Question from tthomson

What is your thinking on gas cooktops, vs. electric?

Debra’s Answer

I have a gas stove myself because I prefer the heat control I can achieve with a gas flame.

There are disadvantages to each.

Gas can give off toxic fumes from the gas itself if there is a leak, and also can produce toxic combustion by-products. The fix is to have your stove checked for leaks, and control combustion by-products by having your stove adjusted correctly so the flame is burning well, and also use a hood vent or other ventilation to remove combustion by-products before they spread throughout your home.

Electric can produce electromagnetic fields.

Short of adopting a raw food diet, you’ll need to choose the lesser of evils.

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Question from Mrs. Chris

Five years ago,we had a new tile floor installed and used a water-based sealant on the grout. We were told to clean it with trisodium phosphate (which apparently is safe) and reseal it every year or two. It is a huge job (600+ square feet) which we have not done (and entails applying sealant with a little paint brush on hands and knees).

So now we are looking into having the floor professionally cleaned. The company, whose rep came today, would also reseal the grout and uses DuPont “Stonetech Pro.” The information online tells me it is nothing we’d personally want to install, but I wonder if it would be non-toxic once it off-gasses.

The only reason we’d consider such a product is to provide an effective seal on the grout. The grout has always seemed a bit porous, even after using the water-based product and has become discolored over the years.

Suggestions?

Debra’s Answer

Any grout sealer will become inert over time, how long that might take and how the fumes might permeate your home and body in the meanwhile is not something I would want to experience. You could close up the room and use heat to speed the process if you want to go that route.

If you are having the work professionally done, it’s been my experience that you need to use the products the company provides, or they cannot guarantee the results. Ask them if they can use a less toxic grout sealer.

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Question from tthomson

We are renovating our house in upstate new york. My husband is an electrician and planned to use PVC pipe. Is this safe? We cannot seem to find an appropriate substitution for a residence.

Debra’s Answer

PVC pipe is a hard vinyl plastic. Hard plastics outgas less than soft plastics and since it would be in a wall, you would get very little outgassing, if any.

It’s not a good idea to use PVC pipe for incoming water, as it can leach into water with which it has contact.

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Question from singing tomato

Hi Debra 🙂

we are moving to a new house in about 2 weeks. The previous tenants will leave in about 2 weeks. We saw the house and it needs painting, we decided to use a no VOC paint but I need something without chemicals. Do you have any recommendations?

We have a 12 month old baby, when should we move in the house after the painting work is done? Are 2 weeks ok?

In your opinion is it better to not paint the house and leave it as it is because of the time frame?

I am worried because the house was quite dirty, but it has an older carpet 🙂 Thank you very much 🙂

Debra’s Answer

No VOC paint without chemicals.

Let’s straighten out the terminology first

No VOC paint is pain that is made from petrochemicals but does not contain Volatile Organic Chemicals.

There are paints made from natural materials that also do not have VOCs, but are not called “no VOC.”

The safest flat wall paint that I know of is Safe Paint by the Old-Fashioned Milk Paint Company. It is especially formulated for walls and is safe for children. If you use this paint, you could move in within a few days.

If you use a standard no VOC paint, you could speed the drying time by closing up the house and turning up the heat. A few days should do it, then air it out before you move in.

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Question from jiwaskow

Need help with this one! I react to treated wood and even to redwood, so we’re at a loss for what to use at the bottom of our stud walls between the wood studs and the concrete.

Code requires treated sill plates or redwood. I can get around that with a letter, but wonder if I should use regular wood over a piece of vapor barrier that would wrap up the sides of the stud (so it would go up 1 1/2 inches on each side of every piece of wood). These vapor barrier pieces would be between the wood and the concrete.

Or what about a steel track system? Would that conduct enough moisture from the curing concrete to run up the untreated wood and create a problem?

Any help appreciated – this is a tough one right now! They are waiting for an answer for me…

Debra’s Answer

Readers? Any experience with this?

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Question from kmilbrett

Hello,

I know that the Cuisinart Green Gourmet line contains nonstick, nontoxic skillets. Are the KitchenAid and Calphalon anodized aluminum nonstick pans also nontoxic?

Thank you.

🙂

Debra’s Answer

Anodized aluminum pans are safe. Anodized means that the aluminum was dipped into a hot acid bath that seals the aluminum by changing it’s molecular structure. Once anodized, the aluminum will not leach into the food.

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Question from anneh

We have lived here for over 30 years and due to highly acidic water we had been adding a cal/mag neutralizer to our water manually. Recently we had a professional unit installed that automatically releases the neutralizer and also back washes regularly. Since then our glassware is covered in a white residue that we can’t remove. The company that installed said our water is hard and now needs a softener. Our water has always been hard so nothing has changed. So now I am concerned with how to deal with this situation without poisoning ourselves. IF indeed we have to go that route is there any filtering system we could use for our drinking water to remove harmful stuff? I realize reverse osmosis could have taken care of it all but it was so expensive and we heard stories about RO making the well pump all the time and wearing out the pump. Anyway, having spent over $1,000 on the neutralizing system we are stuck. My only big issue is how to clear the drinking water of any residues of these additives. Thanks for any help.

Debra’s Answer

I asked Winston Kao at Go Beyond Organic what to do.

Basically you have two options.

One choice would be to get a water softener and add salt monthly, then install RO to remove the salt.

The nontoxic choice is to get a three- or five-core electro-mechanical water conditioner. Winston sells these. I have one on my house and it makes our hard water nice and soft without salt.

Either of these choices are going to be in the range of $3000.

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Question from Miemiemuis

We have a screened in porch that needs the floor resurfaced. Currently it has a concrete floor with a beige painted, textured surface. The floor gets very wet when it rains, so tiles or anything slippery won’t work. I’m also trying to avoid using a paint stripper, so my preference would be something that will work over the existing finish. What do you think of recycled rubber tiles? Any other suggestions?

Thanks so much,

Marie

Debra’s Answer

I don’t recommend recycled rubber tiles because they smell too much for me and are made from crude oil.

I would use some kind of pavers that are generally used for patios or driveways.

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Question from Paul McBride

I am commuting a lot and would like to get a newer car (meaning w/i the last 5 years) due to reliability and safety concerns. I drive for four hours twice a week, so comfort is also a concern. The ’98 4Runner I have kills my back on long trips.

The problem is finding the balance. I just tried a 2009 Camry SE on a long test drive (3 days) and something in the fabric was a big trigger: major headache and brain fog. I tried a 2008 Corolla and it was fine, but it’s not that safe for the kind of driving I do (80 MPH on HW5 with lots of semi trucks). I have had Volvos, but they tend to develop oil leaks in my experience, and oil leaks are huge triggers for me. PT Cruisers never bother me, but they are not so safe and aren’t the greatest ride either–if I needed only an around-town car, I would probably get one. Healthcar.org rates Hondas pretty well, but I haven’t tried one.

So… This challenge is fairly common for the sensitive. What do the readers think based on their experiences? Anybody get a newer car that they don’t react to for long trips?

Goals: Least Toxic, Safe, Comfortable, Good Fuel Economy, Reliable

Debra’s Answer

Well, I love my PT Cruiser and haven’t found it to be unsafe. Have also driven it on long trips and found it to be very comfortable. Mine is 9 years old though.

Readers, your recommendations?

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Question from AshleyB

I have a 7 month old crawling baby. My parents (who we visits at least a couple times a month) recently informed me that they got new carpeting last week. I’m worried about my baby being exposed to all the toxins so I’ve been finding excuses not to visit since then, but I know we’ll eventually have to go over, though I know I can probably put it off a bit longer. I know carpet is not something I want in my house especially with the baby, but how bad is it if he crawls around on it for just a couple hours?

Debra’s Answer

New carpet is really toxic. It’s only a brief exposure, but babies do not have their detox systems developed yet, so it is worse for them.

If it were me, I would explain that I don’t want my baby exposed to new carpet and find a safer place to meet. Can your parents come to your house?

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