Be careful when dealing with antiques and old stuff! - ⚚ ∙ Life on Earth!

I bought a really beautiful, silver plated Art Deco tea pot a few days ago. But when making my first pot of tea in it, my flat mate and me were alarmed by a intense, foul smell. I phoned the women who sold it to me, and she told me that it might be because I made Roiboos instead of black tea in it, and that it might be some smell in the object - she recommended me to make some black tea in it and let it set over night. But when trying this, I realized that it wasn't the pot itself, but rather the handle that stank viciously from being indirectly heated when I poured the hot water in. Doing some research, I stumbled not only over this page that explains where the problem with my stinking tea pot lies (probably, a previous owner overheated it, and now it emits formaldehyde and/or other compounds even when only gently heated), but also various pages that warn about specific or general dangers when dealing with old items: Old cloth might contain DDT or other pestizides, old electronic items (and especially hairdryers, but also Bakelite items like Telephones or Radios) Asbestos, old cosmetic products seem to be extremely nasty, and antiques in general might contain lead (and sometimes uranium), or other chemicals might be used to produce and treat stuff, and so on - sometimes because people were just more relaxed about possible health hazards, but usually because they were merely unknown back then.

I'll try to send the tea pot back, and I hope we didn't inhale too much of those fumes

. In future, I'll think twice before I get any antiques.

Be careful when shopping, and especially cleaning or working items that are a few decades old.