Beyond Organic: What Truly Makes Household Products Safe
A practical guide to petroleum-free living, low-VOC products, and real-world product testing
I have had MCS since 1975.
I consider myself a super canary since my MCS started instantly and was very severe.
In spite of this, I have gone from severely ill to flourishing. Most of my intense symptoms are now gone.
So many products gave me asthma, pain and so many symptoms and caused high VOCs in my home, which gave me asthma. Some products I tried contaminated other things in my home.
Even organic products gave me asthma and contaminated other products.
I decided to create this list to share what has and has not worked for me.
I was shocked to discover that, in most cases, the issue is petroleum. Petroleum is in so many of our products.
I'll be adding more information to this list often, so please check back for updates. If a story has been updated, I note the date on that story.
To find these products, I have searched endlessly. Once I find a product that looks hopeful, I do two tests:
Do a VOC test to see if the VOCs stay at 250 or below. (Products with VOCs higher than this give me asthma)
Try the product to see if I feel fine when I use it, with no asthma or other symptoms and allow time before I recommend it
Safe Organic Products
Clothing:
Harvest and Mill https://harvestandmill.com/
This is the only company I have found that passed both of my tests!
We wear the natural color as indoor clothes, and the black clothes as outdoor clothes.
I have fully tested the natural clothes; they are completely safe.
The black clothes passed my VOC meter test recently; however, I have only worn them outside, in our vehicles that have a powerful cabin filter or in public places with my respirator mask on. I haven't yet tested them indoors, where I am breathing the material constantly, filter-free. That they passed my VOC test is amazing since dyes are a big issue with clothing.
Only buy the "drawstring only" pants and shorts. The issue is the elastic. All elastic is made from petroleum, off-gases, and is not safe.
Don't buy any other pants or shorts, including jogger or lounge pants or socks. They all have elastic in them and are toxic.
All of the T-shirts, raglans, sweatshirts and hoodies are safe. I have not tested the other colored clothing yet. Dyes are a big risk.
Towels:
LL Bean
Organic Textured Cotton Towel
Item #: TA504588
Get the cream ones only. Dyes are very toxic and not safe. I have tried so many towels from so many places that gave me asthma; of all places, I found these at LL Bean. They are totally safe. I have even worn them as clothing and used them as blankets when I couldn’t find safe products, and they were fine.
Sheets and blankets:
Nature Soft Bedding: https://www.naturesoftbedding.com/
I have tried and tested these only:
Sheets
Natural Sateen Flat Sheet with Z-Hem
Natural Sateen Pillow Cases with Z-Hem
Flannel Flat Sheet with Z-Hem - Natural Color
Flannel Pillow Cases with Z-Hem - Natural Color
Don’t buy any fitted sheets – the elastic contains petroleum
Don't buy any dyed products
Blankets
Chenille Herringbone Blankets - Natural only
Mattress and pillows
Mattress
I have searched since 2020 for a safe mattress. They are all very toxic and either caused severe asthma or were made from cotton and/or wool and packed down, causing pain.
I just made my own mattress using two of the Natural Sateen Flat sheets listed above sewn together.
I also used this thread: https://a.co/d/0bNdpr33
I stuffed it with kapok I bought from Amazon. I know Amazon uses fragrance, so take care unpacking them. Once they were unpacked, I didn’t have any issues, even testing them with my VOC meter. https://a.co/d/0gBgMxlH I made this bed and loved it! Keith came home from a trip and slept on it for 12 hours. It is still in progress; I think it will need 40 pounds to be luxurious. I have not had any reaction, and I love the feel of the bed.
Pillow
I also made pillows with this same process using the Natural Sateen Flat pillow cases listed above.
I am working on a video showing the process of making our bed and pillows.
Unsafe Products
Blanket
Chenille Herringbone Blanket - Buffalo Brown
When washing this blanket, it created high VOCs that stayed high, and it never got safe:
There is so much more to share with you; time only allows this today.
Please let me know if you have any questions,
Teresa
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I am never an affiliate for any product I recommend. I share these recommendations only because they have genuinely helped improve my health, and I hope they can do the same for you.
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I have had so many miracles happen, and I am so thankful. I am working to share what I have learned through my blogs, social media posts, and YouTube so that you can also heal. You can see my videos on YouTube here:
Yet now, I find myself faced with increasing toxins in America that are making it difficult for me to stay healthy, and this is true for our Earth and all of us.
We need to work together to solve this issue. Our lives and our planet depend on this.
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