The following strategies are used by those sensitive to chemicals to sequester, encase and block offgassing. They are more or less in order from the least effective to the most effective, though it depends on the thickness of some of the products.
You can use them to seal up an item that is offgassing VOCs, a bed and other furniture that are fragranced or sprayed with pesticides, and smaller items that are contaminated or toxic.
You could also use them for the opposite purpose, to keep items clean from contamination from chemicals that bother you.
I have also used them to sequester moldy items, the same rules would apply.
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1. Plastic Sheeting
I have used different types and thicknesses of plastic (polyethylene) sheeting to block offgassing.
The thinnest type that could be used for this application is 3 mil poly.
A handy form of 3 mil poly is Uhaul covers. These are made in various shapes to cover couches, mattresses, and other furniture like chairs, making them very convenient. You can double them up. I have found that these are unscented when I bought them from Uhaul stores.
TuTuff is a popular plastic VOC barrier for chemically sensitive folks. This is a 4 mil plastic.
I also use 6 mil plastic in many situations, to cover and block offgassing from beds for instance, I have purchased it in rolls from Amazon and from the hardware store.
If you don’t do well with polyethylene you could try using an EVA plastic shower liner.
2. Activated Carbon Fabric
Activated charcoal fabric or blankets are made from fabric infused with charcoal, this helps absorb odors when you encase something that is offgassing.
This is the only item on this list that I haven’t tried myself but many folks have reported it working well.
It would be good for folks who can’t or don’t want to use plastic. You could also use this in areas where plastic or foil would not work, like to cover a carpet that is scented or offgassing.
You could double this up, putting this layer down first and then using plastic over it, or the other way around.
Activated Charcoal.com sells charcoal fabric and has been very popular with chemically sensitive folks.
3. Mylar (Foil and Plastic)
I have used these 5-gallon Mylar/foil bags to contain many smaller items that were contaminated or to prevent cross-contamination.
It would also be possible to cut them open and tape them onto larger objects to sequester offgassing if you didn’t have the other options around.
I found they worked quite well to sequester smaller items. I used to throw my clothes in them when coming home, before washing them. I also used them when traveling to pack items before putting them in my suitcase.
4. Aluminized Tarps
This is the exact tarp that I have used many many times. I have used it to sequester offgassing (mostly in beds and camping mats).
I often travel with these and if I encounter a bed that is too toxic for me I have these ready. I have also used it on brand new beds that have polyurethane foam that is offgassing too much for me.
You could also use this on sofas, wood furniture, and many other medium to large sized items.
These are not odorless right from the get-go. They have a plasticky odor and so the extremely sensitive may need to offgas them first or may not be able to use them.
The aluminum does rub off if you are applying pressure or moving it a lot (like when it’s used on a mattress that you are sleeping on). They are also thick and therefore make a crinkly noise when you sleep on them.
5. Radiant Barrier Foil
Radiant Barrier foil is the thickest product on this list and is the best block of VOCs, fragrance, pesticides, and other toxins.
It is a foil that is much thicker than Mylar, aluminized tarps or heavy-duty aluminum foil.
I do use heavy-duty aluminum foil for small items, but it rips easily so it would be hard to use that on anything large or soft. You can wrap hard or boxed items in heavy-duty aluminum foil, you can also paste foil to walls with gum arabic as a “foil wallpaper block”.
If radiant barrier is used in construction in your area then you can likely buy this locally.
You might have to do a bit of digging to find one that is nor perforated. It’s often backed with plastic. I used this plastic backed foil from Amazon.ca.
Sometimes it’s backed in Kraft paper like the brand Denny Foil which has long been popular amongst the chemically sensitive.
Related posts:
Mitigating Offgassing Post – for sealants to seal in offgassing and for other ways (apart from sealing/sequestering) to mitigate and speed up offgassing.
Mitigating Fragrance and Smoke Post – for ways to remove and mitigate fragrance and smoke contamination on items and in homes.
Corinne Segura is a Building Biologist Practitioner with 8 years of experience helping others create healthy homes.
Veronica Puentes says
Hi! I bought a bedroom set that is still off gassing 4 months in. I can’t sleep in the too
And now sleeping in the guest room. I can’t return the furniture. What would be the best way to off gass? Night stand, dresser, and bed made of wood.
Corinne says
Heat, air, time, then maybe sealing it in. post on sealing in offgassing has more details.
Patty says
I hope you know that aluminum and aluminum foil is toxic also
Corinne says
Being around aluminum in solid form, touching it in solid form is not toxic. You would need to ingest it or inhale it.
Sharon says
My doctor, as well as my certified Building Biologist, told me to avoid touching metals.
Steven says
Sorry I used special characters in last comment that concatenated and truncated much of my response.
ENVIRONMENT TESTING
*Air Spore Quality testing can be done, yet results can vary radically by the seasons, time of day and due to changes in atmospheric conditions (temp, humidity, prevailing wind direction (coming across a wooded area today, a grass and flower field tomorrow or a low land wet area the next) to name a few)). Factor in also – home location (high ground, low land), insulation type(s) used(cellulose, paper-backed Fiberglass batts), your HVAC unit location (closet, crawlspace, attic, etc).
*ERMI testing is an EPA developed for an EPA lab environment. They were looking for 36 molds. Again, it was built for use in a controlled lab.
*HERTSMI and HERTSMI2 are tests aimed at sampling dust in areas(fridge, HVAC filter locations etc) for five mold types examined under a microscope.
You quickly learn that managing the home’s air envelope is very involved and yet a worthy fight. Having an ill family member at the same time adds to the complexities of the undertaking.
MOLD FUNGICIDES
Word to the wise-if it says it is a fungicide and it is not stamped as being registered with the EPA, move on u til you find a product that is registered with them. Anybody can make a claim, IMHO only those that pay the $250,000 one time fee to the EPA and $40,000 annually to the State (where their manufacturing operations are established) ARE SERIOUS about the claim of it being an actual fungicide!
Professional Mold techs rely upon a few select tools to use –
*Hydrogen Peroxide at 7% strength, or greater, can be registered with the EPA as a fungicide.
It is often sprayed onto building surfaces(attic joists + roof and floor plywood, crawlspace floor joists + plywood subfloor+Wall support beams + concrete piers and cinderblock etc). Allow a few minutes for it to oxidize the spores plus get at any existing root structures, then wipe down the surface. Some companies use 17% strength peroxide and add an activator agent to their solution.
*CLO2 (liquid or gas) aka Chlorine Dioxide (don’t think bleach, look it up and learn) is another product set that can be register with the EPA as a fungicide. Those chemically sensitive won’t tolerate this product. Nor will they get to experience the benefits from using CLO2 as a fungicide.
*CLO2 liquid is used for oxidizing mold on surfaces.
*CLO2 gas is for oxidizing airborne particles, surfaces it makes very good contact with, plus for reaching into HVAC ducts and across the Heat coils and A/C coils inside your HVAC units. CLO2 has been around since the early 1900s. It was highlighted in the news after the anthrax attacks and again in homes impacted by Hurricane Katrina.
As some know, disturbed mold has a defense mechanism that includes releasing its materials into the air to live another day/ propagate elsewhere. Releasing CLO2 gas attacks / oxidizes airborne materials and surfaces it comes in good contact with.
Cleaning clothing- add 1/2 cup Borax laundry detergent inside the drum for each load washed. The Boric Acid in it is a fungicide.
MOLD and SOIL VOCs
VOC – volatile organic compounds
These VOCs are issued into the air through a process known as off-gassing. There is real danger in Mold and soil VOCs as it’s toxic waste released into the air around you. If it is from a crawlspace there are great extraction technologies available today. Most apply a poly barrier >14 Mil thickness above the ground that is taped and or caulked to the exterior walls. Plus an exterior duct fan located outside and that vents above the gutters and away from windows. The fan is connected to a central pvc piping path with feeder tubes that insert beneath the poly barrier to pull the VOC-laden air out (that’s the simplified explanation for brevity sake). The same system when done correctly can also extract Radon gasses as well. Both processes, but especially radon requires very tight seals. Otherwise you will pull too much conditioned air from your home.
Moral of the story – learn all that you can’t should before engaging mold yourself and or before hiring a pro to do it in your behalf. The level of education exposure matters greatly to your health and home!
Steven says
Dr Andrew Miller, who had treated >14,000 people for Mold toxicity and before retiring to become a medical adviser has said this about mold – Mold is the Gun, Mold Toxins the bullets.
Mold is everywhere and it needs the right conditions-temps + % of moisture and a food source (carbon) to establish and grow.
My wife learned in 2021 she is highly sensitive to mold toxins and the home she grew up in, and has visited her parents in many years since, has mold behind the walls. Now many years later the signs were evident to those who research mold.
In 2021 we moved to the South Central USA and got the shock of our life in learning how little we and much of society knows about mold and mold toxicity.
It took me many months of deep diving research to learn the many points of mold studying. I also had to learn about mold remediation methods and products.
The balance for humans seems to be found in ensuring the person and environment get as healthy as possible. As some have mentioned getting mold out of the environment is critical. Sometimes the person has to leave for awhile if at all possible; and while efforts are applied to ensure there’s less mold inside the building than in the outdoors; and the conditions for its existence get resolved.
>>ENVIRONMENT TESTING<>Mold Killers<>TESTING YOURSELF FOR TOXINS<>CLEANING OUT TOXINS INSIDE US<>Mold VOC<14 Mil thickness above the ground that is taped and or caulked to the exterior walls. Plus an exterior duct fan located outside and that vents above the gutters and away from windows. The fan is connected to a central pvc piping path with feeder tubes that insert beneath the poly barrier to pull the VOC-laden air out (that’s the simplified explanation for brevity sake). The same system when done correctly can also extract Radon gasses as well. Both processes, but especially radon requires very tight seals. Otherwise you will pull too much conditioned air from your home.
Moral of the story – learn all that you can’t should before engaging mold yourself and or before hiring a pro to do it in your behalf. The level of education exposure matters greatly to your health and home!
Anne B. says
How does one measure off-gassing? If one wraps up the furniture (one couch and one love seat), how do you know when the off-gassing is complete and you can unwrap the furniture.?
Chuck Mire says
Regarding this technology that makes bricks out of recycled plastic that are stronger & lighter than concrete:
https://www.byfusion.com
Is there any problem with OFF-GASSING?
Please reply via my email.
Jessie says
Hi, thank you for this website. I have read through the article on mattresses, pillows, and this one but I’m still curious about a fabric zipped waterproof mattress encapsulators vs waterproof mattress protectors with the bottom exposed? I was sure mattress encapsulation would be best to keep out any moisture but read in one place you shouldn’t do that to prevent mold.
Ps We are moving into a new finished camper that will be temperature controlled with a dehumidifier, hepa, and will have a slotted bed frame. This will be a brand new mattress that I’d like to encapsulate first thing if that is the best way to go to keep mold and mycotoxins out. Thanks.
Ally says
Do you have a tape recommendations? Going to wrap some emergency blankets around a cot. : )
Corinne says
The best tape I found was SIGA RISSAN. It’s pricy though.
Sara Flores says
if you are truly very ill, as Dr Rea often told me strict avoidance so moldy stuff needs to go or be remediated. You cannot partition off or save these things.
Corinne says
It depends on how sick someone is, how sick they are from mold, how bad the mold was, and was it the original mold that took someone down, how extreme is that person willing and able to go etc…. I do believe in putting things into storage and coming back to them if they are leaving a moldy house. Small items can definitely be washed and if needed sequestered.
Though this post wasn’t aimed at stuff coming from a moldy house. Items that were cross-contaminated can be sequestered until they can be washed or thrown out.
Sherry says
Corinne, you have a great site and have spent time and energy creating it and I appreciate that. However, I agree with Sara Flores and Dr. Rea, and many others in that the spores are so ubiquitous and until they start growing hard to spot (even then – ie under sinks so on) why risk the possibility of reinfecting a place, esp since most with MCS EI (not good for anyone really) can not use the professional “mold killers”. Even bleach is toxic. Mold, mildew, fungi all in the same family
I am sorry but some aspects of your sentences do not even make sense such as “how bad the mold was” and “was it the original mode that “””TOOK” someone down” and “how extreme that person willing and able to go etc????) Mold spores are ubiquitous and NO amount is safe in that they can live forever and wait until the opportunity presents itself. That can even be a mild cold when the immune system is not at its strongest and once they invade our systems it can become a nightmare.
………………………
H2O2 at a higher grade can be used on both a nonporous item and in the wash (where as I mentioned on another thread of yours – 33% or higher strength H2O2 can easily kill mold or fungus if one can find it (now online) (and I had medical food-grade done by doctor Ali when it was in my bloodstream) also (one can soak one’s feet for “nail or foot fungus” so on). It can be used in the wash but soaking first for a while before very hot water is best.
Environmental mold and fungus are extremely important (but that is another story, lol) There are many types of mold – one link. (again I lived in an old NYC bld where it had not been pointed (ie sealed properly from the outside) so that when it rained water would seep through the cinder block structure and there was mold growing behind about 20 layers of paint (It was cracking off near my bed so I took a sculptures knife and started peeling- UGH black mold (and other colors as well) under these layers!!!
Layers upon layers – maintenance just painted over it and of course, many molds eat cellulose and other such things – it thrived in this dark humid environment – some sites even state it “eats paint”. Ditto for the bathroom. And I wondered why I and even my cat got sick in the bedroom!!! I suspect that is how it entered my bloodstream, and I was very, very sick by then and ended up on very low SSDI.
“”Research has found hydrogen peroxide has the potential to kill bacteria, viruses, fungi, and mold spores. When applied to these microorganisms, hydrogen peroxide kills them by breaking down their essential components like their proteins and DNA “””
https://www.healthline.com/health/mold-in-house#mold-causes
“Mold roots can be hard to see, with roots (mycelium, or thread-like filaments) that run deep. Invisible bacteria may also be present. Throw out anything with mold growth, and carefully clean or dispose of containers.”
And for washing it is commonly suggested to use bleach which many can not do so as it has it’s own toxicity for those chemically injured. As well bleach is a liquid and back to square one. (and as I mentioned prior there are many forms of mold and black mold is nasty!) By the time one notices “mold or fungus” it is already “embedded”.
It is the reason I always leave my windows open a crack to allow moisture (even from doing the dishes) to “escape”.
And the idea (as cited on various websites) that “vinegar” can kill up to 80% (been there done that) LOL. which leaves 20% to start the vicious cycle all over again. (or the white vinegar and baking soda – again been there done that and found it useless). VERY hot water though can often do the trick along with these products but I would suggest soaking in food grade medical strength 35% Hydrogen Peroxide first!
The problem is that many of the products that can wipe out mold are highly toxic and esp dangerous for those with any amount of MCS – IE as it is all accumulative.
(Sherry Rogers, Dr. Majid Ali who did my oxygen therapies in NYC when Live Cell blood tests showed it in my blood (and that means it invades all other tissues – I was quite at an end-stage and finding doctors at the time who use Oxygen therapies (and infusions of nutrients) was very hard to do), and others such as Dr. Grace Ziem who was targeted by the Rx industry for using natural therapies. Her husband and she served in Vietnam where they started inquiring about the sickness from exposures of the populations and Agent Orange – still used in part in some of our common household products. )
(and many others even Max Gerson PhD from the 190s who mentions this in his books ie “mold toxicity” and whose therapies I have done). Many of these pioneering geniuses (MHO) are of course targetted by the Rx industry (my pre Masters so I know both sides
(My background was in the sciences (biology) and research background in legal and medical research but I used natural and alternative since I was of age – mother in traditional Medicine). I also raised aquairum fish since a young age where mold or fungi was a problem if one did not know how to balance “things” (ie let the aquarium and it’s inhabitants – bio microorganisms “mature”)