In the most concentrated areas, he says, it could be compared to products you would clean your kitchen with, causing dry or cracked skin, or - in cases of prolonged contact - it can "lift off the top layer of your skin".

BBC: How toxic is Hungary's red sludge?

Clean tech is invading the kitchen as well -- behold the Biobot, a tabletop device that converts waste cooking oil into biodiesel.

ENGADGET: Inhabitat's Week in Green: Biobot, Nintendo Power Glove and an inflatable bathroom bubble

Cooking is therapy for Estrada and the kitchen - a spotlessly clean room with all the modern trimmings - is his inner sanctum.

CNN: DAYS OF THEIR LIVES

So this year, as you look to satiate yourself on incredible food and conversation, remember that should you become parched, you can always walk over to your kitchen sink and fill a glass with fresh and clean water.

FORBES: What Turkey, Football and Beer Have in Common (It's Not Just Thanksgiving)

Grit can get trapped in the mushrooms' nooks and crannies, so give them a swish in a bowl of cold water, then repeat with fresh water until the water runs clean and let them air dry in a single layer on kitchen towels.

WSJ: Stuffed Morels | Consider This

Nor do they want to clean up the kids' messes or spend all their time in the kitchen, I'm told.

CNN: Taking the kids: Gather away from home for the holidays

Their mobile command center includes a mobile kitchen, two construction trailers full of equipment, and tools and clean-up supplies for more than 100 volunteers.

CNN: Isaac pounds the Gulf Coast: How to help

Fuller has tried to clean up its own act recently, brushing up its image with a new website and a line of kitchen and bathroom cleaners and an expanded retailer relationship.

FORBES: A Foot in the Door No More