After staining a deck, it's important to deal with those rags appropriately to minimize fire hazard.Spontaneous combustion seems almost magical -- the idea that materials can burst into flame without any outside help. Yet it's real, and it causes plenty of house fires: for instance, a recent blaze that caused an estimated $170,000 damage to a Lake Oswego home.
The cause: oily rags stored in the attached garage. In the wee hours of the night, the rags spontaneously flamed up, and the fire spread to the garage.
So here's a helpful tip from Battalion Chief David Morris, Lake Oswego Fire Department spokesman, who warned that rags soaked in petroleum products or solvents can undergo a chemical reaction if crammed together -- in a garbage can, for instance -- and burst into flame on their own. His advice:
"If you stain your deck, remember to dispose of the rags in a sealed metal container or spread them out so they can dry," Morris said. "It's when they're jammed together that they can catch on fire."
Some experts also recommend putting water in the can with the rags. The can should be taken to a hazardous waste depot, not placed in the ordinary household trash collection bin.
A few people do wash and reuse the rags, but they generally use a bucket rather than a washing machine, and they avoid the dryer because it poses a fire risk.
The prevailing view is that reusing oily rags is the opposite of a green practice because it gets those chemicals into the wastewater; and washing is not very effective anyway. Rags are cheap or free, so why take a chance? We're inclined to agree.
-- Homes & Gardens staff
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