Hi, Erma:

Almost all plastics used in this country for appliances are impregnated with PDBEs, bromide-based flame retardants. In animal studies, these flame retardants were shown to neurodevelopmental toxins, disruptors of thyroid function, and liver toxins. You can't avoid PDBEs if you want to live a "modern life," such as owning a telephone, TV, radio, computer, etc. But you can limit your baby's exposure while he or she is asleep for 8-10 hours a day. I suggest you cancel or return the Vornado heater made from plastic.

I purchased a portable electric closed-system baseboard style unit for my office and it works very well. It's called the EBHA Softheat by Cadet. It's a closed-system hot-water heater, meaning it comes with water/ethylene glycol sealed inside. The unit is completely made of metal, as in a regular baseboard found in a hot-water heated home, except for little plastic feet on each end, so it can sit on the floor. It plugs into any standard 110 volt outlet. The unit has a white powder coat finish that is baked on, so it doesn't outgas. You still might want to run the unit in a room not occupied by your baby for a few days. When I first turned on the unit, I noticed a slight metallic odor coming from the copper pipe that contains the fluid, which was probably a soldering compound used to solder the joints in the pipe. It goes away quickly and is not a problem thereafter.

This heater comes in different sizes and wattages, and each model has a thermostat, so you can set the temperature quite accurately for the room. It's a very gentle even heat because the fluid inside heats the room to the temp set by the thermostat and then continues to give off heat as the room slowly cools down until the thermostat kicks on again, unlike forced air electric coil units, such as the Vornado, which cool very quickly along with the air. It's virtually noiseless, except for a slight click when the thermostat turns the unit on and off. The EBHA Softheat is marketed as recommended for use around babies and for people with allergies.

Visit the Cadet site, www.cadetco.com, for complete details on the product and where to buy it at a store or online.

I have no connection with Cadet. I'm just very enthusiastic about any product that's safer for everyday use than most of the stuff sold on the market that is made with cheap materials that very often are healthy to be around.

Hope that's helpful, Erma. Best of health and happiness to your entire family.

Peter in CT

I have been looking all over for a small ceramic heater with a metal case, with no luck at all. The only kind I've found have plastic cases, which I can not tolerate. I found one metal heater, that is not ceramic, but it does not put out much heat.

Does anyone know a brand name for a small ceramic heater that has a metal case, not plastic?

I can't use the oil-filled heaters, or anything plastic covered. Too many toxic chemicals in the plastic ones.

OK,I just posted and went to the Home Depot site. Heres the link to the one I saw. It's a utility heater, 1500 watts with a thermostat and made from heavy gauge steel.

If the link doesn't work, go to Home Depot and search on portable heater.

www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xr5/R-100652235/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I think I saw one of the old metal ones at Home Depot a few weeks ago. They had all their heaters on display towards the front of the store. They're pretty ugly, and a little larger than the small ceramic ones, but ugly might be better than plastic.