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Submitted questions will be posted with my response by the following Tuesday or before.
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How to Clean or Refinish Bathtub? Old Stove?

Question from Mary

I have been reading you for years (bought your book, and read Natural Home mag). I stumbled on your web site today while searching unsuccessfully for info on these questions. Perhaps you would find them interesting enough to answer?

I have a wonderful old cast iron clawfoot tub bought from a salvage yard. Much of the original smooth porcelain finish is worn away, and it’s become quite stained. I can’t afford the commercial refinisher (besides, how “green” is that process?). There is a “porcelain restoration kit” I’ve seen at a hardware store and on web, but it looks really toxic, and the rebonding agent doesn’t look all that durable. Since I have a graywater system that recycles used water to my garden, I’m very picky about what goes down the drain. I’ve tried hydrogen peroxide to no avail. Any suggestions to nontoxically clean and/or refinish the surface?

Similarly, I rescued from a house remodel an old kitchen stove from the 40s, very cute. The top porcelain is quite stained from 60 years of cooking. Basic baking soda hasn’t touched the deep stains. Any nontoxic way to clean this, and keep it from re-staining?

Debra’s Answer

Good questions! Readers?

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Hotplate? Electric stand-alone double burners

Question from Gina

I’m seeking a brand that’s durable, energy-efficient, and stainless steel, or other material that won’t off-gas. My ancient big stove recently died, and I don’t need another big stove.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Debra’s Answer

Reader! Any ideas!

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Children’s Orchard

Question from jal333

Have you heard of Children’s Orchard stores? We pay cash or store value added credits for kids clothes, toys, furniture sizes 0 through 10. We encourage parents to recycle back with us. If clothes are worn we donate them or send them to recycling centers. We work diligently to give back to the community, work with not for profits, elementary schools, PTA’s, OB/GYNs. We are not 100% green, but doing whatever we can. It’s amazing the wonderful items we have that people bring to us for resale.

This is a small, national family-owned franchise and been in business over 30 years.

Debra’s Answer

Sounds like a great way to participate in recycling.

Readers, remember when we recycle by using an already existing item again, it saves even more resources than when we recycle by coverting the product material to a new product. It’s always a good idea to use an existing item through to the end of it’s useful life before sending it’s material back into the system.

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Naturally “Buttery” Olive Oil

Yesterday I found a wonderful olive oil that tastes very much like butter. This is the natural flavor of the oil–there are no flavorings added of any kind. I made my scrambled eggs with it this morning and they tasted even better than with butter!

Though it’s not organically grown, I thought I’d let you know about it for all of you who love the taste of butter but would rather eat a plant-based oil.

It’s available in a store here in Florida called Cork and Olive. Currently their website isn’t set up for online ordering (www.corkandolive.com) and the chain of stores is only in Florida, but if you’d like to order some, you can email Regina at r.dodd@corkandolive.com. Tell her you read it in my blog and ask for Alia d’Morocco.

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Lead in Bathtubs

Question from gayle

We recently purchased an older home (built in the 1940’s) The bathtub seems to be enclosed by a “liner”. It looks/feels like some type of plastic. Since the original tub probably carries lead, does this “liner” make it safe?? How can we tell??

Thanks so much.

Gayle

Debra’s Answer

A number of websites that sell bathtub liners say that such a liner will encapsulate the lead that may be leaching from your bathtub (more than half of all porcelain bathtubs made before 1974 leach lead, which can be absorbed through your skin when you take a bath).

Since you already have an existing liner, it may be made from either PVC vinyl or acrylic. PVC being the more toxic of the two.

You can tell for sure if lead is coming through the liner (or if you need to be concerned about lead in your bathtub) by using a lead test kit, such as Lead Check.

If you need to encapsulate the lead in your bathtub, look into refinishing your tub as it will encapsulate lead as well. Both liners and refinishing are pretty toxic to install. I think refinishing would be less toxic after installation.

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Eco-Friendly Chopsticks for Chinese New Year

Growing up the San Francisco Bay Area, which has a large Chinese community, I have always been very aware of the Chinese New Year in early spring. Based on an ancient agricultural calendar, the Chinese consider the year to begin when the first plants begin to sprout, rather than when the days begin to grow longer based on the sun.

Today is the Chinese New Year, so in celebration, here’s a tip from The Ideal Bite newsletter with some links on where to buy eco-friendly chopsticks: The Ideal Bite: Chopsticks

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Question about Surround Ewe wool sleep system

Question from Just Wondering

I was wondering if anyone had any comments or experience with using the Surround Ewe wool sleep system. It is owned and operated by a woman who has Kerry Hills Farm and she sells wool pillows, mattresses, mattress toppers, etc. They are organic wool products and organic cotton coverings. I wondered if anyone had bought any items and if they were happy with the products. Any comments appreciated. Thank you.

Debra’s Answer

I’m not familiar with this one. Readers?

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Humidifier filter replacement

Question from Donnie

I have a small Holmes cool mist humidifier, and it has worked well for me. Unfortunately, my husband used a toxic antibacterial product in it, without my knowledge, and it made me very sick. I want to replace the filter in the humidifier, to see if that will make it more tolerable. However, all of the Holmes replacement filters now contain Microban, which I can not tolerate. That chemical gives me a migraine and makes my lungs hurt, and causes shortness of breath, among other nasty symptoms. Does anyone know of a source for replacement filters, without Microban, that can be used in Holmes humidifiers? I tried to go with using the humidifier, and my humidity dropped down the 8%.

Donnie

Debra’s Answer

Readers?

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Organic Cotton is NOT the Same as Organic Food

Question from Harmony

With more and more organic cotton products now available at lower prices in mass market stores, there have been some questions about how organic these cotton products are. It’s easy to make the asuumption that organic cotton is held to the same standards as organic food, but it’s not. As a textile designer working with organic cotton I want to tell you about the current state of organic cotton standards in the industry.

The green and white USDA organic label that we have all come to expect on our organic foods can’t be found on cotton. Why? The U.S. Department of Agriculture classifies cotton as fiber-not food-and therefore finds it outside its jurisdiction. This is especially perplexing when you consider that many processed foods contain cottonseed oil.

As a result, the labeling and regulation of organic cotton is a relative free-for-all. “Organic” cotton should be grown to the same standards as organic food (GMO-free, no pesticides, etc. Full details available at http://www.ams.usda.gov/NOP/NOP/standards.html#). Then certification by the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) would be possible and could be expected for all cotton sold as “organic.”

However, unlike food, the processing of cotton doesn’t end at harvest time. Toxins and chemicals are often applied to cotton at every step of the manufacturing process. From the waxes used in the weaving to the chlorine bleach used for whitening and at numerous other points in the process, cotton is often subjected to toxins. (See http://www.harmonyart.com/organic-textiles/OrganicVSConventional.html for a detailed list of some of these steps.)

There are currently over 40 eco-fiber standards worldwide, each focusing on a different aspect of the process. Some test for toxic residue, some focus on the treatment of the people, some are concerned with energy and water use. Navigating these standards can be complex and confusing even for those on the inside of the organic fiber community. The processing of cotton is so variable and suspect that without a universal and recognizable standard that addresses the entire process there is much room for deceit. It is my hope that before too long the fiber world (like the food world) will have a universally accepted and identifiable organic seal which consumers can trust.

The good news is that the U.S. Organic Trade Association (OTA) recently passed a resolution recognizing the new Global Organic Textile Standard (global-standard.org) as the standard for organic fiber. With the OTA’s endorsement-on the heels of endorsements by Germany, Japan and the UK-I have great hope that the GOTS will emerge as the necessary universally accepted and recognized standard.

Debra’s Answer

Thanks, Harmony. We needed this explanation.

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Outgassing Chairs

Question from Karen

Hi Debra,

We recently bought 6 banana leaf dining chairs(I think from China) that are just beautiful. However, when they were brought into the house the odor was overwhelming. We now have had them in the garage for 10 days and there doesn’t seem to be much change.

How long will it take to outgass? Should we try to seal them with a polyurethane type coating? Then would the polyurethane have to outgass, too? Would it wear off and we would be right back where we started?

I hope there is a solution. We love the chairs!

Thanks,

Karen

Debra’s Answer

I don’t have experience with banana leaf chairs, but I have some ideas.

First, I don’t know whether the odor is the natural odor of banana leaf, or if what you are smelling is some kind of finish that has been applied, or some kind of pesticide that may have been sprayed during shipping.

If you were to apply some kind of finish to block the odor, yes, that would need some drying time.

Heat often will accelerate the outgassing process.

I think I would try putting them out in the sun. The sun often works wonders.

I had an experience once where I bought a natural jute rug. It had an odor in the store, but I thought, it’s natural, I can get the odor out. Well, I did everything I could think of, including leaving it out in the sun and rain for six months, but the odor remained. I think it was just the natural odor of the jute.

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