“They Can Spontaneously Combust” — Woman Shares PSA on Staining Rags Stored in Home

A woman shared a PSA on how stained mulch, like oily, stained rags, can potentially be fire hazards.

A TikToker named Kayla (@revivedbyvashti) told the tragic tale of how one of her nephews died and another received severe burns all over his body as a result of a fire caused by stained mulch after a propane tank caught fire.

Kayla's video begins with a stitched clip showing two children in an electric car designed for children, he drives on the sidewalk with a toddler seated next to him. "At 12:09 am our propane tank to our gas grill caught fire and acted as a blow torch to our home..."

Another overlay in the video reads: "5 year old nephew recovering from serious burns. 8 year old nephew didn't survive"

The stitched clip is from a horrifying video posted by BreAnna Lee, who delineated what happened to her children: "Less than 2.5 days later our lives would forever be changed..."

She added, "We had 30 seconds to find our 3 children and escape our home...our 5 year old son Harvey spent 36 days at Motts Children's Hospital with smoke inhalation and 35% of his body covered in burns. Our precious 8 year old son Cullen, did not make it out of the fire," the overlay reads, showing the destruction wrought on the home.

In a caption for the video, BreeAna writes: "National Son's day. My heart is forever broken to pieces with a third of my heart always in heaven. I miss you so much Cullen. The best big brother. It was an honor raising you for the time I was gifted with you."

BreeAna's sister, Kayla, continued in her clip, describing how the tragic accident occurred: "This is my sister and nephews and this is our reality. And it's just another reminder to be extra careful with your staining rags when you are working on furniture. Although this fire did not start from staining rags, it is very similar and it just reminded me to remind you to be extra careful."

She continued, "What happened was on the ring doorbell camera the fire started in the mulch, and it spread to the front porch where their gas grill for cooking was, and the propane tank line exploded and spread all over the front of the home. This might save a life, but your mulch is colored with staining agents."

The TikToker went onto explain what is probably not often considered when checking one's home for potential fire safety hazards: "And what happens is as that stain is oxidizing it gets trapped with oxygen if the weather conditions are just right, it can actually create a fire so the same thing happens with your staining rags."

"If you are done staining and you throw those rags in a pile, they can spontaneously combust make sure you are always leaving any of your staining materials to lay flat do not let oxygen get trapped in that pile lay them flat, lay them outside, not in your garage, not right next to your house."

She continued, "Sometimes we just get so busy on these projects that we just aren't thinking about it, or we're in a rush, but please, please, forward this, remind everyone cause I know not everyone reads that can, not everyone reads the precautions and safety things but this is so, so important."

This Old House posted a very detailed guide on how to properly dispose of oily rags in a safe manner, delineating three steps in doing so:

1. Once the rag is no longer in use, soak it in a bucket of water. Then, wring out the rag and allow it to dry flat, preferably outside.
2. The key is to keep anything from smothering the rag as it dries since it releases heat as it dries. This can raise the temperature of the rag, or the thing on top of it, to a high enough temperature that it can combust.
3. Once the rag is completely dried out, it’s safe to throw away. Tom suggests disposing of it in an outdoor trash can rather than in the house.

One commenter who responded to Kayla's video post about the accident stated that they, too, have experienced the type of carnage that can result from improperly storing staining rags: "my friend’s house burned down because of a staining rag when they were remodeling! i had never heard of anyone else talk about it! this is important!"

Another person seemed shocked that mulch could even catch on fire in such a manner, something that this Safety Insurance piece covers: "Wait what??? Mulch catching on fire???

But one TikToker said that they've very well acquainted at the types of fires that would intermittently pop up in mulch mounds at their job: "We used to get little fires in the mulch outside of my work all the time, we have to run out with buckets to put it out. Made me scared to have mulch at my home!"