apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Off the top of my head, I would think that burning incense or something might do it, because it would literally burn off the fumes in the process. Or scented candles, which is what I'd be more likely to do, personally. That's what I did when I was spray-painting a whole lot in the bathroom of my old apartment. It's probably the only thing that kept me from having to be hospitalized, since I'm such a driven Amadeus when I'm in the throes of creation.

Heat makes molecules move faster, so if you can control the heat, crank it up as high as you can stand, and take the cat for a walk (or to a friend's.)

Heat will accelerate the offgassing process. It should finish within 6 weeks... hope you like warmth.

Jonathan

Try uhm not buying vinyl and getting a leather. It makes me sick even thinking of that vinyl smell.

Oust? Just a guess. Those commercials are pretty convincing. :)

Vinyl stinks. I once had a pair of sneakers that offgassed for three months.

You might want to google chemical sensitivity websites, but my recall is that forced offgassing advice is the *opposite* of your intuition to open the windows. I believe the strategy is to close the windows and doors to the room, turn up the heat high during the day, then open them at night. Repeat until smell is gone. With paint, this can take a week or so.

Add plants:
http://tinyurl.com/m54oj

More articles:

http://www.zone10.com/tech/NASA/Fyh.htm

http://www.colormegreenco.com/NASA/nasa2.htm

While it won't automatically remove the smell, perhaps you'll feel better knowing the little plants are working away, 24/7, filtering your air.

With everyone seemingly pregnant, it might be a good time for Maxwell, et al, to cover toxins in the air and around the home. Especially with it being Spring Cleaning month.

Like when nursery rooms are created for the new child-to-be, and mom is inhaling all the fumes from the paint, the new furniture, the new bedding...Gaaaahhhh!

http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/159_659.asp

http://topics-az.parenthood.com/articles.html?article_id=9200

Jonathan, did you ever look at the gardens I made for you?

Board the cat and take a vacation for a week or two. Leave the heat on low. Don't bring the cat back until you have aired the house thoroughly.

Seriously, I bought one of those foam mattress toppers (not vinyl, of course, but even more toxic), and the smell actually made me ill. I finally put it in a distant room and closed the doors for several weeks. If the smell is bothering you, just remember that smelling it means that you are breathing in molecules of those poisons.

If you can get the sofa out into the sun, that will help speed up the process. Air cleaners and sprays help with odors by neutralising or masking, but the toxins are still there.

I bought a credenza type thing from Ikea. I don't usually buy furniture there - but I was in need of an affordable storage unit to hold numerous art supplies. I got very sick from the toxins and even now it stinks when I open the unit doors. I am considering getting rid of it - I have had it only 2 months. What a waste.

I can recommed burning vanilla scented candles when you want to overcome any odours. So perhaps with the combination of open window and candles the "off-gassing" can be less traumatic.

AdonisSJ, I caught that after it was posted. And sent emails to the heads at AT. Yes, I think I spammed them about spamming on the boards. I only wish I could have zapped it first myself.

I didn't think there was anything worse than porn spam, until that person came along. It was bad porn spam with links that didn't work which required my far too curious mind to paste one into a new window, only to be led to a sorry excuse of a site that had nothing to do with the link and wanted me to buy videos.

So, yup, there's something worse than porn spam, BAD porn spam. But, it sure did make my posts look much more attractive. And shorter too.

Thanks for all the GREAT advice.

At the 3rd day out of the box the sofa isn't wafting the smell, its just noticable when you sniff at it. We've kept the window open and a fan on exhaust through the day.

I'll be wiping it down with an enzymatic cleaner tonight and hunting for some plants (which we neede anyway) this weekend.

Here's the link to our sofa: http://www.bigapplefuton.com/cgi-bin/detail_futon.cfm?GroupID=83

Thanks again. I've long been a fan of AT and you guys are such a great resource!!!

Angela, that's a great looking sofa, and the fact that it folds down into a sleeping item is a total bonus. Because it doesn't look like a "futon", it looks like a stylish sofa!

If it turns out your cat attacks the plants, I have some advice on that too, just say the word. You may need to give kitty their own plant on a weekly basis. You can pick up the wheat grass at many grocery stores in the organic section (regular grocery stores).

I still haven't found a nice square pot that the wheat grass container will fit into nicely, so if you find one, let me know! Kitty will focus on the wheat grass, as it's what cats want.

Let me know how kitty reacts to your new plants.

my mother, fountain of old fashioned info, recommends
stuffing CRUMPLED NEWSPAPERS into furniture that doesn't smell right. The advice was for an antique Tibetan chest that was musty, or shipped with patchoulli, but I wonder if it would work with outgassing.

Enzyme cleaners are great.

As are burning candles, but pls don't set your apt on fire.
I wouldn't use scented candles - then you're masking an odor on top of another odor and that's kinda gross.

New vinyl plastics in many cases(depending on the type) generate funes that can be toxic...You can use ferns like a boston fern to remove some of the fumes..

By the way, where's that sofa (in the photo) from?

You know you've hit it big when poeple start putting porn links on your site.

I can't be the only one who cought that.

Would someone mind removing the post from "mddjnf"?

Thank.

Just a thought. How about a vinegar solution? If you mix vinegar and water and wipe it down with that I would imagine it might help. Hey, if it works for removing the skunked smell from dogs that have been sprayed.....

Hmmm...your sofa looks an awful lot like a Ligne Roset sofabed...
http://www.ligne-roset-usa.com/products/sofabeds/smala2.htm

Nice to know there are some options out there!

ikea makes furniture with strict enviormental guidlines, chances are it is not the chemicals in your furniture, just the furniture itself.

http://www.ny-furniture.com/sofabeds/tribeca.html

I got mine here & agree with the smell thing but its only for the first few days

The terrible sofa fire retardant smells and its other off gasing chemicals made me sick. It's being aired out for 4 months already in the patio area. I called the retail store manager I bought it from and got no help at all.
I tried sprays, ozone, negative ions, nothing helped.
I plan to put the sofa back inside the house soon. If it smells again, I'll cut my $800 loss and get rid of it.

I bought a chair at IKEA. Took two trips there to work my way thru the maze of options.

Two weeks later it's still off-gassing like crazy. Instead of spending hours in my comfy chair I'm trying to avoid my apt at all times, except when I sleep - with the windows open. I can't wait to make the third three-hour-round-trip to return the thing and maybe eat some cheap meatballs with lingonberry sauce!

DO NOT TURN UP THE HEAT WHEN OFF-GASSING! As one posts suggests. This will make the problem of off-gassing much much worse.
for scientific info go to:
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/formalde.html