Arsenic treated wood

MindfulMama · #1 (**permalink**) 15-01-2008, 10:57 AM

We have just found out that the green tint to our new house is actually arsenic treated wood.

It seems like it's just one thing after another with this place. First the last owners didn't fix the stairs as required so we can't get to the backyard, then there was the incorrect paint going on the walls inside (instead of eco paint we got toxic outdoor paint by accident), followed by the smelly carpets (we didn't know how bad the VOC emission would be), then we realised the house was covered inside & out with mould, it is a mosquito haven, and now we discover that the balcony we have enclosed for DS is poisonous!

OK, rant over. It's all a learning experience, right

(a very costly one!). But what do we do about the treated wood? What I've read on the internet is scary, and we can't afford to move.

Has anyone dealt with this before? I understand it's best to regularly put something over the top of the wood, but what? I don't want to add more chemicals to the mix!

Meridith · #2 (**permalink**) 15-01-2008, 01:56 PM

Couldn't read and run. How....disheartening the whole thing sounds, and you've put in so much effort trying to get it right, too! Could you phone around some eco house designers/builders etc for suggestions?

romalei · #3 (**permalink**) 15-01-2008, 07:23 PM

Sorry to hear this, Kim. What a nuisance. It is such a learning experience, isn't it? And when it comes to avoiding toxic materials you almost have to build your own mud brick house, that would be the only way you could be sure. I don't even want to think about what DD is licking of the carpets...... but I probably should...>(