Your Right To Know

Linda, a frequent commenter on this blog, recently sent me an e-newsletter from OMB Watch called “Right-To-Know eUpdate”. From the web site for OMB Watch:

Our Mission: OMB Watch exists to increase government transparency and accountability; to ensure sound, equitable regulatory and budgetary processes and policies; and to protect and promote active citizen participation in our democracy.

More about OMB Watch:

Our History: OMB Watch, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, was formed in 1983 to lift the veil of secrecy shrouding the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

This eUpdate covered environmental issues as well as other regulatory & budget issues. Of particular interest was a reference to this article: “Clearing the Air - Hidden Hazards of Air Fresheners“. But there were several other articles of interest. You may also want to check out this site: The Right-To-Know Network.

Use this link to sign up to receive the RTK eUpdate.

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Traveling

This came up in a conversation w/ a friend of mine. My hubby and I went away for Thanksgiving this year. Long story, but we packed up, including the cat, and spent a few days in Port Aransas. Sort of mini-vacation, or more likely an escape from all responsibility!

My friend remarked in an email: “I was surprised, and glad, that you can go away and stay in a different site outside of your own home. I didn’t’ know if that was possible? I was hoping that one day you two could come up here and I could do whatever possible to make it a good environment for you.”

And here was my response:

My number one concern is places that use “air fresheners”. The worst are the plug-ins b/c they continuously pump chemicals into the air. Next are candles b/c they put chemicals in the air whenever they burn. And last is “air freshener” sprays. Cleaners can be a problem too.

We’re hoping that the weather will cooperate and we’ll be able to open the windows and air out our place. We were able to do that in CA and it did help.

Next big problem is the bed linens. If they’ve been dry cleaned, or washed in smelly detergent or fabric softener, they’ll have to go. In CA, we asked them to remove the comforter from our room. We wound up borrowing a blanket and pillows. But there was still a lot of fragrant linens. This trip, since we’re going by car, we are actually packing all of our own linens - sheets, mattress pad, pillows, blankets. At that rate we’ll be covered.

If you want to make your home more friendly to the fragrance-impaired, the best thing you could do is to get rid of smelly detergents & fabric softeners. All makes a Free and Clear detergent which is what I use. If you have to have dryer sheets, buy the unscented kind. I don’t even use those anymore. But you should know that the odors will remain in fabrics for many, many washings.

As it turned out, we needed to remove only the comforter from the bed. We took a comforter and blanket of our own. Needed them both too since the weather decided to be cold. We also used our own pillows, just because we like them.

It always makes me feel good to know I have friends and family that are concerned and interested enough to want to work with me on this. If only all the people in my life could understand.

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Cold Weather And Holidays

If you’re someone who still likes to wear fragrance, something you could do to help those with fragrance issues is to consider wearing less fragrance during cold weather. Our houses and buildings are more closed up with cold weather so fragrances will be more concentrated. Try to go a little lighter.

Also true for holidays. Perhaps you like to wear fragrance for holidays and special occasions? Consider not doing it though. It will be a help to a lot of other people.

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Quick Fix To Get Rid of Fragrance

This seems simple, and perhaps most of you have heard this. But it bears telling. We’ve found that a quick way to rid something of fragrance - such as clothing or pillows - is to give it fresh air and sunshine. The sunshine probably does the most good to get rid of the odors. Of course, this assumes there’s not any air pollution. Generally, a few hours in the sun will take care of many fragrance odors.

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Modern Chemicals

Recently, I was chatting with MamaGrizzly regarding chemicals in our modern world. She’s been reading my blog for some time and is becoming more aware of the fragrances and chemicals that are everywhere in our world. I always like to hear this since the primary goal of this blog is to make more people aware of the problem.

She said:

The hardest part of all of this is that absolutely everything contains chemicals - everything. The only way to escape them all is to live in the wilderness and live off the land.

That is so true. And, sadly, there are people with MCS who are seeking that place in the wilderness. Out of necessity. See the article No Safe Haven for stories of some MCS sufferers. It’s sad that there are so many chemicals in our world that create these problems.

She also said:

But there is certainly a balance and certainly more we can do to protect ourselves.

That is also true. And I’m somewhat encouraged to see more and more products that are fragrance free. Myself, I’m increasingly aware of what’s in all the products and foods I buy. Knowing what I know today, I wish I could have started this years ago.

One more quote:

But, I’ve really become aware (through you) how much everything seems to be scented - and most things unnecessarily. But isn’t it interesting that products with no fragrances or fewer toxic chemicals cost more?

It is puzzling that we have to pay more. For me, I have no choice. Since I’ve made my home totally fragrance free, I may pay more for the various products I use, but my medical expenses are down. I guess, there’s always a price to pay.

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Tennis Balls And Laundry

I’ve been using crumpled aluminum balls in the dryer for a couple of years now. They work to eliminate static, but they do have drawbacks. You wind up finding aluminum balls in your pockets, pillow cases, etc. Plus small pieces of aluminum break off and get everywhere. And they are noisy.

I read recently that tennis balls could do the same thing. I found two that were abandoned by the cat. So I threw them in the dryer recently and the worked wonderfully! Even better than aluminum. And they haven’t turned up in a pocket yet! And yes, 2 tennis balls in the dryer are noisy, but not near as noisy as the aluminum balls!