A Smart Guide To Scary Chemicals Every week, our Facebook feeds explode with new warnings about toxins in our daily lives. But is that couch with flame retardants or your nonstick skillet really going to kill you? We dug deep into the research to find out which chemicals actually pose a risk and what we all can do about them right now.Ikea furniture is ubiquitous in dorm rooms and apartments all over the world, but it’s difficult to fathom exactly how much of the world’s resources are actually used to make Ikea products. According to Pacific Standard, Ikea uses about one percent—yes, one percent—of the world’s entire commercial wood supply. That amounts to about 17.8 million cubic yards of lumber last year. It’s difficult not to have mixed feelings about so much of the world’s forest going to the production of cheap furniture, but the Swedish retailer isn’t all bad. Love it or hate it, Ikea is a fact of life in much of the developed world. The yellow and blue superstores are just as much a staple of outer-suburban shopping districts as the company’s coffee tables are in young adults’ apartments.

It’s easy to dislike Ikea for making products that are cheaply made and aren’t intended to last for very long, but the company has made a serious effort in recent year to improve its supply chain and source more sustainable materials. Ikea has set a long-term goal of sourcing all of its materials from forests that have been sustainable managed and harvested. curtain rod finials walmartCurrently about 25 percent of wood used by Ikea has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, but the company aims to double that number within the next five years. curtains menlynIn addition to seeking out sustainably-harvested wood, Ikea participates in several forestry projects, including Sow a Seed and WWF, that are aimed at improving the company’s environmental impact. target threshold paisley shower curtain

So while we would love to see Ikea produce more durable, long-lasting products instead of the cheap objects that fill their catalogs, the company is at least making an effort to source source sustainable materials. via Pacific Standard and Gizmodo The Best Stain-Guard Products? Q: I have used Scotchguard stain guard on furniture over the years with mixed results. curtain pole for bay windows b&qI have a sofa going into a busy family's home in a couple of weeks and I am looking for the best stain guard I can find. costco canada blackout curtainsCan anyone recommend a stain guard product? grommet spacing for curtainsI'd love to know what experiences others have had with this type of product. curtains and trims cebu

Do any come recommended higher than others? Editor: Let's help Shannon — share your best and worst stain-guard and stain stories in the comments! (Note: Include a pic of your problem and your question gets posted first. How to Get Rid of New Couch Smell , answers your green living questions. Q: What's that funny smell in my new couch, and how do I get rid of it?-- Alice Marshall, Tuscon, Ariz.A:You are wise to be concerned: That funny smell may be no laughing matter! Chemicals in some sofas can actually cause dizziness and fainting and have been linked to nervous system harm in developing children. These smelly vapors come from volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which readily evaporate, or "offgas," polluting your indoor air. And they're at their peak outflow when products are new. Common VOCs include: Fabric treatments: Water-, moth- and stain-repellants often offgas formaldehyde, which is a respiratory irritant (it has an acrid smell reminiscent those embalmed frogs you dissected in biology class) and a probable human carcinogen, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

The production of Scotchgard-type fabric treatments also releases perfluroinated chemicals (PFCs) into the environment; PFCs have been shown to adversely affect development in animals, and they have been found in human newborns, children and adults in representative population blood and urine tests by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Vinyl: If your couch is made of fake leather and smells like a new shower curtain, it probably contains polyvinyl chloride, (PVC), softened with toxic plasticizing chemicals known as phthalates. Phthalates have recently been linked (albeit in small-scale studies) to reproductive deformities in male infants and obesity and pubescent girls. Chemical fire retardants: Although toxic fire retardants known as penta brominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, are not known to smell, you may nevertheless be inhaling these VOCs from your couch. Although the EPA has brokered a gradual phaseout of some PBDEs, others are still in use. But there's no reason to panic and shun your new couch!

Instead, reduce your exposures while gradually getting rid of the smell, using these simple tips. 1. If the couch cushion covers are removable, wash them according to the manufacturer's instructions and air dry them outdoors or near an open window. If you can't remove the covers, wipe the couch gently with a rag moistened with water and baking soda, which will absorb a lot of the odors. 2. Ventilate that couch: Open windows, or run a fan to disperse fumes, for however long it takes for the smell to fade. And keep the room cool, since heat causes VOCs to more readily offgas. For more information on phthalates, visit the Greener Penny blog. To learn more about PFCs and PBDE fire retardants, download this PDF from the Ohio Department of Health and visit the Environmental Working Group's website. (For green-living tips on other topics, read more advice from Mindy.)Research shows that 30 years ago, you had about about 17 minutes to escape a house fire. Today it's down to 3 or 4 minutes.

The reason: Newer homes and the furniture inside them actually burn faster. To demonstrate, Rossen Reports went to Underwriters Laboratories in Chicago, where two rooms were built side by side: one a flashback to the '70s or '80s with real wood and many natural materials, and the other a modern one with a lot of synthetic fibers, from the curtains to the couch to even the coffee table. As firefighters stood by, a fire set to a sofa pillow in the modern room quickly spread across the sofa and jumped to other furniture: a lamp, an end table, a chair and coffee table. Within 3 minutes, flames were going through the roof. "The backing of your carpet is synthetic, your drapes are synthetic, the couch, the pillows are synthetic," explained John Drengenberg, consumer safety director for UL. "They burn hotter and faster than natural materials do." A similar fire set to the sofa pillow in the room simulating an older home burned for several minutes without even catching the rest of the sofa.

At 15 minutes the room was still intact; it wound up taking 30 minutes for the room to burn. The American Home Furnishings Alliance, an industry group, told NBC News it supports a federal flammability standard for upholstered furniture, but only if product changes are safe, effective and affordable. Until then: "When your smoke alarm goes off you don't have time to look around, get your wedding pictures," Drengenberg said. "You get out as quickly as you can." The National Association of Home Builders, another industry group, told NBC News that new building codes make houses safer. But fire experts say to have a fire escape plan for your family. The Red Cross has an easy worksheet to help you create one. To suggest a topic for an upcoming investigation, visit the Rossen Reports Facebook page. FULL STATEMENT FROM THE AMERICAN HOME FURNISHINGS ALLIANCE: "The American Home Furnishings Alliance supports research into how the materials that are used in home construction today – along with materials used in consumer products today – impact fire safety in American homes.

Research that helps homeowners become more aware of potential fire hazards and plan safe routes of escape in the event of a fire is essential. In addition, research that provides firefighters with knowledge to better address those fires is critical and worthwhile. In 2012, scientists at UL (Underwriters Laboratory) designed a series of experiments that focused on the size and geometry of modern homes as well as current furnishings and building materials. The experiments tested three modern home configurations against three so-called “legacy” configurations containing furniture UL described as being similar to furniture made in the 1950s. In the 1950s, better quality upholstered furniture was constructed using materials like feather-down cushions and hair-and-cotton padding. However, more affordable upholstery of the time would have likely contained less costly (and far less durable) fillings like moss, animal hair and course fiber matting. In the 1970s, much of the upholstered furniture manufactured in the United States transitioned to polyurethane foam and other synthetic materials for cushions.

Polyurethane foam is valued for its durability, affordability and hypoallergenic qualities. Furthermore, as the industry began researching ways to make upholstered furniture more fire-safe, polyurethane foam was found to help reduce the chance of ignition from a smoldering source. This was important, because in all available data from the 1970s through today, the vast majority of home fires that involve upholstered furniture are ignited by a smoldering source. In 1978, the residential furniture industry established the Upholstered Furniture Action Council (UFAC), which subsequently released voluntary construction and material guidelines that combined to make furniture resistant to smolder ignition. It is important to note that, although “legacy” furniture made around the 1950s may ignite more slowly than “modern” furniture when exposed to an open flame, it ignites faster than “modern” furniture containing polyurethane foam when exposed to a smoldering source – which, again, is the most common ignition source in home fires involving upholstered furniture.

Over the past 25 years, the number of U.S. household fires involving upholstered furniture has been reduced by more than 88 percent. This dramatic reduction is attributed to: Because of the positive results achieved by these industry and societal changes, AHFA has continued to advocate for a federal flammability standard for upholstered furniture based on smolder-resistance. UFAC’s work followed the 1975 implementation of California Technical Bulletin 117, a mandatory standard for upholstered products sold in the state of California. In 2013, California updated TB 117, culminating a year-long effort to address growing concerns about consumer exposure to flame retardant chemicals. The revised standard, TB 117-2013, is based largely on the requirements and testing methodology within the UFAC standard, which can be met without the addition of flame retardants to the foam. AHFA recommends that consumers shopping for fire-safe furniture look for the TB 117-2013 compliance label on upholstered products.

In October 2015, AHFA formally petitioned the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to adopt the upholstered furniture performance standards and flammability test methods prescribed by TB 117-2013 as a national, mandatory flammability standard for residential upholstered furniture. Throughout nearly four decades of debate over how best to reduce the number of residential fires, especially those involving upholstered furniture, AHFA has steadfastly maintained the position that product modifications should be made only as they are proven safe, effective and affordable for the greatest number of consumers. AHFA opposes increasing chemical risks to consumers as a solution to fires caused by “small open flame” ignition sources. The most common open flame sources seldom come in contact with upholstered furniture without careless or purposeful behavior, such as unsafe use of candles, children playing with matches or lighters, and arson. Common sense dictates that these sources be addressed through education that discourages fire play and encourages installation and maintenance of working smoke detectors in the home – which are proven to be one of the most effective means for preventing injury and death from all types of residential fires, including those involving upholstered furniture."