My Chemical-Free House
A Guide to Creating a Healthy Home
There are a variety of underlayments used under wood floors, click-together floating floors, as well as carpet and tile. Underlay can serve various functions like cushioning, sound deadening, leveling, uncoupling, and moisture resistance. The following underlayments are relatively high in off-gassing (too high for me): This post goes over the best non-toxic low-VOC options. Paper …
Hemp can be used in building homes in many ways but building with hemp is very different than building with conventional construction methods. Hempcrete can be tamped into board-formed walls, used as premade bricks, sprayed into cavities, or formed into precast panels. It acts as insulation and as an interior and/or exterior surface, though it …
This article digs into non-toxic and natural options for staining and sealing wood decks as well as most outdoor wood like fences, furniture, windows, doors, play gyms, and planters. Penetrating sealers require that older decks and outdoor wood be sanded all the way down, but the film-forming options can be applied to lightly sanded older …
Fully updated in August 2025 This is a complete guide to non-toxic decking – types, materials, additives, and brands. For most people, the main choice is between composite decking and solid wood decking. For the chemically sensitive, you will have to get samples yourself of the decking materials as well as the stains needed for …
If you want an all-natural non-toxic floor finish there are a few options: Natural finishes don’t look like your typical polyurethane coating. Oils darken wood but produce a matte look. The waxes add some more sheen. Shellac is naturally quite shiny. The soap finish will give you the most invisible look. Milk Paint can look …
The article lists out all the areas where you can and should save money on new construction. There are many ways in which you can save money on a new build without compromising quality. Some of this needs to be planned out from the start of the land purchase, some will come in later in …
What is in Self-Leveling Cement Self-leveling cement is a poured-down cement product that produces a relatively shallow level of cement that can be installed over a slab to level it out. It can also be referred to as a cement underlayment. It’s often used as the underlayment to another floor like tile or a click-together …
This post is a comprehensive review of healthy, non-offgassing countertop options. We have to look at the materials themselves as well as the sealers if they require one. Almost all the countertop options here can also be used as non-toxic vanity tops in a bathroom. Many options are GreenGuard Gold, but most of the options …
The following eco-friendly paints are made for the exterior of the home. They are more durable than interior paints. Exterior paints are always more potent in odor than interior paints – these are the top no-VOC and low-VOC options. Exterior paints are used on wood, cement, and vinyl siding, and concrete porches and decks.
Laminate flooring is a click-together wood-look plank floor made of a fiberboard base and a melamine top layer with a printed image. My top picks: My top pick for the most non-toxic laminate flooring is Mohawk. Their lines are formaldehyde-free and ultra-low-VOC. After that I would consider other no-added formaldehyde brands, however we don’t know …
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 …
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 …
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: …
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 …
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, …
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 …
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 …
The following are concrete and natural earth-based wall build systems that do not off-gas toxins and are suitable for the chemically sensitive. These are alternative build types, the options for building a healthy home apart from the standard timber frame, fiberglass, and gypsum boards. Pumicecrete Walls A mix of pumice and concrete is poured into …
I have been helping folks create healthy homes for over 8 years now! A certified Building Biologist Practitioner, I began this journey with the build of my own tiny, chemically safe house, the place in which I started to recover from mold illness and severe chemical sensitivity. My main expertise lies in materials available in …
A Guide to Choosing Pressed, Engineered and Laminated Wood Products and their Formaldehyde and VOC Levels. This post will cover pressed wood and laminated wood (engineered wood) products used in construction and in household items like furniture and doors. We will look at which adhesives are used and what chemicals they off-gas. Formaldehyde levels will …
This is a complete guide to a non-toxic bathroom – safe for the chemically sensitive. I cover: shower tiles, shower types, bathtubs, shower curtains, bath mats, caulk, grout, and water filtration. I recommend all of the products here, some products have affiliate programs and some do not. Upon purchase, I earn a small commission through …
