natl-life.com
The alternative is to remove anything that is offensive, not cover it up.
If you can find a local green building supplier, you can always try small samples of these products, remember everyone is different so there are no absolute solutions.
A product that seems to work for everyone – is alumna foil. Its not pretty, you cant paint it, but it seals and it doesn’t off-gas.
Here is a good list of these materials – i used to sell green building materials so this is from my old website
environmental depot
Again, if any of these interest you, talk to the people at www.natl-life.com or another green building supplier.
A few documents of interest
Chemical Sensitivites documents
Chemical Sensitivities for beginners
Chemical Sensitivities-resources