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Oils, solvents and rags: working safely

Finishing wood is safe work on four conditions: oily rags soaked in water or dried flat outdoors, solvents used with the window open and away from any flame, the right products for anything that touches the mouth, and a closed cupboard. A rag soaked in Danish Oil, Durax Teak Oil or Wood Finishing Oil and bundled up can ignite spontaneously. Cellulose Thinners, Earth Stain Thinners, Light Fast thinners and alcohol call for air, gloves and no naked flame. For the chopping board and the toy, Food Safe Oil, Pure Tung Oil and Acrylic Sealer, which complies with EN 71. Every product's safety data sheet is on its page.

Page updated September 2026 · by the Mylands France woodcare specialists

Why this page

Four rules, and the rest follows

Woodcare products are trade materials: oils that dry by oxidising, solvents that evaporate, waxes, water-based lacquers. None is dangerous once you know what it does; all of them ask that you know. Accidents with finished wood are always the same, and always avoidable: the oily rag left in a bundle, the solvent used with the door shut, the workshop product on a chopping board, the open tin within a child's reach.

Every Mylands product has its safety data sheet, downloadable from its page and gathered in the safety data sheets: that is the authority on composition, storage and first aid. This page gives the common-sense moves, family by family.

Solvent · Cellulose Thinners Oil · Wood Finishing Oil Food contact · Food Safe Oil Toys, EN 71 · Acrylic Sealer

Four moves

The four safety moves

1. The rag rule

A rag soaked in oil — Danish Oil, Durax Teak Oil, Wood Finishing Oil, Boiled Linseed Oil — heats up as it dries; bundled in a bin, it can ignite spontaneously. As soon as the work is done, soak it in a bucket of water or spread it flat outdoors, on the gravel, until it is dry and stiff. Never in a heap, never in a pocket.

Oil · Danish Oil Oil · Durax Teak Oil Oil · Wood Finishing Oil

2. The ventilated room

A workshop with the window open, a Light Fast Stain wiped onto a panel with a cloth, the bottle of Cellulose Thinners closed beside it. Solvents — Cellulose Thinners, Earth Stain Thinners, Light Fast thinners, the alcohol of French polishing — evaporate fast: air, gloves, no flame or cigarette, and the cap goes back on between uses.

Solvent · Cellulose Thinners Spirit stain · Light Fast Stain Walnut Thinners · Earth Stain Thinners

3. The food-safe corner

A beech chopping board, a turned bowl and a wooden toy on a worktop, with the only products that suit them: Food Safe Oil, tasteless and odourless, for anything that touches food; Pure Tung Oil, natural, for bowls, boards and toys; Acrylic Sealer, water-based and EN 71 compliant, for toys. Nothing else from the workshop goes into the children's kitchen.

Board · Food Safe Oil Bowl, toy · Pure Tung Oil Toy, EN 71 · Acrylic Sealer

4. The closed cupboard

A high workshop cabinet, closed, its tins labelled and lids tight: Wax and Polish Remover, the thinners, Mylac Extra and its hardener. Out of children's reach, away from frost and heat, away from any heat source. A tin closed properly keeps; a tin left ajar skins over, evaporates or dries out.

Remover · Wax and Polish Remover Two-pack · Mylac Extra Matt Thinners · Earth Stain Thinners

Family by family

What each family asks of you

The base of the product dictates the precaution. Water-based products ask little; oils ask for the rag rule; solvents ask for air.

Family	Base	Ventilation and rags	Food contact
Oils: Danish, Durax Teak, Wood Finishing, Boiled Linseed, Citrus	Drying oils	Ventilate; rags soaked in water or dried flat outdoors	No, except the two below
Food Safe Oil, Pure Tung Oil	Drying oils, tasteless and odourless	Same rag rule	Yes: boards, bowls, toys
Hard Wax Oil	Oil and wax	Ventilate; treat rags as you would oil rags	No; safe for family environments
Stains: Light Fast, Nitrostain, Earth Stain	Solvents (spirit, solvent blend, Earth Stain thinners)	Ventilate well, gloves, no flame; dries in 10 to 15 minutes	No
Water Stain	Water	Little odour; ventilate as a matter of course	No
Mylac, Mylac Extra, Quick Dry Varnish, Acrylic Sealer	Water	Low odour; ventilate, cool dry room	Acrylic Sealer: toys, EN 71
Shellac polishes, Friction Polish	Alcohol	Ventilate, no flame; warm dry workshop	No
Waxes	Beeswax and carnauba, toluene-free	Ventilate; dry rags carry no particular risk	No

Cellulose Thinners, Earth Stain Thinners and Light Fast thinners: pure solvents — air, gloves, cap closed, no flame at all. Melamine Lacquer and Cellulose Sanding Sealer are thinned with Cellulose Thinners and follow the same rules.

Storing, disposing

The tin, the dregs and the rag

Storing. Lid tight, tin upright, label legible, out of reach of children and animals, away from frost and strong heat. Oils and shellacs dislike the cold, water-based lacquers do not survive freezing: a frost-free workshop cupboard beats a garage in winter. Mylac Extra mixed with its hardener has a pot life of about 2 hours: mix only what you are about to lay.

Disposing. Nothing goes down the sink or the toilet: no solvent dregs, no stain rinsing water, no oil. Leftover product and part-used tins go to the household waste site, in the paints and solvents stream; an empty, dry tin follows the local collection. Oily rags, once dry and stiff, go out with the rubbish; wet with oil, never.

Protecting yourself. Gloves for solvents, stains and remover; goggles when pouring; a cartridge mask if you spray a lacquer or a stain. And water: a tap within reach for hands and eyes.

Never

The five forbidden moves

The oily rag in a bundle. In a bin, a pocket or a pile of sawdust: it can catch fire on its own, hours later. Water or flat drying.
Solvent near a flame. Boiler, stove, cigarette, angle grinder: the vapours of Cellulose Thinners, alcohol or thinners ignite at a distance.
Workshop oil on anything that touches the mouth. A chopping board, a bowl, a toy take only Food Safe Oil, Pure Tung Oil or Acrylic Sealer.
The open tin at a child's height. Stains, thinners, remover: they smell pleasant or of nothing, and that is the problem.
The dregs down the sink. No solvent, no oil, no rinsing water: the household waste site.

Frequently asked

Your questions, our answers

Can an oily rag really catch fire on its own?

Yes. Drying oils — Danish Oil, Durax Teak Oil, Wood Finishing Oil, Boiled Linseed Oil, Food Safe Oil, Pure Tung Oil — dry by oxidising, and that reaction gives off heat. In a bundled rag the heat cannot escape and can reach ignition point. Soak the rag in water or spread it flat outdoors until it is dry and stiff.

Which products in the range are water-based?

Mylac and Mylac Extra, Quick Dry Varnish Kitchen and Bathroom, Acrylic Sealer and the Water Stains. They have little odour and clean up with water, which does not excuse you from ventilating; the lacquers also need a cool, dry room so they do not bloom.

What can I put on a chopping board or a toy?

Food Safe Oil, tasteless and odourless, made for boards, butcher's blocks and bowls; Pure Tung Oil, natural and non-toxic, for bowls, boards, worktops and toys; Acrylic Sealer, water-based and compliant with EN 71 for toys. Nothing else. The method is in How to oil a wooden worktop.

Where do I find a product's safety data sheet?

On each product's page, and gathered in the safety data sheets. It is the reference document for composition, storage, protective equipment and first aid; this page is only the common-sense summary.

What do I do with the dregs of Cellulose Thinners or a part-used tin of oil?

A tin closed properly keeps, upright and frost-free, for the next job. Leftovers you will not keep go to the household waste site, in the paints and solvents stream, never down the sink. Cellulose Thinners used for cleaning brushes settles in a closed jar and can be reused for the first rinse.