fibsci's Profile

eirracoes,

You make excellent points about production and disposal consequences of PVC. I did not take those into consideration when I composed my original post. Thanks for a thoughtful response.

I also agree with you that it is difficult to know who to trust when the possibility and reality of corruption is so frequent in the world market. For myself, I choose products and companies that are truthful in their marketing over those that spin the truth for financial gain. Perhaps consumer discussions such as the one on this thread will convince producers of the necessity of responsible, truthful production.

a piece of a clay pot (terra cotta) works well to absorb moisture and keep the brown sugar soft.

I'm a Materials Science Engineer, and I'm currently working on my PhD in Polymer Science. I'd like to clarify a few things for anyone who's panicked about PVC.

1. When you hold a flame to PVC, it does not burn, but instead shrivels and releases hydrochloric acid gas. A little heat from hot water in your pipes or hot air in your dryer will not cause this to happen. This phenomenon is mentioned in every basic polymer textbook. The process is well-documented, and well-understood.

2. Can we please not jump to hysterics every time someone says something's dangerous? Remember that the companies that make these products are made of people... people who have children, friends and pets... people who do NOT want their loved ones harmed! Table salt is made of sodium (a violently reactive metal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VG21KqBLpw&feature=related) and chlorine (extremely toxic) - someone could note these facts about table salt and try to spin it like it's some terrible threat, but with a little reasoning and perhaps some inquiries to the experts, you'd find that the molecule NaCl is actually vital to the human body.

3. If you're about to reply that chemical companies are just interested in money, then consider that the groups that spew terrifying half-truths are interested in money, too! the website www.treehugger.com listed in the replies to "Look! Tennis Balls and Dryer Balls Work" has advertisements. Websites don't get advertisements if they're not drawing viewers in, and some random website has a lot less to lose if their information is incorrect/misleading than do the companies who actually make the products.

So who do you believe? Media and groups like treehugger.com would have you believe that everything around you is going to kill you. When in doubt, ask the people who devote their lives to the topics - the actual researchers, scientists, and engineers who study the stuff ... the experts! (Even when someone makes a mistake or knowingly allows harm to come to others, the courts still bring in the experts... because they're the experts).

Ok, green is good... reasoning is, too. And just so you know, i'm making great progress in my research on biodegradable, biocompatable polymers :)

A little mild acid (lemon/lime juice or white vinegar) will disintegrate chewing gum, so I've used it to get gum out of hair and clothing. this pretty much works instantly. be sure to rinse as soon as you're done so you don't bleach your clothes/hair.

the light fixtures on the kitchen walls are supercool. were they sold as ceiling fixtures? i love them!

I'd use a couple of uplights to reflect light off the ceiling for general lighting. track lighting is definitely the way to go to highlight your picture, and lamps are lovely for reading nooks or small task areas. recessed lighting is extremely difficult to do on your own, and you could potentially cause a lot of damage if you're not familiar with the electrical patterns in the building (think: drilling redrilling fishing with a wire redrilling some more - bleh not worth it)

related: Clothing labeled Bamboo is rayon derived from bamboo. The process for making rayon (even from bamboo) is so harmful to the environment that it cannot be done in the United States! Bamboo clothing is NOT a better, natural material. Also, Modal is rayon. There isn't much information available about this to the public right now, but I've worked in the textile industry since 2003, which is how I found out about these misleading labeling schemes.

you don't have to do a whole wall all at once... you can take a swatch from the fabric and and starch-stick that up first to see if you like the look. Light-medium weight fabrics will adhere best... heavy upholstery fabrics will come off under their own weight.

to get the decal look from some of the websites listed above, you could cut out sections of the pattern on your fabric and starch-stick those.

a box of regular cornstarch from the grocery store works just fine for this. mix some starch with some water until you get a liquidy-glue consistency. if you don't like the finished product, peel it off and try different starch/water proportions.

if you do cover a whole wall, remember there will be some fabric shrinkage, so leave a little overhang to trim off when you're done. the starch method should work on top of oil-based paint, but will probably not work on top of existing wallpaper. you can paint over wall paper but only if you prime the walls first (regular paint is not primer, and if you paint directly onto wallpaper, the walls will have bubbles, and the paper underneath will start to peel... it's awful to look at and nearly impossible to remove). once you've primed and painted over the existing wallpaper, then you can safely use starch-water to temporarily adhere fabric.

IMPORTANT: don't use a fabric that is "fluffy" like angora - fluffy fabrics act like torches and burn easily. Do treat fabrics with flame-retardant products if you plan on just stapling/hanging them to cover walls. If you're adhering your fabric with starch, you don't need to worry about flame-retardant treatments because air can't get between the wall and the adhered fabric, so it's no different than wallpaper as far as flammability is concerned.