Your home could be making you wheeze or feel nauseated. Worse, the chemicals that contaminate your air may go completely unnoticed, especially those in mattresses, bedding, cushions and drapes.
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Permanent-Press Fabrics Permanent-press soft goods such as sheets, blankets and draperies are often treated with formaldehyde, a volatile organic compound that may cause breathing difficulties, nausea, and even cancer. If you want to avoid formaldehyde, choose products made from chemical-free cottons and wools. Regular cotton is not the best alternative as it may also contain pesticides, herbicides, or potentially toxic dyes. For window treatments, buy easily washable curtains made from chemical-free natural fabrics or synthetics. If you buy treated, non-washable drapes, air them out before bringing them inside.
Don’t Forget the Furniture
Furniture is composed of wood products, foams, and fabrics. When looking to reduce the amount of chemicals in your air, pay special attention to fabric-covered couches and chairs. Read the labels and check with staff to see how the foam is treated. Consider buying natural rubber cushions, down, or wool stuffing. Ask if the fabrics are natural or synthetic and whether they have been treated. If you’re concerned about your air quality, don’t get stain treatments.
Check the structure of the furniture. Ask if it is hardwood or pressboard. Solid wood construction will reduce the amount of glues used in manufacturing. Pressboard is made with glues and formaldehyde and will continue to emit noxious chemicals over time.
Even buying a product labeled as organic does not guarantee it will be chemical-free. That’s because a universal organic growing and labeling protocol does not exist. You can try to research the maker’s manufacturing practices. One place to start is the website of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, www.ifoam.org. Ginny Turner, president of Ecobaby Organics and Pure-Rest Organic Bedding Co. in San Diego, California, says you can remove many chemicals by washing your fabrics with a solution of borax, distilled vinegar, and laundry detergent.
Dust Mites Some of our favorite soft goods—comforters, mattresses and mattress toppers—are prime living and breeding areas for dust mites, a common indoor air pollutant that can cause allergies and respiratory irritation. A typical used mattress, for example, may contain 100,000 to 10 million mites. "It’s really important to keep dust mites from populating like mad," says Robert Moffitt of the American Lung Association’s Health House program.
To control dust mites, wash bedding weekly in water 130 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover mattresses and pillows with allergen-impermeable zippered covers. Since dust mites thrive in dampness, keep relative humidity levels at 50 percent or below. Vacuum often.
Dry Cleaning Whenever you have drapes, blankets, comforters, and other soft goods dry cleaned, remember that the chemical most often used in the process is perchloroethylene, which the Environmental Protection Agency has linked to cancer in animals. Make sure your items are completely dry when you pick them up from the cleaner and check that they don’t have a strong chemical smell. Take the fabrics out of the plastic bag and air them fully before bringing them in the house.
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