Occasionally life hands you mystery.
Yesterday I began the process of
restoring and maintaining my outdoor furniture. First, I wiped it all down with
a dry rag. Then, I lightly sanded each piece with a sanding sponge (this was
the part of the process that my daughter ‘helped’ with, getting very upset when
she found me re-sanding the areas she 'already did'). After the sanding was
complete, I washed the set with a mild solution of warm water and Murphy’s Oil
Soap mixed in a large metal bowl. When I finished with the washing process,
I poured out my bowl of soapy solution, temporarily stored the damp rag and
sanding sponges inside the metal bowl and left them sitting on the front stoop
while I proceeded to treat my furniture with tung oil.
A couple of the pieces I am working on
My first thought when I caught sight of the contents of
the bowl was that the rag in the bowl had been the one I used for the tung oil
and that the oil had somehow disintegrated the rag. Upon further inspection
however, it became apparent that the reaction that had taken place in the
mixing bowl was one of combustion rather than disintegration and memory served
to remind me that the rag never came in contact with the tung oil. Somehow,
a metal mixing bowl with a soapy rag and two dark colored sanding sponges
ignited a blaze sufficient to turn a good portion of the rag to ash, char a
couple of nickel sized holes in the sanding sponges and blacken the side of the
mixing bowl.
Mysterious. I am fascinated by the perfect storm of circumstance
that must have been required for my inadvertent science experiment, grateful
that the blaze remained contained within the mixing bowl, and quite sure that I
couldn’t repeat that particular little accident even if I tried.
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