www.clean-and-tidy.com/disease.htm
When I was a little girl, I had cracked skin on the soles of my feet. Cracked to the point where you could see the meat and there would sometimes be blood in my socks. I'd walk to school in pain, but after a couple hours of sweating, the skin would soften to the point it stopped hurting. The whole process would start again the next day.
Mom took me to a bunch of doctors, who would give her creams. The only thing the creams did was make me cream phobic. The last guy who saw me was a podiatrist she was seeing. She happened to mention it during an appointment and he looked at my feet. He said he didn't know either but she might try gettting rid of the carpets. They didn't do this for awhile, but when it came time to buy a new carpet, they decided to go without carpets for a few weeks to see if anythign happened. Voila. End of problem for little Margaret.
After that people thought it was weird when I insisted on not living with carpets. Then I saw that kids were getting Kawasaki disease, possibly from carpets, so I like to make mention of it when I can. I didn't live with carpets again until I moved to LA. I always wear socks or shoes on carpets. But I twisted my ankle so I was forced to crawl around for a few wees in our apt. My hands started cracking just like my feet did when I was little.
When I was a little girl, I had cracked skin on the soles of my feet. Cracked to the point where you could see the meat and there would sometimes be blood in my socks. I'd walk to school in pain, but after a couple hours of sweating, the skin would soften to the point it stopped hurting. The whole process would start again the next day.
Mom took me to a bunch of doctors, who would give her creams. The only thing the creams did was make me cream phobic. The last guy who saw me was a podiatrist she was seeing. She happened to mention it during an appointment and he looked at my feet. He said he didn't know either but she might try gettting rid of the carpets. They didn't do this for awhile, but when it came time to buy a new carpet, they decided to go without carpets for a few weeks to see if anythign happened. Voila. End of problem for little Margaret.
After that people thought it was weird when I insisted on not living with carpets. Then I saw that kids were getting Kawasaki disease, possibly from carpets, so I like to make mention of it when I can. I didn't live with carpets again until I moved to LA. I always wear socks or shoes on carpets. But I twisted my ankle so I was forced to crawl around for a few wees in our apt. My hands started cracking just like my feet did when I was little.
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Superglue can be your best friend. Seriously. Clean out the crack and douse it with hydrogen peroxide, pinch it so the edges of the crack meet up, and put a line of superglue down it. Hold it together while the superglue dries. done. In about 5 minutes you can walk on it with no pain and it can begin it's healing process.
I do it all the time.
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I can't stand those chemdry companies. The carpet always feels weird after. I just don't trust them anymore.
I think I am going to start renting carpet cleaners and just using super hot water.
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Carpets can rip my feeties open too.
Elocon is a really good treatment for mild skin rashes and troubles. It's by RX only
I use pure lanolin mixed with a little very light clear vegetable oil for my hands it works wonders. Also if you are in construction and handle strong bases, sheet rock, paints , or lumber all day a little vinegar on the hands at the end of the day is really good. -
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I'm with the anti-carpet camp. We took out most of the carpet when we moved in to our house (there was wood underneath waiting to be refinished). My sister, who has children, made the comment that I'd regret not having carpet when I had children of my own who would need a soft place for crawling around. But currently I'm just thrilled I can easily sweep up all the dirt and debris my dog trots around... not to mention all the hair she sheds.
When I do have a child I hope I find a solution that minimizes his or her exposure to toxic offgassing. -
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www.holisticmed.com/carpet/tc2.txt
A quick scan of the medical and scientific literature reveals the
following:
- A higher incidence of neuro-psychiatric illness including
visuo-analytical and perceptual impairment was found in floorlayers
than in controls. The effects were associated with glues and contact
adhesives and their action on the central nervous system. (6)
- A study of carpet and textile workers in northern Georgia found
that compared to other Georgians, they had a higher incidence of
deaths from lymphocytic leukemia and testicular cancer. (7)
- An increased risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer was found for male
carpet layers, as compared to control subjects, in a study conducted
in four areas of the United States. (8)
- A study found that carpet layers exposed to solvents are at
increased risk for the types of neuropsychiatric disorders associated
with solvent exposure, as compared to control subjects. The greater
the exposure, in terms of number of years worked, the greater the
risk. (9)
- EPA researchers warn that carpet tends to provide a reservoir for
tracked-in chemicals adsorbed to dust, including pesticides, lead,
heavy metals, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. The amount of
lead found in dust in carpet where a child plays has been found to be
the best single predictor of the toddler's blood level of lead.
(10,11,12)
- The abstract of a Russian study states, "People working in modern
carpet industry are exposed to a complex of factors in different
origin, the most important among which are general vibration and
styrene vapors. It has been found out in animal experiments
simulating working conditions, that the central nervous system is the
most sensitive" to chemical exposure in the carpet industry. (13)
- The ASTM E981 method used by Anderson Laboratories in
case-controlled studies has shown the presence of measurable
concentrations of sensory and pulmonary irritant chemicals offgassing
from carpet. Neuromuscular toxicity has also been measured with the
test. (14)
Anderson Lab's test results have been duplicated by an independent
lab hired by the CRI (15), and by the U.S. EPA in a side-by-side test
at Anderson Labs. (16) Mice exposed to air passing over a seven-inch
square piece of carpet at room temperature exhibited respiratory and
neurological symptoms, and some died. (17)
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Unsu...
I thought I'd add a couple links, as off-gassing was mentioned. There are books on the subject too, but here are some links to get you started. They're Wolverton's studies on plants and how plants remove toxins from the air:
www.colormegreenco.com/NASA/nasa2.htm
Excerpt:
New buildings or recently remodeled buildings are prone to emit indoor toxins. New paint, carpets, furniture, newly stained or sealed woods and plastics... release large amounts of chemicals into the interior environment. Copiers, inks and some cleaning supplies also release fumes... all of which can be detected for up to one year.
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www.zone10.com/tech/NASA/Fyh.htm
Excerpt:
NASA research has consistently shown that living, green and flowering plants can remove several toxic chemicals from the air in building interiors. You can use plants in your home or office to improve the quality of the air to make it a more pleasant place to live and work - where people feel better, perform better, any enjoy life more.
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As far as carpet for a short period of time, and you want something to stay down, but not permanently installed, you could check out the FLOR tiles. Big squares of carpet.
www.flor.com/
More designs at Lowe's too,
www.lowes.com
This should take you right to their selection but it's currently under maintenance, try later:
www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn
There are some fun colors and patterns that would be great for a baby room or child's room. I don't know what their levels of off-gassing are, but you could lay out the carpet tiles long before baby is due to remove most of the gases.
I hope this helps.
TRUE BLUE
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