Because of the waxes in many Thompson's products, you'll have to remove it ALL, to have any chance of subsequent products holding!!! >>> That means SANDING IT ALL OUT. On my 15 y/o Construction-Heart Redwood deck (can't even buy that stuff anymore!!) I've sanded my floor twice, & removed/sanded my steps 3 times. Just got done with a "Step-renewal" because I discovered some dry-rot on a stringer. Soooo...off came the steps, had a new stringer cut, etc..... Used a wood-petrifier on the tops of the other stringers just to be safe. Sanded the inside of the existing 2x12 Redwood skirt-board too. Final result?! "New AGAIN" steps! Bottom-line.... * Going from solid to S/T means sanding-out ALL previous product. I went thru more than 2 sheets of paper LOL!! * On a sanded surface, all previous degraded wood is now GONE. * Subsequent S/T stains will now penetrate and look the same....EVERYWHERE. * Start with a few backer-pads, and 40-grit sanding sheets. * Final passes with 60-grit. * Sweep off dust periodically as you go, vacuum with Shop-Vac bristle-tip, then wipe all wood down with paint-thinner rags, and toss in a water-bucket. * Now your woods' back to NEW again, and your S/T stain will look GORGEOUS. (I'm getting good at this kind of rehab, and I recommend it to our stores' clients if their deck meets certain criteria....age, wear, etc.) Faron

Sasha had her surgery today. Actually, surgeries. Our vet is such a great guy and a fantastic doctor. We think the world of him. He discovered that Sasha had a smallish abdominal hernia while doing her pre-op this morning . . . and that she had never been microchipped! So, my poor little furkid was spayed, had her teeth cleaned, had her hernia repaired, had her nails cut and was microchipped this morning. I'd hoped to be able to bring her back home here this evening, but because of the added hernia repair they need to keep her overnight. I miss my little snuggle bug already! I did talk to him about her tear stains, though. He said that the reason she has them is that, because of her pushed-in Tibetan Spaniel face bone structure, their tear ducts don't empty correctly. The overflow from their eyes causes the dark staining. It's common with a number of breeds, although he didn't say if this is an issue only with smushed face breeds like Sasha and I didn't ask for clarification. He said that antibiotic eye drops would work, but it's possible for her to then build up an immunity to them, causing a dilemma if she really needed those eye drops for a real problem sometime in the future. Instead, he recommended me to use Tibbrix's suggestion. A mix of peroxide and baking soda, stroked on with a cotton swab and then carefully wiped off. Thanks, Tibbie! Lynn P.S. It was so sweet. Sasha took her little teddy bear along with us this morning when I drove us to the vet. They let her keep it with her while she's there, to snuggle with. This post was edited by LynninNM on Tue, Jan 27, 15 at 18:42

Ten days ago we had new carpet we bought at Home Depot installed. It is from their Queen line and manufactured by Shaw which we just found out today. We have a 2-story house, 4 bedrooms upstairs, hallway, and downstairs we carpeted the dining room. Rest of downstairs is laminate. Well, since installation which took 2 days, the horrible smell and off gassing hasn't stopped or diminished. I have five 20" box fans in the windows reversed to push air out and the windows open to get cross ventilation. It is the end of Oct. and it is getting cold now here in Oregon and keeping all the windows open is not an option. My wife has a hyper sense of smell caused by Eosinophilic asthma which is a rare asthma. She is having a hard time with the smell and coughing more. I am starting to feel it as well and we both have red eyes. I got a hold of the person at Home Depot who is first in line to bring complaints to. He came to the house quickly, and I took him around and he too said the smell was very strong and he would look into it. He called the next day and told me it was either Shaw or Mohawk carpet and he was trying to get in contact with the vendors. Well, I had written an honest review about the carpet on the Home Depot site of the particular carpet we bought. I got a reply from the manufacturer, Shaw who did express concern and gave me a number to call and talk to someone. I called and spoke to a nice Shaw Rep. who listened to me and my complaints about the carpet smell. She told me that it has R2X as their stain resistance material and that their VOC's in the carpet were not toxic. Aside from that, I still said something was wrong with the carpet, it has such an intense stinking smell that is not going away. The installer even said it had a stronger smell than most carpets he installs. I am 72 yrs. old and have had homes with new carpet and have never smelled anything like this. Something is wrong with the carpet I told the Shaw Rep, probably something in the treatment process. Who knows, machinery failure, employee error, but something is wrong with this carpet to "Stink" and not diminish any off gassing whatsoever. The carpet color is almost white which is what we wanted, maybe they gave it an "extra shot" of stain resistance because it is white? I gave her the phone number of the Home Depot person who is supposed to be helping us and I am going to start pushing buttons tomorrow. I have the top-of-the-line Bissel carpet cleaner and I cleaned the master bedroom closet carpet with hot water only and put the dehumidifier in afterwards. No difference in the smell. We paid $5,200 for the carpet and I hope to get it removed and a refund. Good luck right? But, our health is more important than money and I will rip it out myself if we can't get anywhere with Home Depot or Shaw. It is a real nightmare. We are sleeping on a mattress in the living room, everything upstairs is still not arranged or put back. We are keeping our dog downstairs for her health. My wife is crying because she had put her clothes back in the closet a few days ago and now they stink like the smell, had to take them all out again & bring them downstairs. She is really having a hard time trying to deal with the smell. We were so looking forward to new carpet, instead our life is turned upside down and no idea of when or how we will get this all resolved short of removing it.

The manufacturers of all wood stain/dye/finish products include proper handling and application requirements. Some stains or dyes can cause reactions to skin/eyes/breathing----safety information is required to be included on containers. I know of no stains or dyes that are manufactured to be the final finish. All, to my knowledge, need to be covered by some kind of finish. Those finishes come in several types, oil based, water based, alcohol based or lacquer(requiring lacquer thinner as the dissolving agent). All of those types of finishes are manufactured to provide a coating over wood, stained, dyed. or natural for protection and beauty. All are applied as a liquid and all dry/cure to a hard state with varying protective properties. Shellac/lacquer finishes are susceptible to water damage, so are less desirable as dining furniture or kitchen/bath finishes. Varnish(non poly) is more moisture resistant, but can be damaged by hot cooking equipment. Polyurethane is basically a liquid plastic, very impervious to moisture , but prone to chipping when struck, especially on edges. All the above are food safe when cured/dry. And all are inert as far as allergies/skin problems when dry/cured. The off gassing(when the carrier liquid is drying---called VOC's) can cause respiratory/skin irritations---which are included in the directions for use and safety information. Oil based finishes and lacquer create the most severe VOC's when curing. Shellac(alcohol based) smells some---I regularly use it in my shop with no masks or ventilation with zero effects other than the shellac smell---which disappears in less than 20 minutes. Actually, shellac flakes(before dissolved in denatured alcohol is a natural product and the flakes are edible. The taste is not pleasant, however. I suppose a person could use vodka or whisky and make a night cap beverage. And thin shellac coatings are used on foods---how do you think M&M's don't melt in your hand, but do in your mouth. ;-)