One Green Voice

A Spectacular High Efficiency Washer Cleaner

Had to laugh the other day.  Saw a new (to me anyway) commercial for a Tide product supposedly specially engineered to clean high efficiency washing machines. Cool diagrams abounded as did the usual rhetoric about how anyone possessed of a HE washer simply cannot live without this product.  Hardly the case. We've been cleaning ours with vinegar since advised to do so years ago by a Sears repairman.  Costs a whopping several cents each month and doesn't pollute anything.   

Rediscover the Convenience of Non-Stick Cookware

I just made chilli in my new non-stick pan and I have to tell you about it.  The pan, not the chilli, although the coconut oil makes it really yummy, but I digress.  A year ago, my blog entry about non-stick cookware would have been really short.  "Stay away from it! There are toxic chemicals in the coating which will leach into your food and your air. And in case you need more convincing, the manufacturing process uses additional toxic chemicals that also end up in our atmosphere and our bodies. Stainless steel is the new/old holy grail".  End of story.

Thermolon by GreenPan has changed all of that.   These pans do everything good non-stick does (and more) without adding PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) to your food and our air.  This is a good thing because I have never seen a recipe that calls for PTFE.  As an added bonus, the pans are manufactured without using PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid), another additive we can do nicely without.  My only other suggestion is to watch for the 4 mm pans as they apparently last longer than the 3 mm pans albeit, no surprise here, for a bigger price tag. 

In summary, this cookware looks like a duck and quacks like a duck but it isn't a duck.  It's sort of a happy bionic duck - they can even go into the oven at high temps!  So go ahead and enjoy non-stick cooking again.  I sure am!

 

 

Out Out Damn Spot

O.K. so it's not quite Shakespeare.  But stain removers are important too.  I found a really effective one recently, perched by the cash register in Home Hardware of all places. Buncha Farmers' Stain Remover is all natural and 100% biodegradable. Each rectangular slab is approximately 1" x 3" of stain removing power extraordinaire that comes wrapped in a simple piece of paper.  Just wet the bar or the stained fabric, rub the bar over said stain and wash.  Stain gone.  Lady Macbeth would have been impressed. 

This Is One Stain You Don't Want To Remove

One of the reasons I've been writing so infrequently of late is our ongoing bathroom reno.  We started in early June and it is still incomplete.  It's no secret that renos and delays go hand in hand. But some of our delays were due to the fact that yours truly has been determined to do everything in the most environmentally friendly way possible.  T'aint easy.

By far the biggest roadblock was the stain for the vanity.  We chose a beautiful colour - I was assured the brand was very 'clean' - and built the room around it. Floor tile, countertop, paint, everything looked great with the stain.  Then I decided to check out the stain for myself.  Oops.  Yes, it was green, but not as green as it could be.  

So we were back to square one. Except for the fact that the tile, countertop and paint were already bought and paid for.  We now had to find an eco-friendly stain that also worked with everything else we had chosen.  That was a daunting task.  

But, to make a long story short, the ending was happy.  We went with a Microfine Eco-Tones Interior Stain by the Sansin Corporation.  It's gorgeous and worked beautifully with the AFM Safecoat lacquer.  

I am hoping to refinish my ancient, solid wood, Ikea desk next spring and will use this stain again in a heartbeat.

Green Living Show, Toronto 2010

Hmmm.  Don't know whether writing about the annual Green Show for a second time makes me repetitive  or accomplished.  Too busy to think about it.

Went Saturday with Lesley.  Hit the ground running at 10 a.m. We had a blast.  Lesley, PhD Engineer woman, was fascinated by the technical aspects of all the home-related gadgets and systems.  Me, I'm just thrilled that these wonderful, creative options exist. 

Have you ever heard of 'grey water'?  I hadn't.  Its a system which recycles the water used in the home for dishes and showers etc. and sends it to the home's toilets.  The result?  Each flush uses zero potable water! Add a low flush toilet and you are really conserving water. The catch with this system is that it would be tough to retrofit.  If I were building, this baby would definitely be on my wish list.

We also discovered fibreglass windows, got a closeup look at the above ground unit that directs the heat/cool flow for a geothermal 'furnace' and heard about the nano-particle paint that keeps heat in and cold out.  But enough about those engineering feats - I'll leave those for Lesley to moon over.

The personal care products, baby gear and home decor options were also out in force.  I finally got to see the gorgeous texture and colours of American Clay, the product with which my husband and I hope to one day cover the cement board in our basement.  The clay is gorgeous and creates a warm feeling in a room.  Never mind the fact that it is apparently healthy for human kind - something to do with negative ions..

I came home with stainless baby bottles for gifts, gogi berries and raw cacao nibs plus this cool contraption - made in TO of recycled plastic - to prop up my husband's laptop so that it stays cool, uses less electricity and keeps him in proper alignment. 

Oh yes, also found a cork yoga block and a new respect for Sears. That's right, Sears.  They had an impressive display of the items now available in every Sears store. These include PVC-free shower curtains, organic baby clothes/blankets, bedding for folks of all ages and even low emission furniture!  Beyond that they are making great efforts to cut down on their packaging.  Definitely worth a look.

If we hadn't been so zonked by 4:30 p.m. we would have stuck around to watch Colin Firth receive an award for environmental activism.  Ordinarily I would stick around to watch Colin Firth period.  We were done.

Jack Lalanne Juicer Is A Dud

Well, not completely.  It makes great juice and I believe their claim that it makes 30% more juice than other juicers.  Unfortunately, I found the safety shutoff to be too much of a good thing.  The motor kept shutting down and I had to unplug it, take it apart and put it back together several times almost every time I made juice.  Its construction is also odd - the grinding plate has be screwed in to use it and screwed out for washing. 

There is no getting around it - juicers are high maintenance.  But I found the Jack Lalanne to be even more so than necessary.  Back it went to Costco.

The Hamilton Beach model is rated highly.  My Mom had one and loved it.  It is also very inexpensive.  I'm trying that one next.

Cleaning Up Their Act?

Feels like every time I turn on the TV, there is another new 'green' cleaner being advertised by one of the chemical companies that have been making conventional cleaners for years.  The ads tout these cleaners as environmentally friendly and spout buzz phrases like 'no amonia' and '100% biodegradable'.

I haven't investigated any of these products so I don't know if they are indeed 'clean' or if they work for that matter.  But I remain sceptical of the corporate motivation behind them.  If the decision makers at these companies are really concerned with the environmental impact of their chemical cleaners then why are they still making them?  If their environmental concerns were sincere, wouldn't they simply start manufacturing only the ecofriendly products?

Looks to me like smart marketing and an expensive effort to grab some of the market share enjoyed by companies whose leadership is genuinely environmentally aware.

The potential upside to this two faced approach is that consumers who cling to their tried and true may start to give credence to the environmentally friendly option precisely because their trusted, big name manufacturers are jumping into the game. 

Hey, if it works, that's great.

 

Kermit Was Right

We are currently attempting to insulate our basement walls.  Again.  Don’t ask.  The insulation is the easy part.  We’re going with a soya spray foam. The noteworthy part is a discovery made during my attempt to find something to cover the walls after they are sprayed.

Googled “eco friendly drywall” and up popped a link to an award winning, low emissions, mold and termite resistant, made from recycled materials product called EcoRock.

Manufactured by California-based Serious Materials, EcoRock uses 80% less energy to produce than conventional gypsum drywall, is made of 80% recycled materials and is designed to be 100% reusable.  Eighty to one hundred percent is all A’s where I come from.      

I wonder if there is a name for the buzz I get upon making a discovery like this -- a  product that does its job, besting its state-of-the-art competition, but in an environmentally friendly fashion.  If there isn’t a name for this buzz, there ought to be.   

Thinking that EcoRock would be perfect in our house, I called Serious Materials’ head office in Sunnyvale California to ask for the name of the Canadian distributor.  “We would love to distribute in Canada” said the cheerful voice, “But we can’t fill the orders we are getting here in the US”.  

The disappointing news is that we can’t use EcoRock – this time.  The good news is that Serious Materials is making it and that people are doing the renovation equivalent of eating it up.  

It isn’t always easy being green. But its still worth it.

Competition for the Vita-Mix?

Was flipping channels over the weekend and ... O.K. I was watching the Shopping Channel.  Hey, I was exercising and there was no 'design emergency' on HGTV to distract me.  Anyway, there appeared on my screen what appeared to be a doppleganger for the Vita-Mix. 

According to the guest, this blender replaces not one, not two, but nine appliances. In addition to the usual demonstrations of smoothie and soup making, viewers were treated to an ice pulverizing demonstration that was indeed impressive. The blender is called the Blendtec Total Blender.

Priced at $100 less than the Vita-Mix, the Blendtec model looks to be similar in design and function although the warranty is significantly shorter at three years to the Vita-Mix's seven. 

I'm curious about this blender.  How well does it work?  Does one container really work for both wet and dry foods?  The Vita-Mix offers two distinct containers with different blades for wet and dry ingredients - superior engineering or just good marketing?

If anyone out there has experience with the Blendtec I would appreciate hearing what you think of it.

Toaster Ovens and Stand Mixers

Public Speaker & Author, Lisa Lundy, posted an interesting request on Facebook this weekend.  She asked friends to recommend a toaster oven.  Adding my two cents in response, I knew I had a blog post in the making.  

Toaster ovens are another popular place for the presence of those nasty non-stick PFC-filled coatings like Teflon that we’ve discussed in the past. As I understand it, because PFC’s become more damaging as they are heated, an interior coated in Teflon or related product is not a desirable feature in a toaster oven.    

When we were looking for a new toaster oven, the Delonghi was the only one we came across – and I did a LOT of research – without a non-stick interior.  We have been very happy with our Delonghi which is a toaster, oven, convection oven and dehydrator all in one.  The ceramic interior is simple to clean.   

If anyone knows of another brand or brands of toaster oven that do not have non-stick interiors, please send me a comment with the name(s).  I will be delighted to share.   

And while we’re on the subject of coatings and kitchen appliances, I have a beef  with Kitchen Aid.  I could really use one of their professional model stand mixers.  They are admirable creatures.  Strong and sturdy, that machine would allow me to make multiple batches of buns, pizza crust, muffins etc at once, thereby saving time, electricity and elbow grease.   

But I refuse to buy one because the dough hook and the flat beater, the attachments I use, are both non-stick coated.  I called the company to inquire as I didn’t want to misrepresent them.  Although the customer service rep did not know the contents of the coating, other than that it is baked on, she said they do not use straight stainless steel because of the expense.  

Ironic. Those stand mixers are already at the top end of the price range for this particular appliance.  Another $20 isn’t going to make much of a difference.  I told her I will buy one as soon as they make the attachments out of stainless steel and asked her to please pass that message along.  She graciously agreed to do so.  

In the mean time I am using a Sunbeam Heritage Mixmaster. It is more than adequate although not quite as sexy and efficient. It was much less expensive than the Kitchen Aid but it does have stainless steel bowls and mixing attachments. It does, as my musician husband would say, “do the thing”.  I may be sacrificing time and effort but at least I know, with as much certainty as I have right now, that I’m not adding anything unwanted to our food.