If you’re growing a garden, pallets are a budget-reducing resource that should supply you with a good amount of wood. That said, you can’t simply stick them into the ground, or they won’t last long. You need to learn how to treat pallets for garden use.
As such, let’s look at why this is important and how to perform the activity properly through a step-by-step guide.
Why Should You Treat Pallets Before Using Them in Your Garden?
Some don’t bother treating pallets, but that usually won’t bode well for the pallets’ lasting lifespan. Without appropriate treatment, the wood ends up rotting after just a couple of years’ exposure to the elements. Treating pallets boosts their durability and helps ensure longer periods between replacements.
And an even more important reason to treat pallets? Safety.
Pallet Safety
Have you ever heard of methyl bromide? It’s a colorless, odorless gas used for pest control in industries like shipping and agriculture. It addresses several issues with pests, from insects, roundworms, and rodents to weeds and fungi.
Methyl bromide has a very high level of toxicity. It’s so toxic that even inhaling it short-term can injure your lungs severely.
Both short and long-term inhalation of the gas can lead to neurological effects on animals and humans, though it is said to be more intense in the latter.
Aside from entering the body through inhalation, methyl bromide can make its way to your system via your skin or eyes. Both can result from coming in direct contact with the gas, which can happen unbeknown to you when you lack protective gear.
With that said, here are some symptoms of having methyl bromide in your system:
- Convulsions
- Abdominal pain
- Speech loss
- Poor coordination
- Breathing difficulties
- Dizziness
- Headache
In terms of prolonged exposure, it could put you at risk of permanent kidney damage. When exposed to the skin, you experience itching and tingling, and it can cause the skin to redden, burn, hurt, and blister when absorbed.
Pain, redness, temporary vision loss, and blurriness are the main symptoms of methyl bromide coming in contact with the eyes.
Luckily, 2005 was the last time methyl bromide was used to fumigate pallets, though pallets from before that time are still in circulation. That means you should still watch out for them.
You should not use an MB pallet as firewood, a garden resource, or a craft project. Find a waste management company to dispose of it instead.
How Can You Make Sure You Can Use a Pallet Safely?
As much as treating a pallet is critical, knowing how to identify whether or not it’s safe is also essential. Here are two of the best ways that most experts recommend:
Check the Label
Each pallet contains a label somewhere on it. A pallet without this label would have been produced locally or in your country at the very least.
Hence, this would mean it was designed for domestic purposes. Still, it is better to err on the side of caution and refrain from using pallets that aren’t stamped, as that could mean putting yourself at risk.
The label should contain several codes, namely ones that represent the following:
- Country of origin
- IPPC logo
- Treatment method used
- It may or may not have a unique numerical code.
- A logo that identifies the inspector
What Do HT, DB, and MB Mean?
Pallets stamped with HT, which stands for heat treatment, are the only ones deemed safe to use.
DB indicates debarked wood, and MB means that the highly toxic substance methyl bromide was used as wood treatment. Steer clear of pallets with either label if you’re looking to consume or sell for consumption your garden crops.
In particular, pallets marked MB have absorbed enough toxic chemicals to make them hazardous to your health in the long run. They also aren’t ideal for indoor heating.
That's because burning methyl bromide unleashes toxic fumes that can impact both human and animal health negatively and severely. In fact, short-term exposure is enough to scar the lungs.
Acute exposure to MB can put you at high risk of pulmonary edema, a condition when the lungs fill with too much fluid and result in severe respiratory problems.
As if severe bodily damage isn’t enough, methyl bromide is also a known environmental hazard with the ability to deplete the ozone layer. It was the main reason the US completely banned the substance.
As more of the ozone layer gets depleted, more UV rays reach the earth and reduce our quality of life. Protecting the ozone is vital, which means doing away with ozone-depleting chemicals like methyl bromide.
The KD Stamp
When a wooden pallet is marked KD, that means it underwent kiln-drying. Kiln-drying is the process of drying the pallet in an oven called a kiln to reduce its moisture level.
Lower moisture levels mean a lower risk of fungal growth and rotting, among other moisture-related issues. KD is also safe to use and isn’t hazardous to human and animal health.
Determine Where Your Pallet Has Been
If you only found your pallet somewhere, then there should be one last thing to check before deciding whether or not to use it. Where has your pallet been? If it has stains all over, then you absolutely shouldn’t be using it.
Soda and oil stains are likely harmless, but the risk that they could be is reason enough to leave the pallet be. Pallet safety is of utmost importance when using pallets, and it contributes greatly to stress-free gardening.
How to Treat Pallets for Garden Use
In this section, we’ll discuss the proper method for treating pallets to ensure their safety and readiness for your garden. The method should follow the same steps whether or not you intend to use your pallets for gardening.
Step #1: Clean the Pallet
Clean the pallet first since that helps you handle it more easily. You must take care not to scratch yourself on any staples, splinters, or protruding nails.
Next, scrub it down with a mixture of soap and water. Don’t worry about any tough dirt to remove at this point since it should scrape off easily during the sanding process. You just want to get the pallet reasonably clean so handling it becomes easier.
Step #2: Break Up the Pallet
After working out the best way to reclaim the pallet’s wood, break it up. Nails will be holding it together, so use the right equipment to remove them. Also, wear protective gear, such as gloves, to prevent hurting yourself.
Break the wood into desired parts, setting aside the pieces you won’t need. There’s no need to waste time and materials on these wood sections, so getting rid of them at this stage is an excellent idea. It will also ensure you don’t need to do a lot of post-cleaning tasks.
Step #3: Sand It Down
See those parts you’ll be using? It’s now time to sand them down.
Wear a mask for this process since inhaling dust from these pallets is hazardous. Make sure to use coarse sandpaper initially, then swap it for fine sandpaper after removing the rough edges and splinters.
Fine sandpaper leaves a grip ideal for paint and varnish to stick to, ensuring these materials stick well and will last for several years.
Step #4: Paint the Pallet
The next is to weatherproof your pallet, which you should do before assembling it into the desired shape. Doing so will ensure all the parts get coated properly.
Stir your chosen medium according to the label and apply a thin coating onto the wood’s surface. Let it dry before applying the second coat.
Aim for a minimum of two coats, though that number should still depend on the item used for weatherproofing.
In general, more coat applications should help the wood last longer. That’s because a thicker coating seals moisture longer and takes longer to wear away.
How Long Will Pallets Succumb to the Elements?
In general, pallets start breaking down a couple of months after being used in an outdoor garden. Some may last for at least a year, depending on the weather.
If you get frequent rain or fluctuating temperatures in your area, this should expedite the wood’s rotting as opposed to when you reside in a temperate or dry region.
Treated pallets should remain useful for up to several years, though climate will have a say on the matter to a certain degree. Provide top-notch treatment with annual reapplications, and your pallets should last you quite some time.
Treat the Pallet Correctly
All things considered, knowing how to treat pallets for garden use is not rocket science. It’s quite simple, but timing is everything. The process should be done before the pallet is used.
Using an untreated pallet will be an unpleasant experience and could potentially be hazardous. There’s also the fact that your pallets won’t last long, as they will easily absorb moisture and rot prematurely because of it.
Treat the wood correctly and in a timely manner, and it should last a lot longer.