Question from Perri

Hi, I love your website and use your Shopping List almost daily!

I decided to start making my own candles so I can have fun trying different scents. Also, I want to know for sure that my candles are safe for my home.

Do you or any readers know where I can find 100% organic soy wax and organic cotton wicks? I have searched online with no luck. Thanks!

Debra’s Answer

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Question from SarahBug

I just bought two Method cleaning products at Target recently and was wondering why it was not on the list?? Is there something wrong with the products I should know about?

Debra’s Answer

First, there are many more products on the market than I can keep up with, so don’t assume that if it’s not on Debra’s List, there is something wrong with it. I love having you all write in asking about specific products because then I know exactly which products you are wondering about and can address them. Sometimes I learn about new products from you too that I am not aware of and add them to Debra’s List.

Now about Method Cleaning Products, I’ve already answered this at Q&A: Method Cleaning Products.

Remember to use the big purple SEARCH button and search for your question before posting. It might already have been addressed and you’ll get an instant answer!

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Question from Judith Wisdom

I’m living in an apartment that is about 40 years old. The original flooring was traditional linoleum. Most people have had it covered with various types of carpet, though some have put down wood floors of various sorts.

I can’t afford to buy new flooring but felt that getting rid of the carpeting (that itself is quite old)would surely make for a healthier environment. I had the carpet and its underpadding (looks like corrugated cardboard) removed in the living room.

It took my paying someone who’s very efficient and careful at least three four-hour sessions to get the floor clean (i.e., the original linoleum). The filth was unbelievable. Fortunately it was summer and I was able to keep the windows open and ran an exhaust fan constantly. The man who removed the carpet was supposed to do the same in the bedroom and just never showed up. So it’s still there.

I am much sicker now (many years later). I of course would love to remove the carpet in the bedroom but I don’t see how I could manage that since I so often must be in the bedroom. And also the amount of work it involved for me (the living room) is far more than I’m up to now.

However, were I to come up with a way to have the carpet and underpadding cut out in a way that I could reduce (dramatically) the filth it would be so good for me to live in a bedroom with no carpet at all. (I was thinking of affixing a drop cloth or two to the carpet; cuting it in sections; rolling it encased in the drop cloth but I will have to see what the person doing it thinks). Any ideas? They’d be much, much appreciated.

Debra’s Answer

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Question from Debbie Saleh

Hi Debra –

I normally use non-toxic products to clean my home, I bought Kaboom shower cleaner over the weekend since I was completely out and didn’t want to make a trip to Target to get Method shower cleaner (which I really like…)

What is your take on Kaboom products? They say the cleaner will not release toxic fumes, but is the product itself non-toxic?

Debra’s Answer

At the website for

Kaboom Shower, Tub and Tile Cleaner, there is a little link that says “View Safety Information.” When you click through it says:

Inhalation…remove to fresh air, consulta a physician. Hmmmm. And your supposed to use this product in a little tiny unventilated shower enclosure? I wouldn’t.

No MSDS sheet is given on the website.

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Question from Laura

I have severe MCS but am living with famiy who think I’m “loony” After many months and many seizures there is at last a change being made in the laundry detergent!

When transitioning from using a heavily fragranced laundry detergent to All Free and Clear what can be used to “detoxiify” the washer and dryer? They are Fisher Paykal Ecosmart with a metal tub but the newer porous looking plastic elsewhere. Also, will the clothes eventually lose the fragrance from the previous detergent or will they need a special treatment?

Thank you.+

Debra’s Answer

Readers, what is your experience with this?

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Question from PJ

Dear Debra,

When I read suggestions from yourself and readers about various cleaning products (hand soap, dish soap, dishwasher soap, laundry soap etc.) I have noticed that Trader Joe’s brand products are seldom mentioned. I am wondering if you are unfamiliar with them, or if they have been found by you to have questionable ingredients? I have found them to be more reasonably priced than other organic products. Please comment.

I also wondered if you are familiar with Country Save brand laundry detergent? The powdered form has NO odor. I am sensitive to many fragrances, including plant based ones, and have been so happy to find a non-toxic product without added fragrance. When I read about people taking the time to make their own laundry detergents, I wonder if Country Save would be a good alternative for them? (Their web address is: www.countrysave.com) I buy it locally in a 10 lb. (80 load) box for $12.99. Ingredients: sodium carbonate, sodium sulfate, sodium borate, sodium alkyl aryl sulfonate, linear alcohol ethoxylate, coconut diethanolamide.

Thank you for your dedication to making the world we share a healthier place.

Debra’s Answer

I am familiar with Trader Joe’s cleaning products and they are fine. I haven’t put them on Debra’s List because they do not sell their products on a website and Debra’s List is geared mainly to online sources of nontoxic, natural and earthwise products, though many of them are also sold in stores. Also, I don’t have Trader Joe’s here in Florida, though it was one of my favorite stories when I lived in the San Francisco area.

Country Save is also fine, and I’ve added it to Debra’s List.

However, neither of these are organic (as you stated in the title of your post), to the best of my knowledge (haven’t looked at Trader Joe’s recently) but they are natural.

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Question from Stacy D

Does anyone have any information about the safety of dental sealants? Our dentist wants to put them on my son’s teeth to prevent cavities but I am suspect of putting plastic in his mouth. I could not find that much information about them.

Thanks.

Debra’s Answer

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Question from teresa

Hi – I guess I’m new to all of this – what is wrong with sugar (not referring to diabetes). Thanks!

Debra’s Answer

I’ve answered this at Sweet-Savvy: Sweeteners to Avoid: Refined White Sugar.

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Question from Tim

My outdoor swing on a covered porch has persistent mildew on the fabric (not sure what it is), but is there a solution to kill the mildew, while not discoloring the fabric?

Thank you (and so does anyone who sits on the swing)

Debra’s Answer

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Question from what’s in my water

My husband and I live in an area with VERY hard water. We have been advised to buy a whole-home water softener to extend the life and usefulness of our fixtures and washing machine. We bought one from Sears and brought it home. I now have reservations about having it installed because it stinks. I cannot find out what sort of plastic it is made from, whether I need to be concerned about harmful chemicals leaching into my home’s water or how it will react to being filled with a potassium chloride solution. Does anyone have any helpful information?

Debra’s Answer

I’m going to let some knowledgeable readers answer this.

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