Question from chris

Hello, I recently received my first set of bedsheets in a beautiful organic cotton bag. They are beautiful but unfortunately this cotton is so very rough! 🙁 It is also somewhat itchy. Needless to say, a very uncomfortable sleeping experience! I was very surprised since my organic terry robe & towels are the softest and so are my organic cotton balls, 1000 times softer than regular cotton. Not so with the woven cotton. I don’t mind stiff but do not care for itchy & scrachy! 🙁

What natural products can I use to soften my sheets? I heard about an enzyme wash but all got is so far as wondering whether I need to buy digestive enzyme cellulase caps and open a few into the laundry water and soak them. Would that do it? Is this what an enzyme wash is? I read that cellulase digests fiber. I also read about soaking in boiling water and 2 cups of vinegar but I haven’t tried.

Any natural tips on how to get these sheets soft and non-itchy (but not coated with any oils) will be greatly appreciated! Thanks. 🙂

Debra’s Answer

I’ve noticed some organic cotton sheets are stiff too. It’s not the cotton itself. It must be some kind of finish. I don’t know what.

My experience has been that cotton gets softer and softer the more you wash it.

Readers, any other ideas?

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Question from Marshann Burnette

I am trying to create organic bed because I can’t sleep. I have covered our mattress with an organic mattress pad, use organic sheets and pillow cases, and use an organic wool blanket.

Now for the pillow. Where can I find an organic choice that resembles the molded Tempru Pedic pillow my chiropractor recommends?

Debra’s Answer

I don’t know how the Tempurpedic pillow is molded, but you can probably get any company that makes organic pillows to custom make a pillow for you in any shape.

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Question from Mary

www.dharmatrading.com currently has an interesting webpage about the differences between natural and synthetic dyes. On the righthand side of the home page is this month’snewsletter link. The article is at the bottom. I thought readers might find it of interest.

I have found Dharma Trading to be a good source of inexpensive white clothes, e.g., tees and knit pants to sleep in, etc. They also have a paper catalog available.

Debra’s Answer

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Question from Stacy D

I just recently discovered that my son’s fishtank that he has had for 2 1/2 months had been leaking from the tank every time that I opened the tank to feed the fish or clean the tank. A small drip would travel from the tank, down the cord to the floor. The tank was sitting on a wooden bookshelf. I discovered some dirty water around the bottom of the front corner of the bookshelf yesterday while vacuuming his room.

After feeling around to the back of the bookshelf, I realized what had been happening. After emptying the bookshelf and removing it from the room, I saw black mold on the carpet and onthe bottom of the bookshelf. I cut out the moldy part of the carpet and pad and removed them from the room.

We were going to replace the carpet with hardwood next month anyway so it wasn’t a big deal. I also saw a small amount of mold on the subfloor. I was unable to completely remove the trim from the wall because my son’s bed is too heavy to move without disassembling it. I did, however, pull the trim away from the wall as far as I could with a screwdriver to check for water damage. I’m fairly certain I saw a small amount of mold on the inside of the trim as well.

I applied 3 seperate applications of tea tree oil to the floor and between the trim and wall and let each application dry naturally. Was that enough to kill the mold? What else should I do to completely get rid of the mold and the spores that it will leave behind? I thought that I might be able to salvage the bookshelf by spraying bleach and water and letting it dry out in the sun. The bookshelf was givin to my son as a gift and was very expensive. I am apprehensive to put it back in the room.

Luckily, my son hasn’t slept in his room for most of the summer.I am grateful for that. What else should I do before allowing him to return to his room? should I scrap the bookshelf? do I need to wipe down the walls in his room to get rid of the spores?

Debra’s Answer

I have successfully used heat to kill mold throughout a room (put a space heater in the room, close windows and doors, and let it bake for a few days to a week). However, mold can be very damaging to health.

My most prudent recommendation is to call a professional mold remediator, to get their evaluation and recommendation at least. You probably also want to have the air tested for mold.

Children are much more susceptable than adults to the effects of indoor air pollutants. It will cost much less now to clean this up and know it’s done right than it will if you need to handle your son’s health problems in the future.

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Question from Dee

I am looking for a cotton blanket, but all I can find are thin whimpy ones that keep getting pulls in them. Anyone have any suggestions?

Debra’s Answer

Readers?

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Question from New Vegetarian

Quorn meat substitutes contain the ingredient mycoprotein. Has anyone heard of this? I have read several reviews stating that Quorn products are the best substitutes for meat and I really wanted to try it out. But this ingredient concerns me…

Debra’s Answer

Mycoprotein is a fermentation of a fungus microorganism and certain nutrients, mixed with egg white and seasonings.

It’s a manmade concoction that doesn’t appear in nature.

I’m skeptical of manufactured foods.

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Question from Annette Tweedel

Hi Debra,

With having MCS, I am looking for a bra. I have been wearing Playtex 18 Hour bra’s which has polyester,cotton,nylon, and spandex. Sad to say I wear my bra’s sometimes until they are really worn. One bra was worn until the spandex band that goes around my body was starting to come through and the spandex was irritating me.

Well, I found two different bra’s in the Gaiam Living magazine. The first one is an Unwired Bra which is 90% Swiss Organic cotton/10% spandex. The second one is a No-Wire Support Bra with Sorbtek fabric. I researched and found out Sorbtek, I believe, if I remember correctly, it said something like its synthetic fibers from polyester. I wanted to get one of these bra’s until I researched further and got this information.

I know its best to stay away from synthetic, so can you recommend a safe bra?

Thank you very much for the help.

Debra’s Answer

Readers?

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Question from handy sal

The best way to avoid mold is to not let it get started in the first place. I live on the coast where it is very moist and in the winter, and mold will grow where there is condensation, for instance on window sills. We made the mistake years ago when we built our house of installing aluminum window frames. Big mistake in a cold, wet climate. And of course there is also the problem of mold in the shower, on the shower curtain, and behind the faucet on the sink backsplash.

After battling for years with everything I could think of,(even, gasp, bleach)I found the secret. I saw a small item in some article about using Oregano Oil for cleaning mold and thought I would give it a try. Now sometimes home made potions work really well and sometimes not, but I was hopeful. I am expecting someone to sucessfully market it cause it is the best. If I was younger I might go for it but maybe someone energetic who wants to develop a cleaner will send me a check for the idea!

I am allergic to lots of stuff but thankfully not Oregano Oil. I buy it in the natural food store in gel caps. I don’t buy the essential oil tiny bottles because the gel caps stay fresh a very long time if you keep them dry. When I want to clean the window sills I use one gel cap in a bowl of warm water. I cut the cap open under water and swish it around and discard the cap. Then I just dip a cloth into the water, wring it out and wipe the window and sill. It actually dissolves the mold. It works much better than bleach and smells good. I use the oil full strength on problem areas like the shower grout and sink backsplash. And when I wash my cloth shower curtain I soak it in a small amount of hot water and use two gel caps. After it soaks I wash it and the mold will not grow on it. I use baking soda and vinegar to clean toilets and sometimes after I rinse it out I will add an Oregano gel cap to the toilet to freshen it. I have been passing this on to people because it works so well, is inexpensive, and not toxic.

Debra’s Answer

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Question from vtacanary

The grout around the tile in the shower is cracking and in need of repair. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to use? I can actually block off that bathroom for a few days and run a heater and fan if necessary. Thanks for any input.

Debra’s Answer

You can use any standard grout. Grout itself is not toxic, it’s the grout sealer that’s the problem. For that, use the grout sealer made by AFM Enterprises.

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Question from Shannon

hi, i have bought some organic pillow cases to start with, if i use just the pillow case do i have to worry that the chemicals form the other bedding (sheets) will go into the organic pillowcase? do i need to worry about washing organic sheets and towels with pillowcases that have touched the “chemicals” ruining them to where there is no health benifit?

thank you

shannon

Debra’s Answer

Congratulations for taking a first step toward an organic bed!

I don’t think it’s a problem for you to wash your organic pillowcases with your non-organic bedsheets. Any chemicals absorbed by the organic pillowcases will wash or air out.

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