DAP Sealant Contains Ethylene Glycol Which is Poisonous to Cats

DAP, a US company based in Baltimore, make a range of tradesman’s products, at least twenty-five of which are potentially toxic to cats because they contain ethylene glycol. You may remember that ethylene glycol is the reason why car anti-freeze kills cats.

One of the dangers of using products such as sealants and adhesives is that you may use tools which need cleaning afterwards and when doing that it is possible to inadvertently leave some water containing a residue of the product around the house where it could be licked up by a cat or it may end up on a cat’s paws where it will be ingested when the cat grooms himself. There may sufficient ethylene glycol in that residue to harm your cat.

Alternatively the product may take 24 hours to dry in which case it is a potential hazard to a house cat during drying. Therefore it is important to think about using products of this kind which are safe for cats. A visitor to PoC, Valery Malin living in Texas, emailed me about this.

Here is her story, including her research on finding a more cat-friendly product:

“A plumber installed two new toilets in my home yesterday and used some variety of DAP (not sure which formula) as a sealant. He swore this is used all the time and is not toxic, but your list may indicate otherwise. I’m not sure which formula they used but better safe than sorry.

Long story short, when I found out they had used a potential toxin (I Googled “Is DAP dangerous for cats?” after they left), I basically freaked out. I had to be at work in a few hours. One bathroom I was able to close the door to; the other bathroom cannot be closed off. Fortunately, some kind neighbors were able to come over and watch my kitties and keep them away from the exposed toilet.

To add to the issue, plumbers will have to come back out because the toilet that CANNOT be closed off is leaking at the bottom. The neighbors temporarily solved the problem by turning off the water to stop this and wrapping a towel covered by plastic bags around the base and duct-taping it to the base.

Of course, the plumbing company owner swears DAP is safe and never in his 15 years in the business has he heard of animals being harmed by DAP. I emailed him your list. To further make matters worse, he said I needed to “take some responsibility” to keep the pets away. I was told it takes 24 hours for DAP to dry … he expects me to keep ALL of them in carriers for 24 hours? If I could keep both bathroom doors closed, the issue would be resolved but one bathroom cannot be closed off.

I spoke with a caring and knowledgeable gentleman at Eco-Bond. All of their products are pet-friendly and one called Pet Safe is especially geared toward people with pets. They are based in Minnesota U.S. but can be ordered online through their website or Amazon. Shipping fees to other countries might be rather high but hopefully something similar is sold in most other countries. The Eco-Bond representative offered to call the plumbing company owner to explain WHY their product is best for homes with pets and that it’s actually more effective in several ways than DAP.

They were the only pet-safe adhesive product that I found and I was quite impressed with the representative I spoke with and the company’s commitment to pet safety.”

There are many pages on PoC about hidden or more obvious dangers to cats. This page joins that list. I think it is important to be aware of dangers around the home. There is also a page on all American household products containing ethylene glycol.

Many thanks Valery for bring this to my attention and for letting me publish your words on PoC.