My Chemical-Free House
A Guide to Creating a Healthy Home
According to SGS, multiple states will have proposed or passed bills banning per-fluoroalkyl or poly-fluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS) in the sales and distribution of carpets, rugs, fabric treatments, upholstered furniture, or textile furnishings. But which of these bills actually got passed and signed by the governor, and when will the ban take effect? Minnesota In Minnesota, …
Cigarette smoke contains greasy tar residue and although the odor can be strong and pervasive there are many effective strategies to get rid of it. 1. Vinegar and lemon Vinegar and lemon or vinegar alone can help neutralize smoke and nicotine. Alkaline cleaning products will not remove nicotine residue. Acidic cleaning products work best for …
The Loom Hooked Eco Cotton Rugs are hand woven from recycled cotton fiber. They don’t use latex backing found on all other hooked rugs. Though most people do pare it with a natural latex backing. It’s made from 85% cotton; 12% polyester; 3% other. It’s hand-woven in India. They also offer GOTS-certified cotton rugs and …
Unfortunately, lead is common in hardware including knobs, pulls, and door knobs. Based on testing from Tamara Rubin, we have learned that so many knob materials contain lead that it’s impossible to make generalizations about which metals will be lead-free. However, through her testing, through the reputation of a few select companies, and with a …
This is a step-by-step method to remove Nature’s Miracle smell. You don’t need to go through every step, just go as far as needed until you are happy with the results. The smell seams to be stemming either from the incomplete breakdown of urine/blood/vomit and/or from the fragrance added to the product. Step 1 Break …
Oils labeled as “teak oil” or “Danish oil” from hardware stores are usually a mix of oils like linseed and tung, solvents, and possibly resins, UV inhibitors, and mildewcides. Tung oil is usually mixed with mineral spirits, odorless mineral spirits, or citrus solvent. Linseed oil can come in formulas free of solvents, like polymerized linseed …
How long volatile organic compounds (VOCs) last after painting primarily depends on which type of paint you used. Oil-based solvent-based paints are drastically different from the best zero-VOC water-based paint. It also depends on your humidity, temperature, and ventilation. We lack independent studies looking at the offgassing of each main paint type but we do …
The most non-toxic disinfectants for the home are made with the active ingredients of hydrogen peroxide, hypochlorous acid (HOCL), or Thymol. The simplest and purest product will be HOCL because you can use this as a single-ingredient product. But all three are good options for disinfecting jobs around the home. The article focuses on sanitizers …
If you are struggling to tolerate the offgassing of a new house after using the strategies in the article on how to bring down new house offgassing you can create a sealed off “safe room”. This is often done for folks who have extreme environmental sensitivities. There are a few ways to make a safe …
This article is going to go through step-by-step what you need to do to offgas those new carpet VOC chemicals. You do not need to do every step, only go as far as you need to solve the problem. The more advanced steps are for those who are extremely sensitive to chemicals. For most people, …
The best solution to indoor air contaminants is dilution, by a long shot. This solution works much better than air purifiers. An energy recovery ventilator (ERV) or heat recovery ventilator (HRV) can be used to overturn a lot of air and drastically reduce the indoor pollution levels. You should find out which is better for …
There are three types of bamboo flooring that can be extremely low in VOCs – strand woven solid, bamboo with a plywood core, and bamboo with a stone polymer composite (SPC) core. I will also list out the best brands making the lowest VOC/lowest formaldehyde bamboo flooring on the market. Some of them have formaldehyde …
This article goes over the best non-toxic wood glues, carpenter glues, yellow glues, and white glues. The options range from synthetics that are zero-VOC to totally natural options. There will probably be some unique non-toxic options you haven’t considered! I compared the odor level of many of these glues when I was extremely chemically sensitive …
When choosing non-toxic window frame materials, windows made of thermally broken aluminum are the top choice, and that is the preferred choice of those highly chemically sensitive. My second choice would be Accoya wood windows. Some vinyl and fiberglass brands can be considered, since they can be low in offgassing. For sealing around the rough …
When choosing a Sherwin-Williams paint line first consider where it falls in the quality range, the VOC level, and additional features like is it washable. Also note, not all paint lines can be tinted to all colors and not all can be mixed with custom colors. All of their colorants are 0-VOC so they don’t …
Many vintage glassware items are not microwave safe; Depression glass can shatter in the microwave, according to the National Depression Glass Association. So keeping in mind that most vintage glassware is not microwave safe due to the glass itself, let’s take a look at if there is any interaction between the Uranium and the microwave. …
The following explains which PFAS are completely limited by Oeko-Tex, which are indirectly limited, and when all fabric categories, including sofas, will be completely free of Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) treatments if Oeko-Tex 100 certified. PFAS is a very large group of chemicals. It is therefore impossible to test for all of them individually. …
This post involved a lot of research! In the end, I have a solid list of non-toxic toaster ovens, which includes convection oven types and air fryer toaster ovens. I have messaged and talked to every company on the list so you don’t have to. I will also explain the main chemicals of concern found …
The majority of anti-fatigue mats are made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride aka vinyl), SBR rubber (styrene-butadiene rubber), polyurethane foam, or a mix of those materials. PVC and SBR generally are higher in odor and offgassing than the options I’m going to go over on this list and are not often tolerable for the chemically sensitive. Polyurethane …
These are the lowest-VOC metallic paints that can be used on walls, furniture, decor, arts and crafts. Only paints intended for walls will offer some insight into the VOC levels. Paints for arts and crafts generally do not list VOCs. However, water-based acrylic paints are generally not toxic and most formulas now are low odor …
In 2021, I tested 64 ceramic and porcelain tiles for lead. They were selected from 5 major vendors in the US and were tested with a handheld x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer by a qualified professional. The tiles were purchased from Flooring Inc, Stone Tile Depot, Build Direct, The Tile Shop, and Home Depot. While there …
The following four non-toxic cleaners are likely the only products you will need to clean any type of flooring. In some cases, it’s vitally important to know what kind of finish your flooring has. For example, if you have hardwood floors you need to know if it has a synthetic coating or an oil finish …
We will start with non-toxic paints and sealers that have full disclosure from the companies on how long the paint or sealer takes to cure and finish offgassing so we know when our reptile pets can safely re-enter their enclosure. The following are the least toxic paints, clear sealers, and colorful stains that will work …
Air purifiers with activated carbon plus additional sorbent materials targeted to formaldehyde are the best option for removing formaldehyde from your indoor air. You generally need a lot of carbon (and other sorbent material) to make a significant dent in the problem. This list of air purifiers looks at those with the highest amount of …
