There are some beautiful and creative projects that reuse wooden pallets. These DIY's appeal to the environmentalist, the cheapskate and the design enthusiast all at once. However, with the popularity of this material, it's worth asking:
Are wood pallets safe to reuse?
Maybe.
The problem is that pallets are used in the shipping process and you might have no way of knowing where they've been or what they've been in contact with. Some pallets have even been treated with chemicals that make them unsafe for indoor use. 1001 Pallets has a great guide to tell if the pallets you are looking at could have been treated this way.
Even if you pick out a pallet that isn't toxic, you have to keep in mind that it may have developed some issues before being chosen by you to become a one of a kind kitchen table. Pallets are often left outside and exposed to the rain and weather so there's possibility that it could have mold hiding in it's porous surface. If it's been used to ship produce, you should be concerned that it may be harboring food born pathogens like E. Coli or Listeria: very real concerns. Even washing the wood with bleach can't be guaranteed to get rid of the potential pathogens and painting over it doesn't help either.
So are pallets out of the question?
No!
I would give a pass on that beautiful pallet kitchen table, but you can still use pallets for outdoor projects.
This tool rack by fix lovely is one way to safely re-purpose pallets at home.
As is this DIY pallet fence from Hometalk
TL;DNR Wooden pallets may not be recommended for indoor use, but should be fine for outdoors.
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