# is oilcloth foodsafe?



## numom499 (Jun 12, 2005)

I want to make something like these http://www.reusablebags.com/store/wrapnmat-p-2.html

out of oilclcoth. Can anyone tell me if that would be safe?

thank you oh wise women....


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## AngelBee (Sep 8, 2004)

:


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## moondiapers (Apr 14, 2002)

What about PUL, would that be safe?


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## rabbithorns (Dec 20, 2005)

What's PUL?


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## moondiapers (Apr 14, 2002)

PUL is fabric laminated with polyurethane, it's used as a water proof fabric for diaper covers, AIOs and Hazmat suits.


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## numom499 (Jun 12, 2005)

...


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## lilyka (Nov 20, 2001)

:

but oil cloth is so much prettier


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## numom499 (Jun 12, 2005)

so do you know if it is food safe?


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## numom499 (Jun 12, 2005)

anyone?


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## EricaLeigh (Apr 25, 2005)

After reading the first link, you will see that it sounds like making your own oilcloth would be safe. But modern oilcloth is actually made from vinyl, & not reccomended, (it's a fossil fuel made product) So using linseed oil with canvas or linen (the old fashion way) would work great, & I couldn't find anything that said it is not food safe. But I would think that making a cloth bag coated with beeswax would also work I don't even know how you would do that. Rub it on?

http://www.moscowfood.coop/archive/oilcloth.html


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## aolinsmama (Apr 9, 2004)

The Problem: Vinyl

Polyvinyl chloride, commonly known as "PVC" or "vinyl," is one of the most common synthetic materials used to make plastic. The problem is that vinyl plastic, used extensively in building construction and packaging, creates global impacts from relentless toxic pollution that damages the health of all natural ecosystems.

Ultimately, vinyl is the worst plastic for human health and the environment. Why? The reason is that the production of vinyl is the largest contributor to dioxins and persistent bioaccumulative toxics. The chemicals in vinyl plastic are known to cause cancer, disrupt the body's hormone systems, and damage the nervous, immune and reproductive systems of all living things.

Vinyl requires large quantities of chlorine and a multitude of other hazardous chemicals for production. Vinyl manufacturing has a long history of contaminating groundwater, polluting surrounding air sheds, and harming factory workers with highly toxic and carcinogenic vinyl chloride, PCB's, dioxin, and other organo-chlorines.

Dioxin, a by-product of combusting vinyl, damages reproductive capabilities in developing fetuses, damages the nerve system, and causes sexual hormone imbalances and cancer. It concentrates in mammalian breast milk and breast fed infants receive doses of dioxin orders of magnitude greater than those of the average adult.
When its entire cycle of manufacture, use, and disposal are taken into account, vinyl creates more persistent toxic pollutants than any other known source. The toxic legacy of vinyl contaminates every inch of the planet and, even at low doses, contributes significantly to the disruption of ecosystems.


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## numom499 (Jun 12, 2005)

thank you for the replies







I guess I will try to make my own oilcloth...I wish I could just buy some old fashioned oilcloth, but I have searched theweb and had no luck. What is linseed, is it really safe?


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## EricaLeigh (Apr 25, 2005)

That's what I wanted to know too. Also why I was thinking of beeswax as an alternative.


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## SoHappy (Nov 19, 2001)

I'd guess you could do it by melting (over a double boiler) beeswax into some foodsafe oil and brushing it on with a stiff paint brush.


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## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lilyka*







:

but oil cloth is so much prettier

PUL can be pretty too- almost any fabric can be laminated.


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## numom499 (Jun 12, 2005)

so is pul foodsafe?


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## moondiapers (Apr 14, 2002)

The wrap n mats are lined with PEVA which is a food safe non-cholorine plastic. When I did a search on PEVA on ebay it came up with tons of clean shower curtains........I have 3 wrap n mats and they look easy to use, I'd like them to be bigger though because we use oddly shaped bread alot (I bake all of our bread). So the wheels in my head they are a turnin, lol.

-Heather


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## rabbithorns (Dec 20, 2005)

These sites talk about food safe oils, but they are all in relation to finishing surfaces that may come into contact with foods (like tables). None talk about oilcloth in relation to food storage.

I found this site that address linseed oil and food safety. It was opposed to linseed oil as a food safe oil:
http://www.naturalhandyman.com/qa/qalinseedoil.shtm

This site recommends using tung, walnut or mineral oil as food safe:
http://www.canadianhomeworkshop.com/...g_finish.shtml

This place in the UK has a chesnut food safe oil.
http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-C...Oil-377292.htm

And this is tung nut oil which is FDA approved food safe:
http://www.realmilkpaint.com/oil.html

This site is about oilcloth (but I do love the moscowfood article).
http://www.codesmiths.com/shed/works...ques/oilcloth/

This place has oilcloth and says oilcloth is made with linseed oil and does not recommend machine washing. But it doesn't say their oilcloth is made using linseed oil...
http://www.wilshiregardenmarket.com/...tablecloth.htm

More oilcloth from Mexico:
http://www.mexicansugarskull.com/mex...Site/index.htm

On the combustibility of cloth soaked in linseed oil:
"I would like to mention again that linseed oil appears to very prone to
spontaneous combustion under various circumstances. Even though most oils are flamable, the spontaneous combustion issue is very different. And
although most oil soaked rags need to be disposed of carefully, linseed oil
soaked rags are exceedingly prone to spontaneous combustion,i.e., rags
soaked with linseed oil can rapidly build up enough heat to self ignite!
Many reports and fire investigations have found rags soaked with linseed
oil and linseed oil containing products to have been the source of fires that have caused great destruction and killed many people."

So I was reading about sprouting and they recommend flax or hemp cloth for sprouting bags because they don't mold like cotton, and it made me think about these lunch bags. Do they have to be waterproof? The only things I put in lunches (in bags) are sandwiches, tortilla chips, and homemade baked goods. I'm not sure they need to be waterproof...


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## rabbithorns (Dec 20, 2005)

Another question: I was thinking of ripstop nylon that you can buy in the fabric store, the kind that's really lightweight and has little box patterns. It is polyethylene. Is that a petroleum product? It's supposed to be food safe, I think.


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## aolinsmama (Apr 9, 2004)

hoping this isn't in the realm of OT, but my childrens' sandwiches (and adults too) have always been fine in a cloth napkin. then, they use the napkin as a "table setting" at lunch, and of course as its original purpose, a napkin








i did always think those velcro wrap things were cute though!


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## moondiapers (Apr 14, 2002)

When I've used a cloth napkin my bread kind of dries out and tastes stale. Do you do anything special to prevent this?


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## jenoline (Nov 25, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rabbithorns*

So I was reading about sprouting and they recommend flax or hemp cloth for sprouting bags because they don't mold like cotton, and it made me think about these lunch bags. Do they have to be waterproof? The only things I put in lunches (in bags) are sandwiches, tortilla chips, and homemade baked goods. I'm not sure they need to be waterproof...

I don't think waterproof is the issue, so much as "air proof". All of those things will dry out or get stale pretty quickly if exposed to air, and just cloth by itself will let air in.

Hmmm...I just thought of something...we have some mattress covers made for people with allergies. They are a really fine microweave fiber that doesn't let dust/dust mites get through, so maybe it would keep air out. The place I bought it from also sells the fabric by the yard, so you can make your own custom covers and stuff. I'll try to post the link later. It's not cheap though.


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## aolinsmama (Apr 9, 2004)

we have not noticed that happening, we usually eat them within 3 hours of being made though. ( usually about half store-bought, half homemade bread) they are also in a cloth lunch bag that has a velcro closure, don't know if that makes any difference. sorry i couldn't be of more help







hope you find something that works







(and knowing this forum, you will!)


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## rabbithorns (Dec 20, 2005)

We had some of those pillow covers - the allergy ones - to keep the dust mote stuff from coming through. They are like a super tight weave and they are labelled as 100% cotton. But some cottons are treated with resins like formaldehyde to make then no-iron or wrinkle free. It's supposed to be labelled no-iron if it has that resin, but I don't know if they always do.

I'd like to hear more about that fabric. That might be a really great option. The tight weave could keep things fresher and be a natural alternative to plastics. Good thought!


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## jenoline (Nov 25, 2001)

OMG! I just checked the site that I was talking about http://www.allergybegone.com/maten1.html
and the price on that fabric....you can only buy it in 10yds or 50yds....$169/10 yds
















Those would be some seriously high-end food storage bags









At any rate I don't know if they would be food safe. Here's the description

Quote:

Using a revolutionary new fabric technology, Pristine fabrics are tightly woven and specially finished to provide the unique barrier properties of laminates, without the added weight, stiffness and heat buildup. And, Pristine fabrics can be washed (in temperatures up to 160 degrees Fahrenheit) without any reduction in comfort or effectiveness.
Pristine fabrics boast an extremely small fabric pore size, creating an almost impenetrable barrier to allergy and asthma-causing microscopic dust mites and their by-products.
The innovative micro-weave of Pristine does not allow allergy or asthma-causing particles in, yet allows the fabric to maintain maximum air porosity. This makes Pristine:

# Soft, supple and silent
# Breathable, lightweight and "fluffable"
# Easy care
That "specially finished" makes me wonder. Oh well, I _thought_ it was a good idea - guess not.


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## rabbithorns (Dec 20, 2005)

100% cotton, untreated, by-the-yard barrier fabric at $16 a yard:

http://store.kidbean.com/0305106.html


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## siouxbee (Jan 18, 2002)

I am looking for something to use as an alternative to oilcloth myself, and since the kids and I made candles as gifts for xmas, we have some beeswax left over. I found this online:

How to treat natural fibers [including nylon fibers or materials] with beeswax

On a suitable surface that can withstand heat, place down a rectangular sheet of brown paper. Place another rectangular sheet of aluminium foil to match and mate the brown paper, edge for edge. Fold in half to make a square, then open and lay flat once again, with foil facing upward [this it to create a mid line seam as a reference point].

Place the material intended to be treated with beeswax, on one side of the mid line [in the middle of the square]. Evenly distribute a small amount of beeswax shavings over the material and then fold the paper-foil over to sandwich the material. Pass a hot iron [set to medium] over the brown paper to distribute an even layer of melting beeswax over the entire area of the material, which is sandwiched between the brown paper-foil.

Quickly open the brown paper-foil while still hot from ironing, and remove the wax treated material. That's it! You now have beeswax treated material. You can place the waxed material over your kefir jar, and secure it in place with an elastic rubber band, or tie it with string.


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