Found out at the hardware store that you shouldn't use pressure treated lumber for indoor shelving

I was grabbing some 2x4s for basement shelves and the guy at Lowe's in Omaha told me the chemicals in pressure treated wood can off-gas indoors, which I had zero clue about after 10 years of random projects, has anyone else been using the wrong wood for stuff like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

gray3144d ago

Doubt it's really worth worrying about, the off-gassing from pressure treated lumber is mostly an issue if you're sanding it or keeping it in a sealed space for years. Basement shelves are probably fine since that area usually has some airflow going on. I've used it for garage shelving for ages and never noticed anything weird.

colegarcia4d ago

I saw a video where a guy tested it with an air quality monitor and it was basically nothing after a few months.

smith.lee4d ago

Gray said it, basement airflow makes it a non-issue really.