Eco-Experts: Hazards of Vinyl Siding, Finding Lamp Oil Alternatives, Smoothtop Range Cleaners and Natural Fibers
(Page 2 of 3)
May/June 2001
By Debra Lynn Dadd
The primary advantages of aluminum siding are longevity and relatively low maintenance. Sidings with factory- applied enamel finishes are nontoxic. Aluminum siding contains some portion of recycled aluminum and can be recycled again after use as siding.
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Steel siding is popular where major hailstorms are prevalent. It is also made with some recycled content, and, like aluminum and vinyl, it is available in different colors and is extremely durable.
Personally, I would stay away from vinyl siding because of its toxicity. I don’t recommend aluminum and steel as choices for the same reason I don’t recommend steel framing—wrapping your home with metal sets up a Faraday cage through which electromagnetic fields (EMFs) cannot pass. While this may protect you from manmade EMFs, it also blocks nature’s EMFs, to which our bodies attune. In addition, metal framing and siding may trap EMFs generated inside the home, preventing them from being dispelled.
Olive oil lamps
In light of your statements about fumes from paraffin (November/December 1999), do you know of any lamp oil alternative (for hurricane lamps and the like) that is clean-burning enough to use indoors?
Mark Grennan, via e-mail
Standard paraffin lamp oil, a petroleum product, is carcinogenic when combusted and toxic when ingested (in February 2001, the Center for Disease Control issued an official warning that lamp oil poses a serious poisoning risk for children), so you are smart to search for alternatives. Olive oil is a good option, because it starts burning easier and burns cleaner than other vegetable oils, though any vegetable oil or pharmaceutical grade mineral oil will work. In fact, olive oil was the fuel for the first oil lamps used in the ancient Middle East. Reproductions of these simple lamps are available today from various natural products suppliers such as www.ecochoices.com. This company claims that its olive oil lamps won’t smoke or smell, and one wick lasts twenty-four to forty-eight hours.
For another safe alternative, look for candlemaking supply companies that sell floating wicks meant for turning various containers—such as your favorite glasses, bowls, or bottles— into vegetable oil lamps. One source is www.wickstore.com.
Cleaning smoothtop ranges
I just purchased a smoothtop range and am searching for a natural alternative cleanser. I emailed the manufacturer of a product called Cerama Brite, which is specifically formulated for smoothtops, and received this list of ingredients: water, citric acid, feldspar, surfactants, lemon fragrance, glycol ether, and thickening ingredients. What do you think? My stove manual states that smoothtop cleansers contain silicone. How toxic is that, and is it listed under some other name in this ingredient list?