WARNING: Linseed oil and rags..

[Joe Kieve]

I just left a friend's house who, just yesterday, left some linseed oil soaked rags in a bucket in his attached garage. They smoked up the garage and were just at the point of ignition when his wife noticed smoke in the garage. She called 911 and firefighters were able to find the problem before damage was done, mainly smoke. The biggest problem was that she is confined to a wheelchair and the only exit ramp is through the garage. Guess you know what we'll be doing pretty quick....building another ramp to the outside.

I guess I said all that to say....dispose of those oily rags properly!!!

Joe

[Keith Westfall]

Hopefully everyone will start to take this seriously! I'm so scared of that happening that I take the rags out to the garden and burn them. When you see them go up, it makes you glad that they aren't in the workshop...

[Glen Blanchard]

That is indeed scary. I primarily use single-use, disposable rags. When I have finished applying my finish, I open them up flat and hang them out of the plastic trash bin in the back yard. Once they dry out they become stiff and I lift the trash bin lid and throw them inside.

[Bob Wingard]

Simple problem ... simpler solution ... BAN THE BLO ... I won't even allow the stuff in my shop for lots of reasons ... this is just one of them.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I use it frequently and hang the rags over a piece of chain link fence outside in my backyard until dry. Then dispose of them.

[David Hostetler]

My finish rags are "Rags in a Box" and are tossed in the BBQ in the back yard, spread out to dry before either disposing of them, or burning them. I do NOT mess around with oily rags period. Their presence in my home scares me.

Going forward I am planning on a small (4'x2'') storage locker in the back yard, with NO trees, bushes or other flamables close by specifically for storage of finishing, as well as fuels, and lawn and garden chemicals. I have plenty of stuff in the house that can be downright scary and need it in a secure area to mitigate the risks.

[David Weaver]

... BAN THE BLO ...

Um....no.

The solution to misuse for adults isn't always "take it away" from everyone else.

I do like ken does with the rags, except i insted lay them out flat on cool concrete. They never even get a chance to get warm like that. I like BLO, Teak and Tung oil for different reasons. I wouldn't want to be without any of them.

[Bill Wyko]

Here's proofof what BLO can do. I started a thread about this subject about a year ago when I almost lit my shop up. There's also a case where a man was charged for murdering his family. it turned out many years later that rags soaked in BLO started the house fire. A tragic turn of events for the poor man.

[Bob Wingard]

Um....no.

The solution to misuse for adults isn't always "take it away" from everyone else.
.

I didn't really phrase that correctly ... I never intended for it to be banned from purchase ... I just think it should be voluntarily banned from most shops ... as it is from mine.

[harry hood]

My neighbor literally burned his house to the ground while taking a quick dinner break during finishing some builtins with an oil-based finish containing dryers. Oddly, he knew all about the dangers but since he was "just running around the corner to grab something to go" he didn't bother store them properly. Thankfully he's a former neighbor now.

[Van Huskey]

When I started reading the thread I was afraid it was going to go really bad because I had already seen 911 in the corner of my eye...

Glad all is well and a point we all need to keep in mind.

[Carl Beckett]

It's not just BLO

Any solvent based material will do this. Same as burning the barn down due to putting up wet hay. A house across town from me burned down due to a pile of rags leftover from polyurethane floor finish.

A pile of wood chips will self heat and ignite. Same with a pile of coal. These are all water evaporation.

Anything that is evaporating but not allowing the heat of evaporation to release will have this effect.

I lay them out open outside until dry

[glenn bradley]

As Carl says, any material that generates heat as it cures is a risk. I keep a lidded metal bucket with several inches of water in it nearby and drop the rags in there as I go along. Once I'm done I hang them to completely dry and then throw out. We think everyone knows this but, it is always good to tell everyone anyway. The one person you inform will make one less lost shop to fire.

[Prashun Patel]

I think this is almost correct. I don't believe it's the evaporation of the solvent but the polymerization/oxidation of the finish that causes the heat. Shellac is a solvent based finish, but the vapors - while flammable - won't spontaneously combust. I mean, it makes good sense to spread those rags outside too, but for different reasons.

Mineral spirits is similarly flammable to ethanol, but not spontaneously combustible as is BLO.

These threads (like tablesaw accident threads) are a good reminder to be safe. Thanks.

[Jim Matthews]

I wrap my used rags in two plastic grocery bags, squeezed tight to keep air out.
These are submerged in water. I've never had a fire, disposing of rags this way.