Question
I woke up this morning and decided I wanted to steam clean the carpet in the apartment, especially a spot that the rabbits have decided to, um, well, 'mark'.
So I bought a steam cleaner.
But Kevin is concerned that fumes from the cleaning solutions are unsafe for me beause I am pregnant. The bottles say no such thing.
Does anyone know if it's OK for me to steam clean the carpet while 34 weeks knocked up?
posted by ElliottPreciousPants @ 2:17 PM
11 Comments:
I have no idea...but I'm wondering if you're worried if somethin glike Nature's Miracle - which is more enzyme based rather than chemical based - might be better?
Or better yet - apparently a solution of vinegar and water is supposed to work pretty well - I'm sure that's okay, right?
Well, the steam cleaner I bought came with this thing called fiber cleanser or something, and I bought a pet stain remover solution, too. I've checked the MSDS on both on the web, and they say inhalation isn't a source of entry into the body.
I'm not really worried. But Kevin is.
i'll check into it for you. meanwhile, realize you're nesting!
Kevin was teasing me and suggeting that I was 'nesting' last night. My mom didn't think it was funny, because she said she's not ready for me to be nesting, because that means the baby is coming soon, and she won't be here till later. I thought that was funny.
Well, after checking out the back of the cleaning solution, and it having no warnings, and reading the MSDS, and then after we saw how diluted the solution was going to be (neither Kevin or I have ever used a steam cleaner) we both decided that it was probably totally safe for me to participate in common household tasks like this.
So, last night, Kevin moved a bunch of furniture, vaccuumed a big part of the carpet really well, and then steam cleaned it while I sat on the couch and pointed to spots I thought he needed to go over again. Yeah, he loved that. I did it for a while, but, well, the truth is, I think Kevin was having a lot of fun doing it, and when I did a small area, he was like "Ok, is it my turn now??" That was pretty funny.
The bunnies didn't like it, because it required us to move their cages temporarily to newer locations and leave them there overnight to ensure the carpet was dry. Everytime I woke up during the night (which happens to be a lot when you are pg, with all the peeing, and the fact that you need to wake up every single time you want to change position in the bed) I could hear them thumping to let me know they were displeased with the new arrangements. A few times their thumping woke me up.
The carpet doesn't look perfect--but man, does it ever look good. I think I will get some nature's miracle and soak the stains a little more, and then maybe do it again in a few days.
Of course, I am assuming this is safe--if someone finds out differently, let me know, and I won't.
I'm not sure about the safety, but since Kevin enjoys it, let him do it. Tarzan hasn't let me touch chemicals or anything fume related since I was pregnant.
We have a spotbot and that thing is freakin' awesome for getting spots. You just place the spotbot over the spot,select set in stain or fresh stain, and let it do the work. You can even soak up the extra water with a hose they have attached so it won't be heinously wet.
We got it after I saw a consumer test on TV where this family with 6 dogs made use of it.
(It has 2 different chemicals I think depending on the type of stain.)
It cost about $130, but it's been worth it - great for focusing on particular stains.
i looked around a bit- looks like we would need to know the names of the chemicals in it, since there are a few different kinds. Teratogens (chemicals that make flippers and other birth defects...) are pretty common, but you have to have a good route of maternal exposure, ability to cross into the placenta, be of significant dose/ concentration and during the sensitive window for a particular fetal body system. The good news is that inhaled teratogens are pretty tough to get in your body- you'd probably have to drink the cleaner for it to be really bad. and probably would have to drink a lot of it, and in the first trimester. the third trimester is also less sensitive to stuff (alcohol can still damage a kid in the third trim, and the central nervous system is still at risk... but less problems with third trim exposures in general).
i think you're safe, especially if there are no warnings on the bottle. i'll see if anyone knows otherwise.
PS- i just recently read (odd medical facts) that in the third trimester, male fetuses can get erections! that could happen in your belly! whoa.
I called the midwife, and she said it was fine. There were actually no fumes, which I was surprised by. At least no obvious fumes or smell.
CM--I thought about the spot bot. We decided on the upright one that looks like a vaccuum cleaner, because we figured we could do larger areas easier, and since we are animal people, thought it would be best in the long run. It worked great though! And is still made by Bissell, who also makes the spot bot.
Melissa--The fact that he could be getting erections is hilarious and awesome. And weird. But it's most likely happening--the baby is probably having erections in my uterus. Whoa. Can't wait to tell Kevin that one!
Re: baby erections EWW!
That's something I don't like thinking about. It's still a little disturbing if I go to change the Boy's diaper and he has one. Like perhaps I shouldn't be disturbing him at this time. :)
Chunky Monkey-
OH MY GOD! As I was amused by fetus erections, it never crossed my mind that the baby will continue to get erections after he comes out and during his childhood, and I will have to deal with what you are saying too!
I actually did KNOW it happened--I guess I just blocked it out for a while and forgot.
I'm with you, I would be disturbed too. Even though it's perfectly normal, I would feel like maybe I shouldn't be intruding on his 'private time'.
ok, but as we all know, boys have erections all kinds of times: when they wake up, before they fall asleep, during dinner, after they pee, before they pee, in the shower... it really just goes on and on. all that time can't be private. although i do see your point... it would seem weird, like something you want him to do in his bedroom, and just come out when he's all done. heh, boys are funny.
I know. I'm not being reasonable or rational. It's just my baby.
I guess it would be more disturbing if he didn't have erections all the time, that would probably signify something's wrong.
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