Your Waterproof Mattress Protector Might Have Problems Too

Your Waterproof Mattress Protector Might Have Problems Too

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I didn’t even know what to look for when I first had kids.

I remember religiously using only the “baby” lotion that we had gotten at our shower on my own hands when I had a newborn because I figured I would be touching his body and didn’t want to “contaminate” him with harmful chemicals or scents.

So I had a consciousness. I had a drive to keep that tiny body safe from environmental harm. But I had no clue how to read ingredients.

I can bet that if I had that name brand lotion in my house right now, the components wouldn’t pass my standards anymore, not when I have 3 ingredient MadeOn lotion everywhere in the house.

It’s been a decade-long process of dozens, maybe hundreds, of baby steps to get from that level of carefulness to the crazy, eco-friendly, ingredient nazi I am today.

And I think I’m proud of that?

It’s a little annoying to be so well informed, honestly, because I have to be so careful about everything.

I’ve mentioned a bit during this healthy sleep series that it’s been both a long process of researching and purchasing healthy sleep surfaces (3-5 years?) but it was also one of the final frontiers for our green living changes. That’s a little backward, really, because of the high percentage of our time we spend sleeping. If you’re still near the beginning of your journey, kudos to you for tackling the sleep issue!

Containing the Messes

One item we had (and have) a LOT of in our house is waterproof pads.

We doublesheet our kids’ beds and cribs with them, use them under co-sleeping babies to protect our own sheets/mattress, put them on the floor for quick diaper changes, and I bet we have over a dozen in the house of all sizes, from bassinet to twin.

I never thought to check the material of all the ones we bought from Meijer with each passing babe.

And what would I have paid attention to if I had been older and wiser on those shopping trips?

3 Things to Avoid in Waterproof Mattress Protectors for Safe, Healthy Sleep

1. Vinyl/PVC

When I was shopping last fall for mattress protectors for twin and double sized beds, I suddenly was learning a lot on accident about dust mites, bed bugs, mold and mildew.

After I had about 50 tabs open and my head was spinning, I asked on Facebook for advice from the KS crowd. That thread contains advice for everything from lanolized wool to cheap vinyl-topped pads from Walmart to Babesafe mattress covers like I mentioned in the crib protection/healthy sleep for babies post the other day to just leaving the plastic on that the mattress came in.

Funny. That didn’t stop my head from spinning at all.

Ultimately through my own research, I realized that vinyl (PVC) is a very common component of waterproof mattress pads and particularly covers that protect the sleeper from dust mites and mildew that might already be in the mattress.

So vinyl is great for protecting you from your mattress and your mattress from you (waterproof) – but it comes with plenty of problems on its own.

Vinyl off-gases VOCs, or Volatile Organic Compounds. That’s basically a fancy name for any natural compound that leaves the solid or liquid it’s in, turns into a gas at room temperature, and enters the air. (Organic meaning “of the earth” or biological, not mineral.) Most scents from products are VOCs. Not all of them are harmful, but many are, and it’s very hard to study them because human exposure is so long-term and constant.

There’s some controversy about whether vinyl’s VOCs other than phthalates are harmful or not really, but honestly? For 8-18 hours a day depending on who the sleeper is, it’s just not worth the risk.

EDIT: Peva is another waterproof plastic found in mattress protectors – it’s a non-chlorinated form of vinyl, so the products will likely say “no PVC” on them, but it doesn’t mean “no vinyl.” Removing the chlorine seems to remove some of the VOC off-gassing risk, but it doesn’t remove all the safety questions. It seems like peva is a newer attempt at waterproofing with vinyl, so it’s likely largely untested in the long term. I’m wary of it and would rather go with something completely vinyl free, personally. Read more at these sources: 1, 2, 3.

2. Phthalates

Say that one five times fast!

Actually, I don’t rightly know how to say it even once personally.

But I know phthalates are plasticizers add to things like PVC (uh huh!) to make it more flexible. They do offgas and/or leach out into the environment. They do cause health issues like hormone disruption, cancer, and more.

I don’t want to hang out with them all night long. Another reason to run for the hills if you see “vinyl” or “PVC” on a mattress protector.

3. Polyurethane Foam/Flame Retardant Chemicals

We talked about these nasties already last week when I discussed the hazards of your mattress. You’ll see foam included in padded things like changing table pads, so it’s worth mentioning in this discussion.

In fact, while doing research for this safe sleep series, I realized that the changing table pad we’d been using for ten years had this tag:

Flame retardant tag on changing table pad - California Bulletin 117

And so of course it had this one too:

Flame retardant info tag on changing table pad - California Bulletin 117

In my opinion, care should be exercised if using this pad near a baby! Sigh. You just can’t win. I yanked the pad from our changing table in disgust and we just use one of the lightly quilted bassinet pads from American Baby that I bought on Amazon for co-sleeping and haven’t needed yet in bed:

What to Look for in Waterproof Mattress Protectors

But if not vinyl, what can make a pad waterproof? A few options:

1. Polyurethane
2. Polyethylene
3. Polypropylene
4. Wool

My big question as I research is of course safety. Here’s a quick rundown:

1. Polyurethane – a quick search makes it seem like it’s not super toxic but perhaps iffy. It’s the same compound as in the foam used in most mattresses though, and in that setting it’s pinned for nasty VOCs, so I’d put this one at the bottom of the list for sure. Oops, not really – see the next point for details…
2. Polyethylene – food grade and generally thought to be very safe. Babesafe mattress covers are made of polyethylene and proven not to off-gas VOCs. This is a good option. UPDATE 2016: Jane Sheppard of Healthy Child explained to me that polyethylene is great for mattresses themselves but won’t hold up to washing, so it’s really not a good option for washable mattress pads. She also explained that polyurethane plastic is very different from polyurethane foam in mattresses, so I wasn’t comparing apples to apples. (Oops. Sorry about that!)
3. Polypropylene – food grade as well, the same as the number 5 plastic in most food storage containers. Not supposed to off-gas. This one should be a good option as well. UPDATE 2016: As you’ll see on the big review, we had a pretty poor experience with this material holding up to washing, too, so I’m not sure this is a great option for effectiveness.
4. Wool – Wool is only “sort of” waterproof, best for minor moisture, not a total disaster like vomit or bedwetting. There is an allergy concern for some people with wool.

Ultimately with my 2016 updates, it sounds like polyurethane may actually be the best disaster-proof material for waterproof pads!

What did Katie Buy?

I had a huge document of my shopping research, and I ended up getting quite a number of mattress pads, some purchased, some as review samples, so here are all the reviews of the best natural waterproof mattress protectors I could find!

If you want more information on healthy sleeping you can read my whole Healthy Sleep Series:

Read all the How to Get Healthy Sleep series posts HERE.

Original article and pictures take www.kitchenstewardship.com site

Your UVA Protection Probably Isn’t Working (Especially in the Pool)

Your UVA Protection Probably Isn’t Working (Especially in the Pool)

Avobenzone can be found in almost all chemical suncreens and many beauty products but research has shown it can be harmful to us and doesn't protect you. See a breakdown of the latest research and what to use instead and why.

It just doesn’t stop this summer!

First, Consumer Reports says that mineral sunscreens just aren’t effective after testing 13 of them. I totally disagree with them and elucidate my points rather, ahem, pointedly, right HERE.

Now, a reader sent me this article about the dangers of the sunscreen ingredient avobenzone reacting with chlorine in swimming pools to form toxic compounds! The media has been reporting on research published by Cheng Wang in the journal Chemosphere, and I appreciated the more scholarly breakdown of the research here.

A little summary for you of the Phys.org article:

Avobenzone, the most popular UV filter in the world (meaning it’s used the most in conventional sunscreens to block UVA light, and in FACT it’s the only chemical ingredients that DOES block UVA light!), breaks down into hazardous chemical compounds in water, accelerated by the presence of sunlight.

The report states that “the breakdown of avobenzone may take place on wet human skin,” and that the research “simulated the real situation in which a sunscreen is applied to the skin of swimmers.” The authors target chlorinated water in particular and say that copper salts (usually added to swimming pools to make them blue) are even worse, resulting in bromoform being formed. “This substance could provoke dysfunction of the liver and kidneys, along with nervous system disorders.”

Opposite of the Actual Research?

The actual research definitely says an acidic environment increases degradation (speeds it up) – BUT wait, chlorinated pools are basic, not acidic: the normal ph of chlorinated swimming pools is 7.2-7.8. “The optimum pH for pool water is 7.4, since this is the same as the pH in human eyes and mucous membranes. A pH of 7.4 also gives good chlorine disinfection.” (source)

So that acidic environment is actually the opposite of a chlorinated pool. What is up with the Daily Mail and Phys.org reporting incorrectly?

Let’s explore the research further.

Does Sunlight and Chlorine Degrade Avobenzone in Sunscreens?

I’ve tried to educate people for years about how quickly conventional sunscreens can break down and what better, safe alternatives there are for sun protection. Now here are some figures to dig into:

It sounds like under UV light, avobenzone’s half life is 126 minutes. I’m assuming that at least half the avobenzone has broken down into the other 2 substances at that point, chloro-avobenzone and dichloro-avobenzone. Those are quite unstable under sunlight and especially sunlight and water combined, with half lives of as little as 14 minutes.

Some of what this all turns into include benzoic acids and phenols, which are “quite toxic,” according to Albert Lebedev, one of the study’s authors – especially when they’re chlorinated.

This image from the study shows avobenzone being exposed to NaOCl (sodium hypochlorite) and water, and breaking down into chloro-avobenzone and dichloro-avobenzone – see the extra Cl and 2 extra Cl atoms there in the bottom two figures?

Avobenzone can be found in almost all chemical suncreens and many beauty products but research has shown it can be harmful to us and doesn't protect you. See a breakdown of the latest research and what to use instead and why.

What’s also interesting is that sodium hypochlorite isn’t the most popular way of chlorinating a pool – calcium hypochlorite is.

So perhaps the reporting wasn’t quite as much to call home about (and toss your sunscreens) as it sounded at first.

But – don’t stop now. There are still PLENTY of reasons to ditch avobenzone in sunscreens and personal products forever!

For example: “Avobenzone is significantly degraded by UV light and normal day light. Therefore, it will be drastically reduced over time during the course of normal use. Control degradation studies have shown that 1 hour of sunlight exposure reduces avobenzone absorbance by 36%.” (PubChem, Oppen-Bezalel, in-cosmetics Group)

Avobenzone can be found in almost all chemical suncreens and many beauty products but research has shown it can be harmful to us and doesn't protect you. See a breakdown of the latest research and what to use instead and why.

Why Ditch Avobenzone

Avobenzone, which was FDA approved in 1988 as a UVA filter, used to only be available under a trademarked name Parsol 1789. That meant it was more expensive to use in sunscreens and not seen all that often.

In the last few years, it’s able to be used in a generic form as avobenzone, and that coupled with the fact that it’s the only non-mineral ingredient approved to filter UVA rays, means that it’s in just about every conventional sunscreen you can find.

If it’s not, you’re not getting broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection anyway, so that’s no good.

But if avobenzone is so effective at filtering UVA rays, why ditch it?

• It does break down in the sun (drastically, see above) faster in water, and faster yet in chlorinated water (Kalister, 2016).
• When exposed to chlorinated water, more toxic compounds are created. (Trebse, 2016)
• The compounds avobenzone breaks down into are quite unstable – whether this effects us directly through our skin or indirectly through pollution in the environment (your kids accidentally ingesting pool water that a bunch of sunscreen has washed off into) isn’t conclusive. (Wang, 2016)
• As avobenzone degrades, which may be in less than two hours, it is no longer effective (or at least far less effective) at protecting you from UVA rays. You’ll never know it though, because UVAs don’t cause burns. They’ll just get you decades later with wrinkled skin and cancer.
• “It can degrade into some very harmful compounds, some of which are known carcinogens,” said Daniel Aires, a dermatologist with the University of Kansas Health System. “What isn’t known is how much is absorbed into the skin, or if it’s to a level that can cause or potentially increase the risk of cancer. But this is certainly alarming.” (The Kansas City Star)
• Even if avobenzone and all the compounds it degrades into aren’t absorbed through the skin (do you want your kids to be the guinea pigs??), I’m almost certain my kids drink gallons of pool water each summer (ew) and most certainly ingest whatever is washing off everyone else in the pool (grrrrrr).
  • Next time I’m passing out all our sunscreens from our massive natural sun protection review, none of which ever include avobenzone and all are broad spectrum protection.
  • By the way, if you don’t think sunscreens and their active ingredients including avobenzone are getting into the pool water (and hence our general water supply), they are.
• Chloroform is one of the byproducts as avobenzone breaks down and super toxic and may be a probable human carcinogen (the EPA says):
  • “Chloroform evaporates very quickly when exposed to air. Chloroform also dissolves easily in water, but does not stick to the soil very well. This means that it can travel down through soil to groundwater where it can enter a water supply. Chloroform lasts for a long time in both the air and in groundwater…In humans, chloroform affects the central nervous system (brain), liver, and kidneys after a person breathes air or drinks liquids that contain large amounts of chloroform.” (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 1997)
• All the recommended preservatives for avobenzone are toxic or hormone disruptors or both.
• Avobenzone causes awful stains on clothing – even after you swim, if you change into clothes and it rubs off, you’ll get nasty rust-looking stains that only show up AFTER the clothing is exposed to water, usually in the wash. If you’ve ever experienced a load of laundry from your beach trip that was mysteriously ruined, your sunscreen may be at fault.

Avobenzone can be found in almost all chemical suncreens and many beauty products but research has shown it can be harmful to us and doesn't protect you. See a breakdown of the latest research and what to use instead and why.

Even if you’re not concerned about health or don’t buy into the research as conclusive enough for you, perhaps practicality will win out. Who wants to wreck their clothes, spend a ton of time treating stains (that are really hard to get out) or have to shower before dressing every single time you wear sunscreen?

You’ll find avobenzone in an alarming number of products, like lipsticks, creams and other makeup.

It’s on my list of “ingredients to avoid at all costs.”

How about you?

Original article and pictures take www.kitchenstewardship.com site