I had my carpet cleaned(hot water extraction method) a few days ago in preparation for my 6 month old daughter crawling. I asked the person on the phone at the carpet cleaning company if the cleaning was non-toxic and he said yes. In their literature it says environmentally friendly. When the cleaners came I asked the serviceman again and he would not say it was non-toxic but said no one has been sick from it in the 17years he has done the job. I thought I was doing a good thing for my baby by having it cleaned but someone mentioned that it was dangerous and that Kawasaki disease is a possibly from carpet cleaning. Now I am afraid to let her on any of the carpeting and that is difficut seeing as how she is going to be crawling any day now. Is anyone familiar with carpet cleaning or heard of dangers to babies? If they cleaned properly shouldn't the majority of their cleaning prodcut have been rinsed out? Any information would be very much appreciated.
Steam cleaning (using water only) would be an alternative I would consider.
Any man made chemical and some organic substances can be considered "environmentally friendly" but still toxic to humans (like arsenic, for example).
D. -
I did a little research on this subject a few months ago. The "danger" part of the carpet cleaning occurs when the cleaning is done and for several hours thereafter. There is an entire ecosystem that lives within the carpet (gross, but reality,) and when the carpet is cleaned, everything gets stirred up and goes airborne. The recommendation in the articles I read was to not have young children present during the cleaning or for several hours afterward until everything has settled back down. Once the carpet is clean and dry, everything should be fine. Getting the kids out of the house during carpet cleaning is probably a good safety measure to take. Just something to consider in the future.
Regards, L.
The person who told you Kawasaki disease is from carpet cleaning is an idiot. Kawasaki's is VIRUS, it is passed from one infected child to another.
They extract 90% of the water put on your carpet and since the cleaning solution consists of less than 10% of the water I HIGHLY doubt that your daughter will get sick from crawling on carpet.
R.W., I would do your research before discrediting the original poster's information. Coxsackie is a virus, Kawasaki is a disease with no known cause, but there has been a connection found between the disease and recently cleaned carpets.
As long as the carpet has been allowed to dry completely, I think it should be fine.
you are not supposed to let babies crawl on the wet carpet once it is dry it is fine.
I had our carpet cleaned several times when my daughter was an infant/young toddler, and she was on that carpet as soon as it was completely dry and we never had any problems.
With extraction cleaning, you have nothing to worry about. Some companies shampoo with toxic chemicals and do not extract. You should be perfectly fine. :)
Kawasaki's disease is due to the carpet getting soaked. Dust mites are in the padding-comes that way from the factory. If the method soaks the carpeting-gets the padding and underneath wet, the dust mites are looking for a new home because their's is flooded. The method I use is Bay Area Chem-Dry. They use a patented process with a cleaner that is called the Natural. It is made from things we find in nature. It is safe and non-toxic. Only the carpet fibers get damp. The padding and underneath does not get wet-thus you are looking at a lower drying time.
S.
D. sweetie relax. Your over reacting. for one you know that majority of the carpet cleaning soap is already pulled out and steamed ou tof the carpet along with the dirt and whatever else. 2nd. you have vacumed the carpet since too so there shouldn't be anything in there to harm your child. I think your just too percautious which isn't bad. But you need to breath and let your baby crawl. 3rd ly if shes crawling and theres nothing visably wrong why freak!!! You can not keep your child in a bubble she will be whatever god has planned for her. If you keep her in a bubble than her ammunine system won't get use to fighting stuff off. She will be sick all the time. so relax and let her crawl. I think your over reacting because whatever could have been in there is now out buy dring and evaperating into the air plus you vacuming it out. Have a great day!
hey D. i have the carpet cleaned with all five of our babies befor they crawel and as long as it not wet she will be fine they do a good job a rinseing them out i would just do a little extra vacuming to be on the safe side and avoid the carpet fresh stuff
Another danger that is often overlooked: after carpets have been cleaned mold forms between the carpet, pad and floor because in many instances it takes hours for carpets to dry. As more and more cleaning takes place, more layers of mold develops.
You can see the mold only when the carpet is pulled up for replacement. A baby can inhale these mold spores while crawling on carpeted flooring, and cause "mysterious" conditions that puzzle doctors and parents as to "where was baby exposed to mold?"
I don't know much about the carpet cleaning companies, but I did see people comment on carpet fresh... instead of carpet fresh, you can use baking powder, just sprinkle it on the carpet. It won't have a scent with it, but it will deodorize. For your mopping, you can use, 1 gallon of super hot water, 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar, and about 1 tsp of dish soap. This is a no rinse floor cleaner... no your house wont' have a strong vinegar smell. This does however have a side effect... you won't have any problems with ants. I kind of like that side effect. Both of these are perfectly safe for your baby. The vinegar and hot water is the best way that I have found to clean tile grout.
Unless you are planning on never letting her move from off the carpet or she is a licker I don't think it would be a big issue... No more dangerous than the carpet powder we all sprinkle on the carpets and use our maybe not sucking so well vacuums to clean up... Or the spic and span we smear all over our floors...
I would keep vacuuming it and in the nice weather open the windows and let it air out... I would think that unless you were cleaning your carpets more than once every so often there would be less toxins in it than when the carpet is brand new and we all lay down and roll around on it. :-)
Here is what one web site said... (kidshealth.org/parent/medical/heart/kawasaki.html )
Kawasaki disease is an illness that involves the skin, mouth, and lymph nodes, and most often affects kids under age 5. The cause is unknown, but if the symptoms are recognized early, kids with Kawasaki disease can fully recover within a few days. Untreated, it can lead to serious complications that can affect the heart.
Kawasaki disease occurs in 19 out of every 100,000 kids in the United States. It is most common among children of Japanese and Korean descent, but can affect all ethnic groups.
Signs and Symptoms
Kawasaki disease can't be prevented, but usually has telltale symptoms and signs that appear in phases.
The first phase, which can last for up to 2 weeks, usually involves a persistent fever higher than 104° Fahrenheit (39° Celsius) and lasts for at least 5 days.
Other symptoms that typically develop include:
severe redness in the eyes
a rash on the stomach, chest, and genitals
red, dry, cracked lips
swollen tongue with a white coating and big red bumps
sore, irritated throat
swollen palms of the hands and soles of the feet with a purple-red color
swollen lymph nodes
During the second phase, which usually begins within 2 weeks of when the fever started, the skin on the hands and feet may begin to peel in large pieces. The child also may experience joint pain, diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain. If your child shows any of these symptoms, call your doctor.
wikipedia does say that there was one study that said something about possible triggers of this autoimmune disease being newly cleaned carpets or living near a body of water....
I don't know how it is possible you didn't call a carpet cleaner listed on the Mamasource website, The Greener Cleaner. Totally safe and "green". They are located in Troy, the owners, Tina and Mike, have a new baby and pets and turned their cleaning company "green" because being new parents, they can appreciate having safe cleaning done in their homes. I've used them many times...very professional, less expensive than traditional "chemical" cleaning and great results...they even cleaned all my mattresses! Their number is ###-###-####...I would put it somewhere handy!
I think it depends on who you have. I found one in our area that I couldn't be happier with.. they use non-toxic cleaners that work nad have NO smell. I absolutely couldn't be happier with them. AND I referred them to Grandma and they were so kind to her and cleaned her carpet of the stains that she thought were permanent cause her previous carpet cleaner didn't get them out!
Hi D.. I read Your letter and it quickly brought back memories. My son was 11 months old when he contracted Kawasaki's disease. He's nine now and doing fine. But your concerns are valid. I believe that the illness is caused by an industrial cleaning agent. Initially when my son started crawling I would blanket my floors on top of the carpet. Then we moved to a new place and were there for 4 months when he became ill. Looking back Im convinced that it was an industrial cleaner that I was using to clean my bathroom, my sons father brought it home from work. Maybe you can blanket your home just until she starts walking more and that way she has a little more cushion under her little knees. Other than that you may want to find out exactly whats in the carpet cleaning solution to be on the safe side and contact the EPA for more info. Hope everything works out for you & your little darling. God Bless....
