Question from Sarjan

Hi Debra,

Hello, Does anyone have experience with greensofas.com. The products and prices almosty look too good to be true. I am looking for a sofa made of natural materials and low to no toxicity. Any feedback appreciated as it is a big step to order a product from so far away.

Debra’s Answer

Don’t bother ordering. Their phone number is disconnected. I think someone failed to take this website down.

Add Comment

Question from TA

Hi Debra,

Hi Debra, I’m confused about TSP. I was looking around your site for info about it because I see it’s an ingredient in Concrobium Mold Control, which I was looking into using on a shower. The product is said to be non-toxic, and I see it listed as a recommended product on your site. www.concrobium.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Concrobium-Mold-Control-SDS-May-2015.pdf

I see this on the EWG database: www.ewg.org/guides/substances/6194

Do I understand correctly from the info on that EWG link that TSP is not safe as a food additive but it’s okay as a cleaner? The link you gave above seems to indicate it’s not safe as a cleaner either (it’s caustic). So I’m not sure what to make of it at this point. Also, the EWG link shows an “F” rating for TSP – though it seems to be saying that mainly for food (I think?), and the database is about household cleaners! Here is some info from Concrobium’s site:

“TSP is trisodium phosphate, a mixture of soda ash and phosphoric acid. TSP is toxic if swallowed, but it can be used on many jobs, such as cleaning drains or removing old paint, that would normally require much more caustic and poisonous chemicals, and it does not create any fumes.”
from: www.concrobium.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Envirosense-Fact-Sheet-Non-Toxic-Products.pdf

I need to be able to take care of this icky shower safely and without lots of physical exertion – lots of scrubbing and inhaling the mildew, etc, isn’t going to work for me, and I don’t want to be using something toxic (for myself, as I’m sensitive, and I don’t want my child breathing in harmful fumes either). Can you make sense of these various sources of information and tell me if the product containing TSP is, in fact, safe to use? Also, it seems that part of the concern is due to the phosphates which can be an environmental issue. Any ideas about this?

Hmm…I just went back to EWG and searched for Concrobium (instead of just searching for trisodium phosphate as I did earlier), and found this: www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/2287-ConcrobiumMoldControl

There they give TSP a “C” rating, and the product an “A” rating. Perhaps the product is safe enough after all?

I also see that Concrobium has a Mold Stain Eraser product, but I’m having trouble finding the MSDS for that one, to check the ingredients.

Debra’s Answer

These are all good questions. It’s easy to be confused about this, so I’m glad you asked.

When I first started looking at the toxicity of products, the main thing I was looking at was did it emit toxic fumes.

I consider TSP to be a “safe” cleaner because it’s not toxic.

But there are other ways that substances can be harmful. And one of them is that it can be caustic, which means it can burn through your skin. It won’t cause cancer, or damage your cells, but it can burn through your skin.

I took a look at the EWG page you referenced and yes, you are understanding correctly. The F rating applies to TSP used as a food additive.

But as a cleaner, it’s not going in your body, it has no fumes, and the only way it would be harmful would be if it splashed on your skin or in your eyes. So you could use it with goggles and gloves and be perfectly safe.

Another thing that makes a difference in terms of harm is the dilution. It may be that in corcrobium the amount is so small that it presents no danger. Yet it needs to be in the ingredient list.

There would be no fumes at all from TSP. I use this product myself in my shower.

I have no concerns about it.

Add Comment

Question from Jessica

Hi Debra,

Thanks for all your research and helpful information, which I use all the time. I’m wondering if you know anything about Pottery Barn’s new furniture line, “PB Comfort Eco.” Here are the details: www.potterybarn.com/shop/furniture-upholstery/sofa-sectional-collections/pb-eco-sofas-sectionals

I’ve learned to be suspicious of “green-washing,” especially from the big manufacturers, but this looks like it might be a genuinely safe option for those of us who can’t afford the truly 100% non-toxic couches available.

I’d appreciate your opinion, based on the information available online.

Debra’s Answer

They have a nice little graphic that explains what makes it “eco.”

Let’s look at each of these.

But first, we’re going to see more and more of these types of sofas and chairs because of the change in the California law that now allows upholstered furniture without fire retardants.

100% flame-retardant free. Excellent

Recycled polyethylene & natural latex foam cushion I have no problem with that either.

FSC certified [wood] frame and legs Good.

Recycled steel springs. Fine.

Recycled foam arm padding. Undisclosed type of foam, so can’t evaluate.

100% organic cotton upholstery [fabric]. Yay!

I called Pottery Barn and the upholstery fabric is totally untreated.

They have no further information on the recycled foam in the arms. It’s probably a mix of foams.

OK. So they are unclear on the concept. The point here is that this is a fire retardant free sofa or chair. Their market is people interested in health. Yet they designed this collection with recycled materials that have environmental benefits, rather than focusing on healthy materials.

They are going in the right direction. Almost there. I just can’t evaluate that foam in the arms. But the rest of it looks fine to me, based on the information I have.

When I was seven years old, my family moved to a subdivision in Concord, California that was built on land that had been a walnut orchard. It was the first subdivision to be built in that agricultural area. Across the street from our subdivision, abandoned walnut trees were still standing, and it was not unusual for us to play in the orchards.

Many years later, a nutritionist I went to asked me if I had lived on land that had previously been an orchard. I had excessive copper in my body from the pesticides used there.

This morning an article was released about contaminated soil from abandoned Washington apple orchards. 187,000 acres.

OPB: Contaminated Soil Lingers Where Apples Once Grew

If you live in a home that is built on land that has previously been an orchard, your land is probably contaminated. Your county government should have data about the historical use of the land.

If so, your children should not be playing in the dirt, and vegetables grown in the soil will be contaminated. If you want to grow your own food, do so in containers with uncontaminated potting soil.

Add Comment

This post started as a comment posted this week on Q&A: Is Fresh Cut Lumber Toxic?

My wife and I have done a fair amount of home improvement over the years and we have purchased our share of lumber from big box stores but have also supported a local sawmill buy purchasing wood from them. The wood we purchase directly from the sawmill does not have the chemical smell we always notice when we buy from a big box store (or even a lumber yard).

 

Lately we have been wondering if big lumber producers try to cut down on the time lumber spends drying in the kiln by applying some undisclosed chemical to prevent mold. Are they required to disclose every chemical they might apply to their wood products?

 

But I pulled this comment out and made it a question because the answer turned out to be so important.

I’ve purchased a lot of framing lumber at places like Home Depot and Lowe’s. I’ve not purchased lumber at a local sawmill, so I didn’t have anything to compare it to. I myself didn’t notice an odor and I didn’t have any symptoms. And of course there is no label, so you think it’s 100% untreated wood.

But once I received this comment, I starting researching and here’s what I found.

There’s an answer to a question on the website The Chimney Sweep (of all unexpected places) that exactly answers the question of chemicals in framing wood. It’s in the context of what happens to a wood stove when you burn framing wood, which chimney sweeps would know.

The trip through the sawmill can also introduce chemicals to the wood. To combat “blade binding” and keep the sawblades sharp, sawmill operators must constantly keep the blades coated with liquid lubricant, using a sporadic spray-on or continuous drip method to keep the sawblade coated while the wood is being cut. A variety of chemicals are commonly used as sawblade lubricant, including diesel oil, antifreeze, paint thinner and kerosene. Trace amounts of these chemicals can be found on all surfaces of each piece of lumber that has been through the saw. Combustion of these substances produces a variety of corrosives, including sulphuric acid.

 

Another chemical that finds its way into dimensional lumber is polyethylene glycol (PEG-1000). In recent years, a process known as “dry kilning” has become the industry standard for drying lumber, as it enables much faster removal of the natural liquids contained in the tree. Dry kilning allows much more efficient processing of dimensional lumber, but it can cause excessive shrinkage and cracking of the wood: to prevent this, the green logs are soaked in a solution of PEG-1000, which infiltrates deep into the wood fiber and “bulks” the wood so it won’t shrink or crack in the kilns. PEG-1000 is sometimes used even in old-fashioned mills where dry kilning hasn’t yet been implemented, because after kilning, trace amounts of PEG-1000 migrate to the surface of the lumber, creating a “waxy” coating on each piece which inhibits oxidation and natural enzyme breakdown of the wood fiber. This waxy coating actually provided one of our first tip-offs to the emerging use of PEG-1000 several years ago, when a long-time employee at our local lumber yard complained that he had recently learned he must be extra-careful moving stacks of lumber with his forklift, because if he stopped too suddenly, the then-new “slippery” lumber would slide right off the forks. Thermal decomposition of PEG-1000 produces aldehydes in extreme concentrations, which combine with the natural aldehydes and water found in wood exhaust to create a corrosive acid bath inside the stove, stovepipe and chimney.

 

For various reasons, including the waxy surface situation, furniture-grade lumber is not typically soaked in PEG-1000. But that doesn’t mean the leftovers from your local cabinet shop are chemical-free. Once out of the kiln, lumber is stacked in bunches separated by wood slats called “stickers”. Over time, these stickers can cause discoloration of the wood, resulting in off-color stripes across the grain known in the industry as “sticker stain”. Affected lumber is sometimes treated with “wood wash”, a solution of oxalic acid, which bleaches out the stains. In weak solution, oxalic acid is commercially used as a rust-remover: at temperatures above 110° F, the corrosiveness of this organic acid triples.

 

Another source of chemical content in dimensional lumber is the use of fungicides. Prior to storage of green lumber, especially in wet or humid locales, chemicals may be applied to prevent growth of fungi which stain wood blue or black, a phenomenon known as “sapstain.” Fungicides may be applied in the production line (usually by spraying) or after the lumber is bundled (usually in dip tanks). Chemicals used include didecyldimethyl ammonium chloride, 3-iodo-2-propynyl butyl carbamate, azaconazole, borax and 2-(thiocyanomethylthio) benzthiazole.

 

It should be reiterated here that the above list includes chemicals that might be found in untreated dimensional lumber. For example, most inland mills don’t start with logs that have had a saltwater bath: many mills have not yet adopted the “dry kilning” method, and don’t soak their logs with PEG-1000: not all furniture-grade lumber has been treated with oxalic acid, and not all mills dip their lumber in fungicides. The problem is, you can’t tell if a truckload of mill ends contains any of these chemicals by looking at it, and the woodseller who’s delivering it isn’t likely to know either.

 

A woman recently called me for a consolation and told me she was building a log cabin out of logs from the local forest that were being felled and cut into logs by one person. Nothing added. That would be the way to get actual untreated lumber.

We apparently need the same kind of paper trail that exists for certified organic food with wood products in order to even locate toxic free lumber.

Read the rest of the article at The Chimney Sweep: Why do they say not to burn mill ends in a wood stove?

Add Comment

Question from Diana

Hi Debra,

Can you share how you re-upholstered a car to make it non toxic? Thanks!

Debra’s Answer

Many years ago I re-uphostered the bucket seats on my Fiat X-1/9 to remove the vinyl seat covers. That’s all I did.

I just took the car to an auto upholsterer, asked how many yards of fabric to get, then went and bought that amount of cotton canvas and prewashed it. They did a great job.

If I had wanted to, they could have replaced all the vinyl in the doors and I could have swapped out the carpet, but it was enough for me to replace the seat covers.

But I have another article for you about creating a toxic free car from an old 1986 issue of my newsletter. A reader submitted this very complete article about how to create “The All-Cotton Car..”

I scanned it for you and made a pdf: The All-Cotton Car

Add Comment

Question from Stacey

Hi Debra,

I found some cotton rugs at Crate and Barrel that are reasonably priced and match my kitchen decor perfectly. They are 100% cotton, black and white striped dyed, with no rug pad or backing. Are these safe enough, especially with small children sitting/playing on them? I know you recommend washing all conventional cotton items before use, however, I cannot wash these rugs (too cold now to even wash outside). Would you say that these cotton rugs, or any 100% cotton rugs, are still safe to purchase and use in my home?

Thanks so much!

Debra’s Answer

I think you are talking about the Olin Black Striped Cotton Dhurrie Rug.

These cotton dhurries are generally fine in my experience, but I once had one that had an odor and I bought it, thinking I could remove the odor. Big mistake. I could never get it out.

But if there is no odor when you buy it, it should be fine.

I can’t vouch for how it’s made or chemicals that might be used. Use your best judgement.

Add Comment

Question from Suzanne

Hi Debra,

I am a vegan, but also care about living toxic free. So many vegan alternatives are made from petroleum. Yes, they are not made from animals, but it seems there is little concern about the toxicity of these vegan alternatives.

I don’t want to use down in pillow and comforters and other products, but neither do I want to use polyester and other products being offered to us as vegan alternatives.

What can I use as a toxic free replacement for down?

Debra’s Answer

I’ve noticed this too and I’d love to see more vegans find plant-based alternatives instead of petroleum-based.

There is a plant-based alternative to down, and that is kapok

Kapok is one of those old materials that used to be used a lot, but got displaced by plastic fillings and foam.

Kapok is a fiber taken from the seed pod of the kapok tree, which grows in the rainforest. The trees are laden with pods, which contain round seeds. After the leaves have fallen during the dry summer season, the pods burst open while still on the tree. Inside, a whitish cotto- like fiber surrounds the brown seeds, which carries the seed off in the wind. This fiber is called “kapok silk.”

The majestic trees are not cut down during harvesting, only the seed pods are removed, at the end of their natural cycle. Fibers are pulled from the seeds pods, then air cleaned by spinning at high speed, resulting in a soft, puffy, resilient material that has no dust or pod debris.

Kapok is soft, smooth, hygienic, hypoallergenic, sustainable, and free of toxic chemicals.

Kapok give the feel of down, but holds it’s shape, does not compress, and maintains it’s buoyancy for years. It has a unique ability to shape to the body and rebound instantly to it’s original fluffiness. It can be reused for decades without decaying. Because it is water-resistant, it doesn’t mold.

The fluffy white covering of the kapok seed traditionally has been used by indigenous rainforest peoples to fill pillows and mattresses and is again being offered today for these purposes, particularly for pillows.

Look for kapok that has been harvested in a way that protects the life ways and ecosystems of indigenous people.

White Lotus Home makes their own kapok-filled pillows with a 100% organic casing, spun in the USA from 100% organic, domestically grown, GOTS-certified cotton.

Add Comment

Question from Stacey

Hi Debra,

I would like to purchase some ceiling fans for my home. It seems a lot of the blades are made of ABS plastic, or plywood/wood veneer. Are either of these okay to purchase, or would you recommend finding a fan made with solid wood blades?

Thank you!

Debra’s Answer

It’s pretty easy to find ceiling fans with wood blades (I just searched on “wood ceiling fans”) but the problem with wood might be the finish. And they are very expensive.

Plywood with veneer would have adhesives and finish.

ABS plastic is plastic.

So…

I personally would choose the ABS plastic, as much as I prefer not to use plastic. Though it’s made with toxic chemicals, as plastics go, by the time they are reacted into the final material, the end result plastic is stable, non-leaching, and not considered toxic per the MSDS.

I’ve purchased several inexpensive white ceiling fans, and never had a problem with them.

Add Comment

Question from Bonnie Johnson

Hi Debra,

My basement walls are concrete and need to be washed down for mildew and then painted with drylock. I hear it is very toxic. Even being out of the house for a week I am fearful.

Is there any other basement paint/sealer that is less toxic to use? Someone mentioned Sherwin Williams having something like that but I called and no one sounded like they knew. It is an old basement with just small upper windows for ventelation.

Thanks.

Debra’s Answer

I looked at the MSDS for Drylock and can see why you are concerned.

It contains several VOCs, including Diethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether, which is one of those hazardous chemicals required by law to be reported if released into the environment (here’s the whole list if you are curious).

Better to use something nontoxic.

Fortunately, someone has already compiled the list: Green Building Supply: Concrete & Masonry Sealer