Question from Ron

I’ve heard these waste a lot of water and are slower than conventional gas heaters in delivering hot water. What are the advantages and disadvantages of conventional vs tankless?

Thank you.

Debra’s Answer

Here are two links you can start with.

There is already a lot of info on tankless water heaters at Q&A: Shower Filter for Tankless Water Heater, but it doesn’t really compare tankless vs conventional.

Green Living Tips: Tank vs Tankless Hot Water Heating does give a comparison and some comments on the downside of tankless.

I have a conventional hot water heater myself and will continue to use it until it needs to be replaced. But the energy savings of tankless makes sense to me, so I hope everyone using a tankless system will write in and tell all of us the pros and cons.

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Question from ruthie

Hi Debra,

I am looking for Green fry pans that are “safe”. I understand how dangerous Teflon coating is & am hoping to find something good that is made with the safe coating. I understand you use the Cuisinart Green ware fry pan. My concern is that it is made of aluminum. I understand that it is coated on the inside…. I’m just wondering if the aluminum can seep through the coating and get into food when cooked? Of course, my reasoning for this is to prevent any aluminum from entering our bodies which is supposed to cause Alzheimer’s Disease. I suffer from some other illnesses along with terrible constant pain all over my body…We are going more organic & using a homeopath to help us. We’re in our late 50’s.

Thank you for your help!

Ruthie

Debra’s Answer

The coating is a continuous ceramic coating. To the best of my knowledge, it completely seals the aluminum, and the aluminum does not get through to the food.

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Question from chris

I bought unbleached wax paper to rewrap all the food that comes in plastic (organic cold cuts, organic cheese) as my local health food store doesn’t slice up organic meats or cheeses. I have severe plastic toxicity. I know I’m supposed to discard the part that touches plastic, problem is that the slices are “layered” and they all touch plastic. I would have to discard it all. I mean even organic frozen foods & vegetables touch plastic! Used to be you could find frozen veggies in a cardboard box but no more. (And I’m sure the cardboard was bleached…dioxins!)

Anyway I’m now concerned: what type of wax is used in this “unbleached” wax paper? I seriously doubt it is beeswax or the manufacturer would make sure we knew. I’ve had no way of finding out so far.

Debra’s Answer

I agree. Beeswax would be prohibitive in cost, and if they did use it, you can be sure the label would say “beeswaxed paper.”

There’s soy wax, but again, if that were used, I imagine it would be all over the label.

When the type of wax is not stated, I assume it’s paraffin, a product of petroleum.

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Question from charlene

My daughter has allergies to pet dander and dust mites.

She is on Shaklee all-natural vitamins which has stopped all of her allergies, but her doctor also recommended covering her mattress and pillows in covers to eliminate dust mites.

Most of the ones I have found are made from plastic. I don’t want to be putting any toxic covers in her bed.

Any suggestions?

Debra’s Answer

Type “barrier cloth dust mites” into your favorite search engine and you’ll get at least a half a dozen links to sites that sell 100% cotton barrier cloth mattress covers.

The cotton threads are so tightly woven that the mites cannot get between the threads.

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Question from kpc

Are you familiar with the brand SnackTAXI ? www.snacktaxi.com

they make reusable snack/sandwich bags. I am trying to figure out how non-toxic they are, and would love your opinion. They say this about their product:

“They are lined with a waterproof material that consists of nylon with a polyurethane coating. After talking to many manufacturers of this product, we understand that this type of coated nylon is free of heavy metals and phthalates. We have found a supplier of this coated nylon who has had their product extensively tested. The tests revealed that the nylon is free of heavy metals (including lead), phthalates, PBBs, and PBDEs. We will be ordering all of our nylon from this supplier going forward.”

Debra’s Answer

This is my second response to this question. I misread the question originally and was receiving comments that obviously also showed some misunderstanding, so I’m just starting over with my answer. Snack Taxis are reusable sandwich bags made of 100% cotton (not organic). The website says, “The manufacturer from which we order most of our cotton has had their material tested and found that it is free of lead and phthalates. We are considering ordering all of our cotton from this manufacturer in the future.” They are “lined with a waterproof material that consists of nylon with a polyurethane coating” which is also “free of heavy metals (including lead), phthalates, PBBs, and PBDEs.” This coated nylon DOES come in contact with the food. Some readers have written that they think the polyurethane coating is on the back of the nylon and does not come in contact with the food. I looked up polyurethane, as I know it can be toxic in other applications, such as floor finish. Apparently, the fully reacted polyurethane polymer is chemically inert (floor finishes contain other chemicals, such as solvents, which are toxic). No exposure limits have been established by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) or ACGIH (American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists), nor is it regulated by OSHA for carcinogenicity. However, when it breaks down, it decomposes into carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, and hydrogen cyanide. There is such a thing as food grade polyurethane. It may very well be that by the time this polyurethane coating is fused to the nylon fabric, it is completely inert. I don’t know. I doubt this is any more toxic than any other plastic sandwich bag, but it can be reused a greater number of times, thereby keeping disposable plastic bags out of landfills.

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Question from charlene Gormley

Has anyone been able to find out any information about WOW Green cleaning products. Their website does not list any ingredients and they say their products are safe and natural because they use enzymes.

I’m just wondering if they are another company pretending to be green, but aren’t?

Also WOW stands for World of Wealth – not exactly a green living way of life, unless you are talking about the other kind of green: cash!

Debra’s Answer

The label says “proprietary enzyme formula, surfactants, natural scent.” I think that’s about all they are going to reveal. But that’s enough.

They do seem to be very interested in promoting their business opportunity and I am being bombarded by independent reps wanting me to list them on Debra’s List.

An enzyme is “an organic molecule, produced by a living organism, that increases the rate of a chemical reaction.” Enzymes are present throughout nature–almost all life processes, such as the digestion of food, need enzymes to occur at significant rates.

So when a product says that it contains enzymes, it contains a substance produced by a living organism that speeds up a natural process of the breakdown of dirt and stains.

Here’s an important thing to know about enzymes. Enzymes are extremely selective, and speed up only a few reactions from among many possibilities. In fact, the specific enzymes made in a cell determine the function of that cell. A “proprietary enzyme formula” would be a set of enzymes chosen to perform a specific set of cleaning functions.

And that’s the rub about enzymes. In Nature, cells perform very specific functions as a result of their enzymes. If you then introduce different enzymes, what happens? We don’t know.

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Question from libby

Looking for a way to recycle my plastic bags I found out about fused bags. I made a couple and loved it! However, in some blogs they say it’s toxic to made them; in some others they say they are not, as long as a windows is kept open.

I did the first fused bags in my apartment, a big window open, and the a/c on. And I did the second one outdoors. But I live in a very hot and humid place so I rather to make them in my apartment (also, there was no wind so… it was not so ventilated). I also used a 3M respirator, but it looks it is for dust not outgassing.

I am pregnant so I am concerned about my baby’s health. Is the fused bag making truly toxic? Or can I keep making them in my apartment a/c on, windows open and using a respirator?

Thanks!!

Debra’s Answer

I had to look up fused bags, as I didn’t know what they were. It’s a process of ironing 6-8 plastic shopping bags together to make a material from which you can then make into something, like a reusable shopping tote.

These bags are made from polyethylene, which is not a toxic plastic.

I’m not overly concerned about toxic fumes coming from fusing bags.

But…why not take them to a recycling bin at the grocery store? Most of the markets here in the Tampa Bay area that I’ve been to have them.

Later…

I did some further research on this and found that when polyethylene is heated, it degrades and offgasses hydrogen (95-99%) and methane (1-4%).

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Question from Stacy D

I would like to buy my son a stainless steel food container (preferally insulated) to use for packing school lunches. With so many brands, I’m not sure which to buy. Any suggestions? I’m looking for something bigger than the soup containers that I have been seeing in the stores. I want something that I can pack a mini-meal. I bought him a stainless steel water bottle (Thermos brand). When I was looking at them in the store I noticed a metal smell inside when opening them- Not sure if that will go away after washing. I ‘m trying to get away from plastic and do not want to pack his lunch in glass- in case he drops it. Is stainless steel the next best alternative after glass? I don’t want any metals leaching into his food!!!

Debra’s Answer

The metal smell doesn’t go away. Metals might leach from stainless steel containers more or less, depending on the acidity of the food.

Personally, after glass, I would choose a polyethylene plastic container over a stainless steel container. Polyethylene is very stable and does not smell or leach in my experience.

I no longer use stainless steel anything.

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Question from Mary

I have someone who is interested in cleaning my apartment, which includes dusting, but wants to have a fan running while she works. She would not be using a feather duster, but would be using a microfiber rag. It seems to me that having the fan running would be counter-productive. What do you think?

Debra’s Answer

I’m not sure how much dust gets stirred up by running a fan. If you think it is a problem, maybe she could dust first, then turn on the fan?

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Question from MGR

I switched to mineral makeup because it contains fewer chemicals and synthetic ingredients. However, I have recently read that it is unsafe to inhale titanium dioxide and kaolin, which are common ingredients in mineral makeup. It is difficult to apply loose powder mineral makeup without inhaling some of the dust — does anyone know if this is something to be genuinely concerned about?

Thanks

Debra’s Answer

One thing that is important to keep in mind regarding assessing danger is how much of a potentially hazardous substance your are exposed to. Remember “the dose makes the poison.”

A lot of the toxicity data that is available comes from safety standards set for workplace exposure, not consumer exposure. I’ve seen many products contain ingredients that are “dust hazards” in the workplace, but at home, we use so little there is hardly a dust hazard. Think of scouring powder, for example.

The OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit for the workplace is 15 milligrams per cubic meter. Same for kaolin. All day long. You’re applying your makeup for less than a minute.

Keep in mind that this is a dust hazard, it’s a mechanical particle thing. It is the same for any dust. Mineral makeup isn’t any more dusty than any other face powder or body powder or baking flour. It’s all dust.

I’m not concerned about it.

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