Allergies, Bad Fabric, or OC703?

Bassole · Post by **Bassole** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 2:40 pm

I built my own bass traps, 2'x4'x4" wood framed OC703 wrapped in Guilford of Maine Fabric. I initially used Burlap, but the smell was so strong once I'd put up the five bass traps that I decided to go with the Guilford of Maine. Once I got the Guilford fabric wrapped up and installed the bass traps I noticed that I started getting a soar throat when sitting in the room for a while. It also had a bit of a strong smell to it. After about a week I had developed a sinus infection and got pretty sick with fever for a day.
I removed the bass traps from the room and to the garage, and immediately noticed no stuffy nose, no sore throat, etc. When I get around the traps again, I start to get the same symptoms. I do have alllegies to molds, pollens, an dust, but I don't know if my reaction was to the Guilford or possibly to OC703 fibers that got loose (??). Has anyone ever noticed other people complain of having these reactions to Guilford of Maine fabric or to OC703 ? Did I get Guilford material cut from a roll that was sitting around too long in a dusty humid warehouse? The OC703 has the foil facing on the side facing the room, so I don't know if OC703 dust may be causing the problem? Is OC703 dust small enough to break free from the openings in the Guilford material? I couldn't see any dust in the air or on any furniture after having the bass traps in the room for a couple of weeks, unless the OC703 dust is so fine that you can't see it? Do any of these materials emit noxious fumes when you put a lot of it in a small 12x12x8 room. I think I had around 16 yards of Guilford material.
The small square Guilford samples that I was sent initially to check colors did not smell at all. And I don't have a reaction to it, so I'm guessing I got a bad batch of the stuff. I will call Guilford (Interface Fabrics) to see if they will send me new material if I return to them my current material. I'll just put the new fabric only in the room at first to see if it is the culprit. I just wanted to get peoples' opinions or suggestions as to anything else I might need to consider. I would appreciate your input.

Thanks.

Post by **kendale** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 5:53 pm

Aloha Bassole,

Sorry to hear about your reaction to your bass traps.

I recently did a soffit/absorber unit filled with Rockwool and covered with Guilford of Maine fabric as well. During the initial install I did notice a little irritation, but that has since passed. It did help to wear one of those paper dust masks. The Guilford of Maine fabric had a smell to it as well, but has since pretty much dissipated.

If you ever decide to redo/replace your traps you might want to check out an install that used the rockwool products to see if you fare any better. I've also read of installs using weed cloth or muslin fabrics, depending on the project at hand. Actual milage may vary.

Get well, be safe, live long and prosper.

Aloha

len-morgan · Post by **len-morgan** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 8:41 am

Is it possible that the fabric you used has a flame retardant coating that the samples didn't have?

As an experiment, if you have any of the fabric left, carry around a piece of it (or sniff it) and see if you get a reaction. If you do, but don't with a similar sized swatch patch, you might have found the culprit. Did you by any chance wash the fabric before you used it?

len

Bassole · Post by **Bassole** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:42 am

Yeah, I tried that this Saturday. I’ve had the bass traps in the garage now for the last week, and have been feeling fine. I had some remnants that I bought back into the room, and I just took a few sniffs of the stuff, and it still had the smell to it versus the swatches. By Sunday afternoon and even up to last night, my sinuses behind my cheeks and in my head feel a little swollen, I’m spitting up a really yellow flem (not as much as when I got really sick), and I had a bit of ringing in the ears on Monday morning. I think this is how it started when I first put the bass traps in, then the soar throat, and infection, etc, etc. Whatever it is, it is pretty aggressive. Not sure if it is the fire retardant, but I would think the swatches had this protection too, no? It’s difficult to describe the odor; kind of like what you smell when you put a lot of older fabrics in a small room.

I’ve sent an email to the Interface fabrics rep in my area (out of Gainesville), and hopefully they will be able to help.

Thanks.

len-morgan · Post by **len-morgan** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 5:10 am

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the swatches did NOT have the flameproofing coating. Why would they bother? The fire retardant is usually added AFTER the fabric is woven so they can sell with and without retardant versions.

len

Post by **Aaronw** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 6:29 am

I can't remember, but perhaps formaldyhide is in the 703? Could it be causing the issue?

mike0370 · Post by **mike0370** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 11:21 am

Hello,

Yes, i had basically the same reaction to 703 wrapped in muslin.

I switched to cotton from www.sensiblesoundsolutions.com . Seems to be

alot less irritant, no formaldehyde, just boric acid as an antifungal.

However one thing I would recomend is to wash your fabric before making

traps out of it, I did it, and it worked out cool for me

.

JayH · Post by **JayH** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 2:47 am

Hi,
I have similar concerns about formaldehyde. Rep at Guilford of Maine told me that their product is not fire retardent and is "pure polyester". They are sending me some data today hopefully, to show whether there is any formaldehyde present.
Owens Corning says that 703 does contain traces of Formaldehyde but "by weight it's less than .01%". They say that the proper agencies have approved it'd safety (like everything else). I intend to wrap 703 in plastic when I use it and seal it well. Hopefully this will not affect it's performance....but better the 703 than me. Hope this is helpful.

len-morgan · Post by **len-morgan** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 4:59 am

I'm pretty sure that if you wrap the 703 (or any other insulation) in plastic, you just destroyed any usefulness. If air can penetrate it, I don't think sound can either.

As to Corning's statement that there is less than ".01%" formaldihyde, it should be noted that .01% of anthrax would wipe out most major cities. I don't know if .01% is a lot or not.

The last thing I'd note is that with all of the studio builds here and room treatments here and other places on the 'net using 703, I think we would have heard something if this was a major health problem to any one but those that are hypersensitive or alergic to it.

len

JayH · Post by **JayH** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 6:52 am

I agree that .01% is a suspect number. But I'm confused as to what effect plastic would have. I think you are suggesting that if air can't get through than sound can't either and I don't believe that is completely accurate . Hopefully just the high frequencies are reflected and plastic will not ruin the performance in the low frequencies.

As far as the pervasive use of products containing formaldehyde or similar products, they are everywhere: plywood, rugs, magic markers.. The effects are perhaps subtle and slow but it's becoming more obvious that it's unhealthy.

Bassole · Post by **Bassole** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 5:10 am

I spoke with one of the safety directors at Owens Corning concerning my whole issue with OC703/Guilford Of Maine basstraps. He informed me that the Formaldehyde is present in the binding, but is not released into the air as a gas unless the fiberglass sees extreme temperatures (the MSDS for 700 Series fiberglass says the same). They’ve not had issues at the plant with Formaldehyde, and it seems that other people who do DIY bass traps haven’t had issue with it either. I’m pretty sure that fiberglass dust wasn’t escaping from the Guilford of Maine fabric either, unless the dust is so small you can’t see it. All of this greatly reduces the likelihood that OC703 was a potential source of my reaction.

Later, I did another experiment with the Guilford Of Maine fabric, where I kept all of the swatches I was sent on my desk. From time to time I would pick up a swatch and take a quick sniff. A few days later and I felt that it wasn’t bothering me at all. Again, I went to the garage where I had some leftover scraps of the Guilford Of Maine fabric I ordered, took a whiff and bam!, my face starts to get irritated, and my sinuses hurt. I’m certain there is something wrong with the Guilford Of Maine fabric I was sent. It smells different from the swatches, so maybe it has possibly picked up mold or something (which I’m allergic to along with Pollens, and weeds). I left the Interface Fabrics (parent company of GOM) rep an email and voicemail, but I’ve yet to hear back from her. Hopefully, I can get this resolved by just having Guilford send me new fabric to try out, and if that doesn’t work then I’ll just buy basic Muslin from the local fabric shop and reupholster the bass traps (maybe even include some of that painter’s plastic to keep any potential fiberglass fibers from escaping).

Thanks for everyone’s input so far.

JayH · Post by **JayH** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 6:17 am

For what it's worth, I just got some Guilford fabric and it feels and smells exactly like the sample swatch of the same color.