Question from Mike George
As someone with minor to medium chemical sensitivities, I have been diligent about my avoidance of certain chmicals. However, a party guest that stayed over had a late-evening accident with red wine while we were asleep. The guest found a bottle of carpet cleaner stuck away and unwittingly used almost the entire contents to clean the stain.
Initially the exposure didn’t bother me, but after I closed the house windows for a day to turn on the A/C I started to get symptoms. That night I slept in the house and got severe insomnia as the chemical evaporated and spread through the house.
Now I am making a renewed committment to become truly chemical free. My questions surround what to do with the carpet, offending stain, and chemical. I have put baking soda on the affected area to try and absorb the chemical but I was hoping I could get some advice on any carpet cleaning services that are MCS friendly.
Removing the carpet entirely may be in the cards, but I have found that I can eliminate 90-95% of my symptoms simply by avoiding a few offending products so want to not jump into any major renovations just yet. My goal is to get the carpets, and duct work cleaned, and remove any obvious offending chemicals before going too crazy.
Any advice on my situation, or other persons experiences would be helpful.
Debra’s Answer
First, I suggest that you remove ANY offending chemicals from your home, don’t just tuck them away.
The best recommendation I can give you is to remove the carpet. To simply remove it doesn’t require any major renovations.
I don’t have any first-hand experience with carpet mishaps since I haven’t had a carpet in over 25 years.
Readers, your advice?
