Home & Hearth: Readers Questions

Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Today I have two interesting questions from readers.

Have you heard anything about the harmful effects if the Teflon coating on my skillets etc. comes off? If it is getting into the food, is this harmful to me? ~Linda Boyd

My understanding that the problem is not with the Teflon coming off into our food, but with the fumes that may be released from the material if it reaches a certain temperature. There is a lot of unresearched information on both sides.

Dupont does "publicly acknowledge['s] that Teflon© can kill birds", but they say that's as far as it goes. Apparently if a pan gets too hot, the fumes can kill a canary or other bird that is close to the cooking area. This is very factual and is common knowledge among people who raise birds. However Dupont insists it's safe for people:

"We recommend cooking using coated non-stick cookware at low to medium heat," says Dupont's Rich Angiullo. "We know (our product) can withstand temperatures up to 500 F, well above any of the recommended temperatures for frying or baking."

From the Dupont website: "DuPont non-stick coatings will not begin to significantly decompose until temperatures exceed about 660°F (349°C) - well above the smoke point for cooking oil, fats or butter. It is therefore unlikely that decomposition temperatures for non-stick cookware would be reached while cooking without burning food to an inedible state."

Conclusion: I'd be cautious. Don't cook at high heat-- throw out any that look like they are really starting to scrape off easily. If you go to replace your pans consider another type. According to USA Today: Polytetrafluoroethylene, which is in non-stick coatings, can be found in irons, pans, skillets,wafflemakers, woks, ovens, bread makers, electric heaters, heat lamps, computer printers, light bulbs and the cookware.

I just have a question about something old. Have you ever heard of cresolene? It was used in a little lamp as a vaporizer. The lamps are antiques now, but I can't find cresolene to go it. Do you know if it is still made? And where one could obtain it? ~Mary B

I found this from Joyner Library,East Carolina University:

The inhaler was sold by the Vapo Cresolene Company from 1879 through the 1920's and was used as a treatment for whooping cough, asthma, croop, and for colds. The inhaler could be lit and placed on a bed side table to heat gently through the night, causing vapors to relieve cough and cold symptoms. The vapo cresolene inhaler was eventually replaced by the electric vaporizer.

My understanding of this lamp is that it was heated with kerosene, and in the top of it where the little dish area is, different liquids would be put in there-- often a creosole based product, and believe it or not, sometimes opium based products that were used in it back then. I don't think you can get what they originally used, and I would be hesitant to use the lamp the way it was meant to be because the kerosene would also have fumes. . As I was researching this, I thought of the modern infusers used for essential oils. They would do much the same thing, but in a safer manner.

~Brenda