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Are you going to glue a broken mug? Take your time, most modern adhesives are hazardous to health.
It’s no secret that many of the building materials are potentially hazardous to health. And not because they were produced in violation of the manufacturing technology, but because during operation they emit volatile chemicals that adversely affect human well-being.
Synthetic glue
So, many paints and varnishes, removers for various purposes are considered harmful to health … as well as most modern adhesives.
All adhesives are divided into:
- organic (vegetable and animal origin, such as starch paste or wood glue)
- inorganic (silicate adhesives)
- synthetic (PVA, BF, “Moment”, “Superglue”, epoxy glue and others)
Superglue: especially dangerous
The latter among all adhesives are the most dangerous. They contain solvents such as acetone, phenol, dichloroethane, gasoline, etc., which, when glued together, are released into the environment, which, of course, is unacceptable if there is a small child in the house.
Caution: epoxy adhesive!
Epoxy adhesives are considered the most unfavorable in terms of the environment – they can be easily recognized by the packaging containing two tubes, the contents of which must be mixed before use. Epoxy adhesives can cause contact skin diseases (therefore, you need to work with them with gloves), and also adversely affect the nervous system and liver, irritate the mucous membrane of the eyes and respiratory tract. In a house where small children live, as well as people suffering from allergic diseases, obstructive bronchitis and bronchial asthma, it is better not to use them.
PVA: safe for repairs and children’s art
The only recognized safe glue from the group of synthetic adhesives is PVA. It is approved for use in children’s institutions as a material for creativity from 2 years old. It does not contain toxic substances, harmless to skin, fire and explosion proof. So you can safely use it both in kindergarten and at home – and not only to make applications with your child.
The scope of PVA is very wide. They can glue (in different combinations) paper, cardboard, wood (chipboard, fiberboard, plywood), lightweight foam materials (polystyrene), etc. Therefore, this glue is indispensable and, if it is necessary to glue the bar of an old piece parquet, and for gluing a serpyanka when sealing cracks, and when laying floor coverings (linoleum, carpet). Broken seams on , cracks in unglazed porcelain, foam ceiling panels, wooden structures – for all this, PVA glue is just perfect.
Organic glue: old-fashioned but harmless
Organic adhesives are also safe to use. But there is so much trouble with them that such adhesives are slowly becoming a thing of the past. Although our mothers and grandmothers still remember how they took blocks of wood glue, grinded them, brewed them in water and glued what they needed with this liquid composition, even with the modern development of technology, they will not want to repeat this process again.
Firstly, it takes a long time to prepare such adhesives (the aforementioned wood glue, not only does it take 2 hours for preparatory work, it also smells very unpleasant). And, secondly, such glues stick together for too long – sometimes for 3–7 days! In our age of crazy speeds, the “luxury” of such a long wait, few people can afford. Everyone wants to take a ready-made composition from the shelf and achieve a result in a second. Therefore, of all adhesives of organic origin, only carboxymethyl cellulose can now be found on sale – absolutely harmless … It is this glue that you need to use when starting a repair – it is non-toxic, safe and so environmentally friendly that it is even marked with a special green icon on the packaging.
Silicate adhesive: not for repair
As for the adhesives of the second group – silicate – they, although harmless, have shown themselves far from the best side. Being aqueous solutions of sodium metasilicate, as salts of a strong base and a weak acid, they hydrolyze and have a fairly strong alkaline reaction. The alkali eats away at what was glued together. Therefore, paper, for example, quickly turns yellow and becomes fragile over time. Due to these features, silicate adhesives it is better not to apply.