How toluene harms you and how to avoid it

Toluene is a solvent that can be found in wall paints or paraffin, for example. Toluene itself and inhaling the fumes can be harmful. Learn how to avoid toluene here.

Toluene is a colourless, volatile liquid with a characteristic odor and an important solvent. Because of its chemical structure, toluene is very similar to benzene. However, benzene is far more toxic and harmful to health than toluene, which is why toluene has now replaced the solvent benzene in most cases.

Nevertheless, you should not underestimate toluene, because this substance can also be harmful to your health. If you inhale the fumes from toluene, in the worst case it can lead to loss of consciousness to lead. However, the dose makes the poison and serious damage to health occurs, especially if you come into contact with large amounts of toluene for a long time. Nevertheless, caution should be exercised with this substance. Other symptoms that can be triggered by toluene are tiredness, general malaise or impaired movement coordination.

In addition to inhaling the fumes, you can ingest toluene through your skin. It is best to avoid contact with toluene altogether. If this is not possible, make sure you wear appropriate protective gear to minimize exposure to toluene. This can be the case, for example, if you paint with a wall paint containing toluene.

Toluene: It can be in here

It is not always easy to recognize toluene, as the substance has a wide range of uses. You will mainly find toluene as a solvent in paints, varnishes or gasoline. If you need petrol to fill up, inhaling the solvent cannot be completely avoided. However, you could avoid this source of toluene by not driving for doable routes. So you don’t have to fill up as much, which is not only more environmentally friendly, but also saves money and is good for your health.

When it comes to paints and varnishes, you are more likely to be able to do without toluene as an ingredient. These include, among other things:

• wall colors
• clean
• facade colors

Buy ecological wall paints or varnishes without harmful substances and, if in doubt, get advice from the respective specialist staff.

In addition to the usual paints and varnishes, toluene is often contained in other products:

• furniture care products
• adhesive
• solvents in rubber
• Aviation fuel (kerosene)
• Paraffin based candles
• Nail polishes produced outside the EU (Toluene is no longer allowed to be used as an ingredient in nail polishes in the EU.)

Toluene is also used as a starting material for chemical synthesis, which in turn produces another substance. In this case, this means that it is difficult for you to recognize toluene, since another substance with a different name was synthesized from toluene.

Toluene will too methylbenzene called, which is why it may be that the ingredients are not toluene but methylbenzene. So pay attention to both when you buy products. Also read our guide INCI: How to read the “ingredients” list of cosmetics correctly – a guide.

Toluene: This is how you can avoid the toxic substance

candles

With candles, it is quite easy to switch to variants without toluene. Paraffin-based candles not only contain the harmful toluene, but are also harmful to the environment because paraffin is made of oil is won. It is better to buy candles made from beeswax or vegetable oils. You can orientate yourself on our Candle Guide.

Paints and varnishes

With other products, such as wall paints, it gets a little more complicated. In some paints that do not contain toluene, for example, methylcyclohexane is used instead. However, this substance is also not good for your health. Other alternatives used in conventional paints are for example iso-octane or n-heptane and n-octane. All three are paraffins, which are obtained from petroleum.

Although these cases no longer contain toluene, they are often not better alternatives. So when buying paints and varnishes, pay attention to trustworthy ecological seals and that no so-called “aromatics” (to which toluene belongs) are included. Also read our guide Wall colors white, gray or colorful: ecological suppliers without pollutants and/or ask your specialist dealer.

Furniture care, glue and more

For all other products from the list above, such as furniture care products or adhesives, you should also take a look at the ingredients to avoid toluene. You can be absolutely sure that there are no harmful substances in the product if you Simply do your own furniture polish. in the Eco test of glues you can orientate yourself in order to buy glue that is as pollution-free as possible. You can Make craft glue yourself.

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• Cleaning carpets: home remedies instead of chemicals
• Decolorizing laundry: This is how it works without using chemicals