A shocking quote from a great new book I’ve been reading called Ecoholic Home really jolted me into shifting my cleaning agenda with my home’s carpet. “One researcher said you’d have to vacuum 25 times a week for several weeks to bring the level of contaminants below safety standards”. Yikes!  There’s a shocking statement for anyone that hasn’t started to pay close attention to the health of their carpet. What do I mean by carpet health? Maintaining a regular routine of proper carpet care and here are 3 great tips, mentioned in Super Natural Home, if you’re looking for natural and effective ways to start:

1) If you must buy a new carpet, choose one made of wool.  It’s naturally flame retardant, nontoxic, and non-allergenic, and it deters bacterial growth.

2) Vacuum with a well-sealed, high-quality high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) vacuum cleaner.

3) A good doormat will stop a lot of toxins right at the door. Or, take your shoes off when entering your house.

Thanks to Beth Greer for these tips. I totally agree with the tip regarding a great quality HEPA vacuum cleaner. My Dyson HEPA vacuum has already make a noticed improvement with the air quality in my home. I also learned that dirty shoes can drag in pesticides and unwanted chemicals into your home. A new found reason to have guests remove their shoes and put out door mats.

Air deodorizer are very toxic and should be removed from any cleaning routines (glade plug-ins, fabreeze, etc.), as they simply mask odour and off-gass phthalates into your home. Same goes for traditional carpet cleaners that you sprinkle, leave, then vacuum.  Skip the toxic route and grab your box of baking soda.  Even better <evil smile emerges>, give the box of baking soda to a young child and watch their delight in sprinkling this natural homemade carpet cleaner. Just like the antibacterial cloths that only need water to clean your windows, children can help out because it’s totally natural and safe. My sons love to help sprinkle the baking soda before I begin a deep vacuum of my carpeting. It’s a good idea to test the baking soda on darker carpets in a small test area first. My carpet is white so I’ve never worried about it.  Another tip before you vacuum is to replace toxic carpet spray for stains and go to the pantry to mix a paste of white vinegar and baking soda, work into the carpet with a brush or toothbrush, let paste dry and vacuum.  Two very easy methods to help remove odours, stains, and naturally reduce pollutants in your carpeting.  A huge bonus is you’re not yelling at your kids to get out of the room while you apply the cleaning cocktail or baking powder because it’s safe for them to be exposed to and even help clean with!

My last bit of research on improving the quality of your home’s carpet is the topic of hiring professional steam cleaners. There is nothing like a deep clean with steam that helps eliminate dust mites, allergens, dust, dirt, and chemical contaminants. BUT – with an extra big BUT…it is very difficult to find professional carpet cleaners that are truly non-toxic. I went with the company Citrus-O for many years, but they continually ask if you want the scotch guard extra (which is offering Teflon coating with the highly toxic chemicals PFOAs – a proven carcinogen). Also, I would always have a headache for days after Citrus-O left my house, dry mouth, and very irritated eyes. I haven’t the time to look over the material data sheets on their site, but my reaction says it all to me. If I find a company I can recommend, I’ll write a follow-up article. Over the last year, I’ve borrowed steam cleaners from friends that own them, and filled them with Dr. Bromers liquid soap (or you could use vinegar).  But if you want to hold companies marketing themselves as all-natural carpet cleaning accountable, ask them if they use either of these chemicals to ‘clean’ with: perchloroethylene (nickname is perc) or naphthalene. Suspected to be carcinogens, they are notorious dry cleaning additives known to cause dizziness, fatigue, nausea if inhaled (sound familiar to my symptoms?), kidney and liver damage. Next time you book your carpets to be cleaned, ask the company these questions and please post back to the comments of this article and share the results.

For more information on carpet health, you can read my recent review of the Dyson HEPA filter vacuum at: Dyson Asthma Certified Vacuum Cleaner

A disturbing subject and confusing topic for parents is the toxic sleep environment their children’s mattress or pillows might be creating. I’ve avoided writing this article for many months because I wanted to properly research and frankly, my head couldn’t take any more surprises. I regret procrastinating for so long because once you read this article, you’ll want to make changes.  After spending hours talking with Chelsea, the co-founder of Sleepy Sheep, I have valuable information that can help you determine, rectify, and shop for healthy alternatives if you want your beds to become a truly healthy place where your children, babies, and family can get a restful sleep.

If you are purchasing duvets, mattresses, pillows or simply checking labels on current products in your home, 3 main categories need to be looked at – especially with researching mattresses and pillows! Questions to ask include what materials are used in the production of the ‘outside’ of the product, ‘inside’ of the product and ‘treatment’ of the product – and I don’t mean asking it how they are feeling… <grin>  I mean if the product has been chemically treated.

Outside:

The slippery coating on the outside of a crib mattress could be PVC, otherwise known as vinyl. This coating will off-gas because phthalates and plasticizers have been added to the PVC to make it bendy.  Phthalates are problematic within your baby or child’s bed because they are toxic to human health, can cause reproductive complications (developmentally in boys and fertility in both genders), and cause life-long allergies or asthma problems that begin as babies.

Inside:

What is your mattress, duvet, or pillows filled with? A popular material inside all mattresses, including crib mattresses is polyurethane foam.  Don’t let another long ‘p’ word from the plastics world confuse you. Just think of polyurethane foam as plastic, made with petroleum that is highly flammable. I was having a hard time picturing this material and then I knew how to explain it to parents.  Most or you have received or purchased a Disney licensed foam chair or fold out couch. We’ve had a Pooh Bear chair for years and once had a Sesame Street foldout couch. The foam chairs are fuzzy on the outside, and then you notice the breakdown of yellow chunks coming out the bottom as the foam breaks down… this is polyurethane foam and it’s really disgusting. Not only highly flammable, polyurethane foam off gasses VOCs (volatile organic compounds), especially toluene, formaldehyde which are toxic chemicals found in stinky nail polish.  And with the flammability issue being a problem with fire regulations and the government – question number 3 comes along about what the filling is treated with.

Treatment:

Now that we’ve determined that the filling is flammable, what is it treated with? Besides the chemicals that are already in the filler (polyester, polyurethane foam, etc.) it is now also treated with flame retardants. We are protecting our children from a flammability issue by adding very toxic chemicals to our bed. Our mattresses and pillows are off-gassing us while we sleep. Exposure to flame retardants are so toxic they are a known cause of cancer – just Google brominated flame retardants and ask yourself if these chemicals should be anywhere near a child – especially a baby.  I was shocked to find out from Chelsea that wool is naturally flame retardant and therefore is not subject to chemical flame retardant treatments when it’s used to create mattresses, etc.

I know, I’ve stressed out every parent reading this. If it makes you feel better, I flipped over the queen mattress my younger son has slept on for the last 4 years and everything I’ve just written about was confirmed with reading the mattress tag…polyurethane foam as the only material listed. I also rounded up pillows until I found one with the tag still on it and saw 100% polyester. My nemesis of late – polyester!  Meaning we’ve all had our heads on plastic that has flame retardants in my house!  So trust me that I feel your pain and have equally stressed myself as well.

But all is not doom and gloom since I had several light-bulb moments while talking with Sleepy Sheep’s co-founder yesterday.  Chelsea gave me two very easy and low-cost steps you can make right away that will assist every bed in your home to become a healthier place….without having to budget for a wool mattress (not yet anyway).

Did you know that wool is naturally anti-bacterial, naturally flame resistant (!!), naturally breathable, and a natural allergen prohibitor because it’s a bad host to irritants such as dust mites?  Wool is the superior material used in organic or natural bedding, mattresses, and pillows because of these wonderfully natural properties. I find it so hard to believe that chemical flame retardants could be eliminated in our beds if they simply contained wool, rather than synthetic materials. I loved learning that if Chelsea could recommend one change for a family to improve the ‘health’ of their bed it would be to replace your pillows with wool batting interior. And really, that makes a lot of sense. Think of the hours you spend with your nose and mouth inhaling the material of whatever your pillow is made from. Most pillows are made with polyester fill (plastic) which is not healthy and Sleepy Sheep sells pillows made with wool balls called knops. These are little balls of wool and you can choose your level of fullness and voila ~ you’ve made a very inexpensive change to creating a healthier sleep environment.

Another great insight from Chelsea was that their number one selling product are organic mattress toppers for crib mattresses and adult size mattresses. That tells me that people at some level know how disgusting the inside of a mattress is and want a barrier between their bodies and a traditional mattress.  Check out this awesome tidbit from Chelsea – organic mattress toppers allow airflow around your body and because the interior of the topper contains wool, it’s fibers wick away a person’s sweat, and this moisture actually absorbs toxins that are off-gassing from a traditional mattress and causes the toxins to evaporate. I thought this was cool! The seal between your body and the traditional mattress is not 100% of course, but this alternative is obviously better than continuing to sleep on a mattress that is toxic to your heath. These toppers are a great alternative for parents just not ready to commit to the financial investment of an organic mattress.

When talking about a crib or child’s mattress, I really believe there is no financial compromise with their health. When new parents are spending $500 easily on strollers, I don’t think $250 is expensive for a healthy crib mattress where your baby will spend most of it’s time. Especially for a first baby – I think an organic mattress needs to be at the top of the list for people having baby showers. What better gift for a baby than the gift of health and a truly restful place to sleep.

I have more information that I will save for Part II and III of this series of toxic beds. There is a lot to learn and I encourage you to post comments to this article and share what you discovered once you started reading mattress, pillow, and duvet tags.  Let’s try to get through the information together.

I was just typing ‘A Very Good Year’ into the subject of this post, but not every discovery uncovered at Mommy Footprint had a feel-good vibe. It’s been a full year of asking questions and getting answers that can sometimes be confusing and scary, but it’s all about parenting with our eyes wide open. The articles that did cause me to lose sleep at night were always about canvassing for my children’s health. An understanding that actually causes me to have small breathing attacks in dollar stores where I can only smell plastic and over thinking everything I buy to the point of being ridiculous at times. Once you gain the understanding that anything that is truly harmful to the environment because it’s toxic or can’t be recycled is actually toxic to human health – you’ll have an awakening that is hard to ignore when you head out to shop, plan events, or bring products into your home.

For those that have read and supported Mommy Footprint over the last year, I’d like to thank you for your comments and support with the topics I discuss and write about. For Mommy Footprint newbies, I thought I’d link to a few articles I’m especially proud of from 2009 and I hope you gain some insight to the type of material I’m passionate writing about. I have a line-up of stories for 2010 that are so exciting and will really interest parents on a path to remove toxins from their lives.  Stay tuned and Happy New Year!

Such a scary title, but the fact remains that women especially are putting hundreds of chemicals on their face everyday. Read and learn how more about the price of beauty.
Are Cosmetics Killing Us?

An article I’ve had to re-read of late. Get outside and enjoy nature with your children….it is so healthy for them and you! Nothing like a big dose of mother nature to help you feel re-connected with your children and family.
Resources to Get Parents and Children Outside Enjoying Nature

Are you a mommy to boys? Doesn’t matter the age of your sons – this is a must read documentary. I know business owners that started a new career after watching this video. It’s well worth the 40 minutes and you will learn a lot about the human health of boys.
Part I
Part II

Want to have an epiphany of sorts? Wrap your mind around the fact that most toys produced at the big box stores are toxic for the environment and human health. It’s a big buzz kill for parents that love their toxic toys.
What You Don’t Know About Plastic Toys Made From PVC

Have women in your life you care about? Forward them this link because they might be putting chlorine bleached tampons or sanitary napkins in the last place you really want this chemical.
Dioxins – The Last Place You Want Them

Sorry BPA, you are sooo 2008/09! Move over because there is a more dangerous offender in town – PVC. Find out here where it lurks in your everyday life.
PVC Items In Your Every-Day Life

Cleaner is not always better. Have we gotten to this point in our society that we have removed our ability to fight super bugs because of our addiction to antibacterial products?
Antibacterial Products Heading back-to-school

It’s that time of year – winter weather has arrived and if your child has a skin condition, they are probably feeling a flare-up of some kind. Here is an all-natural cocktail of sorts that has kept my Isabella’s eczema at bay for several years.
All-natural Tips For Managing Childhood Eczema

Google or learn about flame retardants and as a parent you will be concerned. A toxin that is highly carcinogenic – you would want to keep this chemical away from children! Well think about the fact that if your child is sleeping in polyester fabric, they are brushing up against flame retardants all night. This chemical is woven into the fibres of polyester, which made me sick because a lot of my kid’s PJs are made from this material. Always go 100% cotton for sleepwear.
Polyester PJs and Flame Retardants

One of the harder decisions for parents this year was if they should vaccinate for H1N1. Why a tough decision? Parents just don’t trust what they are told by doctors or the government and most people I know really struggled with the question.
H1N1 – What WIll You Do?

Shocking to learn that a big name like Target was selling onesie sleepers and the tagless label within the sleeper contained three times the legal limit for lead content. The reaction caused chemical burn-type marks on many children.
Skin Reaction To Tagless Labels

Have little girls and are looking to remove plastic products that eventually always get rubbed or mouthed like dolls or plastic food? I found two mamas that are blazing a trail with hand crafted magic that put the Christmas spirit back into my heart this year.
Plastic Alternatives For Girly Fun Christmas Morning

I personally vow to my readers that I will only write about products or companies that I support and believe in.  I do product reviews throughout the year, but I try to balance this with helpful information that I learn along the way about synthetic chemicals that affect your family’s health. See you in 2010!

Suzanne & Family

A few different factors prompted me to write this article; wondering about vaccinating my kids against H1N1, thinking of ways to reduce their exposure to flu and germs this school year, information regarding antibacterial and if it does more harm than good, and wanting to inform parents about the latest synthetic chemical to watch for called Triclosan.

I have not yet formed an opinion on vaccinating my kids against H1N1 if it’s made available in my community or school district. My mom who is a dedicated and very knowledgeable nurse keeps mentioning hand washing is key to protecting kids from the spread of germs. Every newspaper I read confirms this too.  I have to admit this isn’t a huge focus in my boys day-to-day routine so I hope their school will encourage more trips to the restroom to complete this seemingly simple task. The thought of just including a bottle of antibacterial hand lotion in their lunchbox crossed my mind, but I’ve since changed my mind since researching antibacterial products.

The active ingredient Triclosan is most often found in antibacterial products and like most synthetic chemicals was first introduced for a very high functional and specific purpose ~ for use in surgical scrub rooms and inside hospitals in 1972. By 2006/07 the Canadian government had registered 1,200 brands of cosmetics containing Triclosan. How could a brand limited to hospital use, build the brand ‘antibacterial’ and creep into places such as chopsticks, garden hoses, socks, personal care products, and more? Very direct and aggressive marketing! The companies that create these untested chemicals find new ways to profit and before you know it the chemical exists in products where it’s really not necessary. The branding for this particular phenomenon had to look no further than parents and consumers concerned about germs. Let me interject that a few years ago when I frequented indoor play centers with my boys, you could not find a mother that didn’t greet her child leaving one of the play areas and immediately wipe their hands with antibacterial wipes.  I was one of those mothers, so I shocked by the information about antibacterial when I read the chapter focusing on this subject from ‘Slow Death By Rubber Duck’. Here is something scary to think about that I learned from the book. If you think of ’antibacterial’ as a synthetic chemical and how damaging that is for the environment (sits in landfills forever and pollutes our waterways) and our body and then learn where it exists.  For example, in the height of the antibacterial phenomenon, the toy giant Hasbro, proudly produced several toys made with Triclosan, marketing them as antibacterial and claiming it would protect children from disease. Yuck!

So what exactly is so bad about Triclosan? I will quote the amazing authors of the book ‘Slow Death By Rubber Duck’ for some help. 

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