Is There a Bad Chemical Smell Wafting from Your Galveston, TX, Home’s Walls or Floorboards? Creosote-Treated Lumber May be the Culprit
Have you noticed a smell similar to that of mothballs emanating from the wood that was used to build your home or office? If so, you may have creosote-treated lumber in the building. Creosote is a common chemical preservative, and in Galveston and other coastal Texas communities, homes built in a floodplain may have been constructed with creosote-treated wood to prevent rot and termite infestation. Lumber treated with creosote also sometimes winds up in occupied buildings when people recycle railroad ties and utility poles for home construction, thinking it adds a rustic effect.
Unfortunately, creosote-treated wood can give off fumes for decades. Many people try scraping and sanding away the creosote, but typically this preservative has soaked deeply into the wood so that it’s hard to remove. Not only do the odors create a nuisance that can drive you from your home or workplace, but creosote emissions can also pose a number of health hazards, including respiratory illnesses, skin irritation, and even eye damage.
EnviroShield Has the Solution: CreoShield™
The best way to solve the problems created by having lumber treated with creosote in your home is to turn to EnviroShield. Our proprietary coating, CreoShield™, is specially formulated to encapsulate the emissions that rise from creosote-treated wood. Once CreoShield™ is applied, it will eliminate the acrid chemical smell of creosote, as well as reduce the potentially harmful creosote emissions to levels that are safe for human exposure.
In fact, CreoShield™ is not only more effective than scraping and repainting the creosote-treated wood in your home, but it’s also a better solution because it’s:
- Safer – Applying this remarkable coating requires less exposure to toxic creosote fumes.
- More convenient – Only a power washing of the creosote-treated lumber is needed before CreoShield™ is applied.
- Long-lasting – Unlike ordinary paint, CreoShield™ won’t peel or flake away when exposed to moisture.
For more information about CreoShield™, contact EnviroShield today. We’ll also be happy to put you in touch with one of our professional Applicators in the Galveston area.