Instructions to Bake-Out Toxic Fumes

May 23, 2013 by Debra Lynn Dadd

For Updated information please read “Why I Don’t Recommend Bake-Outs”

Question from Leslie

Hi, you mention using heat to help get rid of paint fumes - how high should we turn up the heat, and approximately for how long? Thank you so, so much. 

Debra's Answer

Here are my "official" instructions for doing a "bake out," from my now-out-of-print book Home Safe Home. 

CURING A SICK HOUSE 

There are many building materials that have some toxicity when being applied, but cure to a nontoxic finish. This is because the toxic part is the solvent used to keep the material pliable (as in the case of caulks, paints, and other finishes) or that residual chemi­cals used in manufacturing have not completely dissipated (such as adhesives used to hold together wood floor tiles). Once these chemicals outgas, however, the resulting product is nontoxic.

If you don’t have to install or apply these products yourself, once cured they can be safe for you and your family to live with (though in the larger scheme of things, we should also be consid­ering toxic exposures to the people we hire and the pollutants re­leased into the environment).

PLEASE NOTE: Bakeouts are good only for the purpose given above. They are not a "cure all" for everything toxic in a house. They are not intended for carpets or particleboard cabinets, for example. DO NOT EXPECT A BAKEOUT TO MAKE A NEW HOME MADE OF TOXIC MATERIALS SAFE.

To speed up the curing process, you can do what is com¬monly called a “bake-out.” In, my experience, it has been a cure-all for many toxic homes, as it bakes off the volatile gasses that are present in materials and finishes and cures the materials into an inert form.
The procedure I recommend is this:

1. Close all the doors and windows.

2. Remove people, pets, and plants.

3. Turn up the central heat as far as it will go (or use space heaters).

4. At the end of each twenty-four-hour period, open the doors and windows and air your home out com¬pletely. Use a fan if necessary.

5. Sniff around to check for odors. Determine if they are gone, or if you need another day of baking.

Baking can take from one to five days. I’ve never needed to do it longer than five days.