Off-gassing

I'm still working on Toxic Nation's 10 Ways to Detoxify - #1 Cleaning Your Indoor Air Quality. Tonight I bagged up all of the toxic cleaning supplies and hubby is going to remove them from the house in the morning. We'll store them in the shed behind our home until we can bring them to the Household Hazardous Waste Depot.

In the meantime, I need to address an issue that contributes greatly to indoor air quality - off-gassing. Off-gassing is the evaporation of volatile chemicals from non-metal objects. Why is this bad? Well, because many of these chemicals are incredibly toxic, and can lead to health issues such as liver and kidney damage, nervous system depression and disorders, among other things. Some are also known mutagens and can cause reproductive and developmental issues and can harm a developing fetus.

So what household items contribute to off-gassing? Things like: paints, stains, varnishes, carpet, insulation, flooring, kitchen cabinets and countertops, plywood, particleboard, and paint strippers. Another source of off-gassing in almost any household is vinyl (and fabric water-resistant) shower curtains. In fact, in June 2008, The Center for Health, Environment and Justice released a document called Volatile Vinyl: The New Shower Curtain's Chemical Smell. It describes the testing of PVC shower curtains bought at 5 major North American retailers and makes recommendations for consumers, retailers and policymakers. It's a very interesting read. Other household items, including mattresses, pillows, bedding, towels, and even clothing contribute to off-gassing. If items are chemically treated to make them flame retardant or stain-resistant they're going to off-gas. If items have a chemical smell when you purchase them, they're going to off-gas.

So, what can you do? Personally, I think it's unlikely you'll ever be able to avoid all off-gassing. However, you can greatly reduce exposure by doing the following:

-Avoid carpets, curtains, and upholstery and furniture that contain or are treated with stain repellents and brominated flame retardants (instead use organic or natural fiber carpets, curtains, upholstery and furniture or at least opt for untreated alternatives)

-Avoid vinyl floors (instead use wooden, ceramic, marble, cork or bamboo flooring)

-Avoid non-stick/teflon cookware (instead use cast iron or stainless steel cookware)

-Avoid sheets that are wrinkle-resistant or made with pesticide-treated cotton (instead use sheets that are 100% cotton, hemp, linen or wool, and preferably organic and unbleached)

-avoid mattresses with brominated flame retardants, plastic, or foam (instead use mattresses with cotton stuffing or cotton padding around the foam core. You can order a mattress without flame retardants with a letter or prescription from your doctor. If a new mattress is not an option, wrap your mattress in an untreated 100% cotton cloth barrier sheet with a thread count of 250 or more.)

-Avoid clothing with stain repellents, wrinkle-resistant treatments, brominated flame retardants, pesticide-treated cotton, or plastic labels. (Instead use organic, unbleached clothing made of cotton, hemp, linen or wool. Also ensure all clothing is washed prior to wearing.)

-Avoid vinyl shower curtains, and fabric shower curtains with a water-repellant coating. (Instead use organic cotton or hemp shower curtains.)

-Avoid off-gassing children's products such as PVC-containing toys or soothers. (instead use non-flexible plastic, wooden, or organic, untreated cotton toys)

-Avoid children's clothing with plastic labels or chemical treatments. (Instead use organic, untreated cotton or hemp clothing.)

-Avoid wood with a toxic finish, particleboard, fibreboard, and plywood. (Instead use solid wood with a non-toxic finish, metal, or used furniture manufactured after 1960.)

-Avoid computers and other electronics with brominated flame retardants. (Instead use electronics from companies that have eliminated PBDEs from their products, such as Apple, Dell, Fujitsu Siemens, HP, Hitachi, IBM, Intel, Panasonic, Motorola, NEC, Philips, Sony and Toshiba.)

-Avoid products with toxic chemicals and high-level VOCs. (Instead use products that are water-based, plant-oil based, and those that have low-level VOCs.)


These, and other suggestions are can be found in the Toxic Nation's Make Your Home a Healthy Home Challenge. Of course, I'd be nuts to think that everyone could make all these changes at once. I know I can't. Non-toxic alternatives (like hemp and organic cotton) aren't always cheap! But you've got to start somewhere, right? So that's what I'm doing. I'm going to start, and not stop til I have cleared out all the sources of off-gassing that I can reasonably remove from our home. In the coming days, I'll list sources of alternatives, particularly where I find my non-off-gassing alternatives.