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Pull-Down Kitchen Faucet Sprayer Replacement
Question from Miriam Whew, that was a long title! We need to replace ours, as the part that pulls down has sprung a leak. What ought one look for in this type of purchase? It seems important as it will be in contact with our water. I’ve found a few on Amazon that look decent […]
November 25, 2019
Living Near Power Lines
Question from Stacey We are currently looking to move to a new twin and have found two possible houses. The house that is closer to school and more convenient is situated near large power/transmission lines ( approx. .25 mile away). I’ve called the town for more information, but since I do not own the house, […]
Fiesta Dinnerware
Question from TG Is Fiestaware (claim to have glazes free from lead and cadmium) safe to use in any color? Historically, their famous red Fiestaware had uranium from the ’30’s to the ’50’s. They are manufactured here in the USA and are beautiful. Lisa’s Answer All of the colors are lead free. Here is a […]
Xtrema Cookware
Update July, 2020: Read more about Xtrema and more in The Ultimate Guide to Non-Toxic Cookware
New Tire Odor
Question from CMP I never thought about it until after the fact…got 4 new tires put on my SUV today & the smell of them & in the inside of my vehicle is now intolerable. I have MCS, multiple allergies (including latex) & asthma. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to do? I […]
Non-Toxic Art and Framing
When I moved into my new, non-toxic home I was very careful about which furnishings to bring with me. It didn’t make senses to invest so much time, effort and money into building a clean home only to fill it with items that could off-gas or leach harmful chemicals. Most of our old furniture was […]
November 19, 2019
More About Blenders
Last week I wrote about PTFE as an ingredient in the seal at the bottom of Vitamix containers. I want to reframe this discussion because this is not an issue about one brand. I have researched further and found that other blenders, high-speed, professional-grade blenders in particular, also contain PTFE. And some that do not […]
Plastic-Free Holiday Lights
Plastic-Free Holiday Lights While shopping in San Francisco last week I found these wonderful little holiday lights. I bought a box and brought them home and hung them up. Even though they are very tiny, they produce a lovely light. These are tiny LED lights on a thin copper wire, but the […]
Furniture
Question from Shana I’m looking for bedroom furniture for my son’s room, as well as the master bedroom. I’d like to find non-toxic furniture that’s traditional, rather than contemporary. The more I look, the more confused I get! There are many Amish manufacturers that use solid wood furniture, but the stains are low VOC. I […]
November 18, 2019
Materials for a Desk
Question from Miriam I was wondering if you could help me with a desk. I’m looking at this one, and there are 3 different options for materials. I purchased the converter in rubberwood as I figured that was the safest, but it’s not big enough and now I am thinking of upgrading to the full desk. […]
Chemical Smell New Paint
Question from Rick We hired a painter to redo our master bedroom with BM low VOC paint and after 5 weeks it still smells. We’ve tried a number of things to clear it, but nothing works. I recently read that heating the room to 85-90 as a Bakeout for a couple days might remove the […]
Will Outside Deck Offgas Into Home?
Question from Linda I live in San Francisco and am putting in about 50, 3″ x 10″ x 24 feet beams to cantilever a deck under our house. Its treated with ACQ-A and I’m wondering if the pesticides will off gas into our home, through the floorboards. They will reach under our living room floor […]
Bite Guards
Question from Kathleen Any recommendations or warnings about OTC and custom-made (by dentist) bite guards? I know to avoid phthalates (hence methyl acrylate), formalhehyde, and BPA. No one seems to even report BPB. And I’m guessing there’s a bunch of other yucky chemicals in these things. The dentist-made guard looks like a combination of silicone […]
Plastic Bins and Hairbrush
Question from Stacy 1) Does PET plastic containers offgas? I have the plastic in my car and can get hot. 2) What do you think of the Wetbrush materials? It says nylon66 (which is fine) but what about the epoxy tips? Lisa’s Answer PET does offgass but minimally as compared to other plastics such as […]
Washing Clothing in Unfiltered Water
Question from James My house uses city water i cant afford the pure effect whole home filter at the moment but i was wondering is their another way i can wash my clothes safely without worrying about any vocs,chemcicals getting in my clothes especially the organic cotton ones.Also is this something i should be concerned […]
Plastics Used to Make Telephones
The other day one of my consulting clients asked me a question about the plastics used to make telephones. In the process of researching this, I came across this article: http://www.telephonecollecting.org/Bobs%20phones/Pages/Essays/Plastics.htm It gives the materials used to make phones throughout the history of phones. And then it concludes that the plastics used to make phones […]
November 12, 2019
Sink Repair
Question from Jade My young daughter accidentally cracked my bathroom porcelain sink. It’s a very small crack so I would like to repair it over having it replaced but the products I’m finding are all very toxic. I suffer from Environmental Sensitivity Illness so a non-toxic product is necessary. Do you know of any porcelain […]
November 10, 2019
Vinyl Flooring
Question from Liberty Looking for your opinion for safety on the LifeProof Vinyl Plank Flooring, which claims to be both phthalate-free and formaldehyde-free, and Cali LVP flooring, which is supposed to be no voc odor free vinyl flooring. Lisa’s Answer Check out The Green Design Center. The owner, Andrew Pace, tests the products he sells […]
Insulation
Question from Maggie Typically we have used fiberglass insulation. Son is building a Tiny house and researching a good insulation I’m finding very mixed information…alot of it depending on what they are trying to sell. although hard at time to differentiate the information at hand. I was going with the cotton batting until I read […]
Teflon EcoElite
Question from Tricia Hi – thanks so much for this service. I’ve been searching for eco/health friendly outdoor gear and recently came across Teflon EcoElite as a new waterproof coating. Have you heard about this or know anything about it? Seems to have won some eco/innovation awards, but who knows what that really means … […]
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