Are you looking for the best wood preservative to keep your timber in top condition? Do you specifically want a wood preserver that’s eco friendly and kind to the environment?
Good, you’ve landed in the right place.
Being a natural material, wood will eventually succumb to the elements and deteriorate in quality over time.
Timber can stay good for over a hundred years, but if your wood is exposed to harsher environments such as cold, wet weather and damp conditions, its life may be a lot shorter without proper wood protection.
It’s not a new problem. Efforts to keep water from infiltrating wood have been going on ever since timber was first used by man.
There are a number of natural preservatives and eco wood treatments you can use on your timber to keep it in great condition without harming the natural environment.
Let’s take a look at this topic plus the 5 best eco wood preservers on the market.
How to preserve wood naturally?
There are a number of different ways to preserve wood naturally.
But they all work in a similar way.
A naturally wood preserver is applied to the exterior face of the timber to protect against the elements and living organisms.
The benefit of treating your timber with an eco wood protector is that its life will be extended.
Just to be clear, a wood protector can also be known as a preservative or sealing the wood.
Why treat wood naturally?
The main goal of a natural wood preservative is to do two things:
- Protect from weather and the natural elements (particularly rainwater)
- Protect from microorganisms and insects that will cause damage
Protect against the weather
Firstly, timber needs to be protected against the weather.
Rainwater loves to seep through wood fibres over time, leading to damaged wood that will eventually need replacing.
A good natural sealant will form an invisible barrier and protect the timber against any water problems. Something well needed for us in the UK.
Protect from microorganisms and insects
Secondly, the wood preservative or sealant helps to keep away common microorganisms and insects that cause rot and decay. These include mould, fungi and wood-boring insects.
Eco wood protectors do this by using a natural repellent or by forming a protective, organic barrier.
Traditional wood protectors often do this by using a biocide. These use synthetic chemicals which aren’t environmentally friendly and can have a negative impact on nearby nature and wildlife.
Using a natural wood protector will also mean that the wood is recyclable afterwards when it’s not longer needed for its main job.
How are traditional wood sealers toxic?
Conventional timber treatments would often use a form of oil or wax, for example tung oil, linseed or beeswax. More modern wood preservatives are still oil-based but also heavily reliant on fossil fuels, chemical and harmful substances, many of which have been banned.
For example, creosote, made from coal tar, was a popular wood sealant. Later on it was found out to be carcinogenic and has since been banned to the general public in Great Britain since 2003.
Other previously common ingredients, such as arsenic, can have serious health implications as can commercial grade biocides and insecticides that were mixed into the treatment. Not good for human health at all.
Eco friendly can mean different things to different people depending on their focus and passion. It can be quite a complex discussion.
The main crux of being eco friendly is whether the product has a positive or negative impact on the environment and whether it’s generally safe for wildlife, plants and humans.
Using naturally occurring materials in a sustainable manner without the use of additional chemicals is a great start to eco friendly living. If you want to read more, here are easy ways to go green at home.
How are natural wood preservatives better for the environment?
The best natural wood preservatives won’t harm the environment and will do a great job of sealing your timber. It’s that simple.
To be considered eco friendly, they should tick off most of these points:
- Use bio-based organic materials
- Safe for children, humans, plants and wildlife
- Use non toxic substances and be made without any harmful chemicals
- No heavy metal compounds
- No fossil-fuel based ingredients
- Have low or zero VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds)
Natural oils are often cited as good, natural wood preservative options.
For example, linseed oil is often on the list.
Linseed does have good preservative properties and is water resistant, but it’s also flammable, slow-drying, has a sticky finish. It also doesn’t protect wood from UV sunlight or mildew, so it’s functionality as a modern day wood preserver is questionable.
Tung oil is another natural oil that’s been used to seal timber for hundreds of years. Tung oil is a 100%, non-toxic wood sealer from tung trees grown in China.
Tung seals moisture out of the wood and dries very clear, however it does take a long time to dry and you may have to apply once or twice a year to your cladding for it to be fully effective. Again, this might be a stretch too far these days.
5 Best Natural Wood Preservatives
There are a good number of excellent eco wood preservatives available to use on your external wood materials and outdoor kit.
In my view, the best wood preservers are the natural ones.
Here are 5 of the best non toxic wood preservatives and natural sealers currently out there on the market.
1. Eco Wood Treatment
Eco Wood Treatment is an organic, non-toxic wood sealer and stain for your exterior cladding. It’s one of the best wood preservatives you can buy.
It can actually be used for all many of timber, both indoors and outdoors. It’s supplied in powder that are simply mixed with water and then ready to be painted, sprayed or brushed on.
One treatment penetrates deep into the wood fibres, creating a natural buffer against water and fungal decay. Just a single treatment is enough to last a lifetime – so you’ll certainly get value for money.
The wood treatment is composed of 100% natural substances derived from minerals. It’s an environmentally friendly product, containing no solvents, zero VOCs and won’t leave any harmful substances or residue in soils and water, local wildlife, soils and aquatic life will be completely safe.
Eco Wood Treatment has been certified by both LEEDS and the Green Building Council. The stain leaves a silvery patina, high end weathered look.
2. Valhalla LifeTime Wood Treatment
This product by Valhalla Wood Preservatives is one of the best around. It’s rare too.
It’s produced in Canada and still uses a traditional, highly guarded secret recipe that’s been passed down through this family-owned Canadian company for 60 years.
LifeTime wood treatment is a natural, sustainably made, non toxic wood sealer. It’s safe to use and friendly to plants, animals and people. The treatment works its way through the wood fibres and seals out moisture.
This eco wood preserver comes in a powder concentrate that has an indefinite shelf life. Only mixing what you need means little to zero waste. Then it’s simply applied to your cladding, or any other wooden structure, with a brush, roller, spray or dipping.
3. OrganoWood
OrganoWood claims to be a next generation eco friendly wood sealer that protects timber without the use of biocides, solvents and heavy metals.
Made in Sweden, OrganoWood takes its technology from the fossilisation process where natural substances, such as silicon compounds, penetrate wood fibres and seal them solid. Their environmentally friendly technology replicates this process at a much faster pace.
The result is timber cladding that is waterproof, rot proof and fire resistant thanks to the effective non-combustible properties of the treatment. The wood protector doesn’t stain the timber, which will age as normal underneath the sealer.
The complete range of OrganoWood products have been certified ecologically sustainable by FSC and PEFC.
4. Danish Oil
Parr’s danish oil natural wood preservative is safe for you and the environment.
It contains only natural linseed oil ingredients – no toxic chemicals, heavy metals or synthetics. You’ll get no VOCs here. We wouldn’t recommend eating it, but it’s actually food safe!
With no solvents present in this preservative, it will take a little more working into the wood and a tad longer to dry, but it’s worth it.
5. Pure Tung Oil
Tung oil is one of the best natural wood preservatives. It’s derived entirely from the tung tree, which is why this product is 100% natural.
As the name suggests, Pure Tung Oil is quality with no other additives, solvents or driers. There are no VOCs with pure tung oil.
Once applied to your wood, tung oil will protect and bring out the natural beauty of the timber, leaving a lovely matt finish that’s waterproof and food safe.
To keep fresh and protected, apply a tung oil coat once or twice a year to your wood. A fantastic eco wood treatment.
be careful of greenwashing with natural wood preservatives
I was initially going to include a few more products in the list that appear natural and friendly, but when I dug a little deeper, I found out they were not fully eco friendly.
For example, Osmo Natural Oil Woodstain is manufactured using the natural oils of sunflower, soya and linseed. All good.
It’s an all-in-one wood protector, applying both a foundation layer and translucent top coat finish to protect against mould, algae and fungal attack. It also protects against the weather and UV sunlight. It’s ready to put straight onto your exterior cladding and is rapid drying, meaning you could apply two coats in a day (if you had such endeavour).
There are a couple of downsides to this product from an environmentally friendly point of view.
Osmo natural oil contains propiconazole, a substance harmful to aquatic life with long-lasting effects. This is used to fight algae but it’s also very dangerous to fish.
The product also contains aliphatic hydrocarbons, a toxic substance, and is labelled as high in VOCs.
So, just make sure you check the label and any claims before you buy.
Frequently Asked Questions On Eco Wood Treaments
Related Articles:
- 15 Best Small Log Burners & Wood Burning Stoves 2023
- Is Plywood Sustainable & What Impact Does It Have On The Environment?
- Is MDF Sustainable & Recyclable: Guide To The Environmental Impact of MDF
I’m the Creator and Editor of Tiny Eco Home Life. I write and publish information about living a more sustainable, environmentally friendly life. Away from the laptop, I love spending time in nature and with my young family (plus Murphy the dog!). I write and send out the Eco Life Newsletter.
