My Chemical-Free House
A Guide to Creating a Healthy Home
Pine is one of the most difficult woods to stain. It is not often stained because the wood does not take most stains evenly, and when it is done it’s not usually a DIY project! To really provide a conventional-looking stained look on pine most woodworkers use a dye (not a stain), and likely an …
Tiny homes, trailers, RVs, campers, vans for the chemically and mold sensitive. The greenest RVs out there!
Updated in 2025 After having spent two years of close to full-time camping while I was highly chemically sensitive, I have a lot of opinions on tents! I tried a lot of different styles during that time. This article looks at different style tents and which ones are easier to keep mold-free, which brands are …
Here are the most common certifications for assessing a product’s effect on indoor air quality and what these labels really tell us about the off-gassing and toxicity of the products. GreenGuard and GreenGuard Gold Certifications GreenGuard has two levels of certification that measure VOC levels in products. GreenGuard allows – 500 μg/m3 total VOCs. GreenGuard Gold …
Intro from Corinne: What it takes to Build a Mold-Preventative House This post is about a meticulously built tiny home, designed to hold up in the long run to mold. The post is written by the owner/builder who did years of research and consulted with many building science experts. There was extreme attention to detail …
This is a list of non-toxic eco-friendly desks and office chairs by type and material. For healthy desks there are a number of options:
These are the seven most affordable eco-friendly countertops. Some are low or zero-VOC just as they are, and others need modifications like sealing in offgassing to make them healthy and safe options. Many are affordable right off the shelf, but some are only going to be cheap if you do it yourself. It’s always going …
This post covers concrete finishes that can be used in a healthy home. Low and zero-VOC stains, dyes, and sealants can be used to provide color and sealing on concrete floors. Many of these can be used on brick, concrete walls, and concrete countertops as well. For those with chemical sensitivities, concrete floors can be …
The Least Toxic Wood Varnish? I tested all of the “eco” or, healthy low-VOC, floor finishes. I was looking first at the odor and VOC levels as the main comparison point for those sensitive to chemicals. (None of the polyurethanes are odorless when wet, though they are when dried or cured). Some water-based floor finishes …
You may have heard that there is no natural non-toxic sealer for real stone countertops. I found that natural sealers outperformed synthetic sealers without the VOCs or PFAS. I tested all of the natural (as well as synthetic sealers here) stone sealers on many different stone types. The testing went on for many months! Summary: …
Updated in 2026 The only leather I can personally fully endorse as eco-friendly and non-toxic is chrome-free, vegetable-dyed leather. This is made without the toxic metals and other harmful chemicals used in conventional leather. The second best option is leather that is at least chrome-free. Only a few brands in North America meet these standards. …
These are the techniques used to remove cleaning product, air freshener, and fragrance from walls, floors, and furnishing. Some chemical odors can be particularly difficult to remove, especially plug-in fragrance chemicals which contain oils. My article on removing plug-in odor goes into specifics (and my experiment was quite successful) in removing plug-in odors. Any porous …
This is a guest post by Shannon from Natural Baby Mama. I asked Shannon if she would write a guest post because her extensive testing of lead in household products and materials revealed worrisome levels of lead in products that many presumed were safe. Her contributions uncovered what companies were not telling us, have brought …
1. Joint Compound / Drywall Mud While there are many zero-VOC or extremely low-VOC drywall muds available at regular outlets, the highly chemically sensitive will need to be selective here. When you are only mudding the seams you just need a simple dry mix joint compound. Dry mixes are almost always lower odor, lower VOC, …
Usually, vinyl sheet flooring is used in trailers and RVs. Vinyl sheeting has significant offgassing. The post outlines healthier options. Metal and fiberglass homes have unique challenges with thermal bridging and humidity and often require waterproof flooring that can hold up to some moisture. The following list is the flooring I would specify in vans, …
Emergency housing for those with severe MCS (chemical sensitivities) and mold sensitivities. Simple shelter solutions.
How to Dilute 35%, 34% or 29%, 12%, 10%, and 6% Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) Down to 3%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.2% and 0.1% This post contains affiliate links. Upon purchase, I earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Personal Safety Equipment Should be Used! Goggles, gloves, and protective clothing. (Source & Source). Dilution Table …
Before getting into the 20 gift options for those with allergies and chemical and mold sensitivities, there are a few important things to know before buying something for a sensitive loved one. IS IT A SAFE SOURCE? Before buying a tangible item be sure to check that both the brand and the store are safe …
Recently many folks with environmental sensitivities have set out l without enough information on the risks or challenges in developing nations. They have run into many unexpected problems that I’m going to outline. If you have health challenges or environmental sensitivities and you take off unprepared to a developing country this can lead to very …
Partially Updated in 2023, Updated for Substack in 2025 This list focuses on non-toxic prefabricated (“prefab”) homes. They must be both mold-preventative designs and low-VOC to be “healthy homes” in my book. I have reviewed them myself with input from customers and building science experts. Many need further closer inspection. When considering a prefab, it’s …
Intro Corbett and Grace Lunsford’s tiny house on wheels (THOW), called the Tinylab, was made as an educational house to teach folks about home performance. In this article, I’m going to outline the areas of this tiny house’s home performance that are relevant to mold prevention. This post contains affiliate links. Upon purchase, I earn …
This post will be a short detour from building material to talk about my healing from chemical sensitivities (MCS). This is my journey through bringing down MCS from severe to moderate then to mild and finally gone completely. At the most severe I reacted to the tiniest amount of 3rd hand smoke, scent-free detergent on …
A Review of Chemical Additives, Toxins, and Off-Gassing in Siding/Cladding Those avoiding toxins or who have chemical sensitivities will want to consider the initial chemical off-gassing, toxins in the dust, as well as upkeep of the siding. How often the siding needs to be repainted, and how healthy the paint is could be a critical …
This post is for those building or refinishing stairs who want to build with as few toxins as possible. The chemically sensitive will want to consider the pressed wood products, glues, and finishes that are normally used. For all the aspects that need to be considered at the start of a build for the chemically …
