Bedroom Curtains

If you’ve read any of the other pages on this site, you might be thinking by now that you can’t have anything synthetic in your bedroom, including curtains. While I acknowledge that it’s a good idea to keep as many synthetic materials out of the bedroom, sometimes it’s just not possible or practical to keep them all out.

The purpose of this site is to provide as much information as possible so you can decide how far you want to go with making your room as healthy as it can be. It’s up to you to decide what you will do with the information. It will also depend upon your needs and ability to make it healthy. So……

The DOWNSIDE of synthetic bedroom curtains:

* Most synthetic bedroom curtains have lots of chemicals in them. The most prevalent are formaldehyde and hydrocarbons. These are found in all non-organic cotton, ramie, polyester, nylon, polyurethane, and wrinkle-free materials. Most other synthetic materials contain chemicals such as polyurethane, heavy metals, or other chemicals that should be avoided.

* They will outgas a small or significant amount of chemicals depending upon the materials and concentrations used.

* When exposed to heat (especially sunlight) they will outgas even more chemicals as the heat causes many of the chemicals to dissipate more readily. This is especially true of polyurethane, which is often used as an insulating backing on curtains.

* Even low levels of chemical exposures can have a negative impact on your health.

Organic bedroom drapes- a healthier option:

Curtains or drapes made of organic materials will be much healthier as they will not outgas as many chemicals, and perhaps none at all, depending upon the purity of the products used. It is important, if you want to keep the chemicals out, that you use certified organic materials such as cotton for your window coverings. Not all organic cotton is the same. For more information on organic fabrics see the organic cotton sheets page.

If you are creative and like to sew, or know someone who can, certified organic cotton flat sheets can be used to make your own bedroom drapes. These can also be washed whenever you like so they have the added advantage of being kept very clean, dust and allergen-free.

Flax or linen is another natural material that can be suitable for bedroom drapes. The fabric is a bit heavier but has a nice, contemporary natural look. It does wrinkle easily. Machine washing is not the best way to clean linen, but it can be done. It should NOT be placed in a dryer as the fabric will shrink, become limp and very wrinkly. Better cleaning methods would be to steam-clean or dry-clean using non-chemical methods.

Hemp is another material that is organic and works well for curtains.


Above all, avoid dry-cleaning bedroom curtains:

Traditional dry-cleaning methods use very harsh and harmful chemicals such as perchloroethylene or chloroethylene. These are known carcinogens which are harmful to human DNA, and the environment. The chemicals cause neurologic and reproductive problems. Some effects are manifested by headaches, body aches,and other physical complaints.

These chemicals outgas for about 3 months once they’ve been used for cleaning, even though you may not detect any odors after a few days. Look for eco-friendly dry-cleaning methods that do not use these harmful chemicals. More of these types of cleaners are becoming available as people are becoming more concerned about their exposures to toxins.

read what you MUST know about organic cotton sheets.

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