Question from KL

Hello – I was hoping someone was familiar with this product Pro Shot Industrial Re-Newing. Or does anyone know how to get similar results with another non toxic product or home remedy?

Debra’s Answer

The ingredients in this product are:

They are mostly petrochemicals of varying toxicity.

I couldn’t get an MSDS sheet from the company (proshotcorp.com). They said I had to mail a letter on company letterhead to get it. That makes me suspicious right there.

Does anyone have any experience with this product? If it does what it says it does and it’s nontoxic, I’d like to use it on my floors, which need some rejuvination.

Add Comment

Question from David

Hi, I want to build a fish tank out of plywood and I would coat the inside of it with an epoxy–one that is used for potable water applications. Once the tank is filled with water, the epoxy will be submerged. Will it off gas? The epoxy is advertised as being VOC-free but I understand that doesn’t mean it doesn’t off gas.

Safe to build?

Debra’s Answer

My understanding is that once epoxy cures, it is inert. Since you didn’t specify a brand name product for me to look at, the best I can tell you is that if it says it is for potable water, it should be fine.

Add Comment

Question from Carol

Hi – I hope you can help me. I have a condition called vulvodynia, and suffer from extreme chemical sensitivity in the vulvar region. I have been all right with using only All Free and Clear to wash my clothes, but something has gotten into my laundry – it started with just one item, but now all my underthings are irritating me. I know it’s something new in the laundry, because things I washed before are still fine. It’s the end of the detergent, and I’ve even tried different detergents, so I know it’s not that. I have tried baking soda and vinegar to try to remove whatever got in my laundry, but either those irritated my skin or it still didn’t remove it.

I have tried handwashing items but it seems like I can never rinse out all the detergent by hand – there’s still enough in the clothes to irritate me. I’d heard that in the old days women used to boil their laundry, but I believe they also used soap. Could cotton underthings be boiled without soap to clean them? I’m pretty sure this would kill any germs, but would it also get them clean? I’m hoping that might be an alternative to being constantly irritated, since I can’t figure out what got in my laundry or how to get it out.

Thank you!

Debra’s Answer

Before the introduction of washing machines, clothes were placed in pots of boiling water as part of the process of doing the laundry, as hot water was more effective at removing dirt than cold. But soap was still used. It was basically the same principle as a washing machine–hot water and detergent–but done by hand.

Boiling your cottons won’t hurt them. You could try boiling to see if the higher temperature would solve the problem with your fabrics.

Add Comment

Question from Karen

We are in the process of replacing our countertops with a product called Granite Transformations which is an engineered stone product made of 95% crushed granite and 5% resin to hold it together. It creates a non-porous surface that doesn’t have to be sealed like regular granite does. It is only 1/4 inch thick and is glued down with an epoxy resin adhesive on top of your existing countertops so there is no demolition and disposal of old countertops. I’m wondering if there are any potential health concerns from using a product like this, particularly from the resin that holds it together or from outgassing from the adhesives used to install it? In your opinion, is this a “safe” product to use?

Debra’s Answer

Without seeing a sample of this, I can only answer in general about engineered stone. I’ve seen many samples of different kinds, and have never noticed an odor. It appears to be extremely hard and inert. Can’t speak for your exact product as I have never seen it. Also, the amount of resin is extremely small in comparison to the amount of stone.

The epoxy glue contains toxic chemicals that will smell to high heaven during application, but once it is cured, it will be inert. Also, whatever fumes that may be present would not get through the engineered stone.

I like the idea of installing these counters over the old ones.

That said, this is an objective evaluation only, I have no experience with this.

Anyone have experience?

Add Comment

Question from ch

I am looking for a good PVC free yoga mat. I have seen some online that are made from rubber and claim to be free of PVC and phthalates etc. I also saw one that is made in the UK from Thermal Plastic Elastomer TPE which claims to be non toxic. I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.

Debra’s Answer

Cotton yoga mat. Just type “cotton yoga mat” into your favorite search engine and you will get lots of results for yoga mats made from both organic and conventional cotton.

Add Comment

Question from Y Guo

I bought a master bedroom set by Thomasville, and never expected that I couldn’t use it because of the strong smell of finishing. I tried baking soda, opened the window everyday even in freeze snow winter days, pulled out the drawers of nightstand and dress to air the smell out in an empty window-opened room, and after one month, the smell is still there, and even stronger in a warm temperature if i turned on air conditioner.

I was told by the customer service that every piece of furniture will have the smell, and for thomasville, the smell should go away in a month.

We are expecting a newborn in just one and half month. We had planned to have baby sleep with us in this room.

Does anyone know where i can turn to help to get the smell tested, and a healthier product? thanks.

Debra’s Answer

I don’t know what kind of finish Thomasville uses, but if they say the smell will dissipate after a month and it hasn’t, perhaps it’s time to contact them again and ask them to take it back.

I don’t remember the last time I bought a piece of furniture that was finished. I buy solid wood furniture at unfinished furniture stores and finish it myself (actually, my husband applies the finish). I also buy used furniture and refinish it (See How I Make Recycled Furniture).

The Interior Decorating page of Debra’s List has some websites that sell safe furniture.

Add Comment

Question from D.

Can you comment on the Greenbags that are being sold for food preservation? They claim to be 100% non-toxic and biodegrabable.

Debra’s Answer

I’ve been using these bags for a couple of months and I love them. Even though they are plastic, they have little, if any, odor and do not leach any plastic taste into the food. And they really do work! I used to have all my produce wilt within 3-4 days and in these bags I can keep it two weeks or longer.

The plastic bags are impregnated with natural mineral called oya, which absorb the gasses released by fruits, vegetables, and flowers when they ripen. They also control the humidity.

I don’t know why you think they are biodegradable, as I don’t see that on the package anywhere. But they are reusable.

This is one of those trade-off products. While I do many things to minimize the use of plastics, this one allows me to keep fresh produce on hand without running to the store several times a week. And I don’t know of any other alternative.

You can get these bags at reusablebags.com .

Add Comment

Question from Marlon Sims

Hi Debra,

I accidentally put a coat of Howard’s Feed-n-Wax Wood Preserver (Beeswax & Orange Oil) on my new butcher block. I didn’t notice that it contains petroleum distillate. How do I remove this from the table top or clean it to make it safe to cut foods?

Thank you.

M. from San Francisco

Debra’s Answer

Petroleum distillate is a volatile organic chemical (VOC), which means that it evaporates. Over time, it will just evaporate away, releasing, of course, the toxic chemicals into the air.

Heat will speed up this process. You could leave it out in the sun or apply heat in some other way.

Add Comment

Question from gayle

We are looking into building a “Green” home and a builder we interviewed uses “SIPS”. They told us of the structural advantage, as well as how it keeps heating and cooling cost down as they make the house very air tight.

What is known about this material? How long has it been used? What are the drawbacks?? Anything new scares me as I don’t want to go with it and learn ten years from now that it’s the “new asbestos”. Any information is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Gayle

Debra’s Answer

Structural insulated panels (SIPs) are a composite building material, a sandwich of two layers of structural board with an insulating layer of foam in between (you can see a good picture of in on the website of the Structural Insulated Panel Association). The board is usually oriented strand board (OSB) and the foam either some type of polystyrene or polyurethane foam.

While these perform well with regards to saving energy, they are not a good material with regards to toxicity. I was about to just comment on the materials themselves, but then I found a paper called Structural Insulated Panels: Sustainable Design Incorporating Impact on Indoor Air Quality which gives the result of actual testing of emissions from SIPs. Using small-scale chambers, emissions were measured over a period of four months. The measured emission factors were then used to estimate the concentrations of VOCs in SIP-based manufactured houses. The testing found formaldehyde, toluene, styrene, and other volatile toxic chemicals to be present.

In my new book Really Green, I talk about how products have many facets, and can be beneficial in one aspect, while harmful in another. This is just such a case. Yes, using SIPs improves the energy efficiency of a home, but it also adds toxic chemicals to indoor air and is made from non-renewable crude oil and will not bio-degrade. So I wouldn’t consider this to be an overall good green choice.

This is a good example of why I wrote Really Green. There are so many products now being promoted as “green,” yet those who are promoting them aren’t looking at the whole picture. This is exactly why we as consumers need to know for ourselves how to evaluate products for being green so we can decide for ourselves if a product is green in the ways that matter to us.

Add Comment

Question from BJ

Hi friends

I just saw an add for an ultraviolet vacuum from the Halo Company that sounded interesting. It claims to kill bacteria, viruses and dust mites. It is supposed to be safe but having MCS I am not sure if I could use it. I am caretaking for my parents and their home could use some serious cleaning up. I thought it might be a good investment but don’t want a reaction.

Has anyone tried this out?

Thanks

Debra’s Answer

I haven’t tried this vacuum, but I can tell you that ultraviolet light does kill bacteria and viruses.

Readers, any experience with this?

Add Comment