Question from NewEnglandSara.

Hi there, we are in a conundrum about our closet shelving, and I thought I would reach out for ideas….

We recently built a new house, and I became more aware of toxins as time went along. For some reason, it never occurred to me to think about what our contractor would buy for closet shelves. I think I assumed he would use wood and that we could paint the wood with Safecoat or Mythic.

It turned out that our contractor bought Melagard shelves from Roseburg. These shelves do include particle board, although they meet the California Phase 2 regulations. Half of the shelves utilize a PVC tape on the edges, and the other half utilize a melamine tape.

My husband and I are overwhelmed because we have about thirteen closets in the house: each with two shelves. We wish we could go back and choose another material, but it might be prohibitavely expensive at this point.

Any suggestions on remedying or replacing? Thank you!

Debra’s Answer

My #1 choice would be to go back and replace with solid wood. If that is prohibitively expensive, you could consider some other type of nontoxic board such as wheatboard or PureBond formaldehyde-free plywoo. I don’t know what the cost is of these boards.

Another thing you might consider is wire shelving, which is pretty inexpensive and allows for air flow. And you wouldn’t need to paint them. That would probably be my choice if I needed shelves in a closet.

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Question from NewEnglandSara.

Hi there, we just bought a new set of kitchen chairs (via Craig’s List), and my husband wants to re-cover them with fabric that we can wipe down since we have three young kids. When we did this four years ago, we bought reasonably priced fabric and then a clear plastic to put on top of the fabric. The solution worked great, but I now realize that the plastic must have contained PVC and surely off-gassed. I am wondering if you know of: 1) fabrics that are wipeable but low in toxins OR 2) a plastic-style overlay that will be less toxic. I welcome your thoughts! Thanks so much, Sara

Debra’s Answer

This is a good question to ask, and I’m sure I can’t give a definitive answer at the moment, but I will think out loud here.

The two options would be a waterproofed fabric or a sheet of nontoxic plastic.

Waterproof fabrics are natural or synthetic fabrics that are laminated to or coated with a waterproofing material such as rubber,polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane (PU), silicone, fluoropolymers, or wax. The difficulty with fabrics is that it can be almost impossible to find out what the fabric is waterproofed with. You could search on “waterproof upholstery fabric” like I did and come up with gorgeous designer fabrics for $69 a yard used in hospitals, but which have no information on the waterproofing process. It will take time to research and review various waterproofing processes, but I think it’s worth opening this post for this purpose as this type of fabric is needed for outdoor use as well as indoor uses such as yours.

I’ll just tell you that “oilcloth,” which comes in many bright patterns and colors is vinyl, so don’t use that.

For your needs, I would probably go with just replacing the fabric cover. The first idea that came to mind was to go down to IKEA and buy a PVA shower curtain for about $4 and cut it up. Transparent and nontoxic. Or you could buy a polyethylene tarp. Both of these plastics are nontoxic.

Question from CarolynB

My Mother will be having a colonoscopy soon. Does anyone have any advice about anesthetics? They use Versed for amnesia twilight zone? What about the pain killer? To clean out, she will be using 1 cap of Miralax mixed with Pedialite. I think it was 8 oz of Pedialite. My husband said they use saline to flush her out as needed, and either air or gas to help her colon open up. Any feedback? Suggestions? Thanks.

Debra’s Answer

Readers? Any experience with this?

You might try Health Care Without Harm.

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Question from Nell

Hi Debra, I like the furniture I keep seeing: Resin covered wicker. There is one chair I’d like to use indoors. Is the resin considered safe? Is it likely to have a smell for a while? Would appreciate any help on this. Thanks!

Debra’s Answer

See if you can find out what the resin is. Some resins on wicker is polyethylene, which would be safe, but I’m not sure all resins on wicker are polyethylene. See if you can find out and write back and I will tell you the safety of the resin.

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Question from raftergirl

Hi Debra, I am quite grateful for your Q&A blog. It has so much helpful information for people with MCS. Thanks!

My question is regarding mosquito control.

Our local vector control has started spot spraying BTI (bacilles thuringiensis israelensis) for larvae control. They will start fogging from trucks and possible airplanes for adult mosquitos, “anvil 10 + 10” which is made by Clarke. They also sometimes use “Bio-mist 4 + 4” (also by Clarke).

Vector control said that these sprays are much less harmful than past sprays. I still feel quite concerned about it.

I am trying to decide if I need to leave the area and stay with someone while they spray (especially fog) or even the week following the fogging. I feel especially concerned about the fogging they do at night for adult mosquitos.

Do you have any sense how dangerous these sprays are for people with MCS? Are they much safer as vector control claims?

Debra’s Answer

First, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) is completely safe. It is a group of bacteria used as biological control agents for larvae stages of certain insects. It works by producing toxins which are effective in killing specific species of mosquitoes, fungus gnats, and blackflies, while having almost no effect on other organisms. Here is the MDSD.

Anvil 10 + 10 is a synthetic pyrethrin pesticide. The MSDS says it contains 20% pesticide and 80% petroleum distillates and says “inert ingredeints are proprietary or non-hazardous” What!!?! Petroleum distillates certainly ARE hazardous! They are a mix of all different kinds of toxic VOCs, whatever is cheapest at the moment when the mix is being made. So when this is being sprayed, they are basically just spraying toxic chemicals around.

Bio-mist 4 + 4–oh, I see–is the same stuff (here’s the MSDS) but the 10 + 10 is 10 percent one pesticide and 10 percent another, while this one uses the same two pesticides with 4 percent of each. This is then 92 percent toxic petroleum distillates.

I would say if you are having symptoms, and you have known sensitivites, even that small amount can pose a potential issue.

I would leave while these pesticides are being applied, but since they are so volatile you could probably come back in a couple of days.

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Question from holly

What is the healthiest microwave to buy re: outgassing? I don’t use the MW, but my Mom and husband do. My husband bought one and it smelled so bad we took it back immediately. I’m not concerned about the price, but I just don’t want the plastics, etc. off-gassing. Please advise.

Debra’s Answer

I certainly don’t know, as I don’t recommend microwave ovens at all.

But I’m posting your question because I understand when living with people sometimes you need to accommodate them.

Readers, any suggestions for a microwave oven that doesn’t smell of plastic?

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Question from Robin Hart

I just bought 100% white organic cotton sheets that were made in India, and they smell horrible. I have washed them 4 times and they are still to strong to tolerate. I have MCS they are now soaking in baking soda and organic apple cider vinegar and water solution. If that does not get rid of the smell, what else can I do. We have no clothes line and live in an HOA that does allow me to hang anything outside my home, like on the railing etc. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Debra’s Answer

Call Daliya at nontoxic.com 1 800 968 9355. She has a number of products that can help remove odors.

Just a couple of days ago I was reading some success stories about Pure Body zeolite drops, which are designed to be taken internally to remove toxic chemicals from your body. But this person used them to remove fragrance from clothing. “I used 14 drops in the washing machine to wash some used clothes I purchased at Goodwill that had fragrance on them from fragranced laundry detergent and the Pure Body took most of the fragrance smell out!” Makes sense to me since they absorb air pollutants too.

This woman also used Pure Body zeolite drops to remove fragrance from her hands. “I accidentally got hit with a fragranced hand soap one day…I usually use rubbing alcohol to get fragrances off my hands after someone has shaken my hand or if I didn’t know that a hand soap had fragrance in it, but with this particular one, the rubbing alcohol didn’t make much a difference…so, I put a few drops of Pure Body into a cup of water and then used that to scrub my hands and rinse off and it took most of the fragrance off my hands right away! Just needed to scrub more into between fingers to get the rest.”

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Question from Magaret

Hi I don’t know if this is something that can be answered by you or anyone else.

I recently tested air for formaldehyde at home and work. The lab report found that the levels were both 14-15 parts per billion. I know that those levels are well below the EPA guidelines, but for someone with sensitivities can it pose a potential issue?

The guy at Advanced Chemical Sensor lab didn’t seem to think that level could be considered a problem. I thought I’d double check with you.

I’m wondering this because I have noticed some symptoms (brain fog & weird feeling in body) at work, but not at home.

I did another air test for my work space, but just for VOC’s. All it revealed was (again) a low level of Acetone, which didn’t seem too remarkable to the lab.

For what it is worth, prior to doing the testing and during a particularly toxic feeling episode, a holistic dr whom I’d consulted mentioned that I seemed to have some minor formaldehyde issue coming up in my body. (It was however among other more major issues, like pesticide and petroleum solvent exposure.)

Debra’s Answer

Whether or not one reacts to a particular chemical exposure is a very individual thing.

It depends on how much you’ve been exposed to and how often, other chemicals in your body, your general health…you could put ten people in a room with the same chemical exposure and each will respond differently.

The traditional toxicology viewpoint is that it takes a certain amount of a chemical to cause a toxic response and that can happen all at once or build up in your body over time. But what we are learning now is that some chemicals–like endocrine disruptors–can cause damage at extremely low doses, and people with MCS can react to exposures well below those considered safe. Children are much more susceptible, as are the elderly and those with chronic illness.

I would say if you are having symptoms, and you have known sensitivites, even that small amount can pose a potential issue.

ANY amount of a chemical can cause problems for some people. There is no safe level for lead, for example.

I would suggest to you to remove the source of formaldehyde until you can be in the room with no symptoms.

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I signed a petition at change.org asking President Obama to declare the month of May as Toxic Injury Awareness, Education and Prevention month.

You can read more and sign the petition here:

https://www.change.org/petitions/president-obama-declare-toxic-injury-awareness-education-and-prevention-month.

Please tell others.