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Home > Posts > When Furniture Attacks: 3 Ways to Limit Exposure to Flame Retardant Chemicals
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When Furniture Attacks: 3 Ways to Limit Exposure to Flame Retardant Chemicals

January 29, 2014 | BY johnlockegoss
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure page.

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By John Goss, Certified Holistic Health Coach

By now, you’ve seen the headlines warning that sitting is harmful to your health. I have no doubt that the couch-potato/cubicle lifestyle has numerous ill effects. But in reality your sofa has a far more sinister and dangerous nature, and it is not alone in its desire to do you harm. Yes, dear reader, your sofa has allies. It is just one of a group of household items that plots against you and your family!

My couch offers me a comfortable berth from which I can elevate β€œsloth” to an art form, but that is actually just the beginning of the damage this inanimate object causes. As it turns out sofas, beds and other furnishings are akin to the Venus Flytrap. Like the infamous carnivorous flower, our furniture offers us something attractive, something we want, but like the unwary fly, once we go there, we are subjected to a chemical dowsing that is unhealthy at best and even deadly! Unlike insects trapped in a fatal chemical bath, we are able to stand up and move away, but the invisible chemical mist our sofas dispense follows us throughout our home. The chemicals in question? Legally-mandated flame retardants.

Think that you can escape by retreating to the bedroom? Forget it…your mattress is in league with your couch, as are your curtains, and your carpet, and your electrical cords…and much more. Each of these items continuously sheds a variety of chemicals into the air and thus into the lungs of every breathing thing in your home.

Flame-retardants are, by law, applied to nearly every potentially flammable furnishing in your home.Β  They include polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE’s), which have now been linked to cancer, reproductive problems and lower IQs in children.

Well, a little chemical exposure is better than burning up…right?

Maybe, except those chemical additives won’t actually prevent your furniture from burning. This, from an article in Scientific American…

Deception and intrigue led to a 1970s regulation that prompted the injection of chemicals into home furniture, stemming from a distortion of scientific findings that suggested flame-retardants would be more effective at reducing sofa fires than they really are. In reality, retardants provide no meaningful protection, a finding uncovered in a 2012 investigative series by The Chicago Tribune and highlighted in a recent documentary Toxic Hot Seat.

Felix on Cisco Sofa Couch

Felix, 4, enjoys his new couch, free of flame retardant chemicals!

But there is good news!

The β€œNanny State” is finally on the case!Β  As of 2014, California has changed its laws concerning the use of flame-retardants in household items. This makes it possible to perhaps someday purchase furnishings that are free of PBDE’s (California is the state that mandated the use of such chemicals to begin with).

Unfortunately, analysts don’t foresee the problems with PBDE exposure going away any time soon. That’s because PBDE’s are so widely distributed that it will take decades before all those old furnishings to be replaced.

There are, however, important steps you can take to protect yourself and your family from excessive PBDE exposure.

  1. Don’t sweep. Vacuum daily, or use a wet mop.. Sweeping sends invisible plumes of accumulated PBDE’s back up into the air.
  2. Don’t bring more flame retardants in.Β While not everyone has the budget to replace all home furnishings at once, when it’s time to get something new, go for one of the few companies that make flame-retardant free upholstered items. We help clients do just that through our Healthy Home consults. If you have children, replace their mattresses first. Check out our Safe Mattress Guide to be sure you avoid the Sneaky Stuff.
  3. Eat more plants.Β PBDEs accumulate in fats–highest levels are found in poultry (even organic), and they are also present in cheese and beef. Eating less meat and dairy will cut your exposure.

The modern world presents us with a variety of health challenges that are of our own making. Luckily, if we stay aware and take action there is a lot we can do to stay healthy, happy, and mildly sane.

Stay sane,

John Goss from Gimme the Good Stuff

 

 

 


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Filed Under: Posts, Non-Toxic Mattresses, Furniture & Decor Tagged With: flame retardants, sofas/couches

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Comments

  1. Mallory cash says

    March 5, 2017 at 8:47 AM

    Great article! I’ve been wondering about my curtains. There is no mention of flame retardants on the labels and I can’t seem to find information online. Is there anyway to test the fabric to find out it they are treated with anything?

    Reply
  2. Sue baker says

    February 13, 2019 at 10:05 PM

    I bought a nectar mattress. its making me itch like crazy. they use fiberglass in their propriety sock fire retardant. I believe the sock was defective and I now have fiberglass throughout my house. trying to by a mattress with the information of whats in their no chemical fire retardant is impossible. I think I rather sleep in chemicals than this itchy fiberglass. I’m allergic to latex, and I’m having same symptoms. I’m also wandering if their latex in mattress and their not being honest about ingredients.

    Reply

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11 products that will help you save the earth (all available in our store). πŸ“¦πŸŽ‰1) 🧺 Cora Ball. Every time we do laundry, our clothes shed tiny, unseen microfibers that wind up in our waterways. This brilliant ball is simply tossed in the washing machine to collect our microfibers into fuzz we can see and dispose of in the right way.2) 🩹 Bamboo bandages. The adhesive sheet of a standard band-aid is made from a type of plastic, often toxic PVC. Patch bandages are made with soft, organic sustainable bamboo fiber and gauze.3) 🧽 Meliora plastic-free cleaning products. Their all-purpose cleaning tabs are a one-stop solution for cleaning the hard surfaces in your home in the most eco-friendly way possible.4) 🧊 Stainless steel ice cube tray. Regular plastic ice cube trays are not recyclable, so the next time you need to replace one, go old school!5) πŸ₯• Stasher bags. I have a drawer full of these, and haven't bought a plastic baggie in years!6) πŸͺ’ Straight razor. Around 2 billion plastic razors are disposed of each year, and they all end up in landfills. This eco-friendly straight razor has a bamboo handle and a recyclable metal razor.7) πŸ₯£ Cotton bowl covers. I use these daily to cover leftovers that I don't want to transfer to a separate container.8) πŸ’§ Stainless steel cup. This unbreakable 8-ounce tumbler cup will last forever, and is an excellent alternative to disposable plastic cups for a picnic, a party, camping, or for children in their classrooms.9) πŸ‘§πŸ½ Stainless steel lunch box. These bento-style boxes mean you never have to use Tupperware containers or Ziploc bags again.10) 🐷 Zip Top snack packs. This style of silicone bags is designed to fit in little hands. They come in cute animal shapes, and are another step your family can take to reduce single use plastics in packed lunches.11) πŸ’¦ E-cloths. These cloths will get you off of paper towels for good, AND you don't even need to use cleaner with them.12) πŸ₯Food Huggers. These do double duty, in my opinion--you don't use plastic to save your food AND you throw away less food because they really keep it fresh.

11 products that will help you save the earth (all available in our store). πŸ“¦πŸŽ‰

1) 🧺 Cora Ball. Every time we do laundry, our clothes shed tiny, unseen microfibers that wind up in our waterways. This brilliant ball is simply tossed in the washing machine to collect our microfibers into fuzz we can see and dispose of in the right way.

2) 🩹 Bamboo bandages. The adhesive sheet of a standard band-aid is made from a type of plastic, often toxic PVC. Patch bandages are made with soft, organic sustainable bamboo fiber and gauze.

3) 🧽 Meliora plastic-free cleaning products. Their all-purpose cleaning tabs are a one-stop solution for cleaning the hard surfaces in your home in the most eco-friendly way possible.

4) 🧊 Stainless steel ice cube tray. Regular plastic ice cube trays are not recyclable, so the next time you need to replace one, go old school!

5) πŸ₯• Stasher bags. I have a drawer full of these, and haven't bought a plastic baggie in years!

6) πŸͺ’ Straight razor. Around 2 billion plastic razors are disposed of each year, and they all end up in landfills. This eco-friendly straight razor has a bamboo handle and a recyclable metal razor.

7) πŸ₯£ Cotton bowl covers. I use these daily to cover leftovers that I don't want to transfer to a separate container.

8) πŸ’§ Stainless steel cup. This unbreakable 8-ounce tumbler cup will last forever, and is an excellent alternative to disposable plastic cups for a picnic, a party, camping, or for children in their classrooms.

9) πŸ‘§πŸ½ Stainless steel lunch box. These bento-style boxes mean you never have to use Tupperware containers or Ziploc bags again.

10) 🐷 Zip Top snack packs. This style of silicone bags is designed to fit in little hands. They come in cute animal shapes, and are another step your family can take to reduce single use plastics in packed lunches.

11) πŸ’¦ E-cloths. These cloths will get you off of paper towels for good, AND you don't even need to use cleaner with them.

12) πŸ₯Food Huggers. These do double duty, in my opinion--you don't use plastic to save your food AND you throw away less food because they really keep it fresh.
...

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Maia James, the founder of Gimme the Good Stuff, has a lifetime of experience in the world of natural living, and has turned this passion into a career, now helping clients easily enjoy greener, cleaner lives, peace of mind, and better health.

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