Question from raftergirl

My husband and I are relocating.We’ve looked at a log house (out in the country–clean air!) built in 1991. The house is vacant and I seemed fine inside. I smelled the logs outside and didn’t seem to react. There wasn’t much odor off the logs. My husband thinks the logs will need to be treated again for weather protection. I like the house because it has a metal roof (not asphalt shingles!) and it is mostly wood inside with very little else. I seem to do well with wood (as opposed to carpet, walls with sheetrock, etc).

Two questions: Have some log homes proved OK for some MCS people? Is there a log weather finish that MCS people have been fine with once it is dry?

Any advice would be very welcome! Thanks so much!

Debra’s Answer

Readers?

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Question from cymering

Dear Debra,

** Sigh ** I am still trying to choose shoes. For me it’s not that hard, but for growing kids… My question to you today is very specific, what do you think about the boots that every kid wants? Uggs, Bearpaw, Emu. They are made with sheepskin (at least the originals are), and I think they use EVA for the soles, although for some models they just say “rubber”.

They all say that we are supposed to waterproof the boots before using them. Is there any non-toxic way to do this?

Thank you again for all your hard work!

Cecilia.

Debra’s Answer

Sheepskin is fine…I have had many pairs of sheepskin slippers.

EVA is fine…it’s a very nontoxic plastic.

Waterproofing is generally very toxic, but there is a product called Nikwax that looks to be nontoxic. I’ve never tried it, but the description looks nontoxic.

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Question from Annette Tweedel

Hi Debra, Our neighbor had Orkin come on Saturday, September 24 to fog, not spray, for mosquitos with Talstar Professional. They have a lot of property and part of their property goes behind our back yard. Now, since we have complained of reactions they don’t fog towards our house now. But it still drifts because we still have reactions. Which means it probably drifted onto our grass.

Now it has rained a couple of times since then.

Now with me having MCS, my husband has MCS as well and so does our daughter, my question is, how soon can we get out and mow the grass and do some weedeatting around the house and yard and do this without having reactoins since they fogged for mosquitos next door? Thank you very much for the help.

Debra’s Answer

Talstar contains bifenthrin, a pyrethroid insecticide that affects the nervous system of insects.

It is virtually insoluble in water, so it has high persistence in soil with a half life between 7 days and 8 months. It lasts longer than any other termiticide currently registered on the market.

Pesticides containing bifenthrin have been withdrawn from use in the European Union.

So, in terms of mowing the lawn, if there is any Talstar drift, it’s going to be there a while. Half life is “the time when the expected value of the number of entities that have decayed is equal to half the original number.” It’s a probability, not an absolute. So minimum time before it will be gone is 14 days, and would probably be completely gone in 16 months.

Question from AnnieC

There are some dolls out there that are made of all organic materials on the outside and stuffed with Recycled PET plastic. Here’s the product description: “100% Oeko-Tex certified organic doll Organic clothing Stuffed with 100% post-consumer recycled plastic PET bottles.” Does this sound like a pretty safe product?

Debra’s Answer

NO.

Here’s why.

The “100% Oeko-Tex certified organic doll Organic clothing” is fine.

The recycled PET plastic is “green” from the viewpoint of the environmental benefits of resource efficiency and reducing waste. However, PET is not nontoxic. PET is polyethylene terephthalate which leaches and outgasses endocrine disruptors. Recycled or not, it’s still PET.

A child’s body is still in it’s formative stages and their detox systems cannot handle the amount of toxics in our world. So every little bit you can do to reduce their exposure matters.

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Question from Melbrecht

As a mom of four I appreciate hand me downs and gifts of clothing. I wish I could buy all organic clothing, but can’t all the time. I have been reading about all the chemicals in clothing and am becoming very confused about which brands are safe. My question thus has two parts. Does soaking new clothes in a cup of vinegar added to the soak cycle help rid harmful chemicals like formaldehyde? Also will chemicals transfer from new clothing to the organic clothing I do have?

Debra’s Answer

Vinegar will not remove a formaldehyde-resin finish. And yes, chemicals from one clothing item can transfer to another.

The good news is that not all new clothing contains formaldehyde. The worst are thos labeled “permanent press,” “easy care” or something that indicates it will not wrinkle. Also, anything made with a polyester cotton blend. This is impossible to remove because it is permanently bonded to the fabric and continues to outgass formaldehyde.

Most new clothing is, however, treated with a finish called “sizing” which helps garments keep their shape. This is cornstarch-based and washes out easily.

ALWAYS wash new clothes before wearing or putting them in a drawer or closet.

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Question from Reenie

Hi Debra,

Congratulations on your new book. I want to purchase a copy soon as my budget allows!

My question is about clothing made with recycled plastic. As I understand it, there would be BPA bisphenol A and perhaps plasticizer like some type of phthalate in the recycled plastic materials. BPA is an endocrine system disruptor, as I believe are some phthalates.

I don’t want to purchase these, would just prefer cotton sweats that are reasonably priced.

I wrote Dr. Frederick vom Saal, who is one of the source scientists for the BPA research (recall that he is mentioned in Science Daily articles on BPA on the surface of thermal paper cash register receipts. I asked Dr. vom Saal if any studies were being done on the health risks associated with wearing clothing made with recycled plastic bottles. He said he was not aware of any studies. What is your opinion?

By the way, I read a great review of your book in a literary review sort of newspaper that our library gives out. Thanks so much!

Debra’s Answer

I wouldn’t wear recycled plastic clothing myself. Plastic is plastic, recycled or not.

I think the health risks of wearing plastic clothing are the same or worse than drinking water that contains BPA. If this particular plastic contains BPA or phthlates, the skin would absorb them and the chemicals would go immediately into your bloodstream and throughout your body in seconds.

This is an example of where a “green” thing that would help the environment does not help our health.

Organic cotton clothing helps both our health and the environment.

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Question from thedavisfamily

Hi Debra,

Thanks for your time. I bought a treadmill in July, and it STILL smells horrible – there’s a very strong plastic odor. I haven’t used it yet because of the smell – if it bothers me to be in the same room with it (I have it in my laundry room right now since no one really goes in there), I don’t know how in the world I could exercise on it. Do you have any suggestions for getting rid of the smell, or do I need to try to return it and buy something used? I have no idea if heat would work on something like this.

Thanks and best,

Melissa

Debra’s Answer

Heat will reduce the outgassing of almost anything, so it’s always worth a try. I understand about the outgassing of exercise equipment. I can’t even go in a gym, let alone exercise in one. And you wouldn’t want to be breathing in all those chemicals while you are exercising.

I don’t have any experience with how long it takes to outgas exercise equipment. Readers, any experience with this?

I simply walk outdoors or around the house or at the mall if it’s too hot and I need to walk someplace with air conditioning. I’m very happy it’s getting to be autumn because our winters here in Florida are beautiful and a wonderful time to walk outdoors.

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Question from AnnieC

I was wondering if you’ve found a good stainless steel (or other ‘safe’ material) spray bottle that would be good for storing cleaning products. I use vinegar/water to clean pretty much everything (that’s ok right?) and I store it in a plastic (PETE) spray bottle. Is the PETE plastic potentially leaching toxins into the solution (which is acidic) that I’m spraying all over everything, including my kitchen counters which I cook on? Or is PETE ok? If not, what should I store it in? Thanks for any input! 🙂

Debra’s Answer

PETE is polyethylene terephthalate. It is also commonly abbreviated PET.

PET is a pretty toxic plastic. It has been associated with leaching endocrine disruptors.

Yes, it would likely leach endocrine disruptors into your cleaning solution, which you would then be spraying all over.

Again the most inert material for storage is glass. I know I know about breakage. Tie a cotton bandana around the bottle to act as a cushion in case you drop it.

BTW, the standard plastic squirt mechanism screws perfectly on the 16 ounce Heinz vinegar bottle. Likely will fit other bottles too, as that is a standard size,

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Question from mjule

I recently experienced a blow-back from my boiler. I now have a coat of soot all over everything. As I am chemically sensitive, I would to clean up in a way that will not create another problem.

Has anyone had any successful experience cleaning up a blow-back with non-toxic products?

Debra’s Answer

Readers?

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Question from krissie

Would like to know if anyone has any information on how safe waterbeds are. Including any and all information…..such as magnetic fields, molds, chemicals used to keep mold away in mattress parts, heater safety in regards to body, mattress itself, etc……

thank you so much!

Krissie

Debra’s Answer

Readers? I haven’t researched waterbeds in detail since so much plastic is involved.

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