Question from heather

We recently purchased tempered pegboard and have mounted it under a piece of furniture in our bedroom. Although my husband does not notice an odor, the odor from it is very strong to me. I am 7 months pregnant and this could be why I smell it so strongly. I contacted the company who manufactures it (Decorative Panels, Inc.) and they said that there are no toxic substances used and the finish is mainly linseed oil. I am assuming this is what I am smelling. Because of the way it is being used, it is going to be quite a process to replace it with something else, but I wanted to know if you’ve had any experience with this product (or linseed oil in general). I am concerned since I am pregnant and the odor fills our bedroom (and our toddler spends most of the night sleeping in our room, too).

Debra’s Answer

You need to find out if the linseed oil is RAW linseed oil or BOILED linseed oil.

Linseed oil is oil squeezed from the flax seed.

Raw Linseed Oil is 100% pure flax oil, packaged with no additional additives or preservatives. Linseed oil sold for wood application is not edible. It dries very slowly, taking weeks to fully cure. It helps wood retain its natural moisture content, which reduces cracking, checking, shrinking, and aids water repellency.

Boiled Linseed Oil contains chemical solvents to speed film drying and hardness.

It is not actually boiled, the term just indicates chemicals have been added.

e dealer. Boiled Linseed Oil would cure faster and shouldn’t have an odor after several weeks. If it’s raw linseed oil, it’s likely you are smelling the linseed oil itself, which isn’t toxic.

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Question from Mehdi

Hi. We are looking for a mattress for our 3 year old, and in the proccess, are comparing various products in terms of price and toxicity.

Which product is safer in terms of outgassing exposure- conventional 100% natural latex mattresses or the Ultracel mattress?

Also, just heard that 100% natural latex products are made into foam using some man-made chemicals. Is this true? We are concerned about the overall outgassing initially and over time.

Unfortunately, the Essentia mattress is out of our price range at this time.

Thank you for your time, experience and caring.

Mehdi and Nancy

Debra’s Answer

Ultracel is made from the same polyurethane plastic as every standard foam mattress. I have no data that indicates that it is any less toxic than ordinary polyurethane foam.

Yes, some toxic chemicals are used to turn 100% natural latex into foam. How much of those toxic chemicals remain in the foam, I don’t know.

A better choice for babies would be organic cotton. There’s no chemical outgassing.

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Question from Ruth

Last year I bought some non-toxic caulking material and it works fine. The apt. manager put it right over the old, thinning caulk. Now I find that there is black mold growing through the new caulking. I have MCS from mold exposures, so I am probably a “moldy” person. Is it safe for me to clean that all off myself, and what would I use. I like using a paste of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda for cleaning up moldy residue on my sink area, but this is caulking. I don’t really want to ask the apt. manager to do it since I can’t trust him to do it right from the last experience. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Ruth/Wisconsin

Debra’s Answer

I wouldn’t clean it myself if I were you. Get someone else to do it.

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Question from Susan Webb

Hello,

As a grandmother of two small children I am much more aware of all the terrible toxins we have around us. I have been searching daily for lead-free Christmas tree lights. Does anyone know where they can be purchased? I have heard that they are available outside the US, in Great Britain? I certainly do not want to subject the children to any more toxins.

Susan Webb

Debra’s Answer

What you want to look for are lights that are “RoHS compliant”.

RoHS stands for “Restriction of Hazardous Substances.” RoHS originated in the European Union and restricts the use of six hazardous materials found in electrical and electronic products.

The substances restricted under the RoHS directive include lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), hexavalent chromium (CrVI), polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). All products in the entire electronics industry in the EU market after July 1, 2006 must pass RoHS compliance. .

Here is a website that in Yorkshire England that “loves Christmas lights.” They are all RoHS compliant:

http://www.eadlighting.com/categories.asp?cat=14

Question from kb

hello .. i’ve recently been diagnosed with a strange nickel allegy – it doesn’t affect my skin , but causes my lips to react with red bumps. i’ve been advised to eat a nickel-free diet (which includes no lettuce, no chocolate, no shellfish… an extremely long list of things you’d never expect). Right now I’m using a vanilla-flavored lip chap which doesn’t include nickel as an ingredient, but was wondering if there were any lip chaps out there that would definitly be nickel-free.

Thanks!!

Debra’s Answer

I don’t know offhand, but maybe one of my readers will answer.

Could you post your list of foods and things you need to avoid because they contain nickel? I’m sure others would like to know this, including me.

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Question from Mary

I’ve been discussing laundry with the woman who works for me. Her husband does carpentry and they need something that removes odors- sweat, chemicals, etc. They do not have a clothesline.

Currently they are using a Tide product that is heavily fragranced. They don’t think Tide’s Free and Clear (or whatever it is called) does the job.

Can anyone recommend a detergent with little or no fragrance that removes odors? Has anyone had experience with adding borax?

Debra’s Answer

Readers?

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Question from Annette Tweedel

Hi Debra,

We have a window air conditioner in our bedroom that needs to be sealed with aluminum foil tape inside the vents to block off outside air. Is aluminum foil tape safe for an MCS person or is there something safer to use?

Thank you so much for your time.

Debra’s Answer

Aluminum foil tape is used by many people with MCS because the aluminum in the tape blocks fumes from the adhesive and anything you attach it to. I know of nothing safer.

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Question from Emily

Hi all,

We just set up the baby’s (very non-toxic) wooden crib and I had to get my husband to make homemade bed risers for the legs of the crib so get it at the right height to the bed, so we could have the crib mattress at the lowest setting but still have her right nearby. We bought wood bed risers from the store, but they smelled SO toxic to me that I returned them after using them one night. So the homemade ones he made are just carved from a block of fir…But now we want to finish them to make them darker (to match the crib so they don’t stand out so much) and to also protect them.

I wanted to use a totally non-toxic finish, so I thought about beeswax. I looked online and found tons of beeswax finish recipes, but they all have turpentine! (And mineral oil, which I don’t mind using, but not turps…)

Would it be Ok to make a wood finish with just mineral oil and beeswax? What would be the downside to NOT using turpentine?

Does anyone have a good wood finish recipe?

Thank you!

Debra’s Answer

Readers?

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Question from Hope Fox

We are considering using formaldehyde-free fiberglass insulation in our new home, and have three questions:

Would you consider the acrylic binders used to be a problem?

Anything else to look out for (presumably batts without paper or plastic covers would be best)?

Can anyone recommend specific brands?

I have often heard Miraflex by Owens Corning recommended, but they stopped producing the product several years ago.

Johns Mansfield has a few products: www.jm.com/insulation/building_insulation/4483.htm

Debra’s Answer

I’ve been recommending the Johns Mansfield because it’s easy to get at Home Depot. I haven’t personally used it.

Readers? Your experience?

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Question from Jennifer

I just purchased a Vivetique innerspring, organic cotton/pure grow wool mattress. (I am MCS and react strongly to chemicals.) The first morning after sleeping on the mattress I felt bad. All my usual chemical exposure symptoms came on: fatigue, stiff joints, nausea, lung pain, headache, pain under my arms, anxiety.

I can’t possibly understand why this is happening. These mattresses are promoted as chemical-free, nontoxic, okay for MCS, and clean. The mattress has a smell, but it smells like natural wool to me (the smell reminds me of a wool/cotton futon I once had).

Can anyone help? I have no idea why this would be and I’m seriously upset and depressed.

Thank you,

Jennifer

Debra’s Answer

Being MCS, you are in a different situation than people who are not MCS.

For a normal healthy person, one can assess the purity or toxicity of materials and choose accordingly, and not have a TOXIC exposure.

People with MCS can react to all sorts of safe, natural materials that are NOT TOXIC. This is an individual sensitivity. The material itself can be perfectly safe, yet you can still react to it.

In my opinion, people with MCS need to be extremely cautious about any claim that something is “safe for MCS”. There is no such thing that is safe for every person with MCS. Just read the posts on this blog. One person will recommend something they can tolerate and another person will say they couldn’t tolerate it at all. Instead of saying “safe for MCS” retailers should say, “We know many people with MCS tolerate this, but individual sensitivities vary and you may not tolerate it.”

I know it’s a challenge for MCS people to find products they can tolerate. You can get some clues from this blog regarding products others have tolerated, and I’ve marked entries on Debra’s List with an “MCS” for websites that are familiar with MCS and carry products that are likely to be tolerated.

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