Past Tips of the Month
The woman's asthma was getting
worse. After being put on steroids, she called EnviroHealth for a mold
evaluation of her home. The home turned out to have very low levels of mold, but
the cause of her symptoms was found: The cleaning service used inefficient
vacuum cleaners which were spewing out dog dander from other houses they
cleaned. The woman was extremely allergic to dog dander. Once she banished those
vacuum cleaners and substituted her own new
Nilfisk Family Vac, she was off all medications
within a week.
I see bottled water in soft plastic bottles at so many of the homes where I
inspect. Soft plastic bottles defeat the purpose of bottled water, because the
soft plastic can give off xenoestrogens (estrogen-mimickers, associated with
breast cancer) into the water.
One individual who stockpiled plastic bottles of
water for the millennium tried to use the water a year or two later. He had to
discard the bottles, because the water tasted like plastic.
How can you tell if the bottle is made of soft
plastic? Look in the recycle triangle at the bottom of the bottle. If you see
"1" or "2," that's soft plastic. The best choice is glass, with "7" a second
choice. "7" is polycarbonate, a hard plastic. Polycarbonate contains BPA, not
recommended by the American Dental Association.
If you drink bottled water, have it delivered in
glass containers or, second choice, the hard plastic 5-gallon jugs. It costs
less to buy your own reverse osmosis unit and process your own drinking water.
Plus, bottled water has gotten mixed reviews at times.
MTBE, the controversial
gasoline additive that is fouling wells, is showing up in interior air where
there is an attached garage and where the gasoline additive is being used. If
you have an attached garage, try to park your car outside as much as possible.
Install an exhaust fan on a timer in the garage, with an air intake on the
opposite wall. Seal around the door between the garage and the house. Seal off
openings in the garage ceiling and walls. If buying a house, get one with a
detached garage.
Our Toxic Times is an informative newsletter from the Chemical Injury
Information Network, 406-547-2255, e-mail:
chemicalinjury@cliin.org, web
site: www.ciin.org. Some of this month's
topics are: Sperm quality decline causes more than just infertility problems;
Heavy metal detox: an herbal approach (primarily about mercury and dental
amalgams); Canada Supreme Court allows ban on lawn pesticides; Austrian Court
concludes radiation from mobile antennas is dangerous; Memory problems linked to
PCBs in fish; Housing ads for environmentally safer homes. Annual contribution.
Paint is a difficult subject for many chemically
sensitive individuals. If you are sensitive, it is a good idea to test your
sensitivity prior to painting. One way to test is to paint a board, let it dry,
and then put it on the floor near the head of your bed. See if you have symptoms
after sleeping there overnight.
There are companies that make healthier paints -
but some have strong odors and some are so thin that you need to paint 3 or 4
layers on and then they wash off if you need to clean a spot. Sherwin Williams
has just come out with a no-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint called
"Harmony," which you might try.
Palmer Industries makes a healthier primer, which
is a Class I vapor barrier as well. Call them at 800-545-7383 for information on
86-001. They also carry a healthier concrete sealant, plus make AirKrete, a
unique, non-toxic insulation which bonds with the surface being insulated. Click
on Special Preview at their web site,
www.palmerindustriesinc.com,
for information on air krete.
An MCS friend just got back from yet another
discouraging day of looking for somewhere to live in near NYC. "MCS" stands for
"multiple chemical sensitivity" and means the person is highly sensitive to many
chemicals. She got this way from exposure mainly to dry cleaning chemicals, but
also to pesticides and car exhaust.
Here is what she said: "Carpets are as bad as
paint." She has long known that freshly painted apartments wouldn't work for
her, so she screens them out on the phone. She screens out newly carpeted
rentals, too, but this particular apartment had a 3-year old carpet so she went
to see it. Unfortunately, she had the same reactions as from paint.
What's our take-home lesson? We might not smell
odors from carpeting but it still offgases for some years. If we want a healthy
home, not only should we use healthier paint - but maybe skip the carpeting,
too. Carpeting is one of the worse investments you can make in a house - not
only because of the chemicals but also because it is a repository for allergens
such as mold, dust mites, dust, pollen.
My follow-up inspection on a mold remediation job
revealed high levels of mold remaining in numerous areas. How did I know?
because I had a microscope on-site and could see the mold spores in many tape
samples. Mold remediation specialists could better monitor their work with a
microscope. This company was very cooperative and is re-doing the job - but how
many homeowners haven't gotten what they paid for?
I believe the public needs to understand mold and
how to remediate and control it. For this reason, I am just finishing a
do-it-yourself manual to assist both those who will do their own work as well as
those who need to monitor the remediation company. E-mail me to pre-order.
