Question from L.A.

I’ve just purchased a used Room and Board sofa. The fabric is a kind of micro-suede,and the tag reads “resin-treated polyester.” I tried calling R and B, but they had no further details. I’m concerned that this may be the toxic PTFE Resin that the EPA has issued reports on. Any ideas?

Debra’s Answer

I have not a clue as to what this sofa might have been treated with some time in the past.

Your best bet is to call Room and Board and ask them. They will need some kind of model number, which should be on a tag somewhere on the sofa.

It’s probably not PTFE, but is probably a stain-resistant resin containing formaldehyde.

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Question from Jill

Does anyone know what nontoxic sealer or wax can be used on a concrete countertop? Can beeswax be used?

Debra’s Answer

Readers?

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Question from Reenie

At the vacuum center today, they were selling Super Gel beads for areas that have an odor and/or damp areas. Instructions say just open the jar or put in a shallow bowl. The ingredients label lists water, a variety of essential oils and soya. But I wonder what makes them a gel? The soya? The owner of the shop told me the individual gel beads eventually get small and hard, about the size of a grain of rice. Has anyone done research on this or used them? I wonder if this product is a) safe for life including humans, pets, fish etc., and safe for the environment. Thanks!

Debra’s Answer

There’s a lot more information on their website: www.fresh-wave.com/.

I saw this too, at a hardware store, and it looked interesting. It is 100% natural, made with natural extracts of lime, pineneedles, aniseed, clove, and cedar wood, along with soy. So if you have MCS, you probably don’t want to use this because some of these oils are highly reactive. But I don’t see any reason for an average healthy person not to use it.

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Question from Reenie

Hello, Are there any books or online resources that are helpful to others wanting to create a Green Team in their workplace? Thanks!

Debra’s Answer

Readers?

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Question from Sandy

I have fleas in my house. My dogs are primarly inside, but go out to potty. This is the first summer ever that they bring fleas back in on them. The fleas love my furnitur as well. What would you reccomend to kill the fleas in my furniture.

Debra’s Answer

Go to Nature’s Defender Cedar Oil products. Type “fleas” into their search box and you will get “In-door & Out-door flea, mite & bed bug eradication kit”. That should do it.

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Question from Melissa

Hi. Has anyone tried Skoy cloths (www.skoycloth.com)? They’re made from cotton and cellulose pulp, are biodegradable and are supposed to be a green alternative to paper towels. Thanks.

Debra’s Answer

Looks fine to me.

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Question from Millie

Does anyone own a Naturepedic mattress in a full or queen size? I am interested in purchasing one for my son. How firm is it and is it holding up well? I’m worried that it might be too firm. It seems the stores in my area only stock the crib size mattress. I’m a little nervous buying it without trying it out first. Many thanks!

Debra’s Answer

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Question from R

Hi Debra,

I recently went into an Origins store and the sales agent told me that they don’t use any chemicals in their products so they are all 100% natural. I bought a couple of items that didn’t have any chemicals listed in the ingredient list, but do you or your readers know if this is in fact true? I would appreciate any advice…

Thank you very much.

Debra’s Answer

Unfortunately, their website does not list any ingredients, so I can’t look at all the ingredients lists. I know when they first came out, they weren’t 100% natural, but I know they changed their formulas.

A lot of beauty product websites list their ingredients, so consumers can check out the products before they buy.

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Question from Stephanie

I know the topic of thyroid health has been a hot topic on this site and many members are users of natural thyroid supplements.

I ran across this article this morning and was deeply concerned.

The article was posted in Dr. Mercola’s weekly newsletter.

Here is the article I am referring to:

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/19/Is-the-FDA-Poised-to-Ban-a-Century-Old-Natural-Remedy.aspx

In this article there are pointers to some grass roots efforts to save natural thyroid products:

Debra’s Answer

Thank you Stephanie. I myself have been having difficulty getting my prescription filled. We need to keep these natural hormones on the market.

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Question from TE

Dear Debra,

We are renting an apartment with a large cupboard made out of particle board and wood veneer. I suspect it is pretty old (probably 10 years or more) but after reading about particle board and formaldehyde I am concerned that it may still be off-gassing.

I live in Israel so there is very little awareness of these issues and no products such as vapor barriers etc. or no VOC paints are available. I thought I could wrap the shelves with simple nylon sheets (the kind used to wrap school books) to minimize offgassing. Do you think that would work?

Thank you!

TE

Debra’s Answer

The thing that absolutely will work is heavy duty aluminum foil. Put it up with aluminum foil tape, which you can buy at a hardware store.

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