Question from Linda

Hi debra, i was wondering if you could tell me the difference between organic cotton and kapok? If i were to make a bed pillow or a sofa pillow what product ( organic cotton,kapok)would be more comfortable and healthier to be around? We are going to be purchasing brand new bed pillow for the whole family around the beginning of the year and i am confused,i want the healthiest pillows available. We are going to be buying about 8 so i have one shot to get it right. Please any advice would be great. Thanks, linda.

Debra’s Answer

Organic cotton comes from the cotton plant and kapok is a fiber taken from the seed pod of the tropical kapok tree, also called the silk-cotton tree.

There’s a really good explanation and comparison of most of the natural fiber pillow filling materials on the GoodNight Naturals website at http://www.goodnightnaturals.com/wool-organic-cotton-pillows.html (even though the headline mentions only wool, cotton, and buckwheat hulls, scroll down and click on organic cotton pillows and kapok pillows. The characteristics of each are described to help you make a decision).

Question from Blue Daisy

I am looking at the tarkett brand of fiber flooring. Does anyone have any info on this product or experience with it? It has been Floorscore certified does this mean it is safe? I could not find MSDS on the product. I am very mildly chemical sensitive. Mainly cleaners, perfumes, body products make me get hives etc. Plus have birds, so need to be careful. and plan and simple I like to be as green and non toxic as possible….

Any insight or help would be appreciated.

Thank You

B

Debra’s Answer

I went to the Tarkett website and found no information on what the Fiberfloor flooring is made from. So I called their Technical Resources department and was told that it’s sheet vinyl. Ordinary sheet vinyl.

But for some reason, a material that is usually quite toxic qualifies to be certified by FloorScore. A product bearing the FloorScore seal, developed by the Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI), has been independently tested and ceritified to comply with the volatile organic compound emissions criteria of the California Section 01350 program. This in an independent third-party certification process that recognizes products that protect human health by creating good indoor air quality.

You asked if this means the floor is safe. The volatile organic compound emissions criteria of the California Section 01350 program can be found at http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/greenbuilding/Specs/Section01350/. The list of VOCs is quite long–you can see exactly what the chemicals are that are monitored and what their acceptable limits are. I put that in italics because the acceptable amount is not zero, this is the amount they allow. So your Tarkett floor has been tested and found that it contains less than these amounts of this whole list of toxic chemicals.

These amounts are considered by the State of California to be safe for schoolchildren.

Here’s what I think. There are products that need no certification because they are made with materials that don’t contain toxic chemicals. Like ceramic tile. Or by the time they are manufactured and applied and cured, they don’t outgas toxic chemicals. Sheet vinyl is toxic vinyl with toxic plasticizers added to make it flexible.

Ceramic tile doesn’t need to be certified. All of it is nontoxic. So then a certifying organization comes along and says, “we’re going to certify these products to be low-emission,” Not nontoxic, “low emission.”

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Question from HEG

Debra,

We have been searching for a new rental home in Miami for months now. We have so many environmental criteria and as a result it has been hard to find the perfect place. We finally found one with tile and hard wood floors (no carpet or laminate), no pesticides used, no new paint, not a new building, a non-smoker currently lives there, etc. Our only problems are that the current tennant uses a lot of artificial fragrance products – many candles, incense burners, glade plug-ins, fabreeze, etc. It is truly overpowering! My question is whether the dangers of these products will be gone once she vacates, and we have the place ventilated and thoroughly cleaned with green cleaning products (including a vapurclean treatment all over), or will the toxins linger? We have an infant so we want to be sure.

Also, is there any danger from using a clothes dryer that someone has previously used fragranced dryer shhets in?

Thank you for your feedback!

Debra’s Answer

Ideally, I would say err on the side of caution, but the house does sound perfect in other ways.

I can’t guarantee you can remove this fragrance. I’ve never personally tried to do that.

Readers, what is your experience with this? Any successful actions?

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Question from LV

HI-

I am planning a home birth in January and one of the items in my birthing kit is sterile lubricating jelly. The problem is all the MEDICAL sterile jellys I find all have parabens and are most likely petroleum based.

Any one have any suggestions maybe midwives or medical experts out there know safer alternatives? Midwife says it needs to be sterile.

I’ve been staying away from all chemicals and would hate to have to use these during the birth.

thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Debra’s Answer

Readers?

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Question from MP

I gave up trying to find a cradle and crib that it totally non-toxic and in the design I like so I’m having one of each built by a local woodcrafter for the nursery. My question is, I need a non-toxic (no voc if possible) wood conditioner, stain, and finish. What do you recommend?

Thanks!

~Melissa

Debra’s Answer

Readers, what have you used?

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Question from NS

I was wondering how long germs live outside the body. Like if somebody coughed into their hand and touched something and then I touched it.

Debra’s Answer

The expert answer from the Mayo Clinic is “the range is from a few seconds to 48 hours — depending on the specific virus and the type of surface.”

Click on the link to read more about controlling your exposure.

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Question from Sara

Debra,

I know you highly recommend the extrema cookware but I’ve never heard you mention their steamer which is made of silicone. I want to buy a steamer and I’m wondering if a silicone steamer would be safe to cook in or if I would be wiser to stick with bamboo or stainless steel.

Thank you,

Sara

Debra’s Answer

We’ve had a lot of discussion on this blog about all three of those materials: bamboo, stainless steel, and silicone. Personally, I think any of the three would be fine, but not all my readers agree with me.

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Question from Lucyhem

I was very excited to try some of the suggestions for alternatives to automatic dishwasher detergent because I do not tolerate the Seventh Generation powder that I have been using. So I followed the recipe with washing soda, one teaspoon of Dr Bronners castile soap and vinegar in the rinse cup. I got a film on my glasses that I cannot get off. I have run them through the dishwasher with my old detergent, with a variation on the recipe and washed them by hand. The white film is hard to remove even by hand. I don’t care that much but my husband is very unhappy about the film. He thinks the glasses are dirty, even though I explained that they are not.

Any recipes for getting this film off, or explanations for what causes it and how to remedy it? I do not have hard water. I am afraid I am back to the commercial stuff because I have spent so much time trying to get my glasses clean.

Frustrated in Montague, MA

Debra’s Answer

Readers?

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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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