GliderCENTRAL

If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ

Posted By: chattrbabe

If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/27/10 11:21 PM

On my site, there is disclaimer at the bottom of the Home page, stating that I do not wash cage sets before sending off. I am allergic to Tide and I would hate for someone to get the same reaction to my detergent that I have from Tide. It also states to wash items before giving to your pet. I put that because I sew in my gliders room and smells may get on the sets even though they are stored in a big Ziploc bag. Another reason to wash is to make sure that the fleece doesn't have any lint that your gliders may chew.

I wash all of my own stuff before my gliders get it for the same reasons. Little did I know that there was another reason.


I will now be washing all items in *All* Free & Clear laundry detergent before I send them off.

Due to a recent discovery at a Joanns, I will be including a note inside of every package I send, reminding you to wash before allowing your pet to have ANY item that is purchased, no matter where it came from.

An associate at Joanns informed me that fabrics are shipped with a container of FORMALDEHYDE. This is also what causes our (vendors) hands to get dry during sewing and causes needles to dull faster.

I was not aware of this and I was horrified to find out.

Please take care and wash any cage set or item that you get for your gliders from any vendor, no matter what.
Posted By: eterrell84

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/27/10 11:28 PM

WHAT?!? why on earth is it shippied with that!?! crazyness!
Posted By: chattrbabe

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/27/10 11:33 PM

I know!!! I was so horrified that I couldn't even think right! It's all I could think about. It was in the back of my mind so much that I felt like I wasn't in this world. cry


How many people may have given their gliders something unwashed and it caused their glider to get sick and they just not know it?! cry
Posted By: eterrell84

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/27/10 11:37 PM

i know! did it explain on how they ship it with it? its its sealed, or HOW its in there? thats so strange!
Posted By: chattrbabe

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/27/10 11:39 PM

The lady who works there cutting the fabric is the one who told me about it. She asked if I prewashed and I said no, so she told me!
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/27/10 11:44 PM

Thank you so much Ash. I'm glad to have this info. I'll be posting it on my site as well.
I'm so thankful you shared this info with us.
Posted By: ssdreamsicles

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/27/10 11:45 PM

I always wash my fleece before i sew then the sets after im done. I put in a freezer bag after its out of the dryer to try to keep my house smells off the sets.
Posted By: eterrell84

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/27/10 11:56 PM

so you guys WASH your fabric before even sewing it?
Posted By: Rubym

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/27/10 11:59 PM

I hand wash mine using ivory soap. Will that be ok?
Posted By: culookn

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/28/10 12:04 AM

I wash ALL fabric when I buy it. So far, I only sew for personal use. If I buy from a vendor, regardless who it is, I wash the item purchased. Not saying the vendor is dirty but you don't know what was picked up in the mail.

I also wash all my personal garmets that I buy to wear or for hubby to wear before we wear it. Again, you don't know what was picked up in the store by enviroment or persons.
Posted By: ssdreamsicles

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/28/10 12:05 AM

Yes i always wash new fleece. I for one do not like working with it feeling the way it does. Plus washing and drying helps if it is going to shrink at all.
Posted By: nancy1202

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/28/10 12:15 AM

I also wash new fleece before sewing with it, liquid Tide, no fabric softener, line dry. Sometimes the smell of new fleece is pretty strong. And yes, purchased items get washed before use.

So, what exactly does formaldehyde smell like??? shock
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/28/10 12:19 AM

Nancy, I think formaldehyde smells like dead frog. :fall:

All joking aside, this is very good information. I don't usually wash fleece before sewing, since it is already elastic-y and not a natural fiber so it doesn't shrink like cotton. I WILL be washing all my sets before I use them though! And that does explain why my hands get so unbelievably dry! I wonder if the same goes for yarns.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/28/10 12:50 AM

OMG...thank heavens I wash my stuff for the gliders, but now I will do so for all humans also...THANK YOU
Posted By: nancy1202

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/28/10 12:57 AM

Originally Posted By: lovely1inred
Nancy, I think formaldehyde smells like dead frog. :fall:
Kind of OT, but Jessica, how did you know about the dead frogs? roflmao We had a delayed burial today for two baby tree frogs who have been residing in my fridge until the ground dried up enough to bury them. I'm going to start washing my fleece TWICE!
Posted By: princessmegi

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/28/10 01:02 AM

Formaldehyde is really not as uncommon as we'd like to think. It is also in MANY beauty products. Many companies use artificial preservatives that are formaldehyde-donating when immersed in water.

Stay away from products that include:
Sodium hydroxymethylglycinate (Suttocide)
Imidazolidinyl urea (Germall 115)
Diazolidinyl urea (Germall II)
Quaternium-15
2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol (Bronopol)
DMDM Hydantoin (Glydant)

For those not familiar with the reasons to avoid formaldehyde:
Carcinogen (causes cancer), Skin reactions, Ear infections, Headaches, Depression, Asthma, Joint pain, Dizziness,
Mental confusion, Nausea Disorientation, Phlebitis, Fatigue, Vomiting, Sleep disturbances, Laryngitis.
Posted By: KoziGliders

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/28/10 02:14 AM

Thanks so much.. seriously, that's scary! I'm so glad someone found out. I was at JoAnne's and they asked what the stuff I was buying was for and I told and even SHOWED them.. (had them in a bonding pouch with me) but no one said anything.. D: I wonder why. I'm so thankful we know now though..

We always use the Free & Clear stuff when we do glider laundry, it's fantastic and my boyfriend who has allergies has no issues with it either!
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/28/10 03:03 AM

I'm so glad you mentioned this!
I always wash my glider stuff before using it, wether I make it myself or buy it. Just about all fabrics have chemicals in them when they are processed. I never thought about warning anyone about it tho.
Sorry

Hmm... I think I should also mention that I wash all toys too since plastics are also processed with chemicals.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/28/10 03:07 AM

Ok, I went and did some thinking....this formaldahyde that it is shipped with is likely similar to moth balls. Moth balls have all sorts of nasty chemicals in them, to keep the yucky bugs from getting in your clothes. I know formaldahyde is one of them. I was in a discussion with some other knitter/crocheters about how they store their wool - both as the yarn and sweaters/scarves. Lots use mothballs, while others prefer essential oils that are deterrents, but don't actually kill the bugs. It's a real hassle, because wool yarns, linen yarns, and especially something nice like cashmere....us yarnies, we stash like crazy and wait for the right project to come along. It gets expensive, considering 200yds of hand-painted sock-weight yarn can be $25 or more. Big bummer to find something like carpet beetles have eaten all the yarn to little shreds. The argument for mothballs is that they are the only sure-fire way to kill bug eggs, but the downside is all those chemicals in your house, in your air, in the finished item. I would bet that the fabric manufacturers have a similar dilema. Huge warehouses of bolted fabric, floor to ceiling, how do you keep pests out of them? More importantly, how do you do it cheaply, to keep production costs down? Lots of chemicals, that's how.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/28/10 03:09 AM

Oops. Double post
Posted By: Meg_n_Von

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/28/10 03:30 AM

Wow, thanks for posting this!
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/28/10 04:50 AM

In Biology lab, aren't all those little jars of animals and parts floating in formaldehyde? It is used as a preservative? And yes, that is what the frogs you disect smell like...... I've seen a dairy farmer pour liquid formaldehyde in a bucket of milk for baby calves to drink so it doesn't start to grow bacteria before the babies finish it. Who knows what it really did to them.....
Posted By: chattrbabe

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/28/10 09:19 AM

Regardless of if other animals have had it, I am sure it is no good for gliders. I mean, think of how many people out there just GIVE something to their gliders without thinking twice about it...
Posted By: wildlifeangel

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/28/10 09:40 AM

Originally Posted By: princessmegi
Formaldehyde is really not as uncommon as we'd like to think. It is also in MANY beauty products. Many companies use artificial preservatives that are formaldehyde-donating when immersed in water.

Stay away from products that include:
Sodium hydroxymethylglycinate (Suttocide)
Imidazolidinyl urea (Germall 115)
Diazolidinyl urea (Germall II)
Quaternium-15
2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol (Bronopol)
DMDM Hydantoin (Glydant)

For those not familiar with the reasons to avoid formaldehyde:
Carcinogen (causes cancer), Skin reactions, Ear infections, Headaches, Depression, Asthma, Joint pain, Dizziness,
Mental confusion, Nausea Disorientation, Phlebitis, Fatigue, Vomiting, Sleep disturbances, Laryngitis.


You missed an important one... Formeldahyde is what is used to preserve dead bodies... which is why it smells like the frogs that some of us dissected in middle school.

My grandpa was a funeral director, and he once was preparing a body in the back while a memorial was happening in the front. A container of Formeldahyde spilled, and his lungs were damaged beyond repair. 30+ years later, he still has emphysema and breathing difficulties because of the exposure to the formeldahyde.
Posted By: JillMarie

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/28/10 10:41 AM

I did some reading on this as well, and it seems as though the fabric is actually treated directly with formaldehyde.

even your carpets are treated with it!!!

so in case I missed any fabric, I will be re-washing all the fabric in my basement that I use for toys and pouches. I do wash before I sew, but I am so paranoid, I want to wash all of it again! gives me a good excuse to stay home and relax today.

I will also be following that good advice you gave and putting in notes with the pouches I make and sell!
Posted By: fox0r

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/28/10 05:48 PM

I worked at Joann's for a while and never heard this. Then again the knowledge the employees have is minimal. Maybe someone could phone CS or corporate and ask about it?

ETA: I forgot to add -- most bolts of fabric (if not all of them) do come packaged in shrink wrap, too.
Posted By: JillMarie

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/28/10 07:05 PM

this makes me think the actual fabric itself is treated. not just stored with the fabric:
http://www.nycosh.org/workplace_hazards/formal.html
http://organicclothing.blogs.com/my_weblog/2006/04/wakeup_and_smel.html
this is very scary stuff, makes me want to get rid of everything, grab my pets, and go live out in the woods under a hollow log...
Posted By: Viciousencounter

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/29/10 08:19 AM

Oh my god.....I really didn't know that. My hands are so dry too. I can only imagine what it does to gliders......... I will post a disclaimer thank you.
Posted By: chattrbabe

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 11/29/10 08:48 AM

Spread the word to other boards, too! This needs to be known. hug2
Posted By: minkasmom

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 12/03/10 06:38 AM

WOW! shock I noticed this "funky" smell coming off the fleece I purchase.....but my nose didn't identify it as FORMALDEHYDE!!! (Now ether I can smell from half a mile away...too much "zonking" fruit flies in that famous biology class! roflmao )That's just plain SCARY, ya know?

I have another "fabric alert" for the newbies & do-it-yourself cage set makers out there...I'll start a new thread for it though.
Posted By: chattrbabe

Re: If you buy or make your cage sets, PLEASE READ - 12/06/10 08:56 AM

Bumping for the new people! wink
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