Question from Amelie

Hi Debra,

Do you know anything about a fabric spray clothing retail stores are now using on linen clothing?

Recently, I purchased some linen clothing online. After they arrived, I noticed the clothing has a glossy sheen to them (more so than natural linen) and felt kind of slick.

I called the store and they told me that a fabric spray is used on linen to make it appear less wrinkled while hanging on stores shelves.

What do you think? Is the spray likely safe? Will it completely wash out of the fabric in one wash? Should I avoid linen clothes that have this?

Thanks!

Debra’s Answer

When I was researching fabric finishes, I learned that there are two types: finishes intended to improve fabric performance for the consumer for the life of the fabric and finishes intended to make the garments look good on the hanger.

Those finishes intended to improve fabric performance are permanent; those intended to make garments look good for sales purposes are temporary.

One such temporary finish, called “sizing” is made from cornstarch, and washes right out. That’s why when a garment is new it seems to have a shape, which falls out when you wash it.

I don’t know about these new linen finishes specifically, but it sounds like it will wash out.

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Question from Amelie

Dear Debra,

I have a question about fabric care labels. Before I decide to purchase a piece of clothing, I like to know that I can machine wash it and also that it will be safe to wear.

Based on information I read in your books (thanks!) and on your website, I try to buy natural fiber clothing and to avoid clothes that need to be dry cleaned.

However, some items I have questions about. Is there a reason to avoid purchasing items that say things like:

I’ve heard sometimes an item that says “do not dry clean” is an indicator that it’s been treated with chemicals that could react with dry cleaning chemicals.

Any tips?

Debra’s Answer

Personally, I’ve never encountered these labels. But a reader in the industry may be able to answer this question. Readers?

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Question from cheryle

Debra, This is a great website and I appreciate what you are doing to help all of us be healthier and happier. Thank you. My question is about paint. I have used paint for years in artwork and I am now concerned over the message that acrylics contain cadimium. It tells you not to spray it, but my concern is I use this in painting childrens rooms with various children themes. After it is dry how dangerous is this to the children or adults? This is a big concern for artist and purchasing original art work. Thank you.

Cheryle Silanskis, Illinois

Debra’s Answer

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Question from bev Rockey

What kind of waffle maker would you recomend? So many are teflon coated.

Debra’s Answer

Well, personally I don’t eat waffles (though I love them!) because I don’t eat grains. I haven’t seen a waffle maker in a long time that didn’t have a Teflon finish.

Readers? Do you know of any?

I’ve questioned for myself the necessity of eating foods that require special equipment just to make that one thing. How many resources would we save if nobody ate waffles? We could make pancakes in the same skillet used to make other foods…

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Question from JT

hello,

i was looking for a new cutting board. up to now, i’ve been using john boos’ butcher block. but it cracked, and i’m in the market for a new one. however, prior to repurchasing a boos block, i was concerned re: the potential toxic glues and laminates used. should this be an issue to consider? in addition, they have their ‘mystery oil’ used for upkeep of the board vs. regular food grade mineral oil. i’m not sure if that’s okay, or if there’s as natural oil that you might recommend?

i’ve also looked into bamboo, and saw ‘totally bamboo’s’ site stating that they do not use toxic glues with their products. i’ve not had any experience with bamboo, and was curious if either you or your readers might have some feedback regarding this vs. maple butcher block.

the plastic synthetic boards, i assume are toxic.

what cutting boards (and oils) have you found to be the best performing and least toxic?

thank you kindly.

Debra’s Answer

I personally use maple, though I would consider a bamboo cutting board if I needed to purchase a new one. I’ve had mine for years, and actually have never put anything on them (see Q&A Wood Conditioner for Cutting Boards and Bowls for a lengthy discussion on this). They are still in excellent condition and I use them daily.

I’ve never found a cutting board to have toxic adhesives. They are required to be food safe.

The common 1/2′ thick plastic boards are made from High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). According to the International Plastics Task Force, mice fed HDPE powder as part of their diet “developed no changes in their general condition” in the short or long term.

Here are the types of cutting boards currently available:

Plastic — These come in hard and flexible plastic, and thick or thin. The harder the plastic, the less it offgasses. Sharp knives easily cut soft plastic, and can cut right through a soft thin plastic board. Hard plastic boards are very durable and easy to clean.

Tempered Glass — These are completely nontoxic, very durable, resistant to heat, and are the most sanitary and easy to clean. The disadvantage is they dull knife edges and make noise when you are chopping.

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Question from Mira

I am pregnant and have been reading a lot about the danger of bisphenol A exposure to developing fetuses (e.g. recent San Fran attempt to ban this chemical from baby products). This chemical is found in polycarbonate plastic among other places. I am concerned because I grind my teeth and wear a polycarbonate mouth guard nightly. I worry that BPA may be leaching from my mouth guard and harming my unborn child. I have spoken with numerous dentists but none were that knowledgeable on the subject. I contacted dental labs but have not been able to find a “toxin-free” alternative material from which the guard can be made. I also have not been able to find any research about the risks of wearing mouth guards during pregnancy.

Unfortunately I need to wear my mouth guard or risk breaking my teeth. Do you have any insight or advice for me?I am pregnant and have been reading a lot about the danger of bisphenol A exposure to developing fetuses (e.g. recent San Fran attempt to ban this chemical from baby products). This chemical is found in polycarbonate plastic among other places. I am concerned because I grind my teeth and wear a polycarbonate mouth guard nightly. I worry that BPA may be leaching from my mouth guard and harming my unborn child. I have spoken with numerous dentists but none were that knowledgeable on the subject. I contacted dental labs but have not been able to find a “toxin-free” alternative material from which the guard can be made. I also have not been able to find any research about the risks of wearing mouth guards during pregnancy.

Unfortunately I need to wear my mouth guard or risk breaking my teeth. Do you have any insight or advice for me?

Debra’s Answer

It can be confusing to make decisions about exposures to toxic chemicals of all kinds because in a addition to how toxic something inherently might be, “the dose makes the poison,” meaning, how much you are exposed to and the frequency of exposure determines the toxicity in your body more than the inherent toxicity of the substance itself. Salt, for example, is essential to life, but can be deadly if too much is eaten at one sitting.

Bisphenol A is known to have negative health effects (read all about them at Our Stolen Future: Bisphenol A). According to Our Stolen Future, “Research over the past decade has established that BPA alters cellular function and disrupts developmental processes at exquisitely low levels, far beneath EPA’s current ‘reference dose’ for the compound, and at levels to which many people are exposed daily, in the US and other countries.”

Bisphenol A has been most highly publicized for it’s presence in clear and colored transparent polycarbonate plastic, because of the popularity of using this plastic for water bottles. Bisphenol A leaches from polycarbonate as the plastic ages. The rate of degradation depends on how the plastic is used. If exposed to acid or alkaline solutions, or heated, the rate of leaching increases. When you wash water bottles in a dishawasher and reuse them, for example, that process accelerates the leaching. Therefore, a new plastic water bottle would leach less bisphenol A into the water than one that has been reused many times.

It’s likely, though, that you are being exposed to bisphenol A from many other sources. It is also used to make the resin that lines metal food cans to prevent the metal from contact with food. Some estimates approximate that 80% of metal food cans are lined with bisphenol A resin, and it’s not on the label. Another reason to eat fresh food.

Bisphenol A is also used in the manufacture of epoxy resins and other plastics, including polysulfone, alkylphenolic, polyalylate, polyester-styrene, and some polyester resins. It is also used as a fungicide, antioxidant, and a flame retardant, in the making of rubber chemical, and to stabilize polyvinyl chloride.

Question from KJR

I love all your information about natural sweeteners. I wonder if you have come across Suzanne Somers’ Somersweet. It is made from predominantly oligofructose. Any thoughts?

Debra’s Answer

Oligofructose (also called Fructooligosaccharide, FOS) is a subgroup of inulin, a blend of fructose polymers found widely distributed in nature.

Inulin is not digested in the small intestine, so not metabolized to produce energy, thus they have a reduced caloric value. They do not lead to a rise in serum glucose or stimulate insulin secretion.

FOS is primarily sold as a proniotic enhancer, as it is an ideal substrate for beneficial intestinal bacteria and can stimulate its activity by several hundred percent.

It is derived from a plant source (usually chicory or a sucrose such as cane or beet sugar).

A couple of years ago I looked into using FOS as a a sweetener, so I bought a bottle of “100% pure FOS”. I gave up on it because it really is not very sweet and it would be expensive to use as a sweetener ($12 for 1/2 cup). So I strongly suspect that there is something else in SomerSweet. I wasn’t able to get the ingredients off her website and there was no phone number. So if you have the rest of the list of ingredients, please send them to me. I need to look at those too.

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Question from KJR

Recently I was at a health food shop that sold various freshly-made muffins and cookies. Many of them were made with beet sugar. I assumed that these must be a natural sweetener that I missed among the many I use. But I don’t see it here or anywhere else as being anything except an alternative to refined white sugar. Why is the health food store using it?

Thanks for your time!

Debra’s Answer

I don’t know why they are using beet sugar. Here’s what I can tell you about it.

I haven’t included beet sugar on my list of natural sweeteners because I haven’t seen unrefined beet sugar commercially available to home cooks. I did once find some red beet crystals that are simply dehydrated juice of the red beet. Though it was very sweet, it also tasted like dried beets, and it was $25 for one cup, so I didn’t think that was practical.

Beet sugar is made from sugar beets. Sugar beets have been cultivated for thousands of years in one form or another as a vegetable. It was also thought to be a cure for nose and troat ailments and for constipation. But it was not used for sugar, as it’s concentration of sugar was not very high and it was difficult to extract.

Then in 1747, a German chemist, Andreus Marggraf, extacted the sugar from sugar beets using brandy and discovered the sugar in the beet was the same as the sugar in sugar cane. The first factory to make sugar from sugar beets was built in 1799 but it failed because the sugar content was too low.

During the Napolenonic Wars of the early 1800s, an English blockade prevented import of sugar cane to France. Napoleon tuned to sugar beets to satisfy the sweet tooth of his countrymen. He allocated land and money for the farming of sugar beets and the building of sugar mills and refineries. French agriculturists managed to raised the sugar from 7.5% to 17%. By 1814, small factories were operating in France, Belgian Germany, and Austria.

Beet sugar is considered to be of inferior quality to cane sugar. This is why “pure cane sugar” is used in advertising. Where cane sugar is available, it is preferred over beet.

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Question from Maggie

Hi! I am considering buying a media stand from Crate&Barrel and they say it is made of solid wood, engineered wood and veneer. Can you please tell me what engineered wood is and what chemicals might be found in it and in the veneer? Thank you!

Debra’s Answer

First, “solid wood” is a piece of wood that has been cut all in one piece from a branch or trunk of a tree.

“Engineered wood” is a piece of wood that has been made from smaller pieces of wood glued together with adhesives. The pieces of wood can be wood strands, particles, fibers, or veneers or even whole small trees. Particleboard and plywood are both engineered woods.

Engineered wood products do have some environmental advantages. They are made from the same hardwoods and softwoods used to manufacture lumber, so sawmill scraps, wood with defects, and other wood waste can be used. (Engineered cellulosic products are also now made from other “waste” materials such as rye straw, wheat straw, hemp stalks, or sugar cane residue–these contain similar cellulosic material, but from vegetable fibers rather than wood.)

Though these products conserve resources by use the wood efficiently, they are more expensive to produce than solid lumber in terms of time, money, and energy.

There is also a concern about the toxicity of the adhesives used, which can release formaldehyde. The types of adhesives used are:

“Veneer” is a paper-thin layer of wood that is cut from a single log, by “peeling” the log from the outside in. It’s like if you took a carrot and peeled it with a vegetable peeler by going around and around the carrot, rather than lengthwise. This good-looking piece is glued on to engineered wood to make it look nice on the outside. For example, go to a home improvement store and ask for “furniture grade plywood”. You’ll see the layers of engineered wood, but on the outside, there is a very pretty layer that has a pretty wood grain. That’s the veneer.

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Question from Aimee

I am enjoying your newsletter and your website with all of the valuable information. I really appreciate it.

I have a question regarding the synthetic fragrances that are in laundry detergents (as in Tide, etc) and in fabric softener sheets as well as in plugins like Glade and Wick and those awful ‘candles’ that turn liquid when burning….we are househunting and the last two houses that we really love are full of the smell from the above products. Is it possible to remove that smell? Both houses are vacant and both have carpeting in them. Do synthetic fragrances only get into fabrics such as carpet, or, do they also get into wood (as in wood cabinets and door frames, etc) and even into paint?

Thank you,

Aimee

Debra’s Answer

Lets see how others have handled this problem. Readers?

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