The portion on the right is dry and has been wiped down.  The portion straight ahead I did this morning and the oil is soaking in and drying.  Obviously the dull part on the left is the floor before I refinished it. I love this!

Question from EAS

A friend just moved into an apartment with a beautiful and newly-refinished wooden floor. Beautiful, but the smell was very noticeable when she first moved in. Her eyes became bloodshot and she began having other “allergy” symptoms — headache, stuffy and runny nose, ect. soon thereafter. She suspects that the floor may be the problem. Short of moving apartments — which she is considering — is there a solution? What in the floor might be causing the problem, and how big of a problem? Will it go away? Thank you very much for the advice!

Debra’s Answer

FInishes for wood floors can contain many toxic elements.

Sounds like she needs to do a “bake-out”. This will help the volatile chemicals evaporate faster. Just remove all plants, pets, and people, and turn up the heat for a day. Then open the windows and ventilate. Repeat as many times as needed. Usually doing it every day for a week handles it, but she may need only a day or two.

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Question from Ginny

I have dislocated my toe and need to have my foot wrapped in an ace type bandage. The one that the doctor put on my foot is causing a burning reaction. Any ideas on where I can find a “natural” ace style bandage? I had hoped to find one made of hemp or cotton but have not been able to find one yet

Debra’s Answer

Readers?

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Question from HR

We have a bedroom set that has been outgassing an odor for years….sometimes we don ‘t notice it and other times it is powerful….it smells like shoes that need odor eaters badly….anything we can do? It was very expensive and we hate to replace it.

Debra’s Answer

The only two things I know of to improve outgassing are 1) use heat to speed the outgassing (such as baking by turning up the heat in the house, or putting an item out in the sun) or 2) apply some kind of barrier (such as foil, foil paper, or a vapor barrier sealant).

You probably are smelling elements of the finish which outgas more when the temperature is higher.

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Question from Kat

Hi..

I’m sensitive to all the commercial laundry powders that I’ve tried

I heard that Epsom Salts can be used to wash clothes, but haven’t been able to find info anywhere, on how much to use.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Or know of any other natural and fragrance-free ways to wash clothes.

Many thanks,

Katherine

Debra’s Answer

I don’t know anything about washing with Epsom Salts, but why? Use soapnuts.

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Question from Kat

Hi..

I’m chemically sensitive and periodically suffer with excema and itchy skin.. usually on my face, scalp, eyes, ears, thighs and hips.. I also sometimes lose my hair when it gets really bad, so it’s a pretty distressing symptom for me.

I’m very careful about chemicals I use on my skin and eat carefully but don’t seem to be able to manage this symptom except with topical cortisone, and even that often isn’t enough.

Does anyone have any advice about things that have worked for them??

I’m about to reluctantly try cortisone injections because am so tired of feeling this way, but I wanted to exhaust any less radical solutions first.

Many thanks,

Debra’s Answer

The first question I would ask is, are you showering or bathing in chlorinated water? This often causes skin conditions. My first suggestion would be to get a shower filter if you don’t already have one and give it a couple of weeks. This will probably clear it up entirely.

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Question from Lisa P

Hello Debra,

I was wondering whether you are familiar with titanium coated cookware. Advertised as non-toxic, inert and nonstick, it sounds like a great alternative to teflon. Titanium has been used in medicine and dentistry for a while with a great safety record. One of titanium cookware brands, that’s affordable is Analon. Any comment would be appreciated.

Debra’s Answer

I didn’t see any titanium cookware on the Analon site.

Several years ago a friend asked me about titanium cookware and I did some research on it. At the time, I discovered that the brand he was considering buying was made by locking the standard Teflon-type non-stick plastic finish into a crater-like material made from indestructable ceramic and titanium. Embedding the finish in the ceramic-titanium craters prevents it from being scraped off into the food, but fumes may still be released, especially as a result of long periods of excessive heat.

I can’t speak to your question about Analon specifically, as I couldn’t find the product.

Other titanium cookware may be different. We need to look at each individually.

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Question from Molly

I have recently moved and am renting a home. The kitchen shelves are wood but have a layer (or two) of contact paper on them. I do not want to use any harsh chemicals to remove the the adhesive that remains. Do you have a “green way” to remove this stubborn stuff? Thank you in advance for your help!

Debra’s Answer

Readers?

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Question from muriel

Do you know of any other product besides MURCO (joint compound for wallboard)? It appears that Murco can only be bought through the company in Texas or other locations in Texas and I am in Florida and I have unexpected work to do asap in my house.

Or does anyone know of any place locally (South Florida) that carries Murco or any other joint compound product that is environmentally safe that is sold in a Home Depot etc?

Also does anyone know of any environmentally safe joint tape and where I can purchase it? Thank you.

Debra’s Answer

My husband and I have always used just the standard powdered joint compound sold by Home Depot and Lowe’s and standard tape. I don’t consider this to be a particularly toxic product, though some people with MCS do react to it.

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Question from VP

We’ve moved recently to Perrysburg, OH and to my horror the city started to spray mosquitoes. There are no warnings of any kind and it happened at different times when I was taking a walk with my child. I’m very concern about chemicals released into the air due to obvious health and ecological reasons and in my opinion it is a very ineffective and ignorant way to deal with this problem. So, I’m wandering how best to go about it and if anyone have any experience/suggestions how to fight it. Thanks.

Debra’s Answer

Readers, what is your experience with this?

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Question from Dalia

I just moved to Houston and Air conditioners are becoming part of my life…How can I getfresh outside air without high electricity bills and not damaging my old central ac? Nights are still somewhat cool here but days are hot and humid…does anybody can help me with that? I do not like the feeling of breathing the same air over and over again…my whole life I slept with open windows …

Thank you soooooooooooooooooo much

Dalia

Debra’s Answer

I’d like to know the answer to this myself.

My understanding is that a certain amount of fresh air comes in and is cooled, and some air is exhausted. These are called “air exchanges”. But there could be a greater amount. I’m not an HVAC expert, so perhaps someone will jump in and answer this one.

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