Popular Articles
- BPA Free Bottle and Sippy Cup Cheat Sheet
- BPA Free Pacifiers and Teethers Cheat Sheet
- Cheat Sheet: Paraben and Phthalate Free Baby Products
- Baby Skin Care Products: A Quick Users Guide
- Gerber Baby Food and Number 7 Plastics
- Safer Dishware Cheat Sheet: BPA, PVC & Phthalate Free Dishes
- SafeMama's Safer Sunscreen Showdown!
- Avent Launching BPA Free Bottle Summer of 08
- SafeMama: Wipes Review
- SafeMama's 2009 Safer Sunscreen Cheat Sheet
Fellow Safe Mama's
Grab Our Badge!
Missions We Support
Jun
5
Filed Under Dear SafeMama, PVC Free
Q: Do you know of any baby/wading pools that are safe from phthalates/pvc/bpa? I really want to get one for play at home with my 9 month old but am concerned they will leach chemicals. Thanks.
I get this question a lot and really wish I had a better answer. Hopefully in the next few years there will be better options available but for now we’re pretty limited when it comes to water toys and the use of vinyl or PVC. Most mainstream blow up style pools are made with vinyl because of its water resistant nature and its ability (through the use of phthalates) to be flexible. Same with beach balls, slip n slides and all those fun outdoor water toys. I’ll admit all those vinyl pools look like a LOT more fun, but if you’re worried about using PVC then unfortunately there aren’t a ton of options in this area but I have but one answer for right now:
Molded Pools. From what I’ve gathered, the majority of molded kid pools are made of HDPE (High Density Polyethylene or #4 on the recycling scale). These are available many times out front at the grocery store. You’ve seen them propped up by the door sometimes in 2 sizes with weird fish all over them. Toys R Us carries a couple molded pools made of #4 plastic as well.
Many of the molded pools I’ve found have a recycling mark on them somewhere but I have seen some that were not marked with recycling codes. However my best guess is that most molded pools are not made of PVC. (But don’t quote me on that – there is always the exception). If anyone has ideas I’m happy to add reader feedback!
Related articles:
- SafeMama Baby Pool Cheat Sheet
- Summer Series! Safer Ice Pop Molds
- Dear SafeMama: What’s TPR and Is It Safe? Answer from The Soft Landing!
Comments
One Response to “Dear SafeMama: Summer Series – Baby Pools”
advertisement
Win a Britax Marathon 70 car seat! Ends Sept 2nd!
Win a Hopscotch Kids Nail Polish Gift Pack! Ends Sept 6th!
Latest CPSC Childrens Products and Toy Recalls
- Swing Sets Recalled by Kompan Inc. for Repair Due to Fall Hazard
- Magnetic Maze Boards Recalled by Lakeshore Learning Materials Due to Choking, Intestinal and Aspiration Hazards
- Baby Hammock Metal Stands Recalled by MamaLittleHelper Due to Fall Hazard
- Baby Hammocks Recalled by MamaLittleHelper Due to Suffocation Hazard
- Williams-Sonoma Recalls Baby Bottle Warmers Due to Burn Hazard
Car Seat Recalls
Latest FDA Recalls
- Whole Foods Market® Announces Recall of Morningland Dairy and Ozark Hills Farm Cheese
- Azteca Linda Corp. Expands Recall of Queso Fresco Because of Possible Health Risk
- P&G Voluntarily Recalls a Small Amount of Dry Cat Food
Latest Recalls in Canada
- Seymour Custom Solvent recalled over labelling
- Kids eyeglass cases recalled because of lead levels
- GUND board books pose choking hazard
Safer States Action Alerts
- Industry trumps children: BPA ban defeated in CA
- Maine moving toward a BPA ban, but needs your help!
- California Update: The Green Chemistry Initiative
Visit Our Friends
In Europe, phthalates are banned from children’s products, so we got our inflatable pool and beach ball from this toy store in Italy and had our family bring it over to us. It is possible they will mail it.
http://www.ipiccolissimi.it/root/ricerca.php?articolo=pvc
These pools and toys are all “senza ftalati” which means without phthalates, and we’ve been very happy with ours. Maybe also try the European amazon.com web sites.