Question from Kathleen

Hi Debra,

I’ve been avoiding any bubble bath products for my kids. So far they’ve been happy to splash away in plain water, but they love the bubbles though and am still interested to find a safe product without foaming agents etc… Need some help here.

thank you,

Kathleen

Debra’s Answer

Oh, it’s been years since I’ve taken a bubble bath.

Readers, any suggestions?

Add Comment

Question from KL

Hello – I was hoping someone was familiar with this product Pro Shot Industrial Re-Newing. Or does anyone know how to get similar results with another non toxic product or home remedy?

Debra’s Answer

The ingredients in this product are:

They are mostly petrochemicals of varying toxicity.

I couldn’t get an MSDS sheet from the company (proshotcorp.com). They said I had to mail a letter on company letterhead to get it. That makes me suspicious right there.

Does anyone have any experience with this product? If it does what it says it does and it’s nontoxic, I’d like to use it on my floors, which need some rejuvination.

Add Comment

Question from Marlon Sims

Hi Debra,

I accidentally put a coat of Howard’s Feed-n-Wax Wood Preserver (Beeswax & Orange Oil) on my new butcher block. I didn’t notice that it contains petroleum distillate. How do I remove this from the table top or clean it to make it safe to cut foods?

Thank you.

M. from San Francisco

Debra’s Answer

Petroleum distillate is a volatile organic chemical (VOC), which means that it evaporates. Over time, it will just evaporate away, releasing, of course, the toxic chemicals into the air.

Heat will speed up this process. You could leave it out in the sun or apply heat in some other way.

Add Comment

Question from Y Guo

I bought a master bedroom set by Thomasville, and never expected that I couldn’t use it because of the strong smell of finishing. I tried baking soda, opened the window everyday even in freeze snow winter days, pulled out the drawers of nightstand and dress to air the smell out in an empty window-opened room, and after one month, the smell is still there, and even stronger in a warm temperature if i turned on air conditioner.

I was told by the customer service that every piece of furniture will have the smell, and for thomasville, the smell should go away in a month.

We are expecting a newborn in just one and half month. We had planned to have baby sleep with us in this room.

Does anyone know where i can turn to help to get the smell tested, and a healthier product? thanks.

Debra’s Answer

I don’t know what kind of finish Thomasville uses, but if they say the smell will dissipate after a month and it hasn’t, perhaps it’s time to contact them again and ask them to take it back.

I don’t remember the last time I bought a piece of furniture that was finished. I buy solid wood furniture at unfinished furniture stores and finish it myself (actually, my husband applies the finish). I also buy used furniture and refinish it (See How I Make Recycled Furniture).

The Interior Decorating page of Debra’s List has some websites that sell safe furniture.

Add Comment

Question from Jane

Hello, do you know anything about Physicians Formula new organic makeup line? Is it safe? Here is the list of ingredients for their organic veil:

MICA, ZEA MAYS (CORN) STARCH*, MAGNESIUM STAERATE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, KAOLIN, ORYZA SATIVA (RICE) HULL POWDER, GLYCERYL CAPRYLATE, CARTHAMUS TINCTORIUS (SAFFLOWER) SEED OIL, GLYCERIN, GLYCINE SOJA (SOYBEAN) OIL*, OLEA EUROPAEA (OLIVE) FRUIT OIL*, SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS (JOJOBA) SEED OIL*, CINNAMIC ACID, CITRUS GRANDIS (GRAPEFRUIT) FRUIT EXTRACT, SODIUM LEVULINATE, TOCOPHEROL, WATER. MAY CONTAIN: IRON OXIDES, TITANIUM DIOXIDE.

*PRODUCED FROM ORGANIC FARMING

Debra’s Answer

I went to the

Physician’s Formula Organic Wear website. I looked at the ingredients and found that their products contain anywhere from 11 to 84 percent certified organic ingredients.

To answer your question, I don’t see any ingredients on that list that I would call unsafe.

Add Comment

Question from Linda

good morning debra,

i have had your site on my bookmarks for quite some time now but this is my first interaction. i have been incorporating green approaches into my life for the past 25 years or so also.

i was interested in the plastic items offered and wondered if you were aware of the research initially done at tufts university that discovered that plastic emits an estrogen like chemical when handled. the thicker the plastic the greater the estrogen that is emitted. for example a plastic vegetable bag would emit less estrogen than a plastic container lid being snapped on or a baby’s bottle hitting the floor. the harder the plastic the greater the amount of estrogen emitted. i do believe all plastic emits this estrogen like chemical.

i first became aware of this issue while listening to an interview on npr with the oncology physician who discovered this fact. she thought her experiment was contaminated because the cells in the test tubes were growing rapidly as if exposed to estrogen. she began eliminating aspects of the experiment until she was left holding the plastic test tube and that is when she tumbled. she has written a book about it. the important issue is that estrogen causes tumors to grow. a pre-menopausal woman who develops breast cancer has a lower likely hood of survival than a post-menopausal woman. it is not just breast cancer that this substance effects.

it was quite a few years before i even began to see this information in the mainstream press and then it was a rare occurrence. it has remained quite out of the public domain which surprises me. think of the chaos this would cause given that so much of our lives are linked to plastic. our watering systems are now almost entirely dependent on p.v.c. china could implode.

i personally never drink water from plastic bottles. every time that plastic crackles you are infusing the water with another dink of estrogen. i also use only glass for food storage and have made a wonderful collection of vintage glass storage containers that actually stack quite well. i try to be pragmatic. i do not empty all of the yogurt containers into glass but i do tend to transfer food items, such as cottage cheese, into glass once i have opened them. i do still use baggies but often will use aluminum foil in its place.

Debra’s Answer

But I don’t think all plastic contains these endocrine disruptors. I found an article about the original Tufts study at http://www.alternet.org/story/7786 . It says that the problematic substance was “p-nonylphenol, an antioxidant sometimes added to plastics to make them less breakable.” Sometimes added to plastic. Not always.

This story about the estrogen is from the book Our Stolen Future which I have in Debra’s Bookstore. I also have the author’s website Our Stolen Future on the Toxics page of Debra’s List. I think a good rule of thumb is to choose something other than plastic whenever possible. In addition to containing toxic substances, it also does not biodegrade and will sit in landfills for centuries, if not for eternity.

Add Comment

Question from Pat Burkett

The seal under the bathtub drain gave out and water leaked out. Plumber used plumbers putty as a sealant and I found out that was really bad for me. I need something safer. Any suggestions?

Debra’s Answer

I asked my husband about this and he went under the kitchen sink and brought out a little tub of plumber’s putty. He looked on the label and said, “It says all ingredients are non-hazardous.” He put it on my desk, and after about fifteen minutes I started reacting to it. I felt woozy and started making a lot of mistakes typing, which I don’t usually do.

So I looked up Oatey’s Plumber’s Putty MSDS and found that it contains 10-30% non-specific “hydrocarbons” (and zero VOCs–that doesn’t make sense to me) along with limestone, talc, clay, and fish oils. Yes, I think you could have a reaction to this.

The alternatives seem to be silicone caulk, which will dry where plumber’s putty never cures, or a rubber or silicone gasket. My husband and I had quite a time trying to find such a gasket online with no success. He said the drain should come with a gasket and you should be able to just get a gasket. I’d try a plumbing supply house.

Readers, any other suggestions?

Add Comment

Question from Emmy

what can he use so he doesn’t smell like chlorine (for my sake) after he swims?

Debra’s Answer

Does he shower after swimming? If a plain shower doesn’t remove the smell, have him use an unscented soap that you like.

Readers, any other suggestions that worked for you?

Add Comment

Question from Nancy Grundahl

Greening Elections. From Waste Age, December 2007

Post-Election Collection

After the ballots are cast and the winners declared, what happens to those dense forests of campaign signs that blight the November landscape? If Altogether Recycling in Denver has its way, candidates – victorious or otherwise – will deposit their unwanted signs in recycling bins. Besides benefiting the environment, the program is a pretty good indicator of which candidates adhere to the environmental plank of their platform.

According to the company, more than 85,000 campaign yard signs were erected in Denver for this political season. Most are made of highly recyclable Coraplast, a hollow-core plastic material that resembles cardboard. Many of the signs can be reused in future campaigns, but for those exiting the political stage, Altogether has set up collection sites around the city.

Political careers, alas, are not so easily salvaged.

Source: Altogether Recycling

Debra’s Answer

Add Comment

Question from PSG

I’ve been investigating water-based markers for use in an Interior Design class since posting here re:same, Jan. 8th. I have discovered Tombow markers in an impressive array of colors, comparable to the Prismacolors the class list specifies. My instructor is amenable to substitution, so I’d like to put the question out to all: Has anyone with mild to moderate chemical sensitivity used Tombow water-based markers, and have you had a problem with them?

I need to purchase within the next couple of days, and will be grateful for an answer at your earliest convenience.

Thanks.

Debra’s Answer

Readers?

Add Comment