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Furnishing A Toxic-Free Apartment
For the past few weeks a lot of my time has been occupied with helping a consulting client furnish a nontoxic apartment for her son, who has multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS).
She asked me to help her choose furniture, bedding, and air and water filters. I gave her some choices, and she chose the ones she wanted.
She kindly gave permission for me to share some photos with you and also tell you about the products. It was an opportunity for me to experience first hand some of the products I have been recommending that I hadn’t seen in person, and I want to share that experience with you, too.
In general I learned that what a difference there can be in the quality of products made from the same materials. Unfinished furniture pieces had variations in design and workmanship, organic cotton sheets from different places had variations in thread count, color, feel and quality.
Choosing nontoxic materials is the first step. Then there are many other factors that affect the quality of the product and it’s performance above and beyond the materials being nontoxic.
Below are my observations and comments on the items we chose.
IKEA BED FRAME
Ikea has a number of bed frames that are made of solid wood. The only difference is style. All of them are solid wood (with the exception of a metal bar that runs down the middle of the frame to hold the wood slats) and a few miscellaneous parts that hold the frame together. There are no glues or adhesives. There is a light acrylic finish that had no odor even as we took the pieces out of the box. This is the second IKEA bed frame I’ve experienced and both were free of outgassing from toxic chemicals. They are also fairly inexpensive. This is a good choice for a budget bed frame. My one caveat is that it will take you a couple of hours to put it together and it really needs two people. TARVA queen bed frame $179.
HAPPSY MATTRESS
I’ve been writing about the Happsy Mattress for some months now. Prior to their being available I saw samples of the materials, but even with everything I knew about it I wasn’t prepared for how truly remarkable and wonderful this mattress is.
First, it comes all rolled up in a very big box, wrapped in many layers of nontoxic polyethylene plastic.
While you are searching for how to get the mattress out, you find a little tab and a note that says “start here”. You pull the tab and find it it a little cutter that slides down the side of the mattress, opening the layers of plastic with ease, while the mattress is protected below by a piece of cardboard.
When you peel away the plastic the mattress springs to life like an inflatable life raft. With the familiar hiss, the Happsy mattress literally inhales air, and as it does so it unrolls itself until it is laying perfectly opened and inflated.
You do have to turn it over, but when you do, you see how very beautiful it is, with it’s lovely quilted color and different shades of organic cotton fabric on top and sides.
It had a slight odor of latex when first unwrapped, but that dissipated quickly.
Laying on it was heaven. If I didn’t already have a mattress I love I would buy a Happsy mattress immediately and sleep on it myself. Happsy Organic Mattresses queen $1199.
WHITE LOTUS HOME PILLOWS
My client purchased a bunch of pillows from in various sizes and softnesses. All were well-made and nontoxic. One of the pillows she bought was the pillow I sleep on, their kapok-filled pillow with invisible zipper that I still love after about two years of sleeping on it. The zipper allows you to add or subtract fill inside the pillow to meet your needs. White Lotus Home.
MAGNOLIA ORGANICS ORGANIC COTTON BLANKETS
These blankets are beautiful. Nice and thick and warm. They come in a big reusable cotton shoulder bag with a long strap. No plastic packaging. Magnolia Organics.
COYUCHI BED LINENS
Coyuchi really is the top of the line in organic bxdlinens. Very top quality. Coyuchi .
UNFINISHED WOOD DRESSER
My client purchased many pieces from a local unfinished furniture store. I’m not giving the name here because they don’t ship, but these items can be found at almost any local unfinished furniture store in your area. The pieces are solid wood, heavy, and very well crafted, like fine furniture.
COVERTABLE FUTON SOFA
This sofa is made from an organic cotton futon from White Lotus Home and covetable sofa frame from KD Frames. A convertible frame can be turned into a platform bed by lowering the back. The futon will be covered with an organic cotton cover.
I’ve visited the White Lotus Home workplace so the futon was excellent, as I expected.
The frame was unfinished Tulip Poplar, which is a great wood, but the frame was very difficult to put together and had poor instructions. Many of the pieces had rough ends that hadn’t been sanded.
This is my first experience with a convertible frame sofa and I would say that it needs a few big pillows to make the relative size of the back and seat more similar to a conventional sofa.
The total cost of a convertible sofa like this is around $1500-$1800, depending on the materials you choose for your futon.
UNFINISHED WOOD TV STAND AND CHAIRS
These came from the same local unfinished furniture store as the dressers mentioned above.The chairs are actually the very same chairs I have in my house. The pieces are solid wood, heavy, and very well crafted, like fine furniture.
IKEA WOOD TABLES
For the dining table and a desk my client purchase two pine tables from Ikea. Like the bed frame, the tables have a light acrylic finish that had no odor even as we took the pieces out of the box. Very easy to put together in less than an hour. INGO pine tables $69
WATER FILTERS
My client ordered drinking water and shower filters from Pure Effect Advanced Filtration on my recommendation. These are the water filters I use in my own home.
I learned a valuable lesson: make sure you can install the the water filter before you order it.
In our case, she had ordered an undersink filter that requires an auxillary faucet. But there was no hole in the countertop and this is a rental. So we had to return it. The countertop model is the correct choice here.
And in one of the bathrooms the showerhead was the “rain shower” type that come straight down from the ceiling. The shower filter leaked with this type of showerhead, so we’re going to have to get creative with the plumbing to install it. Pure Effect Advanced Filtration
AIR FILTERS
My client also ordered two EnviroKlenz Mobile Units for her 1400 square foot apartment.
While I used a mobile unit in my home for a short period as a test before recommending it, I had never experienced it in action in a situation where it was really needed. I had that opportunity in this apartment.
When I walked in, I was hit in the face with a strong odor of cleaning product. Larry smelled it too. So we turned on the mobile units full blast and in about two minutes the odor was completely gone. It really showed me how well these units work. Low speeds for every day, and then when you need a pollutant to be removed fast, the high speeds will clear the air quickly. I was very impressed. EnviroKlenz Mobile Unit Air Purifier
“Our son is severly ill with Lyme and MCS and we are coming down to Florida from New York for treatment.
We needed a healing sanctuary free of mold, toxics and odors. We found an apartment, but had no idea how to furnish it. Then by chance we found Debra. She was great from the beginning—guiding me,,educating me on what I needed. She knew where to buy everything. She did whatever we needed and went above and beyond. She went to the apartment, received deliveries and supervised the assembly of the furniture. Even though we had had an indoor air quality inspection done, Debra found formaldehyde and other odors when she went that would have been a disaster for us. We are so grateful for her assistance and highly recommend her. I don’t know what we would have done without her.” M.S. Long Island NY.
Aardvark
I’m old enough to remember paper straws from the days before everything began to be made of plastic. So I was delighted to see the revival of the paper straw on this website. “ They’re Safe And FDA Food Grade Compliant Approved. Aardvark® only uses materials that are non-toxic, BPA-free and ELEMENTAL chlorine free. In fact, many straws made overseas claim to use safe inks, but the colorants and the processes used to dry the inks are anything but safe. Aardvark® doesn’t use un-safe dyes or materials in our straws, and we have had independent, 3rd party testing done to prove it. We’re proud to say that Aardvark paper straws are the strongest, longest lasting on the market. All other paper straws on the market are made in China. But Aardvark straws are 100% Made in the USA — and they always have been. Ours is the original paper straw, based on a design patented by Marvin Stone in 1888. ”
Stamba Superfoods
Three award-winning organic superfood blends that make each food more powerful in combination.”What is the force that gives trees the strength to endure the harshness of winter, then foliate, blossom and flower come spring? What is the power held within Earth’s soil that germinates seeds and nourishes them to burst forth into flourishing plants that nurture the environment and living beings? At STAMBA, we create products to harness and deliver an experience of the pure power of Nature. Unlike fleeting experiences derived from synthetic, artificial and isolated sources, the experience of STAMBA stamina is rooted in the life-giving certified organic and sustainable harvesting environments from which our blends are born. The true superfoods in STAMBA products are the treasures of the plant kingdom. We source all of our ingredients from pristine environments, worldwide. At STAMBA, certified organic is just the beginning of our requirements. We partner with farms and organizations that have a commitment to sustainability and fair-trade practices. We choose not to source any ingredients from China due to questionable quality assurance standards and agricultural business practices perpetuated by many companies in the nation. After sourcing, we are deeply committed to preserving the life force and nutritional integrity of our ingredients – freeze or slow dried, we preserve their raw state. As such, they maintain their vital beneficial properties in a form that is easy to assimilate, integrate and utilize by your body. Each ingredient is nutritionally robust. In unison, they provide a full spectrum of prized health benefits, far beyond those of any individual agent. All our whole food ingredients are: Certified Organic. Vegan. Gluten and GMO Free.”
North Bay Trading
A variety of natural and organic dried and freeze-dried foods for everyday eating and emergency storage. Wild rice, beans, soup mixes, freeze-dried fruits and vegetables.
Earthsake
The very first retailer of natural fiber organic mattresses and bedding – made & grown in the USA. Since 1990, they have offered innerspring mattresses handcrafted from local PureGrow wool and organic cotton inside soft organic covers, along with all natural bedframes and organic bed linens. PureGrow wool fill is naturally fire retardant – so Earthsake Organic Mattresses and bedding do not contain chemical fire-retardants. In addition to their organic cotton mattresses, they also have natural latex mattresses and vegan mattresses made from 100% hemp . “Our PureGrow wool is locally and organically farmed in Sonoma County, Northern California from free and “happy” sheep.”
KD Frames
Unfinished platform beds and futon sofa frames crafted from Tulip Poplar. “All of our frames are made of kiln dried Tulip Poplar hardwood grown in responsibly managed Virginia forests. We do not apply chemicals of any kind in our factory, and the wood is smooth, sanded, and unfinished. KD Frames has been in business since 1987.” I saw one of these frame in a local store and it was very solid and had excellent craftsmanship.
Mountain Valley Growers
A good selection of USDA certified organic herb, vegetable, and perennial seedling plants, grown in the Central Valley of California. Available in 3-inch potted plants and 128-plug trays. You’ll find both common and unusual plants here, including sweet stevia.
Chattanooga Butter Co.
Grassfed real cream butter mixed with coconut oil—plain and flavored (honey and cinnamon, roasted garlic, brandy soaked Bordeaux cherry…) “Our cream comes from grass fed cows, making the saturated fats pure and nutrient-rich…We use only extra virgin, refined and filtered coconut oil which is neutral in taste…Since our butters are 100% natural and our fruits & spices are organic, they are free of any industrialized toxins common to processed foods…We source many ingredients for our various spreads from local or neighboring state farms when possible. They are grown and harvested the old fashioned way, from nearby farms, to our kitchen, to your family dinner table!” Unrefined sweeteners.
Glyphosate in Ice Cream?
Cherry Garcia tested zero for glyphosate
Last week an The New York Times published an interesting article about glyphosate in ice cream. Specifically Ben & Jerry’s in the title, but others as well.
So should we all stop eating ice cream?
Here are the important points for consumers who want to eat ice cream.
The Organic Consumers Association tested 11 samples of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and found trace amounts of glyphosate in 10 of the samples. I was happy to see that my favorite flavor—Cherry Garcia (which I haven’t eaten in years)—was the one flavor that had zero.
So why do the others have glyphosate? The conclusion was that the glyphosate isn’t from the ice cream, but from the flavor additions. You can see in the chart that there is a wide difference in the amount of glyphosate between flavors.
The Organic Consumers Association also tested four brands of organic vanilla ice cream: Alden’s, Three Twins, Julie’s and the Whole Foods Market brand 365. The lab found trace amounts of glyphosate comparable to Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough in the Whole Foods 365 sample, but none in the others.
So some brands of organic vanilla test the same as Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia.
I rarely eat ice cream because I try to keep my intake of sugar and fat down and ice cream is loaded with both.
Regardless of tests, logic tells me that organic ice cream is going to contain fewer toxic chemicals overall, and it’s a better choice.
When I eat ice cream (rarely) I make my own at home. That way I can choose organic cream, my preferred organic sweetener, and any other ingredients.
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Traces of Controversial Herbicide are Found in Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream
POM Plastic (polyoxymethylene )
Question from Mai
Hi Debra,
I was wondering if you have any information about POM plastic (polyoxymethylene )? Most of the food processors I’ve found that come with a glass work bowl have POM plastic on the blade unit.
Debra’s Answer
Here’s the Product Safety Sheet for polyoxymethylene
It’s a plastic of the thermoplastic type. It is sold as a small plastic pellet which is then melted at high temperatures to then be molded into plastic parts.
“When this product is heated to high temperatures in order to produce a molded or extruded part, small amounts of formaldehyde gas is given off. The release of formaldehyde during the manufacture of parts made from Ultraform® POM is the primary concern…”
“Plastic parts made from Ultraform® POM…do not present a risk from exposure to formaldehyde, since the parts are no longer heated to high enough temperatures to produce formaldehyde.”
I’m not concerned about this on the blade unit of a food processor.
