How to wash mounting foam from hands?

Many home works related to construction or repair are due to the mandatory use of mounting foam. Without this composition, neither windows nor doors can be installed, the balcony cannot be insulated, and pipes cannot be laid. It is famous both for its adhesive properties and the ability to quickly dry out and eat into clothes, skin, surfaces in the apartment.

A person who does not understand repair issues and took a sealant for work for the first time will most likely fall into his hands. Working with polyurethane foam without gloves and not getting dirty is very difficult. Even if a person has taken all precautions, there is a chance that a couple of drops of sealant will be on uncovered areas of the skin.

Mounting foam is a type of sealant that contains polyurethane. It is produced in the form of an aerosol and is used in almost every type of construction and repair work. In the hardened form, such a composition becomes a solid polyurethane foam. The cylinder contains a mixture consisting of a liquid prepolymer and a propellant gas - a propellant. Due to the presence of this gas in it, the foam comes out from there. Solidification occurs through interaction with moisture, both located on the surface and contained in the air of the room. Accordingly, the drier the air in the room, the longer the composition will harden. You can speed up this process by spraying the foam with water from a spray bottle.

As a rule, hard foam is almost white, with a slight yellow tinge. However, if ultraviolet rays hit it, it turns yellow and loses its connecting properties. The weight of the composition is very small. In addition, the mounting sealant is not moisture resistant. The adhesive properties are very high - the composition does not “work” on Teflon, polyethylene, silicone, polypropylene.

When working with polyurethane foam, it is necessary to take into account its properties such as primary and secondary expansion. Primary is the expansion that occurs with the sealant immediately after it leaves the cylinder. Secondary - until the composition completely hardens. It can vary from 15 to 100%. In the case when the percentage of secondary expansion is high, it is necessary to apply the foam very economically in those places where there is a possibility of its strong swelling and due to this deformation of the surface.

Cracks and cracks are filled with polyurethane foam for heat, hydro and sound insulation. In addition, pieces of building materials are fastened with it. Previously, cement or tow was used for these purposes, but this took a lot of time and effort, while the quality of adhesion of materials to each other sometimes left much to be desired.

At present, when a large number of new, natural and artificial materials have appeared, a better, faster and easier-to-use means for fastening them together is required. To work with mounting foam, no preparation is needed, and there is no need to use additional devices and tools - it is enough to purchase a cylinder, study the instructions for using the material, and you can begin construction or repair work.

In order for the foam to harden properly and not lose its properties, you must follow the rules for working with it:

• The temperature should be in the range from +5 to +30 C.
• Coincidence of the primary and secondary expansion of the foam with the size of the hole to be sealed. If it is less than 1 cm, then it is better to use putty.
• Before starting work, the place where they will be produced is sprayed with water - so the foam will harden better.
• Shaking the cylinder should be done for at least a minute so that all the contents turn into a homogeneous mass and mix well.
• After applying the foam, it must again be sprayed with water.
• Add sealant in case it seems that it is applied a little, it is necessary not earlier than in half an hour.

Of course, when working with this type of hermetic mixture, it is best to use thick rubber gloves and wear work clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty and throwing away in case of an unusual situation. But even then, there is a chance that drops of sealant will get on the skin. In this case, the foam closes the air, which can cause serious allergic reactions. Therefore, it must be washed quickly and painlessly, without damaging the skin.

Some experts recommend lubricating the skin with vegetable oil or petroleum jelly to prevent the hermetic composition from sticking to the hands. However, this is not very convenient. In addition, at the end of the work, washing everything that is touched by greasy palms is also problematic. Therefore, this advice is not widely used among those who know a little about repair and construction work.

It is much more difficult to remove mounting foam from the skin than from clothes or surfaces in the apartment. Therefore, you need to protect yourself as much as possible from the likelihood of such situations.

Mounting foam can be both fresh and hardened. The easiest way is to purchase a special cleaner for it when buying a sealant. It is usually also an aerosol.

If the sealant gets on your clothes, you must first remove the foam cap so that it does not soak into the fabric. This can be done with a knife or spatula. Soak a piece of clean rag with a cleaner and blot the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe fabric on which the foam has fallen. We must act quickly. After that, you need to immediately wash the clothes using a large amount of washing powder.

If for some reason a person did not have a cleaner, then gasoline, white spirit, or even nail polish remover with acetone is suitable for this purpose. But here great care will already be required so as not to harm the fabric, since all of the listed substances contain elements that can change its color. It is best to first try to clean a small area of ​​​​the material to make sure that the composition will not harm it.

There are formulations suitable for cleaning both fabrics and surfaces. They are usually purchased at a building materials store.

• For example, Orbafoam Eliminator. Available in the form of a spray, it removes dried and old stains. But it should not be sprayed on plastic, painted or polished surfaces.
• Pu Remover. It is a paste that also copes well with hardened foam. The composition does not smell, a brush and a spatula are sold with it - they can clean surfaces made of aluminum and all artificial materials. Porous surfaces can be damaged with a spatula, as well as bronze, zinc or copper.

As soon as the composition has got on your hands, you should immediately try to clean it off, preventing it from drying out. To do this, you need to take a clean napkin or rag and move the foam from all sides to the center. After that, you need to pick up the whole lump at once. Smearing is not recommended under any circumstances. After that, hands should be washed thoroughly.

In addition, traces of the hermetic composition can be wiped off the hands with such means as acetone, kerosene, salt and scrub.

Sealant can be both fresh and dried. Fresh foam can be removed with a special solvent. In addition, in order to independently wash the hermetic composition of the house, there are several more ways:

• With the help of medical alcohol with a concentration of 3%.Soak a cotton ball in it, then gently wipe your hands: for the most part, those areas that the foam has hit. This method is ineffective if the composition has already begun to be absorbed and dry out.
• Using acetone, including nail polish remover. First you need to very carefully and slowly remove the foam with a cotton pad soaked in it, and then thoroughly wash your hands with warm water and soap.
• In a similar way, traces of foam can be washed off with kerosene. Like acetone, it is better to use it outdoors, since both liquids have a specific pungent odor.

• In order to remove the foam from the skin of the hands, you can use warm vegetable oil. This tool will help in a few minutes to destroy all traces of sealant on your hands.
• A handful of rock salt can also clean your hands. To do this, rub them thoroughly, then rinse in running water. You may need to repeat the procedure.
• To remove the mounting foam, you can use a hand (or foot) scrub with large abrasive particles. You can also try coffee pomace, for example, from a coffee machine. You need to massage your hands with it for 1-2 minutes, then rinse with plenty of warm water.
• You can improve the previous method by adding liquid soap or household shavings instead of salt - this method helps when washing fresh stains.
• The drug "Dimexide" also cleans hermetic mixtures well. But since it is perfectly absorbed into the skin and has a considerable number of side effects, it is necessary to act with great care. If there are allergic reactions to the components of the drug, then it should never be used. And for cleaning walls, furniture, floors, it is perfect.

Solvents do not take hardened mounting foam - this is mentioned in each instruction for use. In this case, only mechanical action is suitable - you can use a pumice stone, a hard brush or soft sandpaper. In this case, it is better to protect your hands with a greasy cream, otherwise you can scratch the skin badly. You need to apply a large amount of soap on a brush or pumice stone, and then start scrubbing, but not very hard, avoiding damage to the skin. Periodically, the cream layer should be renewed (better when it contains aloe) so that the skin does not remain unprotected.

To speed up the cleansing process, you can gently scrape the skin with your nails. But this method is unpleasant and requires a lot of patience.

If the sealant has dried on the clothes, most likely, it needs to be “written off” to the working category. Erase traces of foam without damaging the fabric will not work. You can try scrubbing it off with a caulk cleaner, trying to apply it only to the stains with a cotton pad or swab.

You can also come across such a recommendation: put soiled clothes in the freezer, and then try to clean it. Perhaps a principle suitable for plasticine and chewing gum will work, and pieces of sealant will move away from the frozen fabric.

In addition, small drops of sealing material can be removed with a needle or nail scissors, and a cuticle cutter is best, as it has sharper and thinner blades. It is necessary to very carefully pick up the base of the drop and no less carefully detach it from the tissue fibers.

If all the methods proposed above did not give a positive result and it was not possible to clean the foam from the hands, there is no need to despair, because after 2-3 days the remnants of the material will leave the skin themselves, as the epidermis is constantly updated.

In no case should acids and alkalis (Domestos, Whiteness, acetic acid, bleaches) be used to remove traces of this kind. They will not cope with the sealant, since neither acid nor alkali dissolves it. But the skin can be easily burned and then for a long time to eliminate the consequences of this burn.

Be sure to wear work clothes or one that is no longer in use, cover your hair with a scarf, hat or other headgear that allows you to tightly cover the entire scalp. Wear thick rubber gloves on your hands. These measures minimize the possibility of contact with mounting foam on exposed skin.

You can invite a partner (especially if the work is large-scale) so that there is a chance to quickly react if something goes wrong.

In the event that the mounting foam gets on clothes, skin or the surface of the floor, wall or ceiling, you need to act as quickly as possible, preventing the composition from absorbing and drying. In this case, it is highly likely that all work will be completed without unpleasant incidents.

For information on how to remove mounting foam from your hands, see the following video.