MCS Help

Okay, you just figured out you’re allergic to everything, even your house.  So where are you supposed to live?  A tent in the backyard only works for so long . . .

There are several concerns with most housing environments for the chemically sensitive individual. Mold is actually more of a common problem than you would first think. MCS/Candida sufferers are usually sensitive to mold. If you live in a humid area, chances are good that the wallboard commonly used in most house construction is part of your trouble.  Then there is the ever-present formaldehyde found in modern construction, mainly in kitchen cupboards, but also the plywood.  Add to that the paint on the walls, the perfume and mold stuck in the carpet, all the plastic items in your house . . .

Walls: When researching materials with which to build our present house, we discovered that ordinary sheet rock wallboard has only to be exposed to 70% humidity before it begins to mold. We chose HardieBacker wet area cement board for our entire house. Yes, it makes it more expensive, but we don’t have to worry about it molding the first time it rains. My son is even more sensitive to mold than I am, so this is an important concern for us. If your house is presently built of sheet rock, I don’t know what to suggest except that to set a goal to build a safer environment as soon as you can. Believe me, I know this is not an easy task. Please be very careful with what you choose to paint your walls with, if you decide to go that route. Most paints commonly found in the hardware store will not be safe for you, especially the oil based kind. Consider using milk paint, which seems to have a much safer ingredient list. Take care that the walls of your house, or your furniture does not contain particle board or plywood. Both of these are glued together with a type of glue that contains formaldehyde, which is very dangerous for MCS people. Even if you paint over it, the formaldehyde still leaks out—-so you will have to search for solid wood or metal furniture.

Floors: If you have carpeting in your house, you are again probably aware that this is another main area of trouble. Not only is the carpet and underlying pad made from synthetic materials to which you are quite probably allergic, but it also harbors dust and mold. As soon as possible, replace your carpeted areas with either wood floors or tile, either of which will be allergen free.

Ceilings: A safe ceiling solution that is working well for us is pine 2 x 6′s. We’ve used them in every room and it’s lovely.

Insulation: After lengthy research, we decided upon a type of blow-in insulation called green fiber cellulose. It appears to be made largely of recycled newspapers but oddly enough has no odor of newspapers (which is a good thing because I’m allergic to that too) and is highly mold resistant. We used it inside our walls and in the attic and it’s working well.

Beds and Furniture: Often these items contain polyurethane stuffing, not to mention polyester fabric usually treated with fire retardant. If you are suffering from MCS, you will most certainly be affected by this. Janice’s has pure cotton beds and sheets that you may want to try. A less expensive alternative that we employ is this: Take a regular spring mattress (twin-size) and remove all the stuffing so that you are left with only the bare metal springs. Then put this on a metal cot, or on the floor and cover it with a washable pad, then your sheets and blankets or sleeping bag. With this method, everything is washable and you can be sure that the fabric used is all cotton and safe for you. No dangerous fumes and no allergy-producing dust mites!

Doors: Make sure the doors in your house are solid wood and not particle board covered by a thin sheet of metal or wood.

Vacuums: The best vacuum you can buy is a Rainbow. It uses water in the tank, so the dust you vacuum up goes straight into a water bath, which keeps it from going back into the air. If you are sensitive to house dust, or have allergies, try a Rainbow. You can sometimes find used ones on E-bay.

If you are sensitive to petroleum based products, then plastic has got to the biggest offender (after gas and diesel exhaust of course). If you fill your house full of plastic items, you will have trouble. I had just one cupboard filled with all kinds of plastic dishes (mixing bowls, tupperware, ice cube trays and the like). After I removed all these items to another area of the house, I was surprised at how much I noticed the lack of plastic smell coming from this cupboard. I then filled it with wooden and metal items and no longer felt the need to hold my breath when I opened it to get something out.

When you embark on the journey of replacing all the plastic items in your house, you might prepare yourself for a monumental project. I’ve been attempting to rid myself of all plastic items around the home and yard (where possible) and after 9 years I’m still at it. Maybe I’m just slow, or maybe we have way more plastic than most people, or it’s possible I might be ordinary and everybody has this much plastic around! Anyway, it’s a job but well worth the effort when you consider your health. This objective of this article is simply to point out the items that can be replaced and provide links where applicable to help you on your way.

First of all, let’s start out by listing a few of the plastic items that cannot be replaced—-items we must have in our homes that are no longer replaceable with non-plastic substitutes. It’s a sizeable list and I’m only including it here to provide some perspective on the magnitude of this situation.

Computers, TVs, DVDs and VHS tapes and players

Kitchen appliances

Washers, dryers, refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, and stoves

The interior of our vehicles, our cell phones, eyeglasses and contact lenses

Most packaged food from the grocery store

The plumbing under the sink

You can probably think of lots more!

But Relax! Here’s a list of some of the things that CAN be replaced:

Bathroom:
Plastic comb, brush and toothbrush – replace with wooden comb, natural bristle hairbrush and wooden natural bristle toothbrush (all available from Vermont Country Store)
Plastic soap dish – replace with ceramic or wooden soap dish
Plastic tub toys – replace with wooden or cloth toys
Plastic disposable razors – Vermont Country Store has old-fashioned metal razors and replacement blades
Plastic step stool – replace with wood or metal stool

Bedroom:
Plastic shoes – replace with leather or cotton, where possible. Your feet will be happier too!
Plastic clothing (polyester, acrylic, nylon, lycra) – replace with cotton, linen or wool (if you have a wool allergy, try taking a magnesium supplement and see if it doesn’t cure it . . . it worked for me!)
Plastic clothing hangers – replace with metal hangers
Pillows – the stuffing in foam pillows contains formaldehyde. Replace with cotton stuffing, goose down or folded towels.

Garage and Yard:
Plastic lawn furniture – replace with cast iron or wood
Plastic welcome mats – replace with natural fiber mats
Plastic gardening tools – replace with metal and wood

Kitchen:
Plastic drinking cups – replace with glass or ceramic mugs
Plasticware (forks, spoons and knives) – use stainless steel silverware
Non-stick coating is a form of plastic – use pans without the coating. Ceramic or high-quality cast iron are best, glass is good, stainless steel is okay.
Plastic cooking utensils – replace with wooden or stainless steel
Plastic wrap – use waxed paper or aluminum foil
Plastic leftover containers – use glass. There are glass dishes made for this (they have glass lids) and you can find them on E-bay or in garage sales. Another idea is to wash out and save glass jars from the grocery store (mayonnaise, juice, peanut butter, honey, salsa). Select ones that have large mouths to make for easier cleaning.
Rubber bands – These put off more smell than you’d think, so don’t save a great wad of them (or if you do, keep them somewhere else, like in the garage). Only keep as many as you really need in the kitchen.
Plastic grocery bags – Who doesn’t save them? But keep them in a safe place, say the garage and only as many as you need to. Don’t be afraid to throw them out, or donate them to whoever wants them.
Plastic coffee maker – replace with Pyrex coffee pot
Plastic mop and bucket – use a cloth mop (or rag) and a metal basin

Laundry room:
Plastic laundry baskets – replace with wicker baskets
Be very careful of fabric softener sheets and spray static control products. They use a type of glue to make the stuff adhere to your clothes. Try using a cup of vinegar in your rinse water instead.

Livingroom:
Plastic or particle board furniture in the house – replace with metal or solid wood. It takes careful scrutiny to determine if a piece of furniture is made of real wood or particle board. Particle board is made with a glue that contains formaldehyde, which is not safe for a person with MCS.
Plastic used in carpeting – See Housing for ideas on replacements
Plastic yarn (acrylic) for handcrafts – replace with cotton or wool yarn
Throw Pillows – replace polyurethane stuffing with cotton stuffing or towels

Playroom:
Plastic toys – replace with wooden or cloth toys

Lately, I’ve been working on trying to replace all my plastic vitamin and supplement bottles. There’s a substantial amount of plastic there too! I’ve been saving jam jars (since they are glass with a metal lid and are roughly the same size as the vitamin/supplement bottles) to use as replacements. I wash the jar and remove the label, then let it dry thoroughly. After putting the pills inside, make a label from paper saying what the pill is and the ingredients. You can then either use clear tape to stick it to the outside of the jar or drop the small piece of paper inside the jar, whichever you prefer.

In summary, when considering the items to bring into our homes, always try to choose a more natural alternative to plastic.

If you have any ideas that work for you and would like to add them to this list, please let me know!