Should I sand away the AFM Hard Seal on my baby’s crib?

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Should I sand away the AFM Hard Seal on my baby’s crib?

Healthy Child

Friday, January 15, 2010

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QUESTION:

I am "newly" chemically sensitive and have a highly allergic child (he's 18 months old and tolerating only four foods - which is better than no foods three months ago...). He constantly had a bloody nose or yellow snot when in his crib (it's been misdiagnosed as a sinus infection, etc, for months), and the crib smelled AWFUL to me. So I "painted" it with AFM hard seal a week ago, and it smells terrible.

I have tried baking it in the sun, and right now it is baking in a closed room upstairs with an oil-filled radiator. The smell isn't going away! Will it ever? I used what I thought was a thin coat. Should I sand it away and try something else?   

I am so unsure of what to do. My husband is a full-time grad student and I only work part-time, so we can't afford a new crib right now - especially since we just had to replace all of our flooring this week (we bought some EcoTimber on sale).   He is in his pack and play for now, but the netting on that smells terrible, so I lined the whole thing in thick cotton towels for now...   

Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Thank you all very much.  

DEBRA'S ANSWER:

Everyone, if you have a problem with any product like this, where it seems to make the situation worse, please contact the manufacturer to get it resolved. They know best about what to do with their products.   

With AFM Hard Seal, I just want to make a caution. It's really important to check with AFM first to find out if it is appropriate to put their finish over another finish. Sometimes the finishes react with each other, which is what it sounds like happened here.  

I'm not sure if sanding is the right thing, as I don't know what will be exposed if you sand off the finish entirely. If it is bare solid wood, that's fine.

Debra :-)

This answer was provided by our friend, Debra Lynn Dadd. Hailed as "The Queen of Green" by the New York Times, Debra Lynn Dadd has been a pioneering consumer advocate since 1982, specializing in products and lifestyle choices that are safer for human health and the environment. She is the author of Home Safe Home.

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of Healthy Child Healthy World.

Image: valentinapowers/CC BY 2.0

Posted by Catherine12 on 02/08/2010 at 10:08 AM

I would just get a new crib (I know that’s expensive) or consider switching to a twin-sized bed, or just putting the crib mattress on the floor. I don’t think you could sand the finish completely enough to get rid of all of it, even if it is visually clean. Also, sanding will release the particles into the air (not as much of an issue if you sand outside, but some may still end up inside).

Also, have you ruled out the possibility that it is the mattress or bedding that is causing the problem?

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