Is Floor Wax Harmful

Floor waxes use ingredients like polymer emulsions urethane and resins to achieve the best polish but some also use non toxic water borne polyurethanes for glossier finishes across large surfaces.

Is floor wax harmful.

This water based carnauba wax emulsion can protect most interior floor surfaces. The fumes released by floor stripping chemicals are toxic inducing a variety of health complaints and making the use of protective masks and proper ventilation imperative. Inhaling floor stripping fumes may cause dizziness nausea headaches chest pains and coughing according to cleaning pro. While formaldehyde used to be the primary preservative used in floor waxes antimicrobial agents that are not known to cause health risks related to prolonged exposure have replaced it.

In normal conditions this is not an issue. My first exposure to floor wax made me very ill with respiratory effects that took a good three months to get over. To prevent mold you should make sure your wood has been kiln dried and kept dry at the store and onsite. Even freshly washed and waxed floors can look dull or yellow if there are too many layers of.

Despite the presence of preservatives avoid cross contamination of used and new floor waxes. Something must be done to protect people who have these kinds of reactions to the floor care chemicals. All used floor waxes should be disposed of properly. It is rich in fatty acids good for brain function and the skin.

Cresol which can cause liver and kidney damage if inhaled over extended periods of time formaldehyde which has been linked to everything from asthma to reproductive problems to cancer is also a key floor wax ingredient that should be avoided whenever possible. So obviously whatever the risk to adults who might be most exposed from jobs that involve making or applying these products it is actually babies who at most risk since they are more likely to inhale absorb and ingest more per unit of body weight after crawling on still wet floors. Ironically the wax also acts as a natural hypoallergenic for other forms of allergic reactions. However if you re allergic to the wax then you should avoid food products that contain the wax altogether.

Waxed floors such as linoleum or vinyl can flake or become yellow due to age or too many layers of wax. Not all of these treatments are harmful. I didn t report it or get checked out at that time.