Question from kgbubble

Hi Debra,

We are going to be looking into buying a house soon, for the very first time. I want to go beyond the basic assessments done when purchasing a house to make sure it’s as non toxic as possible, prior to any remodeling on our parts. I wonder if you can point me in a good direction or a past post on this website, or a website with this information.

Additionally, if this hasn’t been covered here, what are some key points on purchasing a less toxic home? What should we look for? What should we have tested/inspected? I know, for example, that a lot of older homes have lead issues, but they also, according to some, have fresher air due to better circulation of outside air b/c of their leaky windows. thoughts? I want to go in eyes wide open, rather than having to do a lot of costly clean up after the fact. Building isn’t an option right now, b/c we likely won’t be here longer than 3-4 years. Thank you so much for helping us start this journey and Happy New Year!

Debra’s Answer

The subject of buying a nontoxic home is quite thoroughly covered in chapter 17 of my book Home Safe Home.

You specifically mentioned lead.I know here in Florida, the seller needs to disclose the presence of lead, that may be true in other places as well. You should also ask about asbestos in an older home.

You will, of course, want to have the home inspected by a standard home inspector, but they will not look for toxics issues. One of the things I do as a consultant is look at homes before people buy them, and I am available to go anywhere in the world to do this. You may be able to find someone locally who does this as well.

If you have questions as you are looking, you can also call me on the phone for a paid consultation.

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Question from kimrmora

How green is the cleaner Simple Green?

Debra’s Answer

The MSDS for SImple Green lists no hazardous chemicals, but their ingredients list shows some ingredients I don’t consider safe.

The ingredients are: Water (Aqua), Butoxyethanol, Mixed Alcohol Ethoxylate, Tetrapotassium Pyrophosphate, Sodium Citrate, Fragrance, Colorant.

Butoxyethanol is a toxic ethylene glycol (see www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC35051). Synthetic fragrances are neurotoxicants (affect the nervous system).

They may be diluted enough to not be listed on the MSDS, however, this begs the question, is a diluted toxic chemical a safe product overall?

Personally, I clean with soap, baking soda, and vinegar.

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Question from HEG

Debra,

I just purchased a nylon rug with latex backing from IKEA for my toddler’s playroom. It does not smell, but I am curious what you think regarding whether it is toxic/appropriate for a child’s playroom or if I should find something differentt? Thanks.

Debra’s Answer

Nylon is not toxic (even though it is a plastic made of petrochemicals), but latex can be a problem.

If it were me, I would keep latex out of a nursery or child’s room because it is very easy to develop latex allergy from repeated exposure.

I would get a plain cotton washable rug.

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Question from KCribley

Recently I discovered that the baking yeast I purchase (and most of them that I looked at) have Sorbitan Monostearate added.

I am a very frequent baker/breadmaker (almost every day) and wonder if I need to be concerned about this ingredient.

I did a bit of online research and saw the MSDS but wasn’t sure what to take from it. Some sites say it’s safe, others say it’s toxic (in large quantities, I assume).

Your thoughts?

Thank you so much for your help!

Debra’s Answer

I couldn’t find any adverse effects.

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Question from Susan50

I am wanting to soundproof my bedroom as it is so noisy I find it impossbile to get a full nights sleep. Here are my details:

Please let me know your thoughts, I really appreciate your feedback as I am so sleep deprived.

Debra’s Answer

The QuietRock looks pretty good to me. You can see the MSDS at QuietRock MSDS.

There are a few petrochemical ingredients at less than one percent, which may or may not be a problem. I would suggest that you get at least one sheet before you install it and put it in your bedroom and sleep with it before making a decision. Then I would probably get as many sheets as you need and sleep with all of them spread out around the room before you install them. Then if everything is OK, install.

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Question from Susan50

Hi Debra:

I am wondering if your detox drops will work for me.

I have severe MCS, would the drops make my MCS better since they remove chemicals from the body?

My naturopath doctor did a heavy medals urine test, that showed my mercury levels were dangerously high. He put me on DMS (I think that was the name….) tablets, that I had such a bad reaction to that I had to go off them. The doctor said my MCS will never improve if I do not go back on the tablets that made me so sick. I am not happy with the zero choices he has.

Will the drops decrease or remove my mercury levels? Will this make my MCS better?

I am hoping to find out the answers to these questions as I am nervous about spending money on the drops as I am low income due to my MCS disablity.

Debra’s Answer

If I were you, I would give my detox drops a try.

They are simply zeolite, a naturally occurring mineral, in purified water.

What they do is attract molecules of heavy metals and other toxicants, and carry them out of your body via your urine. The metals are attracted in a particular order, mercury being the first to be removed. Because these drops are simply the active ingredient in water, it doesn’t need to dissolve like a tablet, or be absorbed, it simply goes into your bloodstream and attracts the metals and chemicals.

I would say if you have high levels of mercury in your body, you do need to do something to detox, and this is the safest, gentlest, most effective method I know of for mercury removal.

Now, if you have symptoms while detoxing, you need to drink more water to flush the chemicals through faster. As uncomfortable as it may be, you will feel so much better after you’ve detoxed and be much healthier.

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Question from ybm_green

Hi, Debra, Just bought your book Home Safe Home from amazon.com and started to read it.

We bought unfinished pine wood platform bedframe from online, and find it smells strong (wood smell).

In your book, you mentioned that pine wood offgassing pestcide. Regret did not find your book earlier. What kind of option do I have now? It is very hard to return since we brough it online and shipping back is not easy. Looking forward to you opinion.

Debra’s Answer

I think I said that pine outgasses resins that have a strong odor.

If what you are smelling is wood smell, you are smelling the wood. Wood does smell and it’s not toxic. Some people react individually to pine resins.

I actually have a lot of pine wood in my house. The smell does go away, especially if you put the wood outdoors in the sun.

I’m not concerned about solid wood being toxic.

ASSOCIATED PRESS: US says too much fluoride in water

A government study found about 2 out of 5 adolescents have tooth streaking or spottiness because of too much fluoride. In some extreme cases, teeth can even be pitted by fluoride.

Most communities have fluoride in their water supplies, and it is in toothpaste too. Some kids are also given fluoride supplements.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is announced a proposal to change the recommended fluoride level to 0.7 milligrams per liter of water. And the Environmental Protection Agency will review whether the maximum cutoff of 4 milligrams per liter is too high.

The standard since 1962 has been a range of 0.7 to 1.2 milligrams per liter.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the splotchy tooth condition, fluorosis, is unexpectedly common in kids ages 12 through 15. And it appears to have grown much more common since the 1980s.

Other concerns…A scientific report five years ago said that people who consume a lifetime of too much fluoride — an amount over EPA’s limit of 4 milligrams — can lead to crippling bone abnormalities and brittleness.