No More Chemicals!

My sons, Thing 1 and Thing 2 are growing so fast!  In turn they are due for new beds.  My husband, Big Papa and I began hunting for the perfect twin bedframes.  Big Papa and I decided we wanted to do a DIY project.  We decided to purchase unfinished wood bedframes and stain them ourselves.  The IKEA FJELLSE was our choice for three reasons:

Reason #1:  Low cost @ $39.99!

Reason #2:  Simple design!

Reason #3:  Did I mention it was low cost?

Since I am on a quest to rid my family of toxic chemicals, this project already had an obstacle.   I began asking myself, do I really want all of those harmful toxins in our home?  Do I want my boys sleeping in a room within inches of these toxins?  The answer was NO!

I began researching what chemicals are in wood stains and the first piece of information I came across was on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website:  "Many of these products contain chemicals that can irritate your skin, eyes, nose and throat when they are being used because of the vapors that are given off. Before using these products, you need to be sure to always "Read the Label First" to know how to properly use these products and for safety information. If at all possible use the stain or finish outside. If that is not practical, open the windows and doors fully and put a box fan in the window directing the air and fumes out of doors. Keep the fan on while painting and for about 48 hours thereafter. Keep small children away from the room where the stain or finish is being applied and away from the open cans of stain or finish. Do not use stain or finish that is labeled for "exterior use only" indoors. If the room you are painting does not have a window, consider using a water based product. "

I continued to scour the internet to find a list of common ingredients used in wood stains with no success.  Why is this information not readily available on the manufacturer’s websites?  Why are there no federal laws requiring these ingredients be posted for consumers to see?  The U.S. National Library of Medicine website shows wood stains contain the following:  Hydrocarbons, alcohol, alkanes, cyclo-alkanes, glycol ether and corrosives, such as sodium hydroxide.

I knew I had to find an alternative to commercial wood stains.  Big Papa suggested I try coffee.  But not just any coffee, it had to be his delicious fresh ground organic coffee from High Desert Roasters.  So we went to IKEA and bought Thing 1 and Thing 2 two new unfinished beds!  We brought them home, busted them out of the box, brewed a pot of coffee and went to town!  (Halfway through staining the first bedframe, I threw half a box of Earl Grey Black Tea in the pot)  Here are the products I used and the results!