Question from Sunny

I am slowly detoxifying my bedroom. I plan on painting the walls with milk paint and buying a new bed frame and mattress (with bedding). I can’t afford to do it all at once but is there an order?

I am very concerned about having my old mattress on my new wood frame. Will my old mattress leach chemicals into the wood like it does to our bodies? I don’t want to spend a lot of money just to transfer the chemicals to another surface (even a tiny bit). If there was an organic wool mattress company out there that took payments then I could so it all at once 🙂

Debra’s Answer

I would paint first. Then mattress, then frame.

What are you going to put this mattress on before you get the new frame??

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Question from Diane

I had my a/c serviced and had them use peroxide to disinfect and follow with reverse osmosis water. My upstairs unit has a chemical smell in the air now. the only other addition was a new filter media by Lennox called Healthy Climate. Do you have any ideas what could be causing it? I am having them switch to the Spacegaurd media to see if that makes a difference but the odor is really strong in one of my rooms and the fan and unit have been off for over 24 hours. appreciate any suggestions on flushing the system out. HVAC owner does not know what it could be either. Thanks

Debra’s Answer

I don’t know what this odor could be.

Readers? Any experience with this?

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Question from Angelique

I need a nontoxic drywall mud, quick! Someone had told me the Kerabond would be a good choice, but after mixing a little I realized that it’s a sandy grout, ONLY for use with tiles. (By the way, it’s totally safe for me! Now I want to do a tile project!) Anyway, some workmen used Murco here a few years ago, but I had a bad experience with that. Any suggestions? This time I’m doing the mudding myself (it’s just covering a few seams.)

Debra’s Answer

The most-recommended least-toxic joint compound for years has been Murco, I don’t know of another one.

Just looked up Murco to give you a link, but the company website was down. Don’t know if it’s temporary or permanent. www.murcowall.com

Anyone know of another one?

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Question from Denise

Has anyone ever used Nellie’s laundry soda? http://www.nelliesallnatural.com/

Debra’s Answer

Readers? Has anyone used this product?

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Question from audrey

What type of wood frame do you have? Been looking in to ash but not sure if that is okay for mcs (I know pine is bad). Is your wood frame is unfinished? If it is, does it get warped in the humidity of Florida – I too live in Florida. Also if you did have it finished, what sealer did you use?

Also re your mattress. My 23 plus year old mattress which I got from Janices has coils and I am becoming more and more aware of emfs so I want/time for a new one.

Would getting an organic cotton mattress with wool in the middle of the cotton be more comfortable than all cotton without coils? I want to avoid getting a box spring so have to get platform type of frame. Just cannot face dragging mattress and box spring outside on my balcony to air out and then bringing it in. Getting to hard for me to do those things. Thanks.

I have been thinking of using White Lotus – have gotten things from them before and they are very helpful. Just wish I could go to NJ and see/try out the mattresses etc.

Debra’s Answer

I honestly don’t know what type of wood my bed frame is. I bought it twelve years ago on sale at just a regular mattress store. It was a close-out sale and there was only one. It was the floor sample. I know it’s solid wood. It does have some kind of finish, don’t know what it is, but it had already outgassed by the time I found it. .

You’re right that most people with MCS don’t tolerate pine (or cedar, but I’ve never seen a cedar bed frame). I had another bed frame that was make of oak that I really liked.

You’re right that most people with MCS don’t tolerate pine (or cedar, but I’ve never seen a cedar bed frame). I had another bed frame that was make of oak that I really liked.

You mentioned a platform type of frame. I have a frame with wood slats. A platform frame is a solid piece of some type of wood, wood slats are individual pieces of wood spaced out so you natural mattress can breathe. It’s important to have wood slats so there is air flow and your natural mattress can breathe.

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Question from Nancy

Debra, We have installed 3 floating wood floors in three different houses. They used duck glue in the joints with a pad. The salespeople suggest we glue down the floor, but I was always afraid to do so.

I am going to install my 4th hardwood floor in a new house and the salespeople again suggest I use the glued down approach. I am considering it this time. They tell me the smell disapates in a few days. Also it is better if you have a leak, it won’t travel as it would on a floating floor. (The dishwasher always made me nervous as we also have wood in the kitchen.)

When you installed your floor, you said you used yellow carpenters glue. Is your floor considered a floating floor ( with a pad) or is it a glued down floor. I do have MCS so I need to be careful. They also suggested that I should go to some of their recent jobs (done a few days to a week) and see if there is an odor. Don’t know if this will be a true test. Your thoughts please. Nancy

Debra’s Answer

My floor was not a floating floor, I’ve glued wood floors down directly to wood or concrete subfloors.

My current favorite glue for wood floors is Titebond II because it is waterproof (important in the kitchen) and just as nontoxic as any other yellow woodworker’s glue.

What type of glue do they want to use? I would only use yellow woodworker’s glue.

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Question from Lynn

My 23 year old son just moved into a house with 2 other people. The landlord had just refinished the floors 2 weeks prior and have since done a second coat. He tried turning up the heat for 24 hours, opening the windows with fans going and then repeating the process for a week.

Apparently the heat source in the house is not so great. He even added some electric heaters. It stills smells awful and he is still unable to live there full time. It has been 7 weeks since the floors were redone. They also put new carpet in his bedroom and he has used an AFM product on it which he may need to repeat.

Any other ideas for the polyurethane smell.? Maybe something topically.

Any suggestions for supplements to help his liver cope?I told him Dandelion and cilantro.

Debra’s Answer

Wow. Do you know what product was used? Sounds like it might be oil-based because a water-based finish should have outgassed by now.

Honestly, this sounds like a pretty toxic place. Can he just find another place to live?

Just to be clear, it’s the solvents that are smelling, not the polyurethane. I don’t know of anything to apply to seal in the odor. What you want to do is cure it.

Here is a great herbal liver supplement that I have taken myself: Liver Balance Plus.

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Question from Cecilia

Dear Debra, Are tung oil and linseed oil safe as wood furniture finishes? Pacific Rim uses a blend of tung oil, linseed oil, and Varathane in their furniture.

Thank you!

Debra’s Answer

Tung Oil comes from cold pressing of the seeds or nuts of the Tung tree. Tung trees mainly grow in the mountainous regions of China. The oil has been prized for centuries for it’s qualities as a wood finish. Tung oil penetrates deeply into wood, enhancing the character of the wood while creating a beautiful water-resistant finish. The ancient Chinese used tung oil to waterproof ships.

These qualities make tung oil perfect for wood bowls, counter tops, outdoor furniture, decks, wood siding, wood flooring, concrete, brick and just about any porous surface that needs a nontoxic waterproof protection.

When choosing a tung oil, it’s important to select one that has no additives or distillates. Tung oil labeled “pure” should be just that. Check the MSDS to see if there are any additional ingredient. One tung oil product I checked had 73.77% Stoddard Solvent (aka petroleum distillates), plus Trimethylbenzene, Ethylbenzene, and Cobalt Naphthenate, all very toxic VOCs.

Because the source of tung oil is a nut, people with nut allergies should avoid contact with (or even the odour of) tung oil. Otherwise, pure tung oil is a safe and natural finish.

Linseed oil is obtained from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant, which is also used to make linen fabric. The oil is obtained by cold pressing, sometimes followed by solvent extraction.

Linseed oil has “polymer-forming properties, which means the molecules have characteristics similar to plastics. Linseed oil is used on its own or blended with other oils, resins, and solvents to make wood finish, to bind pigments in oil paints, as a plasticizer and hardener in putty and in the manufacture of linoleum.

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Question from green-earth

Hi Debra,

Do you know anything about the natural oils present in organic cotton towels? I need new facial towels and was looking into getting organic. However, what has turned me off is that many stores selling it have stated their organic towels require 5 or 6 washings to get the natural oils out of the cotton. This concerns me because I don’t want these oils/residues ending up in my washer, nor do I want on my skin if I don’t wash them enough. It might cause an allergy? Plus it’s kind of a pain to go through so much effort. Do you know much about these oils/residues? I personally think these companies should sell their towels already washed and ready to use.

Debra’s Answer

Well, I agree with you. There’s no reason why a consumer should have to wash a textile product that many times before using it.

Some people do have allergic reactions to the natural oils in organic cotton. But it’s not toxic.

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Question from joseph

What is a way to remove wall paper that was applied 27 years ago. I don’t know what type of glue was used. I have severe MCS. so it has to be fragrance free.

thank you,

joseph

Debra’s Answer

Here are some instructions from DIY Network: DIY: How to Remove Wallpaper

The only problem is that it calls for using fabric softener, and most fabric softeners contain fragrance.

Here are some fabric softeners advertised to be fragrance-free:

Ultra Downey Free & Sensitive “All the softness of Downy without dyes or perfumes.”

Refreshingly Free sells various brands of unscented fabric softener

Readers, any favorite fragrance-free fabric softeners?

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