Question from cathleen

I am looking for a PVC free raincoat for a toddler. I found some cute one made by “Kidorable” but they are made with polyester and PVC. Do you have any suggestions?

Debra’s Answer

Here’s a list of PVC-free raincoats compiled by moms in the Pacific Northwest, where it really rains!

http://www.evergreenmoms.com/2009/03/pvc-free-raincoat-roundup_1954.html

This is from 2009, so some of the suggestions may be outdated, but go ahead and check those companies anyway. If they had the idea to sell PVC-free raincoast last year, they may sell them this year too.

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Question from lindaann36

Hi, i love your website, and all the great info you provide. I was wondering what your thoughts are on THE WATERWISE DISTILLER MODEL 4000. www.waterwise.com Thanks.

Debra’s Answer

Many years ago I read a report on a test Rodale Press did on stainless steel water distillers. They said they found metals in the product water that had leached from the stainless steel during distillation.

For this reason, since then I have not recommended stainless steel distillers, which the waterwise distillers are.

The only water distiller is one made from Pyrex glass, which is avialable at http://www.rain-crystal.com/default2.htm.

I used one of these distiller for many years when I lived in California. When I moved to Florida, there was too much sediment in the water. It unfortunately clogged the distiller and was too difficult to clean out before I could figure out that I needed a sediment prefilter here. We ended up getting a whole house water filter from Go Beyond Organic.

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Question from Angelique

My daughter was transporting a few jugs of vinegar and one of them leaked in her car. It wasn’t a big spill, but her car smells like vinegar, and she hates vinegar!

She didn’t air the car right away; it was about two hours later that I told her to open the car windows. She only had them open a few hours, however. This morning I told her to open the windows again. I also took a water-damp cloth and scrubbed the area of the spill.

One person told me a similar thing happened to them and the vinegar dissipated after a few days. However, another person told me that she used vinegar to clean up something in her car on a hot day — like yesterday was hot for us in AZ — the smell took a long time to go away.

Any suggestions? Is there something else I can do? Should I scrub the area with a mild soap and water? Use baking soda? More sun? No sun?

Debra’s Answer

Readers?

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Question from john walker

Hi Debra, I suffer from MCS and just hesitantly bought another gas stove to replace my old one. The gas itself does not bother me unless I stand over it for awhile. However, the stove is new and it is outgassing making me ill. The smell is like a “new” smell like get from electronics. Do you have any ideas how to speed up the outgassing process?

Thank You

Debra’s Answer

I don’t know of any way other than to simply use it. This is one of the reasons to buy used appliances.

I recently bought a new Frigidaire gas stove and had no “new” smells from it. It was a closeout model on sale, so it probably had been sitting around for a while.

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Question from Donna L

Are kids’ toys or room decor (signs, lamps, etc.) made out of aluminum safe?

Debra’s Answer

Solid aluminum does not offgas into the air, so it’s OK to look at. You just don’t want to cook food in aluminum or spray it in a mist under your arms (as in aluminum chlorohydrate antiperspirant).

Question from JimK

I enjoy reading books from India, but they often have a distinctive moldy smell. Most of them are stored in warehouses, and due to the Indian climate there is a lot of mold everywhere there. Can you think of a good way to get rid of mold on the books? There are often over a thousand pages in a volume, and so it’s not practical to go page by page.

Debra’s Answer

I don’t know a way to remove mold from books other than opening them page by page and putting them in the sun. Very slow method,

Readers, any ideas?

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Question from Katwoman1934@gmail.com

Can you tell me the most non toxic way to seal bare floors? I’m doing the floors of a playroom and I’m considering painting them with Mythic paint or just sealing and finishing them but all the sealers seem toxic. Can you tell me how it could be done non toxic.

Also – can you tell me how to search on your site. I couldn’t figure out how to do it.

Debra’s Answer

My favorite wood finish at the moment is Vermont Natural Coatings,

How to search on my site…there is a big purple SEARCH button near the top of the right hand column on every page. It is only good for the site you are on, so if you click on the button on Green LIving Q&A, it will search only Green Living Q&A. If you click on it on Debra’s List, it will only search Debra’s List. I’m working on having it search across the sites, but haven’t solved that yet.

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Question from niella

Do you know if it’s alright to use food grade grapeseed oil as a moisturizer or does it have to be cosmetic grade? Thank you.

Debra’s Answer

As far as I know, it’s OK to use oil sold for cooking on your skin. I use food-grade almond oil on my skin and know people who use coconut oil.

The most important thing, though, is that the oil is organic. Chemicals pass right through the skin into the bloodstream much faster than when they are ingested. When you eat an oil or a food, the pesticides in it have to go through the stomach and into the small intestine and past the food before they can be absorbed into the bloodstream. So it’s more important that anything you put on your skin be organic than it is to eat organic food.

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Question from Celestine

I am going toward a metal-free bed–now in the research phase.

The Shepherd’s Dream bed looks interesting! But I like comfort! I do have a featherbed, and that would help.

I looked on Overstock.com and found a 2-inch mattress topper that was alleged to be all natural latex, from Sri Lanka.

Judging from earlier comments on this blog, I know it would be hard to make a whole mattress with 100% natural latex–but maybe if it is only 2 inches it really IS all natural latex.

The company is E.C.O. Has anyone had experience with this or a similar product? Or with that company?

Does anyone have a Shepherd’s Dream bed that has been added to to make it more comfortable? I know they have the option of latex-covered slats, and I know that ISN”T all natural latex–but may not be a problem. (I’d rather not have chemical outgassing, not because I’d have an immediate reaction but because I want a green bed that comforts and heals!) I would be apt to get the latex slats, even if I had to let them breathe as Debra did.

Debra’s Answer

Here’s the thing about latex. Be VERY careful. It could be all natural latex and have toxic chemicals used to make it into foam. There needs to be more research done on this. A lot of people are allergic to the latex itself as well.

I have no experience with this particular company. Readers?

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Question from Leesa

Hello All,

I need a non-toxic and effective way to clean suede!!! What do you recommend?

Thank you for your assistance!

Leesa Wheeler

Debra’s Answer

Readers? I don’t have any suede to clean, so what’s your experience with this?

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