Question from baf

We are having a difficult time finding safe windows for our house. We put new windows in my sons bedroom and we are no longer able to go near that room. I called Jeldwin and asked for the material saftey sheet and sure enough they were vaccum sealed to the core with insecticide fungicide and 4 proprietary solvents.Our temporary Solution is sealing the window with aluminum foil.This leaves the room very dark and still with aslight odor although with an air filter the room it is habitable for short periods of time. We need to find windows that do not contain chemicals or materials that outgas and make us sick.

Debra’s Answer

I dont’ know of any windows that don’t have toxic chemicals in the finish.

Readers, please let us know about windows you have used sucessfully. I personally haven’t purchased new windows–I always buy salvage windows.

And let this be a reminder to ask for and read the MSDS before you buy.

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Question from Lisa Nyden

Dear Debra and Readers,

I recently purchaced an all purpose cleaning product called “Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day” I just have to say that I LOVE it. I chose the Geranium scent it is so nice and very refreshing. I was pleasantly surprised. It is made with safe ingredients and not tested on animals. I recommend it for anyone

Try it!

Debra’s Answer

I took a look at Mrs. Meyers for Debra’s List, and decided not to include them, because they do contain synthetic ingredients and there are plenty of all-natural and even organic cleaners (all the information I’m about to give you is on their website under “About Our Company”).

Mrs. Meyers uses “naturally derived ingredients whenever possible from corn, sugar cane, coconut and palm.” However, when they “cannot find a plant-derived ingredient that performs to our rigorous standards, [they] use ingredients from the world of safe synthetics.”

Their fragrances contain “natural essential oils and other non-natural ingredients.” Some companies, including Mrs. Meyers say they need to use these non-natural ingredients “to ensure safety, consistent performance and quality” however, other companies seem to be able to ensure these by using only natural essential oils. These are not suitable for people with allergies to fragrances or MCS.

Some good things about Mrs. Meyers:
* no ammonia, chlorine or phosphates, sodium lauryl sulfate, organic solvents (glycol ethers, butyl ethers) phthalates, mineral oil, animal-derived ingredients (except beeswax), or synthetic anti-bacterial or antiseptic ingredients
* recyclable packaging
* biodegradable
* concentrated
* not tested on animals

So Mrs. Meyers is better than a lot of what you will find on the shelf next to it in the supermarket, but not natural enough for me personally.

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Question from Nikki

I’ve been working on turning our apartment “green.”

Background: Our bathroom doesn’t have a window and the exhaust fan the manager had put in doesn’t work as well as the old one. Two showers are taken on a daily basis.

I’d like to get a hemp or cotton shower curtain. Which curtain type dries faster? Is one more resistant to mildew than the other? Will either curtain type completely dry overnight?

Thanks for your advice!

Nikki

Debra’s Answer

A hemp shower curtain will dry faster, however, it will still mold.

I’ve used cotton shower curtains in the past, and they seemed to mold to the point of having the mold eat holes in the curtain, rendering it unusable in 3-4 months. I finally just installed glass shower doors, which cost less than $100 at Home Depot and Lowe’s. And they are pretty easy to install if you are handy around the house.

If you don’t want to install glass doors, go with the hemp and pretreat it as described in Q&A: Controlling Mold on Shower Curtains.

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Question from Dalia

We just moved to our first home and the previous owner left the barbecue in dare need of some cleaning…any natural way to do it??? Thank you Dalia

Debra’s Answer

Readers? What have you used?

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Question from josylo

What would you suggest to control domestic spiders for a house in the woods. There is too much inside ! I don’t want to use the commercial treatments proposed. Any suggestions ?

Debra’s Answer

I’ve lived out in the woods and decided myself to just live with the spiders. For the most part they are considered to be beneficial insects because they feed on other insects, thereby themselves being natural pest controls. So I just let them wander the walls of my house and do thier natural thing.

At first, I didn’t want “creepy-crawlies” in my house, but then I realized they are part of the ecosystem. They never bothered me or bit me and I just came to view them as part of life that I was sharing my home with and appreciated them for helping control other insects.

Spiders prefer, actually, to live outdoors, but come inside homes in early fall when cooler temperatures force them to seek shelter.

You can discourage spiders from coming in your house with good housekeeping, both inside and out. Keep stored items in boxes and bags shelves and clean up and dispose of clutter and trash. Repair screens and maintain the weather-stripping around doors and windows, so it is more difficult to get in the house. Once spiders are inside, spiders and their webs can be eliminated by using a broom or vacuum cleaner.

In certain areas of the country there are specific types of spiders that are poisonous. Contact your local science or natural history museum to learn about poisonous spiders in your area and learn to recognize them so you can avoid them. These DO bite humans.

Readers? Any suggestions on what worked for you?

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Question from Donna

Hi Debra

I’ve been wanting to ask you this for a while:

Crest White Strips, and/or other teeth whitening agents. Do you know anything about them? Are they safe? Can’t really tell by ingredients as I remember, but didn’t know if you had the inside scoop. I am most concerned as I do have an autoimmune illness that I have under control very well for the past twenty years and don’t want to do anything stupid to mess things up.

I appreciate any advice from you and your readers.

Thanks.

Debra’s Answer

The ingredients listed on the box of Crest White Strips are water, glycerin, hydrogen peroxide, carbomer 956, sodium hydroxide and sodium saccharin. These aren’t particularly toxic in the amounts used. For example, sodium hydroxide is lye, which will burn right through your skin if you put a wet lye crystal on wet skin, but it is very diluted in this formula. Sodium saccharin used to be thought to cause cancer, but has since been found to be safe. Glycerin can be made from petrochemicals or vegetables. In this case, it’s probably petrochemical.

Crest Whitestrips are thin, flexible strips coated with a tooth whitening gel, whose active ingredient is hydrogen peroxide, which is the same substance dentists use to whiten teeth. The reason you would use the strips instead of just putting hydrogen peroxide on your teeth is that the hydrogen peroxide needs to be held against the tooth for a period of time. The strips are designed to conform to the shape of your teeth, keeping the whitening gel on your teeth for 30 minutes at a time.

I don’t find this product to be particularly toxic to the degree that I would recommend against it for an average person. That said, if the glycerin is made from petrochemicals, it might be something you might not want to risk with your autoimmune condition.

Readers, what are your recommendations for natural ways to keep teeth white?

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Question from dg

Thank you for the sugar-free recipes, especially the Holiday Fruitcake. However, I did not find instructions for making my own candied fruit for this cake. Please tell me how to do this or help me find it on your website. Thank you for all the wonderful work you are doing. You are a “Godsend”.

Debra’s Answer

The recipe for making candied fruits is at Candied Citrus Peel. I found it by typing “candied” into my onsite search engine–access through the big purple SEARCH button on every page of all my websites–but there is also a link to it right where the ingredient is given in the recipe. You can use it to candy any fruits actually.

The recipe calls for using whole, brown, evaporated cane juice, so the color isn’t bright and sparkling like it is when you use white sugar. And evaporated cane syrup doesn’t crystallize or get hard and sticky like white sugar. But in a cake or pie, this candied citrus peel is lively and zesty and a great counterpoint to the sweeter fruits.

You could also use honey to candy fruits and it will behave more like white sugar.

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Question from Evie P.

Anyone lived through bedbugs and used eco means of getting rid of those little bastardos? We’re living on vinyl covers surrounded by chemicals and I’m still covered with bites. I tried vaseline on the legs (not so eco but better than the permicide) and I’m vacuuming. I am going to steam some things but hear that that doesn’t work so well anyway.

At this point I am ready to apply DDT directly to my body — but I am hoping there are some eco folks out there who have beat the bedbugs.

We live in NYC so putting everything in the sun is not an option.

And we do family bed, so there is a toddler in bed with us. We also have a dog.

Debra’s Answer

Readers? Any suggestions?

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Question from wt

hello,

i have been looking for a down or down alternative comforter for my two pre-teen boys (this alone, tells you…it’s gonna be thrashed in 3-6 months! so i don’t want to spend too much money on it. considering it somewhat disposable. 😉

i, myself, love the wool bedding products from Shepherd’s Dream, but i don’t want to invest that much money for something so short term for the boys. hence, i’m looking primarily at down alternative comforters.

are down alternative products considered “acceptable”? or are they BAD in terms of toxins etc. is there one ‘brand/type’ that is better than the others? or are they all bascially the same things with different names?

thank you very much.

Debra’s Answer

“Down alternative” is a tricky term because it can mean “an alternative to down,” such as cotton or wool or anything else that isn’t down, or it can mean a synthetic alternative to down. I think you are asking about the latter. Looking at websites, however, I see all these natural and synthetic choices listed on a “Down Alternatives” page.

The synthetic down alternatives are all made from 100% spun polyester. If the description on a comforter just says “down alternative” and nothing else, it’s polyester. They come in different brand names and have slight difference, but they are all basically polyester (I already reviewed one–PrimaLoft–in another question).

Whether or not polyester outgasses and how much it outgasses plasticizers is unknown. It’s not high on the list of toxic exposures in comparison to say, pesticides or water pollutants, but it has enough toxicity that I don’t recommend it. Plastics are also known to generally weaken the energy field of the body (one researcher found synthetic fibers can cause impotence), so it’s probably not the best thing to sleep under. And, of course, there are the environmental effects. Polyester is made from nonrenewable crude oil that often creates pollutants in mining and manufacture. The finished product is also not biodegradable and will sit in a landfill for centuries. So while this product may be convenient to humans, it’s not in the best interest of life overall.

Lyocell is a down alternative that is probably a better choice if you don’t want to spend the money on natural fill. It is a natural cellulose fabric, like rayon, which is made by processing natural cellulose from birchwood trees with various chemicals. It is considered by some to be an “ecologically friendly fabric”. Lyocell is more absorbent than cotton and more comfortable than polyester, as it wicks moisture away from the body and quickly evaporates it into the air (wool does this too) resulting in a more comfortable sleep.

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Question from Cindy Dwyer

I live in the Miami area and am trying to locate a place where I can buy a shadow-box or similar style fence for my yard that is constructed of sustainably harvested wood and/or certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Although Home Depot has a corporate policy to support this concept, no one in the Home Depot stores knows anything about it. I have also called a local lumber company but they don’t offer this type of fence material. I’m willing to pay more for a product that I KNOW is made from sustainably harvested wood, but have become frustrated trying to locate a company that sells it. Can anyone help? Thank you very much.

Debra’s Answer

The Forest Stewardship Council website has a page to help consumers locate FSC-certified products, but they only list manufacturers and say you have to ask your local retailers yourself.

So, readers, how are you finding FSC-certified products in your local areas? Are you having any success finding them?

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