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

I was struck by cupid’s bow a few months ago when I first saw the dolls at Gingermelon’s Shop. The faces – especially the eyes on these dolls grabbed hold of my heart immediately. The detail in the eyes, lips and face, puts them in a league of their own. Check out Valentina, a sold doll from Shelly’s site that is on it’s way to making one little girl very happy this Valentine’s Day.

Isn’t she exquisite?  Each of these little lovlies from Gingermelon is a handcrafted doll and the dress, shoes, and undies are designed and created with obvious devotion from doll maker Shelly.  The process of embroidering the doll’s face is true art and most importantly, the doll’s body is made from unbleached muslin. This fact if so important because it’s not made from the usual material of choice ~ PVC plastic. The clothing is designed with linen/cotton blend and the shoes are hand-woven and hand-dyed felt – there is no scrimping on quality with these dolls. The hair is made from organic cotton, silk bamboo, or Alpaca blend, and is so soft and silky to touch.

I find it so interesting when talking to doll makers that at the end of the journey of making these dolls, they love to watch the personality unfold and come to life through their creations.  After a doll is completed, names and clothing selections seem to call and Shelly really listens. The clothing on the dolls is just lovely and the best part for me is that it’s removable and by request can be purchased separately. It is very hard to find a doll where you can purchase quality vintage clothing for dolls and it really lengthens the number of years the child will play and love their doll. My Sophia was truly amazed that her Gingermelon doll “Hannah” has underwear that slide up and down and shoes that come off. It’s wonderful to know that these options exist outside of having to go the Barbie route in order to enjoy the play of dressing up dolls.

My 3 year old Sophia loves her doll so much and I’ve removed the shoes so that they don’t go missing and disappear. These dolls aren’t for young children because there is a button on the shoes and they can’t be ‘loved roughly’ although my little cutie just can’t help herself.  The Valentina doll I teased you with is sold but the good news is you can find more on the Gingermelon shop that are gorgeous and available to purchase. Use the ‘contact Gingermelon’ option to chat with Shelly to create the perfect Valentine or special gift for your little sweetie this year.

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.

My Christmas shopping woes have ended for my girls, as I’ve struggled this year with finding safe and fun (!!) gifts for under the tree Christmas morning. They love dolls so much, but we already have a few plastic ones that I’ve been looking to replace because I don’t want them snuggling with PVC. Well…bring on the Christmas cheer because I’ve not only found handcrafted cloth dolls that are beyond adorable (and affordable), but also felt food that ‘had me at hello’ when I saw the apple slices.  Think I’m exaggerating? Read on and check out the doll pictures and food pictures – I’ve never seen anything like either online or locally…

If you are also looking for cloth alternatives to plastic with dolls before Christmas, keep a close eye on Secelie’s shop this week. She’s posting 14 new dolls next week and like all other custom doll makers, is not accepting custom orders until the New Year.  With the price point and next to nothing shipping cost, her site is amazing!  It’s called Heart Felts and each little cutie is hand-made. My twins are always ‘coded’ by color because one loves blue and the other loves pink.  It works for us so when I saw some of the funky hair selections form Secelie, I knew I found the right place. Here is a picture of what will be under the tree Christmas morning for my girls. Thanks Secelie!

I’ve also been on a quest to purchase enough felt food that my girls can pretend grocery shop, play kitchen, play restaurant, without breaking my bank account. I want to replace all the plastic food they’ve inherited from my sons. Well as I mentioned above, once I saw the apple slices from MudPie Kids – my quest was over. Especially when you see her well-priced listing called ‘Everything but the kitchen sink’ …what a deal!  The detail is more realistic than you’ll ever find with wooden or plastic pretend food.  Look at the fruit selection!

So cute!  And the bananas actually peel! I purchased everything on this plate, plus

2 pancakes w/ syrup
4 apple slices
2 strawberries
4 carrots

And wait until you see the hot-dog buns with ketchup and mustard.  I just love it!

2 hotdog w/ bun ketchup, and mustard 
2 fried eggs
2 drumsticks
1 watermelon
4 orange slices
2 bananas

A very reasonable listing and items that are guaranteed to get lots of use.  I also feel great about supporting two ladies that are making incredible, safe, and quality items from the US.  I love dolls and felt food from Europe but there’s something to be said about trying to shop as locally as possible this year.  Thanks for making this year so easy with your creativity!

Okay I’m going to stop now, but check out this popcorn!  And when you check out her site, look at the whole chicken dinner, cherry pie, eggs, and sushi!

I’ve learned a lot from the Z Recommends watchdog group (a concerned mom and dad) that started the website Zrecs a few years ago.  As far back as September 2008, they were reporting about sores on the back’s of children that resembled minor chemical burns. What were these sores being caused by?  Tagless labels in infant clothing seemed to be the culprit and the companies receiving internet buzz for having this problem included Carters, Circo and Gerber. What ink is making these tagless labels? Plastisol type and solventborne polyurethane. One contains PVC and phthalates, the other contains small levels of formaldehyde in the urethane. Okay – now fast forward to Nov 28th 2009.. . Zrecs and the Center for Environmental Health search nation wide for onesies sold at Target stores (brand name Circo) to be tested because a onesie (picture here) tested three times the legal limit for lead content.  Was it only this one isolated onesie – no!  Zrecs asked it’s thousands of readers to send in any of the Circo ‘green baby’ onesies and all 30+ tested the same ~ having over 1,000 ppm lead content.

Some of you might think this is mass hysteria, but people, chemical burn-type rashes from a tagless label printed with chemical ink on baby clothes. A store like Target that sells millions of products and this was a Target-branded onesie.  To me, it just reconfirms so many things. The big names do not have a trusted track-record with our children.  Advocacy groups, blogs, and websites had to be created to bring awareness to the fact so many household items are dangerous to children. If you want more information on the onesie sold at Target, read the full article on the Zrecs site. They have a picture of the garment and at this time, it’s the only Target item to be concerned with.  But when the opportunity presents itself to purchase more trustworthy and sustainable products – remember this article. I cannot believe the measures parents need to arm themselves with before purchasing clothes, toys, household items for their family! It’s why with the huge sales happening around American Thanksgiving and post-Christmas – I truly worry that stores are dumping toxic product at reduced rates because they are so cheap to begin with or a potential recall is about to happen.

I must admit, I felt like a wet blanket writing my article on Black Friday talking about being aware of discounted items and asking if we really need massive amounts of ’stuff’.  It would have been so much more fun to talk about the great sales that were happening here, there, and everywhere! I swear by my theory that before a major recall happens from a company, you’ll find the product or brand discounted for months at stores that are known for amazing prices (Winners, etc.).  Shopping for children’s products in this fashion is just not any good for their health.  Many of you know I’ve been battling this Christmas with things to buy my children. Going shopping and buying lots of ’stuff’ is fun, but I’m staying as true as I can to the course of sourcing toys from sustainable stores, handmade items from local artisans, and it just feels better. I can’t wait to share some of my great finds…but for now I just want to thank sites like Zrecs for helping me sleep a little easier at night because I haven’t yet got my degree as an environmental engineer (which btw – seems to be a qualification these days to being a parent).   =)

Related articles:

Polyester PJs and Flame Retardants

PVC & Christmas Toys

Little Inkers – Growing PVC & Phthalate Free Kids