Question from Jenny

Hi Debra,

We recently found some barrettes on line for my daughter. After they came in the mail I found out they were made in Malaysia. They are simple clip barrettes that have white paint on them. Is there any way I can ensure they are safe?

Thank you,

Jenny

Debra’s Answer

I would say they are probably fine. There may be heavy metals in the paint, but there’s no way for you to know.

If you are concerned, don’t use them.

If you want to use them, know that they are a very tiny exposure in comparison to other things you should be concerned about, like fluoride in tap water and pesticides in food, and formaldehyde in bedsheets.

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Question from TA

Are you familiar with the IntelliBed mattresses? 

Here is their website:
www.intellibed.com

Sounds interesting. The video gives more detail about the nature of the intelliGEL than I have found (so far) on their website.

I am interested in finding a mattress for my toddler which will last throughout the childhood and teenage years. I’m aware of Naturepedic, Savvy Rest, etc. Now I’m wondering about this one.

Debra’s Answer

I took a look at their website and chatted with them. Interesting slight of hand marketing.

They talk about toxic foam and their “foam free sleep surfaces“, yet the core of the mattress contains “a small amount of high density foam” which is used “to support the gel in place.”

The “gel” is not a jellylike substance (that’s the definition of gel), but is dry, so it doesn’t need a bag to hold it in place.

The gel is made from food grade mineral oil, which is “completely safe and has been approved to use in baby bottle nipples.”

Mineral oil is highly refined straight petroleum.

Of course, all of this is wrapped in organic cotton, thus the “foam free sleep surface.”

I just don’t see the point. I’m very happy with my 100% wool mattress. If cotton is too hard, wrap it around wool, or springs.

All that said, I doubt that there would be much toxic exposure, if any, from these materials being in the core, but if you want a all-natural mattress, this isn’t it.

debra what is the gel made from?

Cameron Hi Debra!

Thank you for visiting intelliBED, I’ll be happy to explain the gel

We use a food grade mineral oil to manufacture the gel. It is completely safe, and has actually been approved to use in baby bottle nipples because of it’s nature

May I ask how you heard about intelliBED?

debra word of mouth

is the gel encased in plastic? If so, what type?

Cameron The gel is held in place in the mattress by a small amount of high density foam.

Unlike other mattress companies, we do not rely on foam to support or comfort your body, but we do use foam to support the gel in place

debra so the gel is infused into the foam?

Cameron No the gel is not infused in to the foam, but we encase the gel in the center of the bed to avoid the gel moving around inside of the mattress

The gel itself is very pure. We do not infuse it in to the foam, or with any other materials

debra OK but is the gel then in a container, like a bag, then wrapped with foam?

Cameron No, it’s a dried gel so it does not have to be contained

debra OK that’s what I wasn’t understanding. “Gel” is by definition a jellylike substane

OK that’s all I needed to know

Cameron If you have any other questions, or would like more information; feel free to reach out to me

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Question from Karen

What you have been saying for ages is finally being recognized by others –
articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/10/01/carpet-installation.aspx?e_cid=20141001Z1_DNL_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content
=art2&utm_campaign=20141001Z1&et_cid=DM56854&et_rid=677700060

Debra’s Answer

Thank you. I first wrote about toxic carpeting in 1984. I think I may have been the first to do so.

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Question from Barb

I am curious, you said that you don’t use toothpaste, what do you use? I have been using baking soda mixed with coconut oil. Is that too harsh?

Thank you for your time.

Debra’s Answer

What you’re using sounds great to me.

I am always trying various tooth products, mostly tooth powders, different brands. I like tooth powder better because the ingredients are simpler and usually more natural.

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Question from Melissa

Hi Debra,

I have been searching for a safe easel for my 3 and 5 year old daughters, a difficult task as most children’s easels seem to be “wooden.” I found the Beka easel, which was advertised as solid hardwood made in the USA. When the new easel arrived, I was surprised to see that the chalkboard surface (i.e., one side of the easel), the bottom of the wood paint trays and center portion of the easel appeared to be made of something other than solid wood.

I called Beka and was told that these parts are made of a fiberboard which is a tempered hardboard made in the USA (meaning only the frame of the easel is sold wood). The person I spoke with was very helpful but could not give me any more information about the composition of the non-wood parts. Should I be concerned about off-gassing/formalehyde with these parts or do you think they are safe? If necessary, I can pay $40 to replace one of the parts with a metal board and apply something to seal the other parts – but I certainly don’t want to do all of this if it’s not necessary.

Thank you very much,

Melissa

Debra’s Answer

Tempered hardboard is an engineered wood product, more commonly called Masonite™. It’s been around since the 1920’s and is not toxic.

Unlike the more modern fiberboards that are held together with toxic resins, Masonite™ is made by coating wood fibers with linseed oil and pressing them together at high temperatures.

Some people who are individually sensitive to wood or linseed oil may react to it, but it contains no toxic ingredients.

No off-gassing of formaldehyde here.

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Question from chris

I know that simmons products are not usually safe (as they have chemicals in them). But they advertise a latex pillow that I am wondering if it is safe. It is made with Talalay latex. This is the website I am looking at:
www.absolutecomfortonsale.com/Simmons-beautyrest-latex-pillow.htm

thanks.

Debra’s Answer

First, let me just suggest that you shop on Debra’s List to find products that are truly natural and toxic free. You can find many natural pillows on the Beds & Bedding page of Debra’s List.

Now, FYI about choosing latex pillows…

First, you want 100% natural latex and even better, GOLS certified organic latex.

This description clearly says it’s “blended latex” which means it’s part natural and part petrochemical, like the rubber tires are made from. I don’t know what “authentic Talalay latex foam” is. Authentic?

This description says to me the latex is not organic and is cut with toxic petroleum-based rubber.

I can’t recommend this pillow.

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Question from judy

I’m having orthotics made at a new place. I know that some of the coverings and adhesives used with cork orthotics are very toxic and others have been fine for me with some outgassing.

What types do you suggest to get fabric coverings to adhere?

Debra’s Answer

I don’t have any experience at all with making orthotics.

Readers, any suggestions for this?

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Question from E. from Canada

Any tips for finding safe headphones?

I have decided to look for in-ear headphones since there is less material I might be sensitive to.

I thought I picked out a good pair: Reveal Bamboo Earbuds. They were anodized aluminum, phthalate-free and BPA-free but the cord still had a strong plastic odour.

What questions should I be asking manufacturers in order to figure out if their headphones are low VOC?

Thanks,

(E. from Canada)

Debra’s Answer

Good question!

You are on the right track with your Reveal Bambook Earbuds.

I’m not surprised there is a strong odor from the cord. It’s probably a standard PVC cord that may even have lead in it, which can be absorbed by your skin when you touch it.

The difficult thing is that I don’t think there yet are PVC-free cords for things like this.

The best thing I can recommend for you is to get these bamboo earbuds and then wrap the cords with something. Just any fabric would work to protect against lead, but not the VOCs. Foil will block the PVC fumes so you might use foil tape, or foil under fabric.

I would ask what types of plastics are used to make the headphones, because they are all plastic.

The ridiculous thing is that headphones probably could be made from some nontoxic, food-safe plastic, they just aren’t doing it…yet.

But…Here are a whole lot of choices for headphones made from bamboo and other natural materials, but probably still PVC cords.

Question from Alison

Hi Debra,

Thank you for your website and for all that you do!

My cook wants to wear gloves while working with raw meat. I was wondering if you know whether nitrile medical gloves are safe (ie don’t leach anything into the food), or do you know of a safe glove to use? Maybe natural latex?

The gloves won’t be used for anything heat related, just things like cutting meat, and making meatballs.

Thanks so much!

Alison

Debra’s Answer

The use of gloves for food prep is common—it’s done in every restaurant.

I just took a peek at disposable gloves regarding your leaching question, and I’ll just summarize by saying that all the materials leach, and this is addressed during a step in processing. But it appears that different brands of gloves may be leached for different periods of time. I have no way of creating a reccommendation to evaluate which might be the best gloves because of this.

The main materials used to make disposable gloves are

• Vinyl / Poly (PVC)
• Nitrile
• Latex

But if you look at all the choices for gloves, it quickly becomes apparent that there may be other additives for various functions.

I would avoid the PVC gloves for toxicity.

Nitrile is a synthetic rubber made from acrylonitrile and butadiene. Acrylonitrile is a suspected human carcinogen, considered toxic, and know to release ions of cyanide. It also cannot be legally released into the environment because it is considered hazardous.

Latex would be OK if you are not latex sensitive.

It’s a tough decision. What is the reason your cook wants to wear gloves? Is it cross-contamination? I handle raw meat with my bare hands and then wash them with soap and hot water before I handle any other foods. And if I am making a salad, for example, I’ll handle the raw vegetables BEFORE handling the raw meat. I also use a separate cutting board and run my knife under the hottest water after using it to cut meat. I’ve never had any cross-contamination problems.

Question from Cecilia

Dear Debra,

I would like your opinion about these two stain removers:

www.yoreganics.com/collections/all-products/products/stain-remover

us.ecover.com/products/stain-remover/

I tried the first one, and I think it works pretty well, but every time I use it I would cough and sneeze.

I haven’t tried the second one, but I would like your opinion because it has a bad rating on the EWG website.

In your website I found some old comments about Oxyclean and similar products. Would you still think they are safe to use?

Thank you very much!

Debra’s Answer

The Yoreganics stain remover is totally organic and nontoxic. If you are coughing and sneezing it is likely that you are individually sensitive to one or more of the natural ingredients. This is one of the dilemmas: organic products do not contain toxic chemicals but they can contain potential allergens, whereas petroleum products contain no allergens but may be toxic.

I can see why the Ecover product got a bad rating from EWG. It contains a number of synthetic ingredients, including synthetic fragrances and preservatives.

Another difference is the Yoreganics product is made from whole natural ingredients such as oils, aloe vera, and functional essential oils. The Ecover product contains ingredients that start with renewable resources, but are processed into industrial ingredients.

Oxyclean is made from oxygen bleach (sodium percarbonate) and hydrogen peroxide. Those are the active ingredients. Who knows what else may be in it. You can buy other stain removers with these active ingredients online. Or even just use them alone. Dilute the hydrogen peroxide so it doesn’t bleach your clothes on contact.

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