My Chemical-Free House
A Guide to Creating a Healthy Home
The following is a list of EPA-registered disinfectants for hospitals and other medical facilities, schools, commercial buildings, and homes. While all registered disinfectants are technically non-toxic, this list looks at the least toxic options using the most chemically sensitive folks as the benchmark to assess them. This is based on my experience of 10 years …
Essential oils can be used to kill bacteria, mold, and odors caused by those microbes. It’s important that you use them in very specific ways otherwise you could be wasting the oils, hurting your air filters, or hurting yourself. When companies claim that their essential oils purify the air, they do this only in very …
This is a step-by-step DIY “how-to” on painting and sealing terra-cotta clay pots with food-safe paints and a natural sealant. I used two food-safe/plant-safe paints that are all natural – milk paint and linseed oil paint. The pots were sealed with a natural oil. This is the finished product! Milk Paint on the left in …
Latex paint is no longer made with styrene-butadiene latex or natural rubber latex, and most brands (if not all) should be safe for those who have to avoid natural rubber latex proteins. Nevertheless, I asked the most eco-friendly paint brands if they are free of natural latex and I have reported on that below. The …
Choosing a paint that is safe for a baby is a different task than choosing a paint for chemically sensitive folks, despite a lot of overlap. Babies can’t tell us if they are reacting to a paint or not. It’s natural to feel worried about which paints are safe for a baby and how long …
Non-toxic wedge pillows are a popular choice with people who find the wedge design comfortable for sleeping, sitting in bed, lounging, or leg support. The wedge pillows are divided into two categories – all-natural and low-toxin synthetics. Some are the traditional wedge pillow shape, and others are more of a reading pillow or bolster pillow. Here …
I have tested all the brands (but one) on this list. Natural paints can perform as well as conventional paints if you use them for the right application. The reasons to go with a natural paint could include:
The perfect stain is 100% natural and is non-toxic (for people and pets) but is also durable to wear and to fading. When I looked at the other search results they were all homemade DIY stains based on foods that are not durable! There are a number of stains I love in this post that …
What is Prop 65 Proposition 65 is a warning label for Californians about significant exposures to chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. Any product that is sold in California will have this label even at retailers outside of California. The list contains naturally occurring and synthetic chemicals. It is updated yearly and …
This article looks at safer solvents that can act as a substitute for toxic solvents like mineral spirits, turpentine, methyl ethyl ketone, acetone, toluene, xylene, glycol ethers, and fluorinated or chlorinated organic solvents. This article provides a list of alternatives that are non-toxic or less toxic. Many of them are all-natural. But natural does not …
There is an adage that is going round and round on the internet that onions help reduce new paint smell. In all of the articles out there, no chemist was named or sourced. So I wanted to get to the bottom of this to see if it was really true. I talked to two chemists …
What is Depression Era Glass? According to the National Depression Glass Association (NDGA), Depression glass is glassware manufactured in America from the early 1920s through the end of World War II in 1945. This period of manufacturing is what defines a piece of glassware as Depression glass. It often came in colors like green, pink, blue, and …
These are additives in the ceramic glaze of toilets and tiles that the companies claim have some antibacterial action. Based on product declarations and patents, I would assume that microbial technologies in ceramic on toilets includes nanosilver, titanium dioxide additive, or zinc oxide. In the case of CeFIONtect, they also claim that the glaze is …
To be clear, all IKEA items are technically non-toxic. Non-toxic means not expected to cause health problems in healthy folks. However, if you are looking to go further and only want furniture that doesn’t off-gas any formaldehyde or other VOCs, this post will be for you. This article will be particularly useful for those with …
Ceiling tiles can be paper-based, made of felted mineral fiber, metal, wood, gypsum, or fiberglass. Look out for formaldehyde glues, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) backings, flame retardants, and biocides. Know that ceiling tiles made before 1981 likely contain asbestos. Consult a licensed contractor before removing these tiles. New ceiling tiles are not made with asbestos. I …
This article focuses on food-contact-safe paints that can be used on residential household items like tabletops, serving trays (or boards), highchairs, countertops, and decorative bowls, with one product that can be used on plates and mugs (ceramics). FDA approved? For these applications, we won’t find paints that are officially FDA-tested for food contact safety (apart …
Low-VOC and non-toxic sealers (and stains) for log cabins fall into two categories: natural oil penetrating sealers and low-VOC synthetic sealants. For the exterior, we want something as durable as possible. There are two main options here. The first is the all-natural tung oil mix made for exteriors and the second is a low-VOC synthetic …
Spackle is very similar to drywall mud, but this term usually indicates a premixed mud that is made to repair small holes. It contains binders and additives that make it dry faster with less shrinkage. The lightweight type will likely contain a vinyl polymer, and the all-purpose type will likely contain an acrylic polymer. Chemically …
Back in the day, all ready-mixed house paints were oil-based alkyd. These paints are made with a solvent that makes them notoriously high in odor and certainly high in VOCs. Even as we shifted away from oil paint for the walls, we kept it on trim and doors due to its durability. The movement towards …
Milk Paint is a truly natural paint. One of only two paints that are 100% natural. It is a true zero-VOC and toxin-free paint that is biodegradable. It’s almost always safe for those with extreme chemical sensitivities, even when wet. It’s safe for kids and babies, and can even be safely used on toys. I …
Out of the most non-toxic mineral-based paints I found in North America, BioShield Clay Paint is near the top of the list. This clay paint has a high percentage of natural ingredients and the least amount of concerning additives out of any liquid paint available. It is also extremely low in odor. The only paint that is …
Chalk-style paints are often non-toxic and eco-friendly compared to other synthetic paints. These are paints high in calcium carbonate and other minerals and low in synthetic binders. The water-based formulas can be extremely low in odor, however, there are also solvent-based options that are not low-VOC nor non-toxic. I tested and compared two brands for …
Pesticide manufacturer labels or safety data sheets (SDS) identify decontaminants such as chlorine bleach, caustic soda (lye), or lime. But there are limitations to that data, they do not show the degradation rate or if there are potentially toxic byproducts that could form during decontamination. Plus using lye and lime to clean is usually not …
This article covers sealers for containing off-gassing and odors including VOCs, semi-VOCs, smoke, fragrance, and more. The sealers likely are good barriers to non-volatile chemicals as well. The article is ordered by the material that you want to seal. There are four main classes of sealants: 1. Shellac Shellac is a natural wax that comes …
