Linseed Oil:

I saw a news segment this morning on Good Morning America about linseed oil being the most combustible and causing the most intense fires. They interviewed a firefighter who was burned in a house fire caused by rags used with linseed oil left in a box.

I learned this lesson when we built our house. We lived in the basement at the time and worked on the house evenings and weekends. It was a long process and looking back I don't see how Dwayne did it. He was working in St. Louis at the time and after a long day of work and commuting, he would go upstairs each evening to work on the house. We started in September 1987 and finished December 1988. A very long year and half!! We seldom took a day or evening off from working on the house. I (along with my two year old daughter that hung on my leg constantly)would spend the days cleaning up sawdust, nails, etc. A never ending job.

In the fall of 1988, we had most of the rooms painted and were starting in on finish work. I was finishing the patio door with artist oil paint and linseed oil. I put the linseed oil and the rags in a paper sack and set them in the room that was to be mine and Dwayne's bedroom. I went downstairs, took a shower and started supper.
About the time the boys got home from school, I smelled smoke. I asked the boys when they came in if they saw any trash burning outside. They hadn't seen anything. The smell was getting stronger and I went upstairs to look around. Horror! Our newly painted bedroom was on fire!! Luckily there was a water hose outside the bedroom window and I pulled it in and put the fire out. I couldn't believe it, I had almost burned our new home!! The fire had started with the sun shining in the window on the paper bag I had set in there with the oily rags. I was able to put the fire out but was totally devastated at the ashes and burnt pieces of paper settling around the room and the smoke damage to the walls and ceiling. I'm a cryer and I just sat outside on the porch swing and cried. Dwayne came home and asked me what I was so upset about it. Dwayne used to be (key word, was)a very patient person and seldom got mad or upset. He never got mad at me for my carelessness and said we would just have to repaint. Oh, the extra work I caused for him!!

That fire made a believer out of me on the many times I had heard through the years to make sure you clean up good after using paint/oil based stains and NEVER put the oily rags in the house. From that point on, I would take my paint/oil rags outside and pour water on them and sometimes I went so far as to bury the rags. Wasn't going to take any more chances! So, if any of you are staining/painting, be sure and take care of the rags properly or you could be the victim of a fire also.