Had a question emailed to me about "outgassing"? What does it mean? Outgassing means that there are one or more toxic chemicals present in a substance or material which are volatile, that is, they evaporate out of the substance or material into the air where you can...

Question from Cheryl Hi all, does anyone know if scratched Corningware (meaning whatever is underneath is showing through in fairly fine gray scratches) and scorched(browned) is safe to use? Also, I guess the composition has changed through the years and I received...

Question from D. L. I was shopping at Bed Bath & Beyond the other day and noticed they had a lot of bed and bath linens made from a fabric called Modal®. The label says it's a natural fiber, but is it really? Debra's Answer There are three general types of...

Question from Gigi This product is a water-based sealer that seals old wallpaper adhesive and has VOCs of less than 100g/l. I am curious to know if anyone has used it and if they have had any adverse reactions to it. Technically, this is a low VOC product,...

Question from Terry Ann Debra I can't seem to get a straight answer about Silica...I notice that it is used in just about any supplement I purchase. Is this form of Silica dangerous? Debra's Answer Silica is the chemical compound silicon dioxide, an oxide of silicon....

Question from tj I am getting ready to remodel my kitchen. They are wanting me to put a Convection oven in. Does anyone know the safety of a convection oven with a microwave (which I would never use, but they want me to put it in for re-sale value). I am concerned...

Question from TRACEY Hi Debra, I can't seem to find a house to purchase that isn't sprayed with pesticides and can't move out of the area. I do have MCS. Do you or any of your readers have any experience detoxing a house with pesticides? Thank you so much! Debra's...

On January 4, the Washington Post published this article: Use of potentially harmful chemicals kept secret under law. It begins, "Of the 84,000 chemicals in commercial use in the United States -- from flame retardants in furniture to household cleaners -- nearly 20...

I ran across a very interesting website called Corrosion Doctors at www.corrosion-doctors.org/. "The mission of this popular Web site is to improve the general awareness of what corrosion is all about, from complicated processes that are at play even behind the...

Question from CC How do you eliminate the smell of mothball? I have a question about moth balls. I have an old cedar chest from my childhood that I'd like to use, but it still has the smell of mothballs in it left over from the early 1960's. There are some vintage...