How to Remove Soot and Smoke - Blog

Smoke is emitted when a substance undergoes combustion. It is a visible, airborne substance that is mainly made up of carbon particles. Just like soot, the components of smoke will be determined by what has actually burned. Smoke can not only contain carbon, tar, oils and ash, it can also contain thousands of chemicals. Smoke is an irritant and can be highly toxic.

Is this bug poisonous or toxic?

non toxic, though they do emit a juice that makes them taste bad to other animals

Is beef jerky toxic to cats?

Chewing off the pieces could choke her, and the jerky is made with WAY too much salt and nitrates to be good for her (diarhea time), but she should be over it soon. Just make sure she does not get into that again

How toxic is fabric softener?

I have directly copied and pasted the information below from a website :Eco watch.com- well worth pursuing to find out how we're poisoning our world and ourselves through unnecessary chemicals. Here is what they have to say :'Healthy Child Healthy World recommends skipping fabric softeners entirely. Here are the worst chemicals to watch for in your laundry basket-and what to use instead.'Quats"Quaternary ammonium compounds make clothes feel soft and wearable right out of the wash, but they're known to trigger asthma and may be toxic to our reproductive systems.Check labels and product websites for these ingredients: distearyldimonium chloride, diethyl ester dimethyl ammonium chloride, variants of hydroxyethyl methyl ammonium methyl sulfate or the vague terms 'biodegradable fabric softening agents" and 'cationic surfactant. " Avoid them all. FragranceThere are more than 3,000 fragrance ingredients in common household products-and scarcely any way to know what they are.Your fabric softener may contain phthalates, which disperse the scent; synthetic musks such as galaxolide, which accumulate in the body; and much more. Fragrance mixes can cause allergies, skin irritations such as dermatitis, difficulty breathing and potential reproductive harm. Research indicates that scents also cause irritation when vented outdoors, especially for asthmatics and those sensitive to chemicals. Not worth it.Preservatives and ColorsLike fragrance, the terms 'preservatives" and 'colors" or 'colorants" on an ingredient label may refer to any number of chemicals. The most worrisome preservatives in fabric softeners include methylisothiazolinone, a potent skin allergen and glutaral, known to trigger asthma and skin allergies. Glutaral (or glutaraldehyde) is also toxic to marine life. Among artificial colors, D&C violet 2 has been linked to cancer. Others may contain impurities that can cause cancerSo skip fabric softeners and conditioners in any form-pellets, crystals, bars or single-dose packs. You won't notice the difference. Or you can try these ideas instead:Try adding half a cup of distilled white vinegar to your washing machine during the rinse cycle. Don't worry: the smell doesn't linger on clothes.If you're not line-drying, run the drying machine with just your clothes inside. (To reduce static, do not over-dry. ) Not only do dryer sheets contain a variety of chemicals, but neither plant-based nor polyester types are reusable, creating extra waste. Look for unscented versions and always be leery of essential oils, which can cause allergic reactions after just few contacts"Hope this helps you to decide NOT to use fabric conditioner.How toxic is fabric softener?

Glaze Toxicity and Dinnerware Safety

Many people are confused about the safety of glazes, and rightfully so. It is a complex issue with many variables. So we will attempt to clarify this without causing more confusion. The two materials that are proven toxic are lead and cadmium. Lead is used to make glazes flow better at low temperatures. Cadmium is used primarily to create bright orange and red colors. There are other materials which may be toxic, but there is not enough evidence that they are unsafe at this time, so they are not regulated. Many of these materials are safe in low doses (for example, nickel, barium, selenium and cobalt), but toxic in high doses. So reducing leaching as much as possible is always a good idea. Commercial glaze manufacturers label their glazes using ASTM D-4236. All their glazes are either AP Non-toxic, which means non-toxic in liquid or dry form, or CL Cautions Required, which means it has proper labeling of ingredients for health and safety. In this sense, non-toxic only refers to lead and cadmium. All glazes sold in K-12 schools must be AP Non-toxic. This is to reduce the risk of harm if a child drinks the glaze. You do not want a lead-based glaze in the classroom for example. You will see the AP Non-toxic label on the glaze bottle; a circle with an AP inside. Remember, all glazes in DRY form are unsafe for breathing, and you should use a good mask whenever dealing with dry glazes. There are chemicals such as manganese which are known to be a health hazard when breathed in dry form, but are not believed to be a problem after being fired. And even clay particles with no toxicity get trapped inside lungs and thus are bad for potters to breathe. This is what most potters are interested in. Can you use a certain glaze on a piece which will contain food and beverages? Toxicity is one aspect of this. (If you have fired leaded glazes before, your kiln brick may have absorbed lead and could be depositing it on current firings. And of course you should never fire dinnerware in a kiln with other leaded glazes.) There are some glazes that have lead or cadmium and still say they are dinnerware safe. (A small amount of leaching is allowed by law.) There are also some glazes where the cadmium is encapsulated in other glaze ingredients which traps it when fired. For this reason, it is best to have a sample tested anytime you use glazes which contain lead or cadmium. Later on I will tell you how to do that. Any time you begin to layer glazes, you are pretty much on your own. Any testing that the manufacturer did will not be applicable. If you do not use any glazes with lead or cadmium as ingredients, you are pretty safe (with the caveats above. Many potters believe that you should never use these ingredients in dinnerware period. Who knows what may happen to the glaze after years of use, after going through the dishwasher 30 times, after the glazes cure, after they are microwaved and frozen and bombarded with acidic food. It is always possible that a piece will leach lead or cadmium at some point in the future. So to be safe, just avoid them. Then of course there are the ingredients which are not regulated, but may be toxic especially in high amounts. Unfortunately there is no simple answer to this problem. If you are producing dinnerware then it is advised that you have sample pieces tested for the various ingredients which might be leaching. (See instructions below for how to do this.) There are other issues that determine whether a piece appropriate for dinnerware use. • Resistance to abrasion (does it scratch easily with silverware?). It is usually a problem more with matte glazes than shiny. • Ability to handle acidic foods. See if the color changes. If it does, there is some leaching going on. A customer could run into this same color change, and there may be chemicals leaking out. Finally, there is lab testing, described later. • Ability to withstand alkaline dishwashing detergents. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Place samples in the pan, cover, and simmer for 6 hours. Compare the color and surface gloss to a similar but untested sample. • Ability to withstand thermal shock. This does not mean that you can place a ceramic pan over a flame, or directly into a hot oven. It is very difficult to make pieces that can go directly over flames, and not something an individual should attempt. Ceramic casseroles, etc. should be put into the oven at room temperature, and brought up to temperature slowly. However, your customers might not know this, and even if you tell them, they probably wo not remember. Then submerge the piece in a pot of boiling water. (Alternately, put the pot in the sink and pour the boiling water into it). Repeat this 3 times, looking for minute crazing on the glaze. It is also a good idea to do example what a customer would do. Take a completed piece out of the refrigerator, and put it into an already heated oven. Make sure the piece does not crack. • Ability to go from the dishwasher to the microwave. Metal overglazes should never go in the microwave, so it is a good idea to keep them off mugs and other dinnerware items Other than that, the problem with microwaves is if there is any water trapped inside the clay, it will expand in the microwave and cause the piece to crack. Low fire clays are porous by nature, and always problematic in the microwave. High fire clays should be fired to vitrification to keep water out. See our tip for more information about vitrification. Bring the water to a boil, then simmer for a few hours. This will allow the piece to absorb water. Then put the piece in the microwave. (The piece should be empty, and you should also put a separate mug of water in the microwave to protect the microwave.) Heat the microwave on high in 10 second increments. After each 10 seconds, carefully touch the piece to see if it is hot. If it has absorbed water, it will heat up. This tells you the piece is not dishwasher safe. To have your pieces tested for leaching of lead or other substances, make a small cup, fire and glaze it your normal way. Two labs are Alfred Analytical Laboratory in NY (607-478-8074), and Brandywine Science Center in PA (610-444-9850). This might all seem very complicated. In my opinion, if you make pots as a hobby, not in large quantities, and not pieces that will be used every day for many years, then for dinnerware I would just stay away from glazes with lead, cadmium, and barium as ingredients. If you want to use glazes with those ingredients, have a sample tested. And for anyone, I would try the home tests described above. What you learn may surprise you, and is a good next step in your growth as a potter. One should always assume that people will use your pots for things other than you intended. They may drink or eat out of things that are obviously not dinnerware (such as vases. In fact, many books publish glaze recipes which do not meet some or all of these tests. One exception is the recent book by John Hesselberth and Ron Roy called "Mastering Cone 6 Glazes." John and Ron have spent much time studying durability of glazes. They go into these issues in much more detail than I have here, including the chemistry behind it, and how to make your own glazes which are safe and durable. It is a particularly good book if you are firing in the Cone 5-6 range, but also an excellent book for understanding glazes in general. They also discuss glaze mixing, application, formulation, and troubleshooting, in addition to durability and testing. John and Ron note that they have tested many glazes published in popular books, and even some commercial glazes, and found that they often fail one or more of the tests above.