Who benefits from using Teak Cleaner?

I know many within the “professional” yachting industry will say ‘Here we go again health and safety poking its nose into our industry why can’t they just leave us alone?’ well, I’m sure that for those who don’t have to use the above product may say that, but lethargy and the inability of some people not to see the ‘wood for the trees’ is no excuse for not ensuring the safety of crew or Day–Workers.

Some teak cleaners are assigned as dangerous goods to one of nine classes dependant on the main danger presented. Corrosive Materials (Class 8) are liquids or solids that cause full thickness destruction of human skin at the site of contact within a specified period of time; or a liquid that has a severe corrosion rate on steel or aluminum, some teak cleaners fall into the class 8 category

In the past 2 years I have seen 4 individuals who have been injured having used various teak cleaners. They all agreed that something should be done to stop deck crews from being injured by these cleaning products.
Just recently, 2 weeks after having delivered safety information to crew, a young deck-hand approaches me and shows me the chemical burn injuries he had sustained to both his knees and arms, asking him how he received them, he told me, he’d been asked to clean the teak deck with a well known cleaning agent without foot /hand/eye protection or product information when I asked why his reply was ‘I was told to just get on with it’ he also said ‘you should see the state of the Bosun’s hands’ Obviously two wrongs do not make a right.
Another incident recently observed onboard was one where 2 deckhands came into the crew mess for their morning break, One guy said he had a terrible headache, which had come on through the morning, the other guy was OK, neither had been drinking the night before but both had been using teak cleaner through the fore-noon with no personal protection. They were both seemed quite happy that the hard skin had been removed from their feet but neither thought about the consequences of the substance entering their blood stream via absorption.
We know that various products attack different people in different ways, who knows what long term damage could be occurring to these individuals, lets just remember that smoking doesn’t appear to kill immediately neither does asbestos, we class these substances now as dangerous as they produce long term damage to the body but, when they were initially being used, no evidence was around to support the consequences.

So, why do we let our crew, who we train and say we care about, work with substances without the correct protection???
I believe the main cause of these injuries is the inability of yacht management to identify how a specific product should be used safely onboard. Cleaning teak for example seems to be known as a ‘Deckies pedicure’ i.e. using a teak cleaner without protective footwear. I’m sure that if I asked is footwear available and worn the answer would be yes however, the visible injuries I see do not seem to support that answer.





The following advice should be taken when using all chemicals onboard
1 Read the product Material Safety Data Sheet
2 Follow Management Company/Yacht’s written safety procedures for the product which should include a Yacht Risk Assessment – if unsure check-up on the internet

The product advice for some teak cleaners is:-

Hazards to Health
Potential routes of entry or exposure Ingestion and Absorption
Health hazards and effects of over exposure Acute irritation to skin and eyes
Emergency First Aid Procedures Inhalation - Remove to fresh air
Ingestion – DO NOT INDUCE VOMITING – keep the person warm and quiet and request immediate medical attention.
Eyes – Flush with copious amounts of water for at least 15 minutes, lifting upper and lower lids occasionally and request immediate medical attention
Special Protection Information
Ventilation Mechanical
Protective Gloves/Boots Rubber – Eye protection - Goggles
Spill or Leak Procedures
Precautions to be taken if the product leaks or is spilled Neutralise with Baking Soda or Sodium Carbonate and flush with copious amounts of water
Special Precautions
Precautions to be taken when handling and storing Store between 40 and 120 degrees C
Any other precautions Do Not Mix with – Ammonia – Bleach or Caustic Materials especially powders


If the rules are followed and you do ‘exactly as is say’s on the tin’ crew using the above product should be safe in the knowledge that all is being done to protect them.

If Personal Protective Equipment is available use it if it’s not available get it before the work commences.
Ken Dales is a project manager at Blue Water Yachting http://www.bluewateryachting.com