Question from YH

After reading Dr. Marcela’s article on stainless steel found on your website, I think it is time for me to buy Vision cookware. I read that to produce stained glass, lead is used. Will lead leak into food prepared in stained glass cookware (Corning Vision)?

Is it practical to buy glass pans? I read that food would stick and that glass cookware is one of the stickiest (food also stick on stainless steel; cast-iron is very non-stick). Also, I am afraid that it might shatter. I think having water in pots is safer than stir-frying in glass pans (which may be dry). I am still afraid that glass cookware may break and shatter any time. Thanks

Debra’s Answer

First of all, colored glass doesn’t contain lead. See Q&A: Colored Glass and click on the “Colored Glass Chemistry” link to see what is used to make different colors of glass.

Lead is used in the solder that holds the glass together to make colored glass windows. But it is not in the glass itself.

I myself have used Corning Visions cookware for over twenty years without a mishap, though others have reported otherwise (see Q&A: can visions cookware and pyrex shatter while cooking?). I do not stirfry in it, but use pots for things like warming soup, boiling eggs, etc.

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Question from Lisa

Dear Debra,

I need a good winter coat for when I travel half the year to a cold and snowy climate.

I have looked everywhere, but major brands seem to have water proofing, rain proofing, etc coating, and almost exclusively use nylon and acrylics, or dry clean only wool.

What do you think of these coats, hats, scarves, mittens, etc? I have searched high and low for washable wool, or for cotton winter wear, but have found virtually nothing.

Do you have something your recommend or that you use yourself?

Also, if I buy a nylon coat with the durable water repellent and flame retardant treatments, is it safe to wash in my washing machine or should I take it to the launromat?

Debra’s Answer

Winter wear can be difficult.

I live in Florida, where the temperature rarely gets below 50 degrees, but I do travel to cold climates and so do need to keep warm.

Here’s what I do.

I don’t have a winter coat.

Another thing I’ve been considering is making a big wool poncho. But I really don’t have a need for it.

I have several big cardigan sweaters I can put over other clothes, and these are mostly what I use instead of a coat. I have a couple of cotton sweaters and a 100% wool sweater that I bought last year at Macy’s. Not everything is mothproofed.

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Question from Ethel

Debra,

I’m curious if you or any of your readers has any information on how to recycle (if its even possible) those styrofoam peanuts that come in boxes when you have something shipped. Also the styrofoam that surrounds products in boxes to keep from breaking.

I’ve been holding on to them for months from various packages but am not sure what to do with them.

Any info on this would be greatly helpful.

Thanks Everyone!

Debra’s Answer

Call whoever collects your other recyclable materials and ask them if they accept it or what you should do with it. All local recycling centers are different.

Also, many pack-and-ship places will accept styrofoam peanuts or packaging. Call around and ask.

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Question from CJStewart

Can you recommend a green, eco-friendly shower stall? I would have thought that tiles were the best option, but I was told that they absorb water and thus tend to produce mold.

Debra’s Answer

I have tiles and they don’t produce mold.

I don’t know of any shower stalls that are not made of plastic.

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Question from Cheryl

Hi Debra and all,

Can you recommend any wrinkle free or highly wrinkle resistant clothing brands/merchants or lines in general, but especially for men’s button down shirts? Timewise, ironing just isn’t an option and since we know how toxic dry cleaning is, for several years we’ve been buying wrinkle free shirts only to discover how toxic they are. If you can’t recommend specific merchants, are there certain things to look for concerning the fabric content to insure least toxicity and greatest resistant to wrinkles? Does it matter where it is made because many of them are made in Thailand, China, India, Indonesia etc. Thank you so very much.

Debra’s Answer

Sorry, I don’t think there are any button-down shirts that are nontoxic and wrinkle-free.

I don’t have a lot of time to iron either, so I choose clothing that doesn’t wrinkle much. Mostly I wear knit tops and cotton sheeting pants, and in the wintertime, corduroy and flannel. But I am not going to an office everyday. Clothing was one of the reasons I decided to work at home.

I’ve learned that if I take my clothes out of the dryer immediately and don’t let them sit in a tumble, they don’t wrinkle much. I just shake them out and hang or fold or roll them up and put them away. Of course, this isn’t a crisp iron, but I don’t need that.

If you don’t want to iron your cotton shirts, wash them yourself and take them to a dry cleaners for “iron only.”

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Question from jenbooks

Hi Debra, I am still having a great deal of trouble finding a nontoxic iron and wonder if others have had this issue. I know you say your Rowenta is fine. I’m at my wit’s end, because I have a small washer in my apartment and no dryer, and cannot use the dryers (or washers) in the laundry room as they use so much fabric softener and bounce dryer sheets.

My little washer is excellent and does small loads so I do frequent small loads.

My problem is ironing the clothes that air-dry. They get very wrinkled.

A new Black & Decker iron had a very bad chemical smell in the steam and a metal smell came off on my clothes. My boyfriend’s newish cheaper Black & Decker also has a chemical smell but he hasn’t used it much at all so it’s virtually new (I smell the inner solvents, glues, aluminum, plastics and I don’t know what else, coming off the steam). I purchased a 1991 Rowenta off of Ebay and did not love that smell but it was more familiar. I haven’t ironed with it though but I guess I will try today; I’m mortified of ruining clothes because I mostly have cotton and it absorbs things. It smelled sort of like “old lady iron” (she had gone into assisted living apparently). I tried a vintage 1940 iron but that was stupid, as it smelled of mothballs and whatever they cleaned it with to make it new and shiny and was the worst iron of all and I threw it out.

Now I have purchased but not received, a flat iron with no steam from Vermont Country store after googling all over the internet and finally finding it recommended on an MCS site.

Most irons are now made in China and I find a lot of stuff made there is plain old toxic. Who knows what they coat plastics with to make them resist heat. Who knows what glues and solvents they use.

Debra’s Answer

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Question from P. Wicks

Hi again! Just wondering if you know about using maple sugar. I wonder if you can use it in place of brown sugar and if there are any ratios to deal with, like 1 cup maple sugar to 1 cup of brown sugar.

Thanks–

Debra’s Answer

You can use maple sugar one for one for white or brown sugar. It adds very little maple flavor.

I haven’t used it in recipes on this website because it is just as refined as eating white cane sugar. Refined white sugar is made by boiling the juice of sugar cane until it is clarified and granulated. Maple sugar is made by boiling the sap of the maple tree until it is clarified and granulated.

Maple sugar is also difficult to find and is very expensive.

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Question from Johanna

I want to paint a mural on my son’s bedroom wall. He is currently not in this room and won’t move in there for about 6months. He is only 3 months old and staying in a section of our bedroom.

I want to paint a mural with bright colors. This is the first mural I have ever done this, so I want to paint with something easy.

I have looked at fresh air paints, but they don’t have anything bright. I looked into milk paints, but it seemed like it would be difficult and from what I read the milk painted walls can easily get dirty.

Since my son won’t move in there for another six months can I just used regular wall paint, like ralph lauren and art deco paint for the mural? Will it have enough time to air out?

I live in GA and it can be warm enough at times to keep the window open for awhile during the day to let fresh air in.

Do you have any other suggestions? I am also breast feeding him, can this be a problem if I am the one painting it? Oh and what am I hearing about turning the heat up warm enough to help it dry faster…. what should the heat be turned up to?

Debra’s Answer

If you are breastfeeding your child, I would say don’t paint the room yourself with any kind of paint. The fumes can get right into your body and into your breastmilk and into your baby.

If the only paints you think you can use are regular water-based latex paints, then have someone else paint, and you and your baby stay out of the room until the paint it cured.

I would recommend actually that you leave the house altogether for a few days while the painting is being done and have the heat on “high” to quickly bake the fumes out.

Of course, this doesn’t allow YOU to do the artistic work of painting.

My best suggestion would be to use some kind of nontoxic children’s paint or milk paint, and then have someone put a clear protective sealer over it.

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Question from Lisa

Dear Debra,

I try hard to buy things that do not have styrofoam, but often if I order something from a catalog or on-line, it is shipped in styrofoam.

The styrofoam often breaks apart, and little pieces get loose when I unpackage the item.

I’m wondering if this causes any health concerns from either particles/dust becoming airborne, or just being scattered around my home.

I also have a small child and I worry about my child ingesting small pieces of the styrofoam.

Am I worried about nothing, or should I return items packaged this way?

Debra’s Answer

First, let me say, that each and every one of us already has styrene in our bodies. It is ubiquitous in the environment. Even polar bears have styrene in their bodies.

Occupational Safety & Health Administration: Styrene Hazard Recognition gives a list of references about the toxicity of styrene and mentions that it causes symptoms ranging from irritation of the skin, eyes, and the upper respiratory tract to central nervous system symptoms such as depression, headache, fatigue, and weakness.

In my book Home Safe Home, I cited the National Adipose Tissue Survey of the National Public Health Service, a department of the Environmental Protection Agency, which showed how frequently chemicals are retained by our bodies and how common exposures are. Styrene topped the list, with 100% of the people tested having this chemical in their fat. If a chemical is in your fat, it means the body has stored it there to keep it out of your system.

But are your little broken styrene shipping peanuts a health hazard? Probably not. Not enough material and not enough length of exposure. A greater hazard would be hot coffee or soup or food in a styrene takeout container.

If you don’t want to receive these styrene peanuts (they aren’t biodegradable, though you can recycle them at many shipping stores), ask before you order if they are used in the packaging. That way you don’t need to return the item. If you do choose to not purchase because of the styrene peanuts, let them know they lost your business because of this.

There are shipping peanuts made from renewable corn that just melt when you put them in water. It’s called “biodegradable loose fill” (search on this term in your favorite search engine for more info and sources). You could recommend they use this instead.

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Question from Lisa

Dear Debra,

I may need to have some orthodontic work done by the dentist, and wear braces for a time.

This is metal, plastic, and rubber in my mouth for an extended period of time.

There is a chance I may also need a retainer, too.

I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this in terms of health.

Thanks!

Debra’s Answer

I am not sure I am qualified to give an opinion on this as I have not thoroughly researched this. But I’ll say this…

Whenever you have plastic or metal in your mouth for an extended period of time, it could leach into your body. How much or what effect it would have, I don’t know. Readers, anyone have experience with this?

I do want to mention that in the 1930s, Dr. Weston A. Price, a dentist, traveled around the world to study the diets of traditional cultures. Dr. Price had noticed that the children in his practice had dental problems that their parents did not–more tooth decay and teeth that did not fit properly into the dental arch, which were crowded and crooked. He subsequently studied “primitive” peoples and found that when they ate their traditional diet, they had all thirty-two teeth, perfectly fitting into the dental arch, and perfectly formed. When they began to eat a modern diet, they had dental decay and bore children, in the very next generation, with crooked and crowded teeth. This is well documented in his book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.

Braces wouldn’t be necessary if we ate foods in their natural state, not just additive-free, but as nature intended.

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