I have an old house with wooden windows which I am slowly replacing as $$
allows. However, for the windows which have not been replaced, I try to seal
them up to minimize the heat loss.

Last year, I used "rope caulk", which worked oK, but was a pain to put up
and which eventually dried out about 2/3 through winter and fell off.

This year, I found this stuff at HD called DAP Seal 'n Peel. It is a
removable sealant which you install with a caulk gun and then peel off in
the spring. I like this concept, because I can make beads of whatever size I
want/need and installation with a caulk gun is FAST.

However, I did my first few windows today and I was really surprised by how
much odor this stuff gives off. It smells like contact cement. So I looked
up the MSDS and it is about 30% toluene.
http://www.dap.com/docs/msds/77136.pdf
This has me concerned. I need about 100 mL per window and I have two windows
per room. The rooms are about 12 x 9 with 9 foot ceilings. If I am doing
these calculations correctly, I am emitting about:

(200 mL) * (30%) * (0.8809 g/mL) = 53 g per room

Assuming my room dimensions are correct, I have about 36 m^3 of volume per
room. So the concentration of toluene vapor could be about 1472 mg/m^3.

According to the EPA, this is above the OSHA ceiling concentration, which is
defined as: "Occupational Safety and Health Administration's permissible
exposure limit ceiling value; the concentration of a substance that should
not be exceeded at any time."
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/toluene.html

I'm concerned. This seems too high. I have a 2 year old toddler and (of
course) her bedroom is one of the rooms I sealed up today. Even 6 hours
after using this sealant, there is a faint solvent odor in her room.

Anyway, my questions a

1. Is there an alternative product out there that people recommend?
2. Am I being overly concerned? I'm really feeling guilty about having
exposed my family to this stuff. It seems to me that this shouldn't even
really be on the market. (Imagine if I had done all 13 of the old windows in
my house at once!)

Thanks in advance,
Jon

--

"Jonathan" wrote in message


2. Am I being overly concerned?


Yes. Toss that damned calculator out in the trash, open a door for 15 to 30
minutes and stop worrying. Some odors persist for a time even after the
solvent vapor has long been diluted.

Well that is exactly the problem. The instructions say "Use in a well
ventilated space so that vapor smell is not noticeable." This, of course, is
somewhat poor advice for a product that is designed to help make an airtight
space. I can NOT open the window--I just caulked it shut!

--

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
t...

"Jonathan" wrote in message


2. Am I being overly concerned?


Yes. Toss that damned calculator out in the trash, open a door for 15 to
30 minutes and stop worrying. Some odors persist for a time even after
the solvent vapor has long been diluted.

Jonathan wrote:
1. Is there an alternative product out there that people recommend?
2. Am I being overly concerned? I'm really feeling guilty about having
exposed my family to this stuff. It seems to me that this shouldn't even
really be on the market. (Imagine if I had done all 13 of the old windows in
my house at once!)

You are not being overly concerned. Your calculations are based on a
static situation where all the toluene is released at once where in
fact it would evaporate slowly and even without good ventilation, room
air would be changed. But, ventilation is the key and in an industrial
situation, without adequate ventilation, masks with organic vapor
cartridges or forced air would be required. Personally, if I could not
ventilate, I'd look for something else to seal the windows. I've seen
caulks with far less VOC's, but they are permanent.

Frank

On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 22:00:45 -0500, "Jonathan"
wrote:

Well that is exactly the problem. The instructions say "Use in a well
ventilated space so that vapor smell is not noticeable." This, of course, is
somewhat poor advice for a product that is designed to help make an airtight
space. I can NOT open the window--I just caulked it shut!

I gave up on sealing the windows sashes and just built plastic-covered
wooden frames that screw into the windowframe, with felt gaskets.
Sort of interior storm windows, Ugly as hell, though.