Water | Swimming Pools
RV or Travel Trailer?
Question from joyinjesus
I have MCS and would like to travel. Which is better? An RV or a travel trailer? I am thinking that a trailer could be made safer than an RV. My husband would rather not have to pull a trailer. Which one could be made the safest with the least amount of work?
Also, what kind of outer material would be best? Aluminum, fiberglass, or porcelain? I would think that to be surrounded by aluminum might cause a problem with EMF’s. I don’t know anything about fiberglass as pertains to MCS.
Do you or your reader’s know if there is a brand that is the best (quality, and uses less toxic materials)?
Thank you for your help.
Debra’s Answer
I have no experience with this.
Readers?
Mixing Walnut Oil And Beeswax For Wood Preserving
Question from Mayo
I found your ‘old’ blog with posts about safe wood preserving methods (Wood Conditioner for Cutting Boards and Bowls) and plan to try walnut oil. I’d like to add beeswax (neighbor is an organic beekeeper – yes!) however would like a guide on how much oil to how much beeswax. A rough estimate is fine. I live on an island accessible only by boat and finally found a place to send me walnut oil. I want to get it right the first time, so appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.
Debra’s Answer
I’ve never made this.
Readers, any suggestions?
Cleaning with a handheld sanitizing steamer
Question from nk
I recently purchased the Shark Sanitizing Steam Cleaner and use it to clean my kitchen sink, counters and cabinets as well as the bathroom sink, counters, toilet and bathtub. Soooooo much easier and no chemicals, just water I love it!
Debra’s Answer
I have one too and love it. So much easier to clean the bathroom and no toxic chemicals.
Galvanized Or Staninless Steal Water Storage Tank
Question from NMSlim
We have drilled a well on our property and now need to buy a water storage tank. The question is what kind of tank is the best. Our choice seems to be either a galvanized, or stainless steel. The price of stainless steel for a 1500 gallon tank is way to high. The galvanized is what seems to be the most affordable. This comes with or without an epoxy lining. Any thoughts on these for MCSs. I have learned so much from this site. Thank you
Debra’s Answer
I think I would go with the epoxy lining. Though epoxy is pretty toxic during application, once it is dry, I think it would have less liklihood of leaching than stainless steel or galvanized.
Spackle
Question from audrey
Does anyone know of a non toxic or low odor spackle? If so, where can it be purchased? Thank you.
Debra’s Answer
There are two kinds of spackle: powdered and paste.
If the paste has too much of any odor, try the powdered, which you mix with water.
Either is made with gypsum powder (which is not toxic), and glue, which may or may not be toxic.
You could always get some gypsum powder and mix it with some nontoxic glue, such as Elmer’s woodworking glue. I’ve never tried this, but it is logical.
Over the years, we’ve used a lot of spackle as we’ve remodeled our houses. My husband usually buys the paste and we’ve never considered it to be toxic.
Inhaling mold…what to do?
Question from griffithsfamily1
Our vacation home had a leak from an upstairs bathroom down to the downstairs floor beneath it. We discovered it about a week after we were there last.
When I walked into the home, I smelled something that smelled like a swamp, so I went sniffing through the house until I found it. There was water pooled up on the upstairs bathroom floor and in the cabinet so we cleaned that up and the smell was no longer there. I then went downstairs and could still smell it and it smelled like it was coming from the bathoom directly underneath the one that had the leak, specifially in the doorframe area. The water had come down through the walls and slightly pulled the crown moulding away from the ceiling and around the door jam.
I got down on my knees and started sniffing to find the odor and when I did I got a huge whiff of mildew smell. We immediately rented a Rug Dr and shampooed the carpet with Natures’ Miracle and weak bleach solution and the smell disappeared. We then turned on the heat under the carpet (we have hydronic heat) and it all dried out.
The house and carpet no longer smell, but nonetheless, we will have someone come out to assess and perhaps change the pad, clean up the gypcrete floor under the pad and see if we can salvage the carpet. Can we salvage carpet after a small amount of water damage – is there a way to truly get rid of any remaining mildew/mold?
Also, I have not been feeling too well since that “sniffing” incident. Could I have unhaled some mold spores into my lungs and if so, what can I do about it?
Thanks!
Debra’s Answer
You do need to have a mold professional come out and answer your questions. Mold can be very damaging to health and you don’t want to live in a moldy house.
You might have inhaled some mold spores. I’m not an expert in what to do if you inhale mold. Readers, any experience with this?
Wall Decals Safe?
Question from Sweet Gopala
I am interested in using wall decals in my home. I am slightly chemically sensitive, and wall decals are made from vinyl. Is it wise for me to avoid these? Will there be off-gassing with this type of vinyl product? Thanks for any advice!
Debra’s Answer
There is outgassing from any type of soft vinyl. Personally, i wouldn’t use them. But the amount of outgassing is rather small, compared to, for example, a whole room of vinyl wallpaper.
I would choose a different decoration.
President’s Report on Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk
The President’s Cancer Panel has issued a free 240-page report on Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now. I haven’t read it all myself yet, but it looks very comprehensive.
Chapters list exposures to carcinogens
- from industrial and manufacturing sources
- from agricultural sources
- related to modern lifestyles
- from medical sources
- from military sources
- from natural sources then tells what individuals can do to reduce their exposure.
“Environmental carcinogens are responsible for a far greater number of cancer than previously believed; thus eradicating these environmental threats should be a priority for President Obama, according to the report of a presidential advisory panel.” Read the rest of this article on the report at Cancer Panel Says Environment May Contribute to Cancer Risk.
Sanitizing Laundry
When I was at the CleanMed 2010 conference a couple of weeks ago in Baltimore, a nurse asked me how she could sanitize the clothing she wore at the hospital without using chlorine bleach.
I personally have never been concerned about killing germs on my clothing, but I could see how she could be, so I started doing some research.
One of the first things I came across was an article from the New York Times, published a decade ago, about germs in the laundry. The research team of Dr. Charles Gerba, professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona,
randomly visited 60 homes and washed a sterile washcloth in their machines. One-fifth of the machines contained E. coli, while a quarter were contaminated with fecal matter.
The laundry, Dr. Gerba contends, is becoming less clean. Fewer Americans wash clothes in hot water, and only 5 percent use bleach, he said. Wash cycles are only 20 minutes, while the average drying time is only 28 minutes. Dr. Gerba found that some salmonella and hepatitis A survive through laundry — including the dry cycle — and remain on clothes. ”We have no idea how well we clean clothes,” he said.
Dr. Gerba’s own laundry machine yielded E. coli, prompting him to change his own washing habits. SCIENTIST AT WORK: CHARLES GERBA; On Germ Patrol, at the Kitchen Sink
Hmmm, I’ve never had reason to believe that harmful micro-organisms were in my laundry, but I do wash in warm water (not hot) and don’t use bleach. This is one of those times when taking an action that benefits the environment (saving energy by using warm or cold water instead of hot) may not be good for your health.
So, if you want to sanitize your laundry, how could you do it without toxic disinfectants?
You could add tea tree oil or grapefruit seed extract to the wash. Both have disinfectant properties. I found many websites that say grapefruit seed extreact is becoming a disinfectant and sanitizing agent in hospitals and clinics (though the government requires products sold as disinfectants registered with the EPA, so I’m not sure about this–maybe someone working in a hospital could post a comment about their first hand experience with this).
Or you could get one of the new washing machines with a “sanitize” cycle, that disinfects while you wash. Many models have them now. Look for a NSF certification that ensures that “at least 99.9% of organisms are removed when the washer’s sanitazation cycle is selected and there is no carryover of organisms between loads after sanitization cycle is used.
Hanging laundry outdoors in the sunshine will do it too, as ultraviolet rays kill germs.
You can also use oxygen bleach. According to the Natural Choices website, “The oxygen bleach Natural Choices uses is sodium percarbonate which is made by treating natural soda ash with oxygen. In this process the soda ash picks up oxygen and releases it when added to warm or hot water. The released oxygen is what does the cleaning, stain removal and sanitizing.” Oxygen does kill micro-organisms. Hydrogen peroxide also can be used to provide sanitizing oxygen. We use it in our chlorine-fee swimming pool to kill bacteria and algae.
Mothers who use cloth diapers on their babies face this question daily. Traditionally, diapers have been presoaked with vinegar or borax to disinfect.
Any other suggestions?
The major thing I am running into researching this is lack of test data that shows how well each of these methods actually work to disinfect. So I can’t give a definitive answer at the moment, but the above is what is being recommended.
Make Your Own Laundry Soap/Detergent
While searching for something else, I came across this great page about making your own laundry soap/detergent. It’s so good I had to share it with you.
If you’re interested in doing this, this page has 10 recipes and more than 200 comments from people who have made these recipes and others.
Most use bar soap (please use more natural soaps than the recommended brands), washing soda, borax, and other natural ingredients. You can make it unscented or add essential oils–as much or as little as you like.
