What household toxins make you paranoid?
Asked on an afternoon in the West Village.

They’re repointing all the buildings in Manhattan, including mine, and we get no notification about what’s coming out of these buildings and anything that we should do to prevent things from coming inside our apartment. You know, we had to sign off on making sure we had bars on our windows but nothing about this major construction that’s leaving dust and rubble and junk everywhere.
—Allison, 35, stay-at-home mom

We live in a really old industrial building where the vacuum tube and the vinyl lids for vinyl records and stuff like that was invented. So one of our concerns is trying to research what sort of chemicals were used.
—Tad, 33, musician

I tend to worry more about the things I can’t control like the pollution in the air and the secondhand smoke on the street. At home, I try to use organic products. Some people say that doesn’t even make a difference, but it makes me feel better.
—Jamie, 37, stay-at-home mom

I just read recently about the phthalates in soft plastics and that some soft plastic toys have gotten rid of them. I’m not real uptight about it.
—Michelle, 32, stay-at-home mom

My philosophy is that I grew up with a lot of plastic toys and chemicals and I turned out all right. Obviously, I lock the cabinets so my son can’t get into anything, but my maid cleaned this morning with the standard cleaning products I get from the grocery store.
—Laura, 38, stay-at-home mom

Related:

• Archive: “Family and Kids”
• Table of Contents: Jan 22, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!