Are Watermark Fluids Safe? I Read Somewhere That They All Contain Benzene Which Is A Carcinogenic!

Are there some kind of safe watermark fluid for your health? Love my stamps but don't want to die because I'm checking way too many watermarks.

No more benzene.

http://stampsmarter.com/learning/Ge...nFluids.html

There is also a product called Clarity to examine.

I've been using the Prinz one. It is called Super Safe. I wonder if it is super safe for the stamps or for the collector

Is Prinz safe for our health?

See the bottom for ingredients disclosure.

https://www.amosadvantage.com/produ...ermark-Fluid

I only use Super Safe. Not bad on the rocks.

But is it toxic for your health? I read the ingridients but I have no clue what they mean or do to you. At least it looks like it does not have benzene!

Most of us use lighter fluid - I suspect it's one of the lesser threats to my well-being.

I understand your concern. Just to clarify petroleum distillate (naphtha) found in lighter fluid is not benzene which is quite carcinogenic. No more benzene in watermark fluids. Some of the old wm fluids contained benzine a lesser evil than benzene. More info on Clarity ingredients would be helpful. A product helped formulated for safety by request of the APS. You may want to look into the pros and 'cons' of a Safe Signoscope. Chemical free device.

A whole lot of things are toxic to humans if used irresponsibly. Nobody suits up to use household cleaning solutions but if you read many of their labels you probably should. Heck, being in the sun unprotected for even short periods of time in the Summer months has risks. Not too many people slathering on SPF 50 to take that 20 minute excercise walk. Ever read the ingredients list of some popular packaged food staples? Use artificial sweetener? Eat charred barbeque? Been exposed to secondhand smoke from any source? Driven behind a belching diesel truck?

It should be mentioned that just because something is deemed "safer" now does not mean that it will be "safer" later on.

Oftentimes the alternatives to things found to be "unsafe" do not work very well or are extremely unuser friendly.

Just use common sense. Also acknowledge that life has some risk and to enjoy it the risk needs to be managed and rationed appropriatey.

Disclosure: This SCF member is an ardent supporter of Roundup and laments its passing from the marketplace because it really did kill that vegetation. (Never sprayed it into the wind for an hour though or licked my fingers after spilling it on my hands or......)

"The dose makes the poison" -Paracelsus

Even water has a "Safety Data Sheet". Life is not risk-free. Turns out, just being born in the 19th century has proven to be 100% fatal.

"Turns out, just being born in the 19th century has proven to be 100% fatal."

I guess people weren't procreating with demons and aliens yet.

I always start with a very bright flashlight. Many watermarks that are discernible by fluid also show up with this simple maneuver

Be careful not to stare into the flashlight beam for too long as it can damage your eyes.

I always hold stamps up to the light first also. However my experience is that doing so often does not work in telling the difference between SL and DL watermarks. Also the paper in some eras is really not very good and has shadows which are not watermarks but can look odd in the light. For example, one dollar Prexies are notorious for this, there are always shadows around the portrait.

Are there some kind of safe watermark fluid for your health? Love my stamps but don't want to die because I'm checking way too many watermarks.

Modern watermark fluids are safe if used properly. Clarity is probably the best. Super Safe is next. Lighter Fluid is good but use in a well ventilated area.