May 14, 2024
135. Breathing Clean: Transforming Your Home into a Healthier Haven with Tee Forton-Barnes
Unlock the secrets of a healthier home with the help of Therese Forton-Barnes, an advocate for green living who's dedicated to helping families breathe easier. Together, we uncover the sobering fact that the air within our walls might be teeming with more pollutants than the world outside. This episode isn't just about identifying problems; it's a treasure trove of actionable advice on how to eliminate toxins from your living space and revolutionize your home environment. Learn how to join the battle for change and take definitive steps toward a toxin-free existence by equipping yourself with the knowledge to demand and create safer products and practices.
Here’s how you can follow or reach Tee:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/833051790530511/about/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreenLivingGurus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenlivinggurus/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW7_phs1GZUPzG21Zgjnqtw
X: https://twitter.com/teeforton
Important information from Homeowners Be Aware:
Here are ways you can follow me on-line:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homeownersbeaware/
Website: https://homeownersbeaware.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-siegal/
If you'd like to reach me for any reason, here's the link to my contact form:
https://homeownersbeaware.com/contact
Here's the link to the trailer for the documentary film I'm making: Built to Last: Buyer Beware.
🎧 If you enjoyed this episode, don't keep it to yourself! Share it with your friends and help spread the knowledge. Remember to hit the like button, subscribe for more insightful content, and leave a review to let us know your thoughts. Your support means the world to us! 🌟
Thanks for listening!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
George Siegal (00:00):
Did you know?
There very likely are unseendangers lurking in your home.
In fact, the air inside yourhome may be more harmful than
the pollution outside.
My guest today is Tee Forton-Barnes, a passionate healthy
home advocate and the visionarybehind the Green Living Gurus
LLC and Tee's Organics.
T has dedicated her career toenlightening others about the
(00:22):
benefits of a low-tox lifestyle,with a special focus on cancer
prevention.
In today's podcast, we willexplore the common yet
overlooked sources of indoorpollution, from the chemicals in
our cleaning supplies to thecarcinogens that could be
lurking in personal careproducts.
With Tee's expertise, we'llalso provide actionable insights
on how you can reduce yourexposure to these toxins and
(00:45):
safeguard your health.
I'm George Siegal, and this isHomeowners Be Aware the podcast
that teaches you everything youneed to know about being a
homeowner.
Tee thank you so much forjoining me today.
Tee Forton-Barnes (00:59):
You are welcome.
Happy to be here.
George Siegal (01:01):
Yeah, it's great to have you.
I mean, we've been going backand forth with different
scheduling things and I think Igot lost in cyberspace with you
and then I had to reschedule youwith me.
But thank you for sticking withit and making this work out.
Tee Forton-Barnes (01:12):
Oh, you're welcome.
Happy to be here.
George Siegal (01:13):
Now, the subject we're going to talk about is so
important and I bet a lot ofpeople don't turn that around
and go.
What is the air like inside ourhomes?
And that's really important.
What should we be thinkingabout there?
Tee Forton-Barnes (01:35):
So very important and people don't
realize it because you think theair in your home is cleaner
than the outdoor air andactually the EPA has put
standards out there and saidthat the air in your home is
cleaner than the outdoor air.
And actually the EPA has putstandards out there and said
that the air in our home isanywhere from two and it can go
up to 100 times more pollutedthan the outdoor air.
So our indoor air quality isnot that great unless you're
(01:58):
doing some things that I'llteach you here a little bit
today that can help with yourindoor air quality.
I personally have indoor airquality monitors.
I take them to clients' homes,I see what's in them and once
people understand what they'rebreathing in their home and how
they're ingesting these fumes,you start realizing you've got
(02:22):
to pay attention to the air inyour home.
You're living in your home,sleeping, breathing in it, and
it's something that you reallygot to pay attention to.
The air in your home.
You're living in your home,sleeping, breathing in it, and
it's something that you reallywant to pay attention to.
So that's where we'll start,and there's so many different
ways that your indoor airquality can be hurting, let's
(02:43):
just say your health andaffecting your health, and so
many homes these days are madethat they are.
You know, everything's aboutmaking sure no air gets in right
the windows, the doors,whatever and that's not great in
a home where you want air tocirculate.
(03:04):
I actually spoke to a man herein Buffalo where I live, and he
said he does some of these homeinspections and he can just tell
that they're and it was crazyhow he said this but some of
them are like coffins, he said.
I don't even know how they'reliving in them because they must
be tired all the time becausethere's no air circulating in
(03:27):
these homes.
George Siegal (03:28):
Now we're talking about different than walking in
and smelling that they hadbacon for breakfast.
We're talking about things thataren't necessarily the obvious
smell.
What's the source of all theseissues we're talking about?
Tee Forton-Barnes (03:39):
So a lot of your cleaning supplies.
That's probably number one onmy list where I get people to
start looking at.
What are those ingredients thatyou're spraying in your home,
using on the surfaces?
Cleaning with the wordfragrance on cleaning supplies
is a big, huge no-no.
The chemicals that you arespraying in your home so many
(04:01):
people want these fragrances intheir home.
Worst brain in your home somany people want these
fragrances in their home.
Those are some of the worstculprits of bringing in toxic
air into your home and polluting.
It is really how I look at it.
You're not cleaning your house.
With you're not cleaning yourhouse, you're more or less
putting dangerous chemicals inyour home.
George Siegal (04:20):
So it's naive to assume that that $5 filter or $9
filter or even the moreexpensive filter that we think
we're buying I've actually heardthose are the worst thing,
because then no air iscirculating through if it blocks
everything.
So it's more than just slappinga filter on your system, isn't
it?
Tee Forton-Barnes (04:44):
forced air filter.
Is it right for your furnace,everything.
Those are important because youare filtering out you know
something, but it's really whatyou're putting in your home and
so that your cleaning suppliesare one.
One other huge area that I getpeople to change immediately is
your laundry detergent.
People, you're sleeping in it,you're living in it pretty much.
If you're breathing in any kindof from your clothes you're
(05:06):
wearing all day and you'repolluting it with your dryer and
the outdoor air for that mattertoo.
But the laundry detergents canbe very harmful, toxic to the
air that you're breathing inyour home the fragrances, the
outgassing.
So some laundry detergent isfragrance free.
That's a good step in the rightdirection, but fragrance is
(05:29):
probably the number one thing Itry to get everybody with.
If you want a cleaner, greener,healthier air in your home,
stop using anything with theword fragrance on it.
Fragrance is a law from the1940s when Chanel number five
went to the government and saidthey didn't want to tell anybody
their trade secret what theingredients were in their
(05:51):
perfume.
1940s.
This law still exists.
Perfume fragrance industry ismassive, tied in with all the
chemical age companies as well,and it's made with a whole list
of potentially harmful chemicalsthat you think your laundry
(06:11):
detergent is lavender scented.
It's not lavender scented.
It's chemicals to make it sortof smell like lavender or ocean
breeze or lemon scented or limescented.
Whatever they tell you, thoseare all chemicals, and they have
been starting to find benzenein some of these fragrances,
which is a known carcinogen.
(06:32):
So that's just one area thatyou can make the greatest impact
on eliminating anything withthe word fragrance or perfume or
parfum in it.
Perfume is another primeexample too.
If anybody's wearing perfume,you are putting chemicals on
your skin and that you'rebreathing in all day.
So in the air in your houseit's circulating, and candles is
(06:56):
another one Burning a candle.
George Siegal (06:59):
So the scented candles aren't a good thing.
Tee Forton-Barnes (07:00):
Horrible, absolutely horrible.
In addition to a wick thatpotentially is lead.
And now you're heating thechemicals, which is even worse,
your sink.
You're sitting over your sinkwith, I think, dove I don't know
what people use that is greenand blue and it's scented, and
you're cleaning your dishes withthese soaps that are fragranced
(07:23):
with chemicals.
You're breathing them in, withhot water going into your lungs.
So these are just some of theareas that you can start making
little changes that would reallyreally clean the air up in your
house.
George Siegal (07:37):
What about those scented sticks that you buy in
those holistic places wherethere's sage and different
things, and they're?
Tee Forton-Barnes (07:44):
burning them yeah yeah, the the ones you put
up and they kind of like I can'tthink what they're called.
George Siegal (07:50):
But they slowly, they're like sparklers, but
they're not.
Tee Forton-Barnes (07:52):
Yes, exactly exactly yeah, yeah, um, they are
not.
Some of them are, um, scentedwith chemicals.
Uh, it all depends you.
I know you have to be socareful.
So many of these I hate to sayit come over from China too.
We have no idea what's in them,no idea what they're made of,
(08:13):
and they're allowed to sell themon the market, specifically our
laundry soap and our detergentsand our cleaning supplies.
They do not have to list allthe ingredients like they do on
other products that we buy.
So these are just areas thatyou really want to pay attention
to, to reduce those chemicalsthat are floating around in your
(08:34):
house, that you can't reallysmell, but they're there, the
VOCs.
What they emit into your air isnot good for your lungs and
it's not good for your overallhealth.
George Siegal (08:50):
Yeah, there's a really good documentary that I
saw about perfumes in things,and I forget the name, but it
was this dad who was orderingpajamas for his daughter, and
then he started investigating.
Do you know the name?
Tee Forton-Barnes (08:57):
I know exactly the one you're talking
about and I love it.
I've watched it a few times.
I can't think of the name of it, and yes, and he really.
I've watched it a few times.
I can't think of the name of it, and yes, and he really.
It's not the Stuff Project, isit?
George Siegal (09:07):
No, no, but it was arsenic in it there was
things in it that human beingsshould not be breathing?
Yes, and yet we put them inchildren's clothing.
And you know, I can onlyimagine my daughter, 13, is into
nails and hair and all thatstuff, and her room smells like
a freaking nail salon.
There's no way that can be goodfor her.
Tee Forton-Barnes (09:28):
No, no way.
It's good for her Air purifier.
If I were you, I'd get an airpurifier a good one and I put it
in her room.
George Siegal (09:34):
We have those and you know the challenge with
those and tell me how you dealwith this.
That probably reveals a wholeother problem.
You got to clean thoseregularly because so much dust
gets drawn into them.
Tee Forton-Barnes (09:44):
Well, here's the deal.
It depends on what air purifieryou're using.
It's not about the bells andwhistles on the air purifier,
it's about the actual filter.
I only promote the Austin airpurifier, which happens, weirdly
enough, we made here in Buffalobut their filter, which you
only have to change once everyfive years.
It's really about the filterand it gets out 99.9% of pretty
(10:11):
much all the fumes that you wantto eliminate and it's a HEPA
grade.
It's an amazing air filter andit's 100% made here in Buffalo,
new York.
No parts are even made in China.
That's the problem with so manyof these air purifiers, because
it's such a big business now,especially with COVID, that
these companies overseas.
And if you have done myresearch on them, because
(10:32):
somebody will come to me, whatabout this one that says it's
made in Arizona?
Sure enough, I'll dive into it.
Yeah, it's made in Arizona, butall the parts are coming from
China.
George Siegal (10:42):
I'm looking at the one I have in my office, but
it's too far away for me to seethe brand.
Tee Forton-Barnes (10:45):
Oh, I'm curious Air Doctor is a big one.
George Siegal (10:48):
I mean, hang on, I'm going to edit this part out,
but I'm going to go get thename so we can.
Tee Forton-Barnes (10:51):
OK, OK okay and tell up here alan oh, alan,
yeah they.
They pay a lot of money topromote the alans.
Yes, um, I know the alan.
My girlfriend reached out to meabout the alan and they're they
(11:13):
.
They advertise in a lot of theyou know nice magazines out
there and they look nice andeverything.
I'm not sold on them, I can't.
I think I did my research forher.
I thought they were made inThailand, I can't remember.
But an air purifier I mean, ifyou have one, great you know,
keep using it.
(11:33):
If I had children I would havean air purifier in their room on
constantly, just because whatyou said, your daughter is using
all these products and if youdon't get an air quality monitor
and see for yourself what'soutgassing in her room.
George Siegal (11:55):
Yeah.
Tee Forton-Barnes (11:56):
So it's just.
I take it to the whole nextlevel because I want to be, I
want my air in my house to be asclean as possible.
Unfortunately, it doesn't stopthere.
I mean, if you're bringing incarpeting, if you're bringing in
wall-to-wall carpeting, theglue and whatever they use
underneath the carpeting istoxic.
(12:17):
Our furniture, some furniturenow they're starting to think.
Thankfully not spray allfurniture with fire retardants.
Another one you know that's awhole nother story why that even
was the case, but those arejust.
I mean, I want to make sure ourair is as clean as possible.
So these are things that I do.
(12:38):
There's some simple thingseverybody can do your dry
cleaning.
When you pick it up, don'tleave it in your car, first of
all, because in those bags arechemicals that they use on your
clothes.
Try to out, gas it outside, ifyou can hang it up outside,
instead of bringing it in yourhouse.
George Siegal (12:56):
For how long?
Tee Forton-Barnes (13:02):
house for how long as much as you possibly
can.
I make my husband put it in thegarage for a few hours.
So you know what?
What?
How many chemicals are outguessing I don't know, but
that's what they use to cleanyour clothes.
George Siegal (13:10):
That's dry cleaning and what do most of us
do?
We bring the bag with thebaggie on it inside and hang
that in the closet.
Tee Forton-Barnes (13:16):
Yep, probably the worst choice yep, exactly
yep, and in your car.
So your fans any ceiling fansthat you have make sure they're
always constantly cleaned.
If you have window units, airconditioner, windows units I
went to a girlfriend's house.
Whenever I go there, I'm alwayslike I mean my friend's house,
I'm always constantly lookingfor these things.
(13:37):
Every window unit has a filterthat opens up, typically, and
this little filter comes out andyou clean it.
Hers was so disgusting.
I stayed in a room, and why Iknew that is that the air
conditioner was not getting theroom cold, so I opened it up and
it was just loaded.
It looked like she's like Ihaven't cleaned that in years.
(13:59):
I'm like I know I can tell soyou don't want that air blowing
in your house through that dustand whatever else it collects,
so take your shoes off when youcome in your house.
There's so many pesticides andherbicides that people are,
unfortunately, are spraying ontheir lawns that blow all over
the place on the bottom of yourshoes, potentially in your house
(14:20):
.
These are things that you justare so easy, so simple, so cheap
, free, that you can do to avoidsome of these toxins from
coming in your house.
George Siegal (14:30):
Now, do people like it when you come over or do
they go?
God, he's going to findeverything I'm doing wrong.
Now I'm going to look like anidiot.
Tee Forton-Barnes (14:37):
I know, you know what they appreciate it.
They really do.
I don't say anything unlesssomebody really says it or asks
me, but if it's a really goodfriend I will open up my mouth
and say something.
I had pots and pans, the onesthat oh gosh brain Teflon.
(15:05):
Teflon thank you, and they'reokay.
I would never use them.
But if they're not scratched?
If they're scratched, there'sanother way.
You are cooking chemicals intoyour food, into the air in your
kitchen.
That's what they're made of,but Teflon should not be
(15:25):
scratched and too many peopleare using these pans that are
scratched.
That are horrible if you'restill using those.
So I only use stainless steeland the Lodge cast iron pans.
So I know some people.
They just can't give up theirnonstick pans and there's other
(15:46):
ones.
There's ceramic ones on themarket right now that are pretty
good.
But it's just another area thatyou don't realize when you're
cooking, that those fumes arepolluting your indoor air, and
it's just some areas that youwant to pay attention to.
George Siegal (16:06):
In this film I have hopefully coming out this
summer.
Built to Last Buyer, beware weinterviewed a guy down in Naples
who is building houses with apolyurethane product.
So in a sense it's hardhardened plastic and the
brilliance of it is it'swaterproof.
Nothing gets in.
It can be built on top of anexisting first floor, so you
(16:30):
don't have the weight of puttingconcrete.
But the question I asked him iswell, what gases does that emit
?
And there's not enough studiesto know if it does.
You have to worry aboutconstruction materials a lot,
don't you?
Tee Forton-Barnes (16:44):
Absolutely.
You know the constructionmaterials again, so many of them
come from overseas.
I've seen reports about drywallthat has to be recalled because
of what it was made with andthere were some chemicals in it
that were carcinogens.
And you just have to be mindful.
(17:04):
You have to pay attention toeverything.
Unfortunately, some people arelike well, why would it be on
the market if it weren't safe?
Well, guess what?
There's 80,000 chemicals on themarket.
The US disallows 11.
Do you think they have time tocheck 80,000 chemicals?
Do you think the chemicalcompanies really know this?
(17:26):
Care about it?
No, a woman puts on her skin onaverage, just puts on her skin
168 chemicals a day.
A man's more like 120.
But those are things that are inyour home, on your skin.
You're breathing them inconstantly in the air that is
circulating throughout yourhouse.
(17:47):
So we, as consumers, have to beour own advocates, just like we
do have to be our own advocateswhen we own a home or buy a
home.
You have to look at everything.
You can't trust anyone oranything.
That's why you get somebody tocome in and inspect your home.
Right, I wish there was aregulation where somebody could
(18:08):
come in with an air qualitymonitor.
If I were a home inspector, I'dbe using an air quality monitor
and showing you here's what youare going to breathe in this
house the levels of VOCs and theother chemicals that it would
monitor.
That's a little drastic, Iwould guess, but that's just who
I am and I just know that.
(18:29):
I want to live in a house thatdoesn't have all these chemicals
or you can't get rid of all ofthem obviously.
I just bought a pair of rainboots and I'm going to New
Orleans this week for Jazz Festand, oh my God, I opened up the
package and just horrible smell.
I can't.
They're outside, couldn't evenbring them in and it things like
(18:52):
that.
You know there's so muchplastic on the market and made
with petroleum and just crappyingredients, so you just have to
pay attention to it.
George Siegal (19:00):
Yeah, people are going wow, that tea is about as
much fun as George to be around.
Because I'm exactly the sameway.
I mean I don't trust or believeanything anybody's telling me
because I don't think they putthe time into doing the work
that if you're not your own bestadvocate, we're speaking the
same language.
You have no chance if you don'tlook out for yourself.
And with scented things, withall this stuff that's out there,
(19:23):
it's like we can't assumesomebody's checked all that
stuff.
Why do we want to be breathingit?
Tee Forton-Barnes (19:29):
Yeah, I mean, the list goes on and on and on.
You know, from even children'stoys, dog toys.
Think about some of the smellsthat if you buy anything for a
child ever and first of all lookat see where it came from.
It probably came from China.
I'm sorry to you know.
George Siegal (19:48):
No, please bash them like crazy.
They deserve it.
Tee Forton-Barnes (19:51):
So you know, and do, I buy some of these once
in a while.
And all of a sudden I'm like,what was I thinking?
My husband came home with acandle the other day from the
body shop and I'm like, get thatout of here.
And he's pretty good.
He's like, oh, I thought it was.
You know, I bought it forsomebody.
I thought it was scented withwhatever.
It was Like.
No, it's not.
(20:11):
It's scented with majorchemicals that are making people
think, you know, that it'slemon fresh or whatever it was.
So.
But the government doesn't testall these chemicals.
No, so they're allowing them touse them in all these products
and, unfortunately, it's failingto sufficiently protect our
health.
And it's apparent.
(20:33):
It's apparent in so manyillnesses that are out there, so
much cancer.
I've never remembered so manypeople getting cancer in my
entire life, especially kids.
What are they using on them?
What are they drinking, whatare they eating?
Everything it's just, it'soverwhelming.
But you can take it slow andslowly, start to detox your home
(20:54):
, one room at a time, and theseare just some tips that I offer
people.
You know on your show that theycan start with.
George Siegal (21:03):
Those are great tips.
When we were shooting my film,my crew had this app.
Everybody was playing with thisapp.
I think it's pronounced Yucca.
Tee Forton-Barnes (21:11):
Y-U-C-A-A.
George Siegal (21:11):
And you can scan everything with that, like from
perfumes, fragrances, food.
And I started scanning theshampoo I was using, the
sunscreen I was using, theshaving cream I was using.
Everything I was using wasincredibly toxic, so this could
be my last show.
I mean, this stuff was horribleand so I've now replaced all of
(21:32):
it.
You know maybe.
I'm too old to have it make adifference.
I hope it makes a difference.
I scan food things my kids eat.
I'm going, I'm giving youcheerios for breakfast.
That gets a six out of ahundred um.
The shaving cream I was usinggot a zero out of a hundred um.
So everybody at the least coulddownload that app and I've now
got my whole family into doingit and I tell anybody that knows
(21:53):
, just because that's a greatway to get a head start on
replacing stuff you know is crap.
Tee Forton-Barnes (21:58):
Yep, absolutely.
It's pretty amazing when youstart to see what you're using
and you don't.
Well, you will never know thecumulative effect either.
You did say did it help?
Yes, it does help.
It does eventually come out ofyour system, but whatever you
can do is going to help, likeyou did.
(22:19):
That's a huge first step in theright direction, george, and it
opens up your eyes to lookingat labels, reading those
ingredients.
Don't look at the front of alabel ever.
Turn it around.
They want you to believe thatit's healthy.
They'll put an aloe plant onthe front.
Or if they say made withessential oils, it only needs to
(22:39):
have 2% essential oils for themto say that.
So that's another code word outthere for greenwashing.
So you just have to payattention to all these different
products that you're using onyour bodies and in your home.
George Siegal (22:54):
And you want to be careful when they don't list
everything.
There's a store chain in Texas,heb great market Everybody
loves them and they had thischicken rotisserie chicken and
it had like 45, 50 ingredientsin it and I was told it should
have two ingredients chicken andmaybe salt, and that's it.
So I went to the manager and Isaid why are you doing all this,
(23:14):
putting all this crap in yourchicken?
It's not necessary.
About a month later I went backand there was chicken and then
it said other ingredientsEverything else was still in it.
They just wrote the labeldifferently and didn't list them
.
They didn't take out the 50things you shouldn't be eating,
so I don't even try.
If I see other ingredients, I'mgoing, I'm out, I'm not getting
(23:35):
that.
Tee Forton-Barnes (23:36):
Other ingredients another code word to
run from made with naturalingredients.
George Siegal (23:43):
Yeah.
Tee Forton-Barnes (23:44):
And if you're eating something made with
natural flavors, again don't buyit.
It's just their way of hidingwhat's in there but making you
think that it's made withnatural ingredients.
So cleaning supplies, laundrydetergent, made with natural
ingredients Again it can be adrop of lemon, essential oils,
(24:07):
and you know the other 30ingredients are horrible for you
.
So it's a wild world out there,I must say.
George Siegal (24:18):
Yeah, it is.
Do you ever feel like you'refighting a losing battle?
I mean, I know you're making adifference.
You can make a difference, oneperson at a time, getting your
message out there, but it seemslike the crap still keeps coming
out.
People keep trying to shovethis stuff on us.
Tee Forton-Barnes (24:32):
Yeah, it is, and they try to go like with BPA
, which is a big thing.
Now I just was reading anarticle in Time magazine BPA,
which is a big thing now.
I just was reading an articlein Time magazine and he had his
urine sampled, which you can do.
That's another thing you can dotoo, by the way, which I love
(24:54):
doing.
I did it too and it'll tell yousome of the chemicals inside
your body and he had excessiveamounts of plastic in his body.
That, unfortunately, we all do,but you can limit that.
But BPA is something that hefound and how it was getting
into his body, and it's througha lot of these products.
I found BPA in me and it was in.
(25:16):
I hate to tell everybody this,but it was our coffee maker that
we were using because it's madewith plastic.
So a simple coffee.
We use stainless steel Frenchpress, so the inside of a coffee
maker is all plastic.
Unfortunately, those K-cups arehorrible for you.
You're boiling plastic anddrinking BPA.
(25:37):
So what they do now is BPA free, but unfortunately, chemical
companies they're ahead of us.
They then make the BPA BPASit's pretty much the same
chemical but in a differentformat and they're using that
instead.
This is how crazy it is outthere with the chemical
(25:59):
companies that really areenormous and they're in
Washington lobbying and it'shard for us Now.
Are we making a difference?
Yes, there's so many people outthere like myself that are
really making a difference and Ifeel, since COVID, too, and
since for social media purposesand podcasts, we are out there
(26:21):
and we are making a difference,and you are too, so you know
every little bit helps and therehave been some new laws that
have come on to the.
They've been passed andactually more are on the docket
regarding all of this, so thatis a huge difference.
(26:42):
Monsanto is being sued by165,000 people for the
glyphosate that they're puttingin their roundup.
Those things are happening.
Yes, they're a multi-trilliondollar firm that's fighting back
, but people are becoming awarethat you need to use as limit.
(27:03):
You know, try to stop using asmany chemicals as possible,
whether it's in your home, onyour property, spraying your
lawns, the paint that you use,the carpeting that you buy that
new carpeting smell.
That's not new carpeting smell,by the way.
That's all chemicals thatyou're smelling.
That people think is newcarpeting, but it's.
(27:24):
These are things that you justpay attention to and we're so
lucky that we have our scentthat we can smell some of these
things.
Unfortunately, a lot of peopleare almost addicted to some of
those smells.
It takes you to change some ofyour habits and you might not
even know that you weren'tfeeling well until you start
(27:44):
eliminating these chemicals andthen you wake up in the morning
and your head's not stuffy oryou don't have a sore throat and
your eyes don't feel itchy andyou don't have a headache from
wearing chemicals and breathingchemicals in your house all day.
Those are some of the areasthat I see very regularly,
helping people detox their homeand they start realizing they
(28:07):
thought that they had allergiesor it was a pollen, and it
really wasn't.
It was really the chemicalsthey're using in their house.
George Siegal (28:13):
You ever wonder how these people sleep at night
that run these companies and Ithink, well, they probably have
so many chemicals in their bodythey just pass out at night.
But I can't imagine how peopledo that and the lobbying that
they do.
So we want the the laws tochange, but these people spread
so much money around washingtonand then the state legislatures
(28:33):
buying these politicians off.
They're never going to vote allthis stuff out or make it
illegal or ban it, becausethey're making too much money
off of it they are.
Tee Forton-Barnes (28:42):
But you know, I'm starting.
I start seeing politicians,kids getting sick and they're
starting to realize there is amajor problem.
Now we just had a law passedfor our water in the United
States.
I've known this for years.
I would never drink tap water.
It is so polluted and thechemicals that are in our tap
(29:03):
water, they, it's, it's.
I have a reverse osmosis.
That's the only water that Iwill drink, and if I'm traveling
I'll buy something, of course.
But there's a law that nowevery I think 2026, I think it
is water filtration plant has toget these chemicals.
They're specifically these PFASchemicals which unfortunately
(29:27):
are everywhere, and so they allrealize we're all drinking the
same water.
Whatever side you are on inWashington, it doesn't matter
and you know there's no hidingfrom all of this.
It's hard, but they're startingto open their eyes.
I've sat on a lot oflegislative sessions here in New
(29:47):
York State and that they doremotely that I promote and push
to try to get some of theselaws changed and we've made
movements and there's been a fewthat we've gotten past.
We're still fighting for somemore and there'll be more down
the road, but it's good to seethem starting to open up their
eyes to all of these products.
They have kids, they have girls, they have little girls putting
(30:09):
on this lotion that has allthese toxic ingredients on it,
and hairspray and you name it.
So it's getting people to justopen their eyes a little bit.
Read the labels that you'reusing, because consumers are
going to be the ones to reallychange the way things are made
and sold to us, because it's allabout the money.
George Siegal (30:28):
What do you think of those water plants that are
now recycling sewage and turningthat back into drinking water?
I saw a story about that on thenews I was going.
There's no way this couldreally be real.
It's a water treatment plantthat cleans and purifies the
water and then puts it out therefor drinking.
I'm not sure exactly where itis.
My guess would be California,but I'm not sure I'd have to see
(30:49):
that.
Tee Forton-Barnes (30:49):
Now you know we all drink water from.
It goes down the toilet, it'sgoing to our water treatment
plants.
Pharmaceuticals are flusheddown the toilets.
They and I will give you a tipLook up for Tampa, look up
anybody's listening.
Look up EWG Water.
(31:10):
That's all you have to plug in.
It's an environmental workinggroup.
It's a great organization thathas been around for decades.
I know them very well.
I study them very well.
That's like the firstorganization besides Silent
Spring that really dove intothis whole industry of
pollutants and chemicals in ourproducts.
But they have a scientist ontheir team that analyze all the
(31:33):
water reports that come from allthese cities.
I tried to look at buffaloesand it's like you know a
different language, so theybroke it down and it'll show you
the chemicals that are in yourdrinking water and it'll show
you the top 10 or 12 or whatever.
There's so many more, but it'llshow you the levels of that
chemical and most of them areanywhere from like 50 to 300
(31:57):
times what they should be in ourdrinking water and most of them
are potential carcinogens,which is horrific.
George Siegal (32:05):
So I have to stop taking the tap water in a
restaurant.
When they say would you likebottled or or tap water, I mean
it just sounds like you alwaysthink, yeah, I don't want to
spend another five bucks on aglass of water here I know,
bring your own.
Tee Forton-Barnes (32:18):
That's what I do.
I bring my own.
I bring my own takeoutcontainer too.
By the way, you don't ever wantto put your food in plastic wow
, you know fiji water.
George Siegal (32:25):
Fiji water gets 100 out of 100 on that app that
I was telling you about.
Tee Forton-Barnes (32:29):
Good yeah, Fiji's good.
My girlfriend works for Fiji.
George Siegal (32:32):
But it's in a plastic bottle.
Tee Forton-Barnes (32:33):
It is, but if you're traveling, and that's
all you can do, do it theDasanis and all those other ones
that Pepsi sells.
It's tap water.
George Siegal (32:43):
Yeah, but if it says natural spring water, does
it have to be natural springwater at least?
Tee Forton-Barnes (32:52):
I don't know that regulation so well, but I
question that.
I question the word natural atall.
George Siegal (32:55):
Yeah, you already did with other stuff, so it
can't be different from water.
Tee Forton-Barnes (32:59):
Yeah, exactly .
So you just have to be mindful.
And I drink a ton of water, I'ma big water person and I just
want it.
I want it to be as clean aspossible.
George Siegal (33:10):
Yeah, and does that thought process change when
you're in foreign countries,like when we go to Europe?
My research about it, but Idon't trust it.
Tee Forton-Barnes (33:30):
I don't.
Our water is unfortunately sopolluted.
I mean London could reverseosmosis all of their water and
it might be okay.
Naples, florida by the way, ifI have that correct, I think
it's Naples or Fort Myerssomewhere down there, that
community, it's Naples, now thatI think about it, they do
reverse osmosis for their water.
That's what the entire countryneeds to be doing.
Fort Myers, somewhere downthere, that community, it's
Naples, now that I think aboutit, they do reverse osmosis for
their water.
That's what the entire countryneeds to be doing for our entire
(33:53):
every city.
It's expensive, it's veryexpensive.
India does it.
India has horrible water.
They reverse osmosis.
You can't drink over thereunless you drink the reverse
osmosis water.
So our water is just, I mean,unfortunately it's loaded with
everything that's pushing intoour waterways and our oceans and
our lakes and our streams,coming off of all these
(34:16):
different pesticide andherbicide sprayed lands and
flushing the toilets with allthis other crap.
So I mean, even even puttinglotion on and shampoo, it's
going down the drain, it's goinginto our drinking water, all
those chemicals.
So it's just being mindful ofeverything you're putting in
your body, on your body andbringing into your home.
George Siegal (34:38):
And you know, I think that's really a losing
argument when we say that it'stoo expensive to do it because
the cost of not doing it seemsto be much higher to do it
because the cost of not doing itseems to be much higher.
Treating a community of peoplewith cancer has to cost a lot
more than slapping some filterson there and trying to avoid
them getting cancer.
Tee Forton-Barnes (34:53):
Exactly.
You know, and I have friendsthat are very well off and I try
to convince them to get a $600reverse osmosis put into your
house.
This is a flight that you couldtake to a city.
It's $600.
I know not everybody has $600.
It's hard and there are somedecent small countertop units to
(35:22):
use for your water.
But it's really just like yousaid, you really want to pay
attention to everything in yourthat you're using.
Spend it on your body, spend iton your home.
You want it to be as safe andas clean as possible.
It's just and, as you said, youdon't want to get sick.
It's a lot more expensive toget sick.
George Siegal (35:43):
Oh, absolutely so .
Let's, I kept you longer than Isaid I was going to.
Okay, if you had to givesomebody a takeaway of okay,
here's the first, the number onething, and I know we kind of
touched on this.
But just to put a bow on it,what's the first thing I can do
to just start making my househealthier?
I want to start working on theair.
Tee Forton-Barnes (36:02):
So what I would do is take a box with a
bag, because I want you to tieit.
Take all your cleaning suppliesit includes your laundry
detergent Put it in a box with aplastic bag, get it out of your
house, go and get afragrance-free laundry detergent
, fragrance-free all-purposecleaner.
(36:24):
I have one that I make and sell, mind you, and Tea's Organics.
A little plug there, sorry,george.
George Siegal (36:31):
No go for it.
Tee Forton-Barnes (36:34):
Yeah, it's an all-purpose cleaner.
That's all I use.
I was brought up on in the 60s.
My mother had us cleaning withvinegar, water and baking soda.
I still do to this day, and soget rid of it.
Don't get rid of it.
Don't get rid of it.
Don't throw it away.
Put it in your garage, get itsomewhere.
Try for two months and see howyou feel.
(36:55):
I've never had anybody come backand say I can't live without
those.
I can't.
I have everybody come back andsay I can't believe I was living
with those and sleeping inthose and using those in my home
and everybody.
I mean I love it so much whenpeople will call me and thank me
(37:15):
and tell me how they feelbetter.
And I was at a friend's houseand, oh my God, I couldn't even
spend the night.
I had to leave because she usedthis horrible ingredients.
So you start realizing whatthis all could potentially be
doing to your body, to your mind, your thinking process, your
sleep at night.
Your body has to detox throughthe night and if you're on toxic
(37:39):
load, you might not even besleeping well at night.
You might be waking up a lotbecause your body could be
telling you like I can't workthis hard to get these toxic
chemicals out of your body.
So these are all things thatyou could see.
Those changes I'm never goingto guarantee it with anybody,
(37:59):
but this is definitely areasthat have helped a lot of people
.
George Siegal (38:04):
That's great advice, t.
Thank you so much for sharingthat.
All your contact informationand ways people can reach you
I'll put in the show notes.
I may have to start orderingsome of your products just
because I'm feeling a littletoxic right now.
I got to be honest with you?
Tee Forton-Barnes (38:18):
No, don't feel it.
You know what it's good.
If you start thinking that way,you will start reading labels
on everything and, as you are,you're helping other people too
and getting your kids to readlabels, and I try to have fun
(38:38):
with it.
I know it can be a littledepressing because it's
overwhelming, but you take yourtime.
Slow, go slow.
Don't throw everything out,even though I love doing that
for people.
Don't throw anything.
So if you really want to, I'llhelp you with that.
But you know and it's justbeing more aware and reading-
yeah, come by next time you'rein Tampa.
George Siegal (38:59):
You'll have a field day at this house, just in
my daughter's room.
Tee Forton-Barnes (39:02):
Love doing that I would love to.
I'll be there in January.
George Siegal (39:09):
Okay, hey T, thank you so much, I appreciate
your time today.
Tee Forton-Barnes (39:10):
You're welcome.
Thanks for having me.
George Siegal (39:12):
I know a lot of you have stories about your
experiences as a home buyer orrenter and I'd love to hear
about them.
Fill out the contact form inthe show notes and let's get you
scheduled to be a guest on anupcoming podcast.
By sharing your stories, youcan help other people avoid
making the same mistakes thatyou made.
Thanks for listening today.
(39:33):
I'll see you next time.
Did you know?
There very likely are unseendangers lurking in your home.
In fact, the air inside yourhome may be more harmful than
the pollution outside.
My guest today is Tee Forton-Barnes, a passionate healthy
home advocate and the visionarybehind the Green Living Gurus
LLC and Tee's Organics.
T has dedicated her career toenlightening others about the
(00:22):
benefits of a low-tox lifestyle,with a special focus on cancer
prevention.
In today's podcast, we willexplore the common yet
overlooked sources of indoorpollution, from the chemicals in
our cleaning supplies to thecarcinogens that could be
lurking in personal careproducts.
With Tee's expertise, we'llalso provide actionable insights
on how you can reduce yourexposure to these toxins and
(00:45):
safeguard your health.
I'm George Siegal, and this isHomeowners Be Aware the podcast
that teaches you everything youneed to know about being a
homeowner.
Tee thank you so much forjoining me today.
Tee Forton-Barnes (00:59):
You are welcome.
Happy to be here.
George Siegal (01:01):
Yeah, it's great to have you.
I mean, we've been going backand forth with different
scheduling things and I think Igot lost in cyberspace with you
and then I had to reschedule youwith me.
But thank you for sticking withit and making this work out.
Tee Forton-Barnes (01:12):
Oh, you're welcome.
Happy to be here.
George Siegal (01:13):
Now, the subject we're going to talk about is so
important and I bet a lot ofpeople don't turn that around
and go.
What is the air like inside ourhomes?
And that's really important.
What should we be thinkingabout there?
Tee Forton-Barnes (01:35):
So very important and people don't
realize it because you think theair in your home is cleaner
than the outdoor air andactually the EPA has put
standards out there and saidthat the air in your home is
cleaner than the outdoor air.
And actually the EPA has putstandards out there and said
that the air in our home isanywhere from two and it can go
up to 100 times more pollutedthan the outdoor air.
So our indoor air quality isnot that great unless you're
(01:58):
doing some things that I'llteach you here a little bit
today that can help with yourindoor air quality.
I personally have indoor airquality monitors.
I take them to clients' homes,I see what's in them and once
people understand what they'rebreathing in their home and how
they're ingesting these fumes,you start realizing you've got
(02:22):
to pay attention to the air inyour home.
You're living in your home,sleeping, breathing in it, and
it's something that you reallygot to pay attention to.
The air in your home.
You're living in your home,sleeping, breathing in it, and
it's something that you reallywant to pay attention to.
So that's where we'll start,and there's so many different
ways that your indoor airquality can be hurting, let's
(02:43):
just say your health andaffecting your health, and so
many homes these days are madethat they are.
You know, everything's aboutmaking sure no air gets in right
the windows, the doors,whatever and that's not great in
a home where you want air tocirculate.
(03:04):
I actually spoke to a man herein Buffalo where I live, and he
said he does some of these homeinspections and he can just tell
that they're and it was crazyhow he said this but some of
them are like coffins, he said.
I don't even know how they'reliving in them because they must
be tired all the time becausethere's no air circulating in
(03:27):
these homes.
George Siegal (03:28):
Now we're talking about different than walking in
and smelling that they hadbacon for breakfast.
We're talking about things thataren't necessarily the obvious
smell.
What's the source of all theseissues we're talking about?
Tee Forton-Barnes (03:39):
So a lot of your cleaning supplies.
That's probably number one onmy list where I get people to
start looking at.
What are those ingredients thatyou're spraying in your home,
using on the surfaces?
Cleaning with the wordfragrance on cleaning supplies
is a big, huge no-no.
The chemicals that you arespraying in your home so many
(04:01):
people want these fragrances intheir home.
Worst brain in your home somany people want these
fragrances in their home.
Those are some of the worstculprits of bringing in toxic
air into your home and polluting.
It is really how I look at it.
You're not cleaning your house.
With you're not cleaning yourhouse, you're more or less
putting dangerous chemicals inyour home.
George Siegal (04:20):
So it's naive to assume that that $5 filter or $9
filter or even the moreexpensive filter that we think
we're buying I've actually heardthose are the worst thing,
because then no air iscirculating through if it blocks
everything.
So it's more than just slappinga filter on your system, isn't
it?
Tee Forton-Barnes (04:44):
forced air filter.
Is it right for your furnace,everything.
Those are important because youare filtering out you know
something, but it's really whatyou're putting in your home and
so that your cleaning suppliesare one.
One other huge area that I getpeople to change immediately is
your laundry detergent.
People, you're sleeping in it,you're living in it pretty much.
If you're breathing in any kindof from your clothes you're
(05:06):
wearing all day and you'repolluting it with your dryer and
the outdoor air for that mattertoo.
But the laundry detergents canbe very harmful, toxic to the
air that you're breathing inyour home the fragrances, the
outgassing.
So some laundry detergent isfragrance free.
That's a good step in the rightdirection, but fragrance is
(05:29):
probably the number one thing Itry to get everybody with.
If you want a cleaner, greener,healthier air in your home,
stop using anything with theword fragrance on it.
Fragrance is a law from the1940s when Chanel number five
went to the government and saidthey didn't want to tell anybody
their trade secret what theingredients were in their
(05:51):
perfume.
1940s.
This law still exists.
Perfume fragrance industry ismassive, tied in with all the
chemical age companies as well,and it's made with a whole list
of potentially harmful chemicalsthat you think your laundry
(06:11):
detergent is lavender scented.
It's not lavender scented.
It's chemicals to make it sortof smell like lavender or ocean
breeze or lemon scented or limescented.
Whatever they tell you, thoseare all chemicals, and they have
been starting to find benzenein some of these fragrances,
which is a known carcinogen.
(06:32):
So that's just one area thatyou can make the greatest impact
on eliminating anything withthe word fragrance or perfume or
parfum in it.
Perfume is another primeexample too.
If anybody's wearing perfume,you are putting chemicals on
your skin and that you'rebreathing in all day.
So in the air in your houseit's circulating, and candles is
(06:56):
another one Burning a candle.
George Siegal (06:59):
So the scented candles aren't a good thing.
Tee Forton-Barnes (07:00):
Horrible, absolutely horrible.
In addition to a wick thatpotentially is lead.
And now you're heating thechemicals, which is even worse,
your sink.
You're sitting over your sinkwith, I think, dove I don't know
what people use that is greenand blue and it's scented, and
you're cleaning your dishes withthese soaps that are fragranced
(07:23):
with chemicals.
You're breathing them in, withhot water going into your lungs.
So these are just some of theareas that you can start making
little changes that would reallyreally clean the air up in your
house.
George Siegal (07:37):
What about those scented sticks that you buy in
those holistic places wherethere's sage and different
things, and they're?
Tee Forton-Barnes (07:44):
burning them yeah yeah, the the ones you put
up and they kind of like I can'tthink what they're called.
George Siegal (07:50):
But they slowly, they're like sparklers, but
they're not.
Tee Forton-Barnes (07:52):
Yes, exactly exactly yeah, yeah, um, they are
not.
Some of them are, um, scentedwith chemicals.
Uh, it all depends you.
I know you have to be socareful.
So many of these I hate to sayit come over from China too.
We have no idea what's in them,no idea what they're made of,
(08:13):
and they're allowed to sell themon the market, specifically our
laundry soap and our detergentsand our cleaning supplies.
They do not have to list allthe ingredients like they do on
other products that we buy.
So these are just areas thatyou really want to pay attention
to, to reduce those chemicalsthat are floating around in your
(08:34):
house, that you can't reallysmell, but they're there, the
VOCs.
What they emit into your air isnot good for your lungs and
it's not good for your overallhealth.
George Siegal (08:50):
Yeah, there's a really good documentary that I
saw about perfumes in things,and I forget the name, but it
was this dad who was orderingpajamas for his daughter, and
then he started investigating.
Do you know the name?
Tee Forton-Barnes (08:57):
I know exactly the one you're talking
about and I love it.
I've watched it a few times.
I can't think of the name of it, and yes, and he really.
I've watched it a few times.
I can't think of the name of it, and yes, and he really.
It's not the Stuff Project, isit?
George Siegal (09:07):
No, no, but it was arsenic in it there was
things in it that human beingsshould not be breathing?
Yes, and yet we put them inchildren's clothing.
And you know, I can onlyimagine my daughter, 13, is into
nails and hair and all thatstuff, and her room smells like
a freaking nail salon.
There's no way that can be goodfor her.
Tee Forton-Barnes (09:28):
No, no way.
It's good for her Air purifier.
If I were you, I'd get an airpurifier a good one and I put it
in her room.
George Siegal (09:34):
We have those and you know the challenge with
those and tell me how you dealwith this.
That probably reveals a wholeother problem.
You got to clean thoseregularly because so much dust
gets drawn into them.
Tee Forton-Barnes (09:44):
Well, here's the deal.
It depends on what air purifieryou're using.
It's not about the bells andwhistles on the air purifier,
it's about the actual filter.
I only promote the Austin airpurifier, which happens, weirdly
enough, we made here in Buffalobut their filter, which you
only have to change once everyfive years.
It's really about the filterand it gets out 99.9% of pretty
(10:11):
much all the fumes that you wantto eliminate and it's a HEPA
grade.
It's an amazing air filter andit's 100% made here in Buffalo,
new York.
No parts are even made in China.
That's the problem with so manyof these air purifiers, because
it's such a big business now,especially with COVID, that
these companies overseas.
And if you have done myresearch on them, because
(10:32):
somebody will come to me, whatabout this one that says it's
made in Arizona?
Sure enough, I'll dive into it.
Yeah, it's made in Arizona, butall the parts are coming from
China.
George Siegal (10:42):
I'm looking at the one I have in my office, but
it's too far away for me to seethe brand.
Tee Forton-Barnes (10:45):
Oh, I'm curious Air Doctor is a big one.
George Siegal (10:48):
I mean, hang on, I'm going to edit this part out,
but I'm going to go get thename so we can.
Tee Forton-Barnes (10:51):
OK, OK okay and tell up here alan oh, alan,
yeah they.
They pay a lot of money topromote the alans.
Yes, um, I know the alan.
My girlfriend reached out to meabout the alan and they're they
(11:13):
.
They advertise in a lot of theyou know nice magazines out
there and they look nice andeverything.
I'm not sold on them, I can't.
I think I did my research forher.
I thought they were made inThailand, I can't remember.
But an air purifier I mean, ifyou have one, great you know,
keep using it.
(11:33):
If I had children I would havean air purifier in their room on
constantly, just because whatyou said, your daughter is using
all these products and if youdon't get an air quality monitor
and see for yourself what'soutgassing in her room.
George Siegal (11:55):
Yeah.
Tee Forton-Barnes (11:56):
So it's just.
I take it to the whole nextlevel because I want to be, I
want my air in my house to be asclean as possible.
Unfortunately, it doesn't stopthere.
I mean, if you're bringing incarpeting, if you're bringing in
wall-to-wall carpeting, theglue and whatever they use
underneath the carpeting istoxic.
(12:17):
Our furniture, some furniturenow they're starting to think.
Thankfully not spray allfurniture with fire retardants.
Another one you know that's awhole nother story why that even
was the case, but those arejust.
I mean, I want to make sure ourair is as clean as possible.
So these are things that I do.
(12:38):
There's some simple thingseverybody can do your dry
cleaning.
When you pick it up, don'tleave it in your car, first of
all, because in those bags arechemicals that they use on your
clothes.
Try to out, gas it outside, ifyou can hang it up outside,
instead of bringing it in yourhouse.
George Siegal (12:56):
For how long?
Tee Forton-Barnes (13:02):
house for how long as much as you possibly
can.
I make my husband put it in thegarage for a few hours.
So you know what?
What?
How many chemicals are outguessing I don't know, but
that's what they use to cleanyour clothes.
George Siegal (13:10):
That's dry cleaning and what do most of us
do?
We bring the bag with thebaggie on it inside and hang
that in the closet.
Tee Forton-Barnes (13:16):
Yep, probably the worst choice yep, exactly
yep, and in your car.
So your fans any ceiling fansthat you have make sure they're
always constantly cleaned.
If you have window units, airconditioner, windows units I
went to a girlfriend's house.
Whenever I go there, I'm alwayslike I mean my friend's house,
I'm always constantly lookingfor these things.
(13:37):
Every window unit has a filterthat opens up, typically, and
this little filter comes out andyou clean it.
Hers was so disgusting.
I stayed in a room, and why Iknew that is that the air
conditioner was not getting theroom cold, so I opened it up and
it was just loaded.
It looked like she's like Ihaven't cleaned that in years.
(13:59):
I'm like I know I can tell soyou don't want that air blowing
in your house through that dustand whatever else it collects,
so take your shoes off when youcome in your house.
There's so many pesticides andherbicides that people are,
unfortunately, are spraying ontheir lawns that blow all over
the place on the bottom of yourshoes, potentially in your house
(14:20):
.
These are things that you justare so easy, so simple, so cheap
, free, that you can do to avoidsome of these toxins from
coming in your house.
George Siegal (14:30):
Now, do people like it when you come over or do
they go?
God, he's going to findeverything I'm doing wrong.
Now I'm going to look like anidiot.
Tee Forton-Barnes (14:37):
I know, you know what they appreciate it.
They really do.
I don't say anything unlesssomebody really says it or asks
me, but if it's a really goodfriend I will open up my mouth
and say something.
I had pots and pans, the onesthat oh gosh brain Teflon.
(15:05):
Teflon thank you, and they'reokay.
I would never use them.
But if they're not scratched?
If they're scratched, there'sanother way.
You are cooking chemicals intoyour food, into the air in your
kitchen.
That's what they're made of,but Teflon should not be
(15:25):
scratched and too many peopleare using these pans that are
scratched.
That are horrible if you'restill using those.
So I only use stainless steeland the Lodge cast iron pans.
So I know some people.
They just can't give up theirnonstick pans and there's other
(15:46):
ones.
There's ceramic ones on themarket right now that are pretty
good.
But it's just another area thatyou don't realize when you're
cooking, that those fumes arepolluting your indoor air, and
it's just some areas that youwant to pay attention to.
George Siegal (16:06):
In this film I have hopefully coming out this
summer.
Built to Last Buyer, beware weinterviewed a guy down in Naples
who is building houses with apolyurethane product.
So in a sense it's hardhardened plastic and the
brilliance of it is it'swaterproof.
Nothing gets in.
It can be built on top of anexisting first floor, so you
(16:30):
don't have the weight of puttingconcrete.
But the question I asked him iswell, what gases does that emit
?
And there's not enough studiesto know if it does.
You have to worry aboutconstruction materials a lot,
don't you?
Tee Forton-Barnes (16:44):
Absolutely.
You know the constructionmaterials again, so many of them
come from overseas.
I've seen reports about drywallthat has to be recalled because
of what it was made with andthere were some chemicals in it
that were carcinogens.
And you just have to be mindful.
(17:04):
You have to pay attention toeverything.
Unfortunately, some people arelike well, why would it be on
the market if it weren't safe?
Well, guess what?
There's 80,000 chemicals on themarket.
The US disallows 11.
Do you think they have time tocheck 80,000 chemicals?
Do you think the chemicalcompanies really know this?
(17:26):
Care about it?
No, a woman puts on her skin onaverage, just puts on her skin
168 chemicals a day.
A man's more like 120.
But those are things that are inyour home, on your skin.
You're breathing them inconstantly in the air that is
circulating throughout yourhouse.
(17:47):
So we, as consumers, have to beour own advocates, just like we
do have to be our own advocateswhen we own a home or buy a
home.
You have to look at everything.
You can't trust anyone oranything.
That's why you get somebody tocome in and inspect your home.
Right, I wish there was aregulation where somebody could
(18:08):
come in with an air qualitymonitor.
If I were a home inspector, I'dbe using an air quality monitor
and showing you here's what youare going to breathe in this
house the levels of VOCs and theother chemicals that it would
monitor.
That's a little drastic, Iwould guess, but that's just who
I am and I just know that.
(18:29):
I want to live in a house thatdoesn't have all these chemicals
or you can't get rid of all ofthem obviously.
I just bought a pair of rainboots and I'm going to New
Orleans this week for Jazz Festand, oh my God, I opened up the
package and just horrible smell.
I can't.
They're outside, couldn't evenbring them in and it things like
(18:52):
that.
You know there's so muchplastic on the market and made
with petroleum and just crappyingredients, so you just have to
pay attention to it.
George Siegal (19:00):
Yeah, people are going wow, that tea is about as
much fun as George to be around.
Because I'm exactly the sameway.
I mean I don't trust or believeanything anybody's telling me
because I don't think they putthe time into doing the work
that if you're not your own bestadvocate, we're speaking the
same language.
You have no chance if you don'tlook out for yourself.
And with scented things, withall this stuff that's out there,
(19:23):
it's like we can't assumesomebody's checked all that
stuff.
Why do we want to be breathingit?
Tee Forton-Barnes (19:29):
Yeah, I mean, the list goes on and on and on.
You know, from even children'stoys, dog toys.
Think about some of the smellsthat if you buy anything for a
child ever and first of all lookat see where it came from.
It probably came from China.
I'm sorry to you know.
George Siegal (19:48):
No, please bash them like crazy.
They deserve it.
Tee Forton-Barnes (19:51):
So you know, and do, I buy some of these once
in a while.
And all of a sudden I'm like,what was I thinking?
My husband came home with acandle the other day from the
body shop and I'm like, get thatout of here.
And he's pretty good.
He's like, oh, I thought it was.
You know, I bought it forsomebody.
I thought it was scented withwhatever.
It was Like.
No, it's not.
(20:11):
It's scented with majorchemicals that are making people
think, you know, that it'slemon fresh or whatever it was.
So.
But the government doesn't testall these chemicals.
No, so they're allowing them touse them in all these products
and, unfortunately, it's failingto sufficiently protect our
health.
And it's apparent.
(20:33):
It's apparent in so manyillnesses that are out there, so
much cancer.
I've never remembered so manypeople getting cancer in my
entire life, especially kids.
What are they using on them?
What are they drinking, whatare they eating?
Everything it's just, it'soverwhelming.
But you can take it slow andslowly, start to detox your home
(20:54):
, one room at a time, and theseare just some tips that I offer
people.
You know on your show that theycan start with.
George Siegal (21:03):
Those are great tips.
When we were shooting my film,my crew had this app.
Everybody was playing with thisapp.
I think it's pronounced Yucca.
Tee Forton-Barnes (21:11):
Y-U-C-A-A.
George Siegal (21:11):
And you can scan everything with that, like from
perfumes, fragrances, food.
And I started scanning theshampoo I was using, the
sunscreen I was using, theshaving cream I was using.
Everything I was using wasincredibly toxic, so this could
be my last show.
I mean, this stuff was horribleand so I've now replaced all of
(21:32):
it.
You know maybe.
I'm too old to have it make adifference.
I hope it makes a difference.
I scan food things my kids eat.
I'm going, I'm giving youcheerios for breakfast.
That gets a six out of ahundred um.
The shaving cream I was usinggot a zero out of a hundred um.
So everybody at the least coulddownload that app and I've now
got my whole family into doingit and I tell anybody that knows
(21:53):
, just because that's a greatway to get a head start on
replacing stuff you know is crap.
Tee Forton-Barnes (21:58):
Yep, absolutely.
It's pretty amazing when youstart to see what you're using
and you don't.
Well, you will never know thecumulative effect either.
You did say did it help?
Yes, it does help.
It does eventually come out ofyour system, but whatever you
can do is going to help, likeyou did.
(22:19):
That's a huge first step in theright direction, george, and it
opens up your eyes to lookingat labels, reading those
ingredients.
Don't look at the front of alabel ever.
Turn it around.
They want you to believe thatit's healthy.
They'll put an aloe plant onthe front.
Or if they say made withessential oils, it only needs to
(22:39):
have 2% essential oils for themto say that.
So that's another code word outthere for greenwashing.
So you just have to payattention to all these different
products that you're using onyour bodies and in your home.
George Siegal (22:54):
And you want to be careful when they don't list
everything.
There's a store chain in Texas,heb great market Everybody
loves them and they had thischicken rotisserie chicken and
it had like 45, 50 ingredientsin it and I was told it should
have two ingredients chicken andmaybe salt, and that's it.
So I went to the manager and Isaid why are you doing all this,
(23:14):
putting all this crap in yourchicken?
It's not necessary.
About a month later I went backand there was chicken and then
it said other ingredientsEverything else was still in it.
They just wrote the labeldifferently and didn't list them
.
They didn't take out the 50things you shouldn't be eating,
so I don't even try.
If I see other ingredients, I'mgoing, I'm out, I'm not getting
(23:35):
that.
Tee Forton-Barnes (23:36):
Other ingredients another code word to
run from made with naturalingredients.
George Siegal (23:43):
Yeah.
Tee Forton-Barnes (23:44):
And if you're eating something made with
natural flavors, again don't buyit.
It's just their way of hidingwhat's in there but making you
think that it's made withnatural ingredients.
So cleaning supplies, laundrydetergent, made with natural
ingredients Again it can be adrop of lemon, essential oils,
(24:07):
and you know the other 30ingredients are horrible for you
.
So it's a wild world out there,I must say.
George Siegal (24:18):
Yeah, it is.
Do you ever feel like you'refighting a losing battle?
I mean, I know you're making adifference.
You can make a difference, oneperson at a time, getting your
message out there, but it seemslike the crap still keeps coming
out.
People keep trying to shovethis stuff on us.
Tee Forton-Barnes (24:32):
Yeah, it is, and they try to go like with BPA
, which is a big thing.
Now I just was reading anarticle in Time magazine BPA,
which is a big thing now.
I just was reading an articlein Time magazine and he had his
urine sampled, which you can do.
That's another thing you can dotoo, by the way, which I love
(24:54):
doing.
I did it too and it'll tell yousome of the chemicals inside
your body and he had excessiveamounts of plastic in his body.
That, unfortunately, we all do,but you can limit that.
But BPA is something that hefound and how it was getting
into his body, and it's througha lot of these products.
I found BPA in me and it was in.
(25:16):
I hate to tell everybody this,but it was our coffee maker that
we were using because it's madewith plastic.
So a simple coffee.
We use stainless steel Frenchpress, so the inside of a coffee
maker is all plastic.
Unfortunately, those K-cups arehorrible for you.
You're boiling plastic anddrinking BPA.
(25:37):
So what they do now is BPA free, but unfortunately, chemical
companies they're ahead of us.
They then make the BPA BPASit's pretty much the same
chemical but in a differentformat and they're using that
instead.
This is how crazy it is outthere with the chemical
(25:59):
companies that really areenormous and they're in
Washington lobbying and it'shard for us Now.
Are we making a difference?
Yes, there's so many people outthere like myself that are
really making a difference and Ifeel, since COVID, too, and
since for social media purposesand podcasts, we are out there
(26:21):
and we are making a difference,and you are too, so you know
every little bit helps and therehave been some new laws that
have come on to the.
They've been passed andactually more are on the docket
regarding all of this, so thatis a huge difference.
(26:42):
Monsanto is being sued by165,000 people for the
glyphosate that they're puttingin their roundup.
Those things are happening.
Yes, they're a multi-trilliondollar firm that's fighting back
, but people are becoming awarethat you need to use as limit.
(27:03):
You know, try to stop using asmany chemicals as possible,
whether it's in your home, onyour property, spraying your
lawns, the paint that you use,the carpeting that you buy that
new carpeting smell.
That's not new carpeting smell,by the way.
That's all chemicals thatyou're smelling.
That people think is newcarpeting, but it's.
(27:24):
These are things that you justpay attention to and we're so
lucky that we have our scentthat we can smell some of these
things.
Unfortunately, a lot of peopleare almost addicted to some of
those smells.
It takes you to change some ofyour habits and you might not
even know that you weren'tfeeling well until you start
(27:44):
eliminating these chemicals andthen you wake up in the morning
and your head's not stuffy oryou don't have a sore throat and
your eyes don't feel itchy andyou don't have a headache from
wearing chemicals and breathingchemicals in your house all day.
Those are some of the areasthat I see very regularly,
helping people detox their homeand they start realizing they
(28:07):
thought that they had allergiesor it was a pollen, and it
really wasn't.
It was really the chemicalsthey're using in their house.
George Siegal (28:13):
You ever wonder how these people sleep at night
that run these companies and Ithink, well, they probably have
so many chemicals in their bodythey just pass out at night.
But I can't imagine how peopledo that and the lobbying that
they do.
So we want the the laws tochange, but these people spread
so much money around washingtonand then the state legislatures
(28:33):
buying these politicians off.
They're never going to vote allthis stuff out or make it
illegal or ban it, becausethey're making too much money
off of it they are.
Tee Forton-Barnes (28:42):
But you know, I'm starting.
I start seeing politicians,kids getting sick and they're
starting to realize there is amajor problem.
Now we just had a law passedfor our water in the United
States.
I've known this for years.
I would never drink tap water.
It is so polluted and thechemicals that are in our tap
(29:03):
water, they, it's, it's.
I have a reverse osmosis.
That's the only water that Iwill drink, and if I'm traveling
I'll buy something, of course.
But there's a law that nowevery I think 2026, I think it
is water filtration plant has toget these chemicals.
They're specifically these PFASchemicals which unfortunately
(29:27):
are everywhere, and so they allrealize we're all drinking the
same water.
Whatever side you are on inWashington, it doesn't matter
and you know there's no hidingfrom all of this.
It's hard, but they're startingto open their eyes.
I've sat on a lot oflegislative sessions here in New
(29:47):
York State and that they doremotely that I promote and push
to try to get some of theselaws changed and we've made
movements and there's been a fewthat we've gotten past.
We're still fighting for somemore and there'll be more down
the road, but it's good to seethem starting to open up their
eyes to all of these products.
They have kids, they have girls, they have little girls putting
(30:09):
on this lotion that has allthese toxic ingredients on it,
and hairspray and you name it.
So it's getting people to justopen their eyes a little bit.
Read the labels that you'reusing, because consumers are
going to be the ones to reallychange the way things are made
and sold to us, because it's allabout the money.
George Siegal (30:28):
What do you think of those water plants that are
now recycling sewage and turningthat back into drinking water?
I saw a story about that on thenews I was going.
There's no way this couldreally be real.
It's a water treatment plantthat cleans and purifies the
water and then puts it out therefor drinking.
I'm not sure exactly where itis.
My guess would be California,but I'm not sure I'd have to see
(30:49):
that.
Tee Forton-Barnes (30:49):
Now you know we all drink water from.
It goes down the toilet, it'sgoing to our water treatment
plants.
Pharmaceuticals are flusheddown the toilets.
They and I will give you a tipLook up for Tampa, look up
anybody's listening.
Look up EWG Water.
(31:10):
That's all you have to plug in.
It's an environmental workinggroup.
It's a great organization thathas been around for decades.
I know them very well.
I study them very well.
That's like the firstorganization besides Silent
Spring that really dove intothis whole industry of
pollutants and chemicals in ourproducts.
But they have a scientist ontheir team that analyze all the
(31:33):
water reports that come from allthese cities.
I tried to look at buffaloesand it's like you know a
different language, so theybroke it down and it'll show you
the chemicals that are in yourdrinking water and it'll show
you the top 10 or 12 or whatever.
There's so many more, but it'llshow you the levels of that
chemical and most of them areanywhere from like 50 to 300
(31:57):
times what they should be in ourdrinking water and most of them
are potential carcinogens,which is horrific.
George Siegal (32:05):
So I have to stop taking the tap water in a
restaurant.
When they say would you likebottled or or tap water, I mean
it just sounds like you alwaysthink, yeah, I don't want to
spend another five bucks on aglass of water here I know,
bring your own.
Tee Forton-Barnes (32:18):
That's what I do.
I bring my own.
I bring my own takeoutcontainer too.
By the way, you don't ever wantto put your food in plastic wow
, you know fiji water.
George Siegal (32:25):
Fiji water gets 100 out of 100 on that app that
I was telling you about.
Tee Forton-Barnes (32:29):
Good yeah, Fiji's good.
My girlfriend works for Fiji.
George Siegal (32:32):
But it's in a plastic bottle.
Tee Forton-Barnes (32:33):
It is, but if you're traveling, and that's
all you can do, do it theDasanis and all those other ones
that Pepsi sells.
It's tap water.
George Siegal (32:43):
Yeah, but if it says natural spring water, does
it have to be natural springwater at least?
Tee Forton-Barnes (32:52):
I don't know that regulation so well, but I
question that.
I question the word natural atall.
George Siegal (32:55):
Yeah, you already did with other stuff, so it
can't be different from water.
Tee Forton-Barnes (32:59):
Yeah, exactly .
So you just have to be mindful.
And I drink a ton of water, I'ma big water person and I just
want it.
I want it to be as clean aspossible.
George Siegal (33:10):
Yeah, and does that thought process change when
you're in foreign countries,like when we go to Europe?
My research about it, but Idon't trust it.
Tee Forton-Barnes (33:30):
I don't.
Our water is unfortunately sopolluted.
I mean London could reverseosmosis all of their water and
it might be okay.
Naples, florida by the way, ifI have that correct, I think
it's Naples or Fort Myerssomewhere down there, that
community, it's Naples, now thatI think about it, they do
reverse osmosis for their water.
That's what the entire countryneeds to be doing.
Fort Myers, somewhere downthere, that community, it's
Naples, now that I think aboutit, they do reverse osmosis for
their water.
That's what the entire countryneeds to be doing for our entire
(33:53):
every city.
It's expensive, it's veryexpensive.
India does it.
India has horrible water.
They reverse osmosis.
You can't drink over thereunless you drink the reverse
osmosis water.
So our water is just, I mean,unfortunately it's loaded with
everything that's pushing intoour waterways and our oceans and
our lakes and our streams,coming off of all these
(34:16):
different pesticide andherbicide sprayed lands and
flushing the toilets with allthis other crap.
So I mean, even even puttinglotion on and shampoo, it's
going down the drain, it's goinginto our drinking water, all
those chemicals.
So it's just being mindful ofeverything you're putting in
your body, on your body andbringing into your home.
George Siegal (34:38):
And you know, I think that's really a losing
argument when we say that it'stoo expensive to do it because
the cost of not doing it seemsto be much higher to do it
because the cost of not doing itseems to be much higher.
Treating a community of peoplewith cancer has to cost a lot
more than slapping some filterson there and trying to avoid
them getting cancer.
Tee Forton-Barnes (34:53):
Exactly.
You know, and I have friendsthat are very well off and I try
to convince them to get a $600reverse osmosis put into your
house.
This is a flight that you couldtake to a city.
It's $600.
I know not everybody has $600.
It's hard and there are somedecent small countertop units to
(35:22):
use for your water.
But it's really just like yousaid, you really want to pay
attention to everything in yourthat you're using.
Spend it on your body, spend iton your home.
You want it to be as safe andas clean as possible.
It's just and, as you said, youdon't want to get sick.
It's a lot more expensive toget sick.
George Siegal (35:43):
Oh, absolutely so .
Let's, I kept you longer than Isaid I was going to.
Okay, if you had to givesomebody a takeaway of okay,
here's the first, the number onething, and I know we kind of
touched on this.
But just to put a bow on it,what's the first thing I can do
to just start making my househealthier?
I want to start working on theair.
Tee Forton-Barnes (36:02):
So what I would do is take a box with a
bag, because I want you to tieit.
Take all your cleaning suppliesit includes your laundry
detergent Put it in a box with aplastic bag, get it out of your
house, go and get afragrance-free laundry detergent
, fragrance-free all-purposecleaner.
(36:24):
I have one that I make and sell, mind you, and Tea's Organics.
A little plug there, sorry,george.
George Siegal (36:31):
No go for it.
Tee Forton-Barnes (36:34):
Yeah, it's an all-purpose cleaner.
That's all I use.
I was brought up on in the 60s.
My mother had us cleaning withvinegar, water and baking soda.
I still do to this day, and soget rid of it.
Don't get rid of it.
Don't get rid of it.
Don't throw it away.
Put it in your garage, get itsomewhere.
Try for two months and see howyou feel.
(36:55):
I've never had anybody come backand say I can't live without
those.
I can't.
I have everybody come back andsay I can't believe I was living
with those and sleeping inthose and using those in my home
and everybody.
I mean I love it so much whenpeople will call me and thank me
(37:15):
and tell me how they feelbetter.
And I was at a friend's houseand, oh my God, I couldn't even
spend the night.
I had to leave because she usedthis horrible ingredients.
So you start realizing whatthis all could potentially be
doing to your body, to your mind, your thinking process, your
sleep at night.
Your body has to detox throughthe night and if you're on toxic
(37:39):
load, you might not even besleeping well at night.
You might be waking up a lotbecause your body could be
telling you like I can't workthis hard to get these toxic
chemicals out of your body.
So these are all things thatyou could see.
Those changes I'm never goingto guarantee it with anybody,
(37:59):
but this is definitely areasthat have helped a lot of people
.
George Siegal (38:04):
That's great advice, t.
Thank you so much for sharingthat.
All your contact informationand ways people can reach you
I'll put in the show notes.
I may have to start orderingsome of your products just
because I'm feeling a littletoxic right now.
I got to be honest with you?
Tee Forton-Barnes (38:18):
No, don't feel it.
You know what it's good.
If you start thinking that way,you will start reading labels
on everything and, as you are,you're helping other people too
and getting your kids to readlabels, and I try to have fun
(38:38):
with it.
I know it can be a littledepressing because it's
overwhelming, but you take yourtime.
Slow, go slow.
Don't throw everything out,even though I love doing that
for people.
Don't throw anything.
So if you really want to, I'llhelp you with that.
But you know and it's justbeing more aware and reading-
yeah, come by next time you'rein Tampa.
George Siegal (38:59):
You'll have a field day at this house, just in
my daughter's room.
Tee Forton-Barnes (39:02):
Love doing that I would love to.
I'll be there in January.
George Siegal (39:09):
Okay, hey T, thank you so much, I appreciate
your time today.
Tee Forton-Barnes (39:10):
You're welcome.
Thanks for having me.
George Siegal (39:12):
I know a lot of you have stories about your
experiences as a home buyer orrenter and I'd love to hear
about them.
Fill out the contact form inthe show notes and let's get you
scheduled to be a guest on anupcoming podcast.
By sharing your stories, youcan help other people avoid
making the same mistakes thatyou made.
Thanks for listening today.
(39:33):
I'll see you next time.
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com