Cushy Cupboards

[Jo Beth]

A great new shelf liner, Cushy Cupboards, that I read about on one of the forums has caused me to reorganize, clean and unclutter my kitchen. I am very pleased with the ease of cutting and the way my items slide into place on the shelves.

[Turtleheadfred]

Hi again Jo Beth! Is this the liner stuff that's sort of squishy and things don't slide around on it? Let me know... I think it's the same stuff I have but I wanted to be sure if you don't mind clarifying. Thanks.:D

[callygirl]

Turtlehead, I too am a Cushycupboards convert. I bought it and have been slowly lining my kitchen, and laundry room with it. It was only sold at True Values in Ca, but I just checked their website and see it has some ACE hardeware store in Ca and one location in Neenah, WI. I guess that won't help you in TN, but maybe shipping is cheaper from WI than Ca, if they ship.

[Turtleheadfred]

Hi Callygirl! I think it's the same thing I already have - which around here I can get at the Dollar General store (and I already have.) I don't know where Jo Beth went:confused: but thanks for answering. I may check some of the Ace and True Value hardware stores around here for that specific name and see if it is in fact the same thing!

Thanks again!:D

[Jo Beth]

Hi I went on vacation, so I have not been online for awhile. Sorry
I need to go back and read all that I have missed while I was away, but I just wanted you to know you can get the info on where to get Cushy Cupboards at their web site CushyCpboards.com. hope this helps

[Jo Beth]

Oops forgot to let you know I don't think it is the same stuff. This stuff is white "sheets" that are firm pad, solid (no holes or ridges to have food get stuck). I is about a 1/8 inch thick which is very different for shelf liner. So is does cushion glasses and dishware nicely. But the best part is you can put it in the dishwasher if you spill something on it. Hope this helps jbm

[Turtleheadfred]

Hey that is different JoBeth! And Thanks!!! I'm going to go look at that website right now... still haven't gone by the hardware store, but the being able to put it in the dishwasher would be a MAJOR plus!:D

[Jo Beth]

Glad I could help. I spilled honey on the shelf liner and was very glad I had "Cushy Cuboards" in place, I was able to pull the liner out and put in the dishwasher. I would of spent a whole lot of time cleaning up the shelf if I wouldn't of had "Cushy Cupboards" as my shelf liner. I think of what a mess I would of had, had I had the the shelf liner with holes in it?

[jana]

I'm looking for shelf liners right now, and I came across the "Solid Easy Liner," which sounds a lot like Cushy Cupboards. I thought I would share for those of you who aren't in CA or don't want it shipped. They sell it at Container Store (http://containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?CATID=64222&PRODID=67258).

[callygirl]

Jana, this looks the same, but is rubber; this will prevent the glasses to be slid into place, like the Cushy liner in CA. Rubber also will stain and deteriorate making it not as good a choice.

[jana]

I don't think there is rubber in it, but it's possible. It does have a smooth surface on top so that you can slide dishes in & out.

Here is some info from the Duck Tape website (they're the same company that makes the cupboard liners):

"Easy Liner and Easy Liner Supreme are made of a polyester mesh that is coated with PVC vinyl and baked in an oven.

Smooth Top Easy Liner is a solid vinyl shelf liner laminated to a non-skid PVC vinyl backing."

They don't specifically list the Easy Liner Solid, but it feels very similar to the Easy Liner and the Smooth Top Easy Liner.

[callygirl]

Hi Jana, I know it seems silly to be obsessive about shelf liners, but it was so hard to find one that didn't have negative features.
I went to your link and read it, I don't think I researched this one when I picked the CC Liner.

It may be similar, but the length is only 4', the CC is 10' by either 24" or 12". The 12" was only 1/2" too wide for my upper cupboards and the 24" was close to perfect. The 20" wide would be wasteful for upper and too small for lower. I don't remember the prices any longer.

The interesting thing about CC is that although you can slide your items in place it keeps them there...just enough grip. A friend with an RV got turned onto it and sold me on it. We both hated the rubber liners with holes that crawled which is much better under rugs than in cupboards.

My RV friend saw it demonstrated at the OC marketplace and they demonstrated the glasses moving in and out, then held up one side of the shelf and the glass did not move "downhill."

[jana]

Yeah, you're right, the lengths/widths are different. It's still not a bad alternative to CC, though, I think.

I did get some, but once I read what they're made of I'm taking them back. I never really thought about what some grippy/slidey/washable shelf liners would be made of, but pvc/vinyl is about the worst kind of plastic available in terms of health and off-gassing. I don't want that near my food & dishes, and I don't care that much about lining my shelves. :)

[Jo Beth]

Which liner did you think gave off Gas? I guess I think it would be no different than plastic wrap or baggies! Which I use everyday. The only thing I have learned not to do with those (Plastic wrap and baggies) is to use them in my microwave. That is when they give off gases! I can't think of a reason to put a shelf liner in the microwave? But I do love the fact that CC can go in the diswasher. That puts it high on my list. Less time hand cleaning= a happy person.
jbm

[jana]

To be clear, it was the easy liners I bought, not the cc. I don't know what the cushy cupboards are made of, but I bet they are similar.

Plastic baggies are not made from vinyl (#3), they're made from #4, LDPE (low-density polyethylene), which is an okay plastic. Plastic wrap is usually made from #3, PVC, as well. PVC can contain lead and leach hormone disruptors. Check out this link (http://www.checnet.org/healthehouse/education/articles-detail.asp?Main_ID=28) and this one (http://www.checnet.org/healthehouse/education/articles-detail.asp?Main_ID=185) for more information.

Yes, definitely do NOT microwave anything in plastic, no matter the kind. Just because something says it is "microwave safe," that only means it's not going to melt or fall apart. It doesn't guarantee that the plastic is not leaching chemicals into your food.

Even if you're not microwaving plastic, though, it can release gasses that are not healthy, which is why I don't want vinyl shelf liners in my kitchen. I try to reduce the amount of plastic in my life. I use a cloth shower curtain instead of a vinyl one, pyrex food storage containers, etc.

[Jo Beth]

Jana

I bet you are skinny too! :)

I have always admired people like you. You have researched it to the 9th degree. I am a impluse shopper. I thought it was a big step to go on web sites like this to learn about the newest products.

I try not to microwave plastic, I have a glass shower door in one bathroom and a vinyl liner in my spare bathroom and have never given it a thought. If plastic doesn't get me something else will!

Thank you for your web links.
I already bought and installed Cushy Cupboards and I really like it. So I am not ready to tear it out yet. It seems to be a great upgrade in shelf liners from the sticky stuff of years ago. I have 2 boys unloading the dishwasher these days and I am thankful that CC is in my dish and galss cupboards.
jbm

[jana]

Thanks for the compliments! :o Please don't think I'm trying to judge or criticize your or anyone else's lifestyle; I hope I didn't come off that way. I'm glad that you've found some products that work for you. They definitely sound nicer than that old sticky contact paper!

You're definitely right, though: if plastics don't getcha, something else will! That's one of the things I've got a chip on my shoulder about, I guess. I'm annoyed that for more than 20 years of my life I have lived with a lack of information about health concerns and alternatives to dangerous products, so whenever I come across info like that I feel compelled to share it.

There's definitely a limit when it comes to these kinds of things, I know, and it's all about each person's comfort level with their lifestyle and what they perceive to be risks. There are some things I know are risks and I just don't care enough about them (or rather, I care more about not drastically changing my lifestyle) to bother with dealing with them. Everybody has their own concerns.

Okay, that's enough of my hippy rambling for today. I hope I made just a little sense! :p

[empty nester]

Janna, thanks for the information on PVC and plastics.

I emailed the Cushy Cupboards company to find out what the liners are made of. They responded that it is a #4 which is one of the 4 types of poly products that the website you linked said did NOT have hormone disruptors.

I feel better knowing that and that I don't have to redo my kitchen shelves because I really do like this product!!!

[Turtleheadfred]

Man! Y'all are SO HOOKED I REALLY want some of these! The only way to get them in my area though is to order them online. And I'm one of those "touchy feely" kind of people who really like to check things out in person before getting something. Hopefully, I'll find some around here! :D

[jana]

Awesome, Empty Nester! Thanks for taking that extra step and for letting us know what you found out! :D

THF....maybe you could find somebody who already has them and ask them pretty please if they would save you a scrap from when they cut them to fit?

[Turtleheadfred]

Any volunteers? I swear I'd never even heard of these until you guys told me about them! And when I've mentioned them to my friends... they all look at me like I'm a nut!?! (Please refrain from commenting --- I know it's hard!) :crazy:

[empty nester]

Jana, this might not be the best spot for this post, but want to know if the new bakeware is an unhealthy poly product. Do you know? They look like they would release cakes and breads easily, but don't want to trade one problem for a more serious one.

[jana]

Well, the ones I know about are made from 100% silicone, which is supposed to be safe. I know plenty of people who love them. I'm still wary, though, since they haven't been on the market that long and I doubt anybody has done any studies, long-term or otherwise. I only use cast iron or stoneware for baking. :)

[Turtleheadfred]

Hey y'all! Miss 'Nester sent me a sample! This stuff is COOL!!!! Definitely different from ANY of the stuff I've seen ANYWHERE around here so anyone trying to do a comparison I can honestly say it IS DIFFERENT! And the ability to put it in the dishwasher to clean it is a plus within itself!!!

Thanks EmptyNester!!! :D You're a sweetiepie! (Now when's the last time you were called a sweetiepie?) ;)

[Themamma]

I called to order a roll of cushy cupboards and the gal told me it is on sale, so I ordered more than a sample, hope I like it!
949.888.5200 (Denault's True Value/CA)

[Jo Beth]

I wish it had been on sale when I bought it. I don't have a need for any more of it at this time, but anyone reaeding this site for the first time should jump on it. I love it best in 3 places. 1st under my glassware for protection. The 2nd is under my pots and pans (no more black marks) and 3rd under my oil, syrup, and honey (they alway leave a mess and I just pick it up and throw it in the dishwasher). Enjoy last weekend we used a little of the 24 inch to make a small ghost costume and I made an apron with a 12 inch piece (I use it when I know I have a great chance of spilling something on my outfit. Spagetti, soups etc) You may come up with other ideas.

JoBeth

[Themamma]

Ok, I do like it! Now, I wish I had ordered more....since I don't live in the area will someone tell me when it's on sale again?
I lined under the pots and pans and the glassware cupboard, and china, now I want to do the pantry!

[empty nester]

I just read that it is an urban legend about heating plastic containers in the microwave. I knew that we had discusses that here so I came back to tell you. Below is the snopes.com Claim: Research shows that microwaving foods in plastic containers releases cancer-causing agents into the foods.
Status: False.

Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2002]


Info for the Health Conscious
Dioxin Carcinogens causes cancer. Especially breast cancer. Don't freeze your plastic water bottles with water as this also releases dioxin in the Plastic.

On Channel 2 this morning. They had a Dr. Edward Fujimoto from Castle Hospital on the program. He is the manager of the Wellness Program at the hospital. He was talking about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat and plastics releases dioxins into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Dioxins are carcinogens and highly toxic to the cells of our bodies. Instead, he recommends using glass, Corning Ware, or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results without the dioxins. So such things as TV dinners, instant saimin and soups, etc. should be removed from the container and heated in something else.

Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. Just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He said we might remember when some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.

Pass this on to your family and friends.





Variations: In 2004 the warning appeared prefaced as follows:

Johns Hopkins Newsletter
Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in their newsletters. This information is being circulated At Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Dioxin Carcinogens cause cancer. Especially breast cancer. Don't freeze plastic water bottles with water in them as this also releases dioxin from the plastic. Dr. Edward from Castle hospital was on a TV program explaining this health hazard. He is the manager....



Origins: This
"health alert" began appearing in people's inboxes in February 2002; the "Channel 2" reference indicates it was someone's summarization of a short morning news health segment aired on KHON TV in Hawaii on 23 January 2002, which was then forwarded all over the Internet as "important health information."


One- or two-minute health spots on local news programs are not ideal sources of medical information, however. While important basic information can be imparted in such a format, trying to explicate complex medical topics in a minute or two can easily mislead or confuse viewers, many of whom come away believing absolutely whatever they've heard (or think they've heard) because "a doctor on TV said it was true" — in this case an unshakeable belief that using plastic containers in microwave ovens causes cancer.

That a doctor (or, more accurately, someone bearing the title "Dr.") appears on TV does not mean he's a leading practitioner in his field; it generally means only that he has something to say that a news director considers newsworthy, accurate or not. (We point out here that the "Dr. Edward Fujimoto" identified in this piece is not a staff physician from "Castle Hospital" or a medical doctor; he's a PhD serving as director of the Center for Health Promotion at Castle Medical Center in Kailua, Hawaii.) What TV news covers is dictated by ratings, not importance, and sensational claims get better ratings than straightforward, mundane information, even if the latter is more valuable to the viewing audience. It's a pretty good assumption that if using plastic containers in microwaves — as millions of people have been doing for decades — posed a significant risk of cancer, you'd be hearing about it somewhere other than an e-mail forward of an anonymous summary of a morning news spot on a Hawaiian television station.

Is there really something to the central claim of this e-mail, that heating plastic in microwaves releases a cancer-causing agent into the food? It's within the realm of possibility, but it must be stressed the FDA does impose stringent regulations on plastics meant for microwaving. Also, if there are dioxins lurking in the plastic containers we heat food in and the process of warming those receptacles looses those nasties into our ingestibles, we've yet to locate the studies that prove this. However, because most dioxins are dangerous compounds we want to have as little to do with as possible, many people are cautious about using anything associated with them. So, if you're one of the concerned, be sure that when you cover a dish you intend to microwave with ordinary plastic wrap you do not let the covering touch the food, because some of the plasticizer in the wrap — which may contain toxic chemicals, as opposed to does contain toxic chemicals — could migrate to what you're cooking, especially foods high in fat. Alternatively, use waxed paper for this purpose. Those who are very, very cautious about the potential for dioxin contamination might choose to adopt the central point of the e-mail's advice, which is to decant all items into glass or ceramic containers before microwaving.

But how real is this concern? According to Dr. George Pauli, a leading Food and Drug Administration scientist, not very. He acknowledged that some plasticizers do migrate into foods, particularly those containing a lot of fat, oil, or sugars. But research has found no ill effects from consumption of plasticizers in FDA-approved plastic wraps or from freezing or re-using plastic water bottles. Even so, others remain unconvinced, and those on both sides of the issue recommend not letting plastic wrap touch food during microwaving.

[jana]

Thanks for posting that. I had actually come across that before, and although I usually love snopes, I am not pleased with their response on this one. Granted, it is the 'hoax' email which is not accurate, but snopes pretty much tries to mitigate valid concerns about plastic by contacting one "leading scientist" at the FDA? That's not enough for me, in the face of the research that snopes said they "have yet to find." Besides, despite public opinion, the FDA does not protect us from all bad things in the environment and in foods...they do a lot, but they are by no means perfect.

Here's the deal: the concern is not dioxins in plastics (dioxins are more of a concern in fatty (animal) foods and bleached fibers, like tampons, pads, paper towels, etc.), but the phthalates and other chemicals in plastics that are released during cooking.

Here are some quotes from Rolf Halden, PhD, PE, assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences and the Center for Water and Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, from the JHSPH's Public Health News Center website (http://www.jhsph.edu/PublicHealthNews/articles/Halden_plastics.html) (emphasis mine):

Office of Communications and Public Affairs: We are surrounded by plastic products and many people use them for cooking and preparing foods every day. Is there a concern with using these products?

Rolf Halden: In general, whenever food comes in contact with materials that are not inert there is a chance of chemical transfer and contamination. We are primarily concerned about plasticizers such as the various phthalates, acetyltributylcitrate and dioctyladipate, all of which are added to plastics to make the products flexible and less brittle. The concern is that if you heat up plastic food containers, utensils or plastic wrap, some of these chemicals could be released into food or beverage.

OC&PA: How much of these chemicals get into our food and is it harmful?

RH: That’s a difficult question and the best answer I can give is: it depends. Several European studies found that many plasticizers migrated from plastic containers and wraps into foods as they were heated in microwave ovens. Some of the chemicals were absorbed in high quantities (several hundreds of milligrams per kilogram food). The amount of chemical absorbed by the food depended on the temperature of the container and food, the duration of the heating, the type of plastic used and its initial plasticizer content, as well as the type of food being heated. As a general rule, the fattier the food, the more of the chemicals potentially can be absorbed and retained by it. More research should be done in this area.

OC&PA: What is the risk from exposure to these chemicals?

RH: For example, phthalates are environmental contaminants that can exhibit hormone-like behavior by acting as endocrine disruptors in humans and animals. These “synthetic hormones” may pose a special risk to susceptible populations such as children, who are more vulnerable because they are still developing. But again, it’s not clear how much exposure to these chemicals is occurring. Potential adverse heath outcomes also are dependent on a person’s individual susceptibility.

OC&PA: Should people be concerned about dioxins in plastic food containers more so than plasticizers you mentioned?

RH: Plastics typically do not contain dioxins. However, dioxins can be formed in the environment from the incineration of waste, particularly the incineration of hospital waste, which contains a great deal of polyvinyl chloride plastics and aromatic compounds that can serve as dioxin precursors.

When dioxins are sent into the atmosphere they become attached to particles and eventually fall back to earth. Then they bind to, or are taken up, by fish and other animals, where they get concentrated and stored in fat before eventually ending up on our lunch and dinner plates. People are exposed to them mostly from eating meat and fish rich in fat.

Another quote from Dr. Halden at JHSPH (http://www.jhsph.edu/PublicHealthNews/articles/Halden_dioxins.html):
Some drinking straws say on the label “not for hot beverages.” Most people think the warning is because someone might be burned. If you put that straw into a boiling cup of hot coffee, you basically have a hot water extraction going on, where the chemicals in the straw are being extracted into your nice cup of coffee. We use the same process in the lab to extract chemicals from materials we want to analyze.
All this is from just one site. There is plenty of other information out there, from other experts/researchers and other places, if you search for it. I tend to err on the side of caution: if there are considerable studies that point to serious consequences from heating plastics in the microwave (even if they're not conclusive and everyone says more research is needed), it's really not that big of a deal for me to heat my frozen dinner in a real bowl. :)