Re: OT: flooring questions

[Guest guest]

Make sure even the natural fiber ones haven't been treated with flame retardant,

as some are.

S S

Hi guys, <BR>

   <BR>

  I have been taking baby steps to clean up my children's environment.  This

weekend I plan to remove the last room of carpet in our home.  The floor

underneath is unfinished oak - don't know the condition yet.  Why someone would

build a home with oak floors and then cover it with carpet is beyond me...<BR>

   <BR>

  I thought I remembered reading a while back that even AFM Safecoat was not

completely safe.  Does anyone know anything about this?  I want to do what is

going to be the best for my children, even if it doesn't look the greatest.  Any

ideas on finishing the floor would be appreciated.  <BR>

   <BR>

  Also, I would like to get an area rug.  Does anyone know what is considered

safe?  Is any natural fiber (jute, cotton, wool) okay as long as the backing

isn't synthetic?  Any ideas on where to find safe and economical rugs would be

appreciated.  <BR>

  Please feel free to email me privately.  Thanks in advance. <BR>

  <BR>

_______________________________________________

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[Guest guest]

there are a couple of online companies that make " safe " carpets and

flooring. As well as paints and finishes for wood.

I will warn you they cost a lot more than we are used to paying for

those type of things. I myself am still searching for safe area rugs.

Other than making old fashioned " rag rugs " like my grandmother used to

do. You can try HealthyHomes.com as a starting point.

> Hi guys, <BR>

> <BR>

> I have been taking baby steps to clean up my children's

environment. This weekend I plan to remove the last room of carpet in

our home. The floor underneath is unfinished oak - don't know the

condition yet. Why someone would build a home with oak floors and

then cover it with carpet is beyond me...<BR>

> <BR>

> I thought I remembered reading a while back that even AFM Safecoat

was not completely safe. Does anyone know anything about this? I

want to do what is going to be the best for my children, even if it

doesn't look the greatest. Any ideas on finishing the floor would be

appreciated. <BR>

> <BR>

> Also, I would like to get an area rug. Does anyone know what is

considered safe? Is any natural fiber (jute, cotton, wool) okay as

long as the backing isn't synthetic? Any ideas on where to find safe

and economical rugs would be appreciated. <BR>

> Please feel free to email me privately. Thanks in advance. <BR>

> <BR>

>

>

> _______________________________________________

> Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com

> The most personalized portal on the Web!

>

[Guest guest]

When we finished our wood floors we used a water based coating. I

would have to check with the flooring company to find the name of the

product (can't now 'cause I'm going away). It worked very well. We

were out of the house when it was applied. After 24 h there was no

more smell. Water based coatings smell awful for weeks, maybe even

months.

In Canada carpets that have low levels of volatile organic compounds

have a special stamp of approval on them. Ask the carpet companies.

It is possible to get water based paints that have no VOCs. We used

" Lifemasters " .

It is also possible to get formaldehyde free plywood for shelving.

J

> > Hi guys, <BR>

> > <BR>

> > I have been taking baby steps to clean up my children's

> environment. This weekend I plan to remove the last room of carpet in

> our home. The floor underneath is unfinished oak - don't know the

> condition yet. Why someone would build a home with oak floors and

> then cover it with carpet is beyond me...<BR>

> > <BR>

> > I thought I remembered reading a while back that even AFM Safecoat

> was not completely safe. Does anyone know anything about this? I

> want to do what is going to be the best for my children, even if it

> doesn't look the greatest. Any ideas on finishing the floor would be

> appreciated. <BR>

> > <BR>

> > Also, I would like to get an area rug. Does anyone know what is

> considered safe? Is any natural fiber (jute, cotton, wool) okay as

> long as the backing isn't synthetic? Any ideas on where to find safe

> and economical rugs would be appreciated. <BR>

> > Please feel free to email me privately. Thanks in advance. <BR>

> > <BR>

> >

[Guest guest]

sarah wrote: Please feel free to email me privately.

dear sarah,

i'm in the same situation, looking at tearing up carpet in bedroom this

spring. i was planning on putting in hardwood and use the afm products. i

had not heard any info about problems with the afm. so i'd love to also hear

any info that people have to share. could you post to the group? or email me

too?

gratefully,

kendra

[Guest guest]

I know a lot of floorings outgass toxins. I haven't looked into what I am going

to replace our carpet with but where I am going to start is by researching

" green " houses. They are building them more and more in areas like California.

There are stores where everthing is earth friendly and not containing chemicals

that are toxic. I want to make sure I am not ripping something up only to

replace it with something just as toxic. Real hardwood is probably amongst the

best alternatives at first glance. It would be good to know exactly how it is

treated... I am not at all familiar with anything like this...just getting to

the point where I want to start looking into it.

Maybe of no help, my 2 cents anyway! Please share what you do find out

though!!

kendra <kendraz@...> wrote:

sarah wrote: Please feel free to email me privately.

dear sarah,

i'm in the same situation, looking at tearing up carpet in bedroom this

spring. i was planning on putting in hardwood and use the afm products. i

had not heard any info about problems with the afm. so i'd love to also hear

any info that people have to share. could you post to the group? or email me

too?

gratefully,

kendra

=======================================================

[Guest guest]

Try this website.

http://www.environmentaldepot.us/

<curlytatertot@...> wrote:

Hi guys,

I have been taking baby steps to clean up my children's environment. This

weekend I plan to remove the last room of carpet in our home. The floor

underneath is unfinished oak - don't know the condition yet. Why someone would

build a home with oak floors and then cover it with carpet is beyond me...

I thought I remembered reading a while back that even AFM Safecoat was not

completely safe. Does anyone know anything about this? I want to do what is

going to be the best for my children, even if it doesn't look the greatest. Any

ideas on finishing the floor would be appreciated.

Also, I would like to get an area rug. Does anyone know what is considered

safe? Is any natural fiber (jute, cotton, wool) okay as long as the backing

isn't synthetic? Any ideas on where to find safe and economical rugs would be

appreciated.

Please feel free to email me privately. Thanks in advance.

---------------------------------

Blab-away for as little as 1¢/min. Make PC-to-Phone Calls using

Messenger with Voice.

[Guest guest]

Kind of on topic - We had to reseal our deck and used Soy Gaurd - non toxic

sealer. Soy based. www.soygaurd.com. It does have a recycled plastic in it

(polysteryne I think) which isn't great but gave off zero fumes, was actually

great for my cuticles and we won't be eating off the wood on the deck (which was

pressure treated which means it has arsenic in it - figured a few layers of soy

gaurd was better than that)... Also, someone emailed about metals in clothes -

does anyone have any info on this? Jenn

a b <anothersillyuserid@...> wrote: Try this website.

http://www.environmentaldepot.us/

<curlytatertot@...> wrote:

Hi guys,

I have been taking baby steps to clean up my children's environment. This

weekend I plan to remove the last room of carpet in our home. The floor

underneath is unfinished oak - don't know the condition yet. Why someone would

build a home with oak floors and then cover it with carpet is beyond me...

I thought I remembered reading a while back that even AFM Safecoat was not

completely safe. Does anyone know anything about this? I want to do what is

going to be the best for my children, even if it doesn't look the greatest. Any

ideas on finishing the floor would be appreciated.

Also, I would like to get an area rug. Does anyone know what is considered

safe? Is any natural fiber (jute, cotton, wool) okay as long as the backing

isn't synthetic? Any ideas on where to find safe and economical rugs would be

appreciated.

Please feel free to email me privately. Thanks in advance.

---------------------------------

Blab-away for as little as 1¢/min. Make PC-to-Phone Calls using

Messenger with Voice.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

AFM Safecoat is marketed as being non-toxic and safe for people who

are environmentally sensitive, but probably like most anything, there

are going to be people who do well with it and people who don't. Some

of my friends suffering from environmental illness have had real

problems with some AFM products (the main problems I've heard about

are with the paints; some of these folks seem to do a lot better with

the no-VOC paints, the ones that are very light colored

only~~apparently the colorings add VOCs).

We used the AFM product called Mexiseal to seal our bare concrete in

the basement. The stuff stunk like crazy and my husband (who applied

it), thought it was as toxic as the stuff from Home Depot if not more

so. He said he got a headache applying it (and he is not sensitive).

It took a long time to air it out (weeks . . . .). We did a small test

patch of their paint in a closet and it smelled strongly of chemicals

for months. In contrast to these being very problemmatic for us, we

have had good luck with their body wash/shampoo and one of their

cleaners that you dilute to various strengths depending on the job

(safechoice or something like that).

AFM does sell small test cans of most of their products so you could

get a little can and try out the product(s) before you invest in a

larger can or possibly use a product in your home that you find

problemmatic. When we did this, I had to actually call AFM to find out

where to get the little test cans because they didn't sell them

everywhere at that time (1+ yrs ago).

In her book Less-Toxic Alternatives (9th ed), Carolyn Gorman lists the

following less toxic products to seal wood: AFM Safecoat; Aquafabulon;

Aqualac Waterborne Lacquere: Trinity Coatings Co; Bin Sheetrock and

Wood Sealant: WM Zinsser; Crystal Aire & Crystal Shield: Nirvana Safe

Haven; Hydroline and Hydrolite (water-based urethanes): Basic

Coatings, Inc; and 9400W wood waterproofing: Palmer Industries.

I don't have experience with any of these other than AFM Safecoat but

we've generally had very good luck with Carolyn Gorman's

recommendations on other things, so might be worth investigating some

of these leads.

Regarding rugs, Carolyn Gorman says to avoid excess glue, 4-PC

(phenylcyclohexene), synthetic latex backing, foam pads, styrene

butadiene, formaldehyde, and chlorinated hydrocarbons. She suggests

the following as less toxic: synthetic jute or cloth backings, pads of

felt, jute, or rag, hemp and jute rugs, and chemical, pesticide, and

dye-free wool carpet, of course also organic cotton throws.

For organic cotton, linen, and/or hemp area rugs, you might try GAIAM,

Rawganique, Heart of Vermont, and White Lotus Futon in the northeast

may still carry natural cotton rugs. We've been happy with purchases

from all of these in the past.

Mom of C and D

-- In , <curlytatertot@...>

wrote:

>

> Hi guys,

>

> I have been taking baby steps to clean up my children's

environment. This weekend I plan to remove the last room of carpet in

our home. The floor underneath is unfinished oak - don't know the

condition yet. Why someone would build a home with oak floors and

then cover it with carpet is beyond me...

>

> I thought I remembered reading a while back that even AFM Safecoat

was not completely safe. Does anyone know anything about this? I

want to do what is going to be the best for my children, even if it

doesn't look the greatest. Any ideas on finishing the floor would be

appreciated.

>

> Also, I would like to get an area rug. Does anyone know what is

considered safe? Is any natural fiber (jute, cotton, wool) okay as

long as the backing isn't synthetic? Any ideas on where to find safe

and economical rugs would be appreciated.

> Please feel free to email me privately. Thanks in advance.

>

>

>

> ---------------------------------

> Blab-away for as little as 1¢/min. Make PC-to-Phone Calls using

Messenger with Voice.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Do any of these have colorful patterns made with natural dyes? I'm a color

person and I want something to cover our gray carpet around the couch area.

Barb

[ ] Re: OT: flooring questions

Hi ,

AFM Safecoat is marketed as being non-toxic and safe for people who

are environmentally sensitive, but probably like most anything, there

are going to be people who do well with it and people who don't. Some

of my friends suffering from environmental illness have had real

problems with some AFM products (the main problems I've heard about

are with the paints; some of these folks seem to do a lot better with

the no-VOC paints, the ones that are very light colored

only~~apparently the colorings add VOCs).

We used the AFM product called Mexiseal to seal our bare concrete in

the basement. The stuff stunk like crazy and my husband (who applied

it), thought it was as toxic as the stuff from Home Depot if not more

so. He said he got a headache applying it (and he is not sensitive).

It took a long time to air it out (weeks . . . .). We did a small test

patch of their paint in a closet and it smelled strongly of chemicals

for months. In contrast to these being very problemmatic for us, we

have had good luck with their body wash/shampoo and one of their

cleaners that you dilute to various strengths depending on the job

(safechoice or something like that).

AFM does sell small test cans of most of their products so you could

get a little can and try out the product(s) before you invest in a

larger can or possibly use a product in your home that you find

problemmatic. When we did this, I had to actually call AFM to find out

where to get the little test cans because they didn't sell them

everywhere at that time (1+ yrs ago).

In her book Less-Toxic Alternatives (9th ed), Carolyn Gorman lists the

following less toxic products to seal wood: AFM Safecoat; Aquafabulon;

Aqualac Waterborne Lacquere: Trinity Coatings Co; Bin Sheetrock and

Wood Sealant: WM Zinsser; Crystal Aire & Crystal Shield: Nirvana Safe

Haven; Hydroline and Hydrolite (water-based urethanes): Basic

Coatings, Inc; and 9400W wood waterproofing: Palmer Industries.

I don't have experience with any of these other than AFM Safecoat but

we've generally had very good luck with Carolyn Gorman's

recommendations on other things, so might be worth investigating some

of these leads.

Regarding rugs, Carolyn Gorman says to avoid excess glue, 4-PC

(phenylcyclohexene), synthetic latex backing, foam pads, styrene

butadiene, formaldehyde, and chlorinated hydrocarbons. She suggests

the following as less toxic: synthetic jute or cloth backings, pads of

felt, jute, or rag, hemp and jute rugs, and chemical, pesticide, and

dye-free wool carpet, of course also organic cotton throws.

For organic cotton, linen, and/or hemp area rugs, you might try GAIAM,

Rawganique, Heart of Vermont, and White Lotus Futon in the northeast

may still carry natural cotton rugs. We've been happy with purchases

from all of these in the past.

Mom of C and D

-- In , <curlytatertot@...>

wrote:

>

> Hi guys,

>

> I have been taking baby steps to clean up my children's

environment. This weekend I plan to remove the last room of carpet in

our home. The floor underneath is unfinished oak - don't know the

condition yet. Why someone would build a home with oak floors and

then cover it with carpet is beyond me...

>

> I thought I remembered reading a while back that even AFM Safecoat

was not completely safe. Does anyone know anything about this? I

want to do what is going to be the best for my children, even if it

doesn't look the greatest. Any ideas on finishing the floor would be

appreciated.

>

> Also, I would like to get an area rug. Does anyone know what is

considered safe? Is any natural fiber (jute, cotton, wool) okay as

long as the backing isn't synthetic? Any ideas on where to find safe

and economical rugs would be appreciated.

> Please feel free to email me privately. Thanks in advance.

>

>

>

> ---------------------------------

> Blab-away for as little as 1¢/min. Make PC-to-Phone Calls using

Messenger with Voice.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Some of the hemp rugs from Rawganique (which are made by Ecolutions)

are colored. They are solid colors. There are swatches on the website

(www.rawganique.com). If you order from them, be sure to check the

return policy and know that shipping a return from the US to Canada is

pretty pricy. Probably someone in the US carries them also, because I

think Ecolution is a US company.

> >

> > Hi guys,

> >

> > I have been taking baby steps to clean up my children's

> environment. This weekend I plan to remove the last room of carpet in

> our home. The floor underneath is unfinished oak - don't know the

> condition yet. Why someone would build a home with oak floors and

> then cover it with carpet is beyond me...

> >

> > I thought I remembered reading a while back that even AFM Safecoat

> was not completely safe. Does anyone know anything about this? I

> want to do what is going to be the best for my children, even if it

> doesn't look the greatest. Any ideas on finishing the floor would be

> appreciated.

> >

> > Also, I would like to get an area rug. Does anyone know what is

> considered safe? Is any natural fiber (jute, cotton, wool) okay as

> long as the backing isn't synthetic? Any ideas on where to find safe

> and economical rugs would be appreciated.

> > Please feel free to email me privately. Thanks in advance.

> >

> >

> >

> > ---------------------------------

> > Blab-away for as little as 1¢/min. Make PC-to-Phone Calls using

> Messenger with Voice.

> >

> >