Art | Resources
Clothes from China
Question from Mary Marston
In September I will have to use community washing machines for several weeks. Concerned about my favorite clothes picking up odors from the laundry products of others, I bought several pair of inexpensive drawstring pants online for daytime and sleep. Two of the pants are made in China. One is a beige plaid. The other is white with dark blue flowers sketched over. The dark blue probably takes up 30% of the fabric.
Do you feel it would be safe to wear these for a few weeks? I would wash them at least three times before wearing them. Do you think the dye could contain heavy metals or pesticides? At 5.99 apiece, I could afford to throw them out if you think there is a big risk.Thank you.
Debra’s Answer
Well, here’s my logic.
They probably don’t contain pesticides from the fabric or dye. You don’t mention the fabric, but pesticides in cotton are removed during processing. Dyes don’t contain pesticides that I know of.
Heavy metals are used to fix some dyes, but I don’t know how much remains as a residue in the fabric.
It’s hard to give an evaluation without knowing the fabric and finishes, but I can say I have purchased some cheap clothing in the past and had no problem with it. Not that all cheap clothing is safe because the clothing I purchased was fine, but if you prewash it and only wear it for a few weeks, it’s probably OK. Use your own judgement.
Whole house air exchanger
Question from Meg
I am looking to buy and have installed a whole house air exchanger. Does anyone have any experience with this type of device? We recently moved to Florida and opening the windows for fresh air is miserable during summer. My daughter (age 7) has severe MCS.
Also, how do we find an experienced company to install it? A Heating and AC company?
Debra’s Answer
This question sent me on an interesting search.
First, I should say that I spent most of my life in the San Francisco Bay Area until 2002, when we moved to Florida. San Francisco and its surrounding area has it’s own built-in air conditioning: the fog that comes through the Golden Gate on most summer afternoons. In fact, this fog can be so chilling that Mark Twain once quipped, “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” Needless to say, most homes in the area do not have air conditioners and we live with the windows open most of the year.
So living with air conditioning was a new and strange thing when I moved to Florida.
When I first read your question, I had to find out two things.
1) Do air conditioners need air exchangers at all? (I assumed that my air conditioner was bringing fresh air in from the outdoors already.)
2) Do air exchangers exist for air conditioners? (My first introduction to air-to-air exchangers were ventilation devices that exchanged heat between outgoing indoor air and incoming outdoor air, so as to not lose the energy used to heat the indoor air.)
MCS and Low-E Glass
Andre Fauteux, Publisher/Editor of La Maison du 21e siecle magazine in Canada, asked me to post this question.
Has anyone had symptoms from bad lighting through Low-E* glazings on windows?
is there any data or scientific studies on the health impact of Low-E glazings?
Just post your answers here as comments and Andre will pick them up.
Debra 🙂
* Low-e windows have ultra thin metallic coatings on them that can help stop the loss of heat from your home.
The Story of Cosmetics
This new video just came out last week, from the Story of Stuff Project and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. I think most of you reading this blog already know what this video says, but it is a great educational piece for people who don’t already know how toxic beauty products are. So please pass it along to anyone you think needs to see it.
http://storyofstuff.org/cosmetics/
As you all know, there are many beauty products that are NOT toxic and ARE made from natural and organic ingredients, and many of them are listed on the Body Care page of Debra’s List.
Holistic Healing Resource Center
An enormous list of links to directories of holistic practioners of all kinds in all parts of the world.
The Diaper Jungle
Everything you could ever need to know about cloth diapers. "Our mission is two-fold. We want to help moms learn about the benefits and advantages of using cloth diapers. We want them to know with no uncertainty that using cloth diapers is convenient, cost effective, healthier for their children, and better for the environment." A great resource if you are using or in the process of choosing cloth diapers.
What kind of makeup and shampoo do you use?
Question from Leslie
HI Debra,
Wondering what kind of makeup you use? And shampoo? I’m familiar with the safe cosmetics website, but it is really difficult to find some of the safer brands in mainstream stores.
Curious as to what you use – any tips? Thanks much!
Debra’s Answer
What kind of makeup do I use?
Well, hardly any. I don’t wear makeup most of the time, and when I do wear it for professional appearances, I wear makeup I’ve had for a long time.
I haven’t worn foundation for years. I don’t even have any. I only wear powder if I absolutely must, like when I am on a television show. Then I wear Clinique powder that I’ve had for years–that’s how little I wear it, this powder is probably thirty years old. I have an old mineral blush too, the label is worn off so I can’t tell you the brand. I really don’t like the way foundation or powder feels on my skin. I’d rather have bare skin so it can breathe.
If I want to wear makeup to look a little more dressy, all I wear is lipstick and mascara. Currently the mascara I am using is L’Oreal Bare Naturale, which I bought at Target. It’s 86% natural, but the non-natural ingredients are pretty nontoxic, and, as I said, I rarely wear it.
I have a couple of lipsticks, again, so old the labels have worn off. Purchased at natural food stores. The one I wear most is a tinted lip gloss made by Burt’s Bees. Again, I rarely wear it.
It’s not that there aren’t good cosmetics, it’s just that as a personal preference, I stopped wearing cosmetics every day years ago. Part of it was my husband. He likes the way I look au naturale, and doesn’t like to kiss me when I wear lipstick or hug me if there is makeup all over my face that could get on his clothes. I’d rather have the hugs and kisses!
Carpet Choices
Question from lizpurtell
I need new carpeting in my home and am not crazy about the wool carpets I’ve looked at. Any suggestions on carpet choices that don’t offgass? Maybe the best choice in conventional carpeting? Also, whats the best padding to go with?Thanks.
Debra’s Answer
The best choices in conventional carpeting and padding can be found on the website of the Carpet and Rug Institute.
Since 1992, CRI has had a Green Label program to test carpet, cushions and adhesives to help specifiers identify products with very low emissions of VOCs. Their newer Green Label Plus program for carpet and adhesives sets an even higher standard for indoor air quality to ensures that customers are purchasing from among the very lowest emitting products on the market.
Though these are “low-emitting” carpets they are not “no-emitting.” If you must have carpet, these are better choices, but I would be remiss if I did not say that my highest recommendation is no carpet. Please consider a different type of flooring.
Read more about the dangers of carpet and safer alternatives in my book Home Safe Home, starting on page 377.
Household cleaners may double risk of breast cancer
According to a new study, women who regularly use household cleaners and air fresheners are at double the risk of developing breast cancer than those who never use the products.
The study of more than 1,500 women found that solid slow-release air fresheners and anti-mould products had the biggest effect. Insect repellents, oven and surface cleaners also produced a slight increase.
“Women who reported the highest combined cleaning product use had a doubled risk of breast cancer compared to those with the lowest reported use,” said Dr Julia Brody, from the Silent Spring Institute in the United States, “Use of air fresheners and products for mould and mildew control were associated with increased risk.”
Need help with neighbors’ scented laundry
Question from Liz Schmidt
Whenever our neighbors do laundry it smells up our house. Several times a week I have to go around the house and close all the windows, but by then the smell is already inside so this is of little help. I don’t have MCS, but I’m sensitive to chemical fragrances and I have weak lungs–have had pneumonia several times in the past couple years.
I wrote a letter to all the neighbors and my husband personally talked to the ones we think are the worst offenders, but a year later it’s still going on. In the letter I mentioned some facts about fabric softener as well as my health concerns, but apparently I didn’t use the right tone, or maybe not the right facts. I don’t think these neighbors are jerks, but I’m sure they are ignorant of the dangers of fragranced products.
If anyone has been successful in getting neighbors to switch to unscented laundry products I’d love to hear about your strategy and references, if any. It’s so bad we are considering moving, but that would probably cause more problems than it solves.
Thanks for any advice!
Debra’s Answer
Readers, what have you done that was successful?
