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Allergies and intolerances

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Original poster

How to clean carpets (baby with eczema)

30 replies

Sheilsie · 18/07/2009 21:02

My 8-month old DD is on the verge of crawling and can no longer be contained on her playmats. Therefore I'd like to clean our carpets (we moved in last year and don't how clean the carpets are, plus the previous owners had pets). I've thought about hiring one of those electric carpet cleaners, but am concerned that the chemicals you'd use it with would not be good for her eczema. Any ideas would be much appreciated!

I've got a Dyson allergy hoover, and plan on spraying the carpet with Total Hygiene DM1 spray after it has been cleaned.

Thanks

OP posts:

chegirl · 18/07/2009 21:36

My son has severe eczema. He is 6 now so I have been developing my cleaning regime for some time now .

If it were me I would hire a cleaner to give the carpets a good deep clean as the previous owners had pets. You can get shampoo specifically for pet owners. Make sure you give them a really good rinse.

Then I would invest in a steam mop. I got one for about £40. They do not use any chemicals and they kill house dust mites and you LO is likely to be allergic to them as they are a very common cause of eczema.

I hoover twice a day. I steam once a week and I shampoo once a month. It may sound a lot but I only have rugs so it doesnt take long. Also DS's eczema was so awful I cant bear the thought of it flaring up again. So I am a bit of a obsessive .

I know what DS is allergic to housedust mites so I know it helps to kill the little bleeders.

trixymalixy · 18/07/2009 21:55

hello!!

We steam clean our carpets, couches and matresses as DS is allergic to cats and we still haven't found a new home for our two.

We do try and keep the cats out of most of the house where there's soft furnishings, but one of them is a bit of an escape artist and will take any opportunity to sleep on the couch!

It's something like this and you are welcome to borrow it if you like.

chegirl · 18/07/2009 21:57

There are wipes you can get for pets tixy that help to get rid of the dander. That might help till you rehome your cats. Unless DS is allergic to their salvia in which case they wouldnt be must use

trixymalixy · 18/07/2009 22:21

Thanks chegirl! I have some petalcleanse stuff that I regularly forget to put on the cats.

chegirl · 18/07/2009 22:24

Does it work when you dont forget to put it on the cats?

trixymalixy · 18/07/2009 22:42

It's hard to tell. So many things seem to have an effect on his eczema that it's hard to pinpoint it to just one thing.

His eczema has been much worse than usual recently and we have been a bit lax with things.

I am a total marketing man's dream consumer as I bought the whole range of sprays and wash additives .

chegirl · 18/07/2009 23:12

You sound just like me .

I didnt get DS allergy tested for ages because so many things make him flare.

Unfortunately for a lazy mare like me, the best treatment seems to be good housekeeping.

Hoovering, dusting (I use Method stuff and find it very good), lots of washing of bedclothes and clothing, airing beds and rooms every day and getting rid of carpets and soft toys.

At least I have a clean house now. Cant relax or he gets really bad though.

girlsyearapart · 19/07/2009 15:59

dd2 tested rast 2 for dog dander. We don't have carpet downstairs and the dog is not allowed upstairs.We were agonising about giving the dog away.. well dh was all for giving him away but I've had him since a pup and can't face it. The excema nurse said as he is 8 and dd2 is only 10mo she's more likely to grow out of it/he'll die (stafie not hugely long life expectancy) before we'd manage to rid our whole house of dog dander..I'm heartened by the fact that she had a spell of completely clear skin a few weeks ago when the dog was here. But now she's trying to crawl it's getting bad again. Those wipes sound good what are they called?

chegirl · 19/07/2009 16:24

Hands up time. I have two small dogs and an allergic child. But I really go the extra mile to protect him. He is allergic to so many things it would be impossible to protect him from all the things he reacts to. My kids have had to deal with an awful lot of loss and I didnt want to add to that by getting rid of the animals.

We dont have cats anymore and will not be replacing the ones we have lost.

We have very strict rules around the dogs and I have already outlined my bonkers housework regime quite a few times .

DS also has SN and he gets a LOT out of having animals around.

girlsyearapart · 19/07/2009 16:29

Glad you have dogs too chegirl. DH is allergic to cats so we already gave her away and i could't bear for the dog to go too..

chegirl · 19/07/2009 18:16

As with all things in life you have to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages. If DS had allergic reaction that caused breathing problems or swelling it wouldve been different.

I have to let him outside and he is more allergic to pollen than dogs!

girlsyearapart · 19/07/2009 20:10

yes he doesn't cause her any major reactions so far no wheezing or asthma type things and the only swelling she has had was either pollen or melon. Obviously in that case would've had to give dog up.
Tried wet wrap for first time tonight she wasn't impressed and screamed all the way through..

chegirl · 19/07/2009 21:04

Poor you . Its bloody horrible when you trying to make them feel better and they hate it.

We tried to make any invasive treatment more fun by doing it at the same time as tv time, reading, story cds etc. We also gave warning. It doesnt help at first but it is better in the long run. They dont feel so ambushed by it. Can you do teddy or dolly at the same time?

You can give calpol a 20 mins before and her antihistimine if she has it. This can help minimise any pain and stinging.

Sometimes, once they calm down they realise that what is happening is not as bad as they think.

Thing is, its got to be done so dont feel guilty. You are doing it for the best.

girlsyearapart · 20/07/2009 08:55

Thanks yes. I didn't really realise what it entailed until I started so tonight I'll probably do it in front of CBeebies..
She slept all night for first in ages though. Bliss.

chegirl · 20/07/2009 13:24

Yay! Thats why its worth persevering.

Chances are your dear little one will begin to be ok with it. Lots of attention, cbeebies, no itchies.

Good luck. My DS is old enough to ask for his bandages now. We use the paste ones rather than wet wraps. I called them his superhero bandages and he bought it! He looks at me now and says 'No mummy they are my skins! Not super heros!'

He thinks I am a bit simple. How I long for those innocent days when he believed everything I said to him

girlsyearapart · 20/07/2009 19:12

Thanks chegirl. Did the ww again tonight cue much screaming again. Could't do in the calm environment I planned though as mil and fil came over. At bedtime. Again.. Was going to do an aibu thread about that but that's another story!

chegirl · 20/07/2009 19:18

Oh I wondered what that noise was

Poor you and LO. You will have it down to a fine art in no time (fingers crossed).

Did ILs sit there going 'oh isnt it a shame, oh I am so upset, oh I cant bear it'

My mum did. Apparently it was all too much for her because she is so sensitive

Me on the other hand, I love to hear my kids screaming blue murder that I am hurting them!

sparkle12mar08 · 20/07/2009 19:27

I know I'm late to this but in your situation I would definitely try and get the money together to hire a professional cleaning company to do them - domestic hire machines simply aren't powerful enough and usually leave behind deposits in the lower levels of the carpet pile. You need a company using the 'hot water extraction' system rather than any kind of chemical system. Them follow chegirls excellent advice - hoover twice daily and steam once a wek with a goodly powered machine. I saw a great article in New Scientist a few years ago now from an allergy researcher who was looking into carpets in the home, and he regularly found carpets with higher levels of pesticides and other residues than would be found in actual fields, because it accumulates in the fibres. But apparently you can reduce this easily with religious twice daily hoovering, but you have to be mega thorough. I'm probably less so

chegirl · 20/07/2009 20:40

Oo nice to know I am doing something right .

I know I hoover properly because my DS used to copy me when he was a toddler. He never pushed his toy hoover around, he got the hose and went down on his hands and knees!

Your advice about the professional cleaner is good. I use a Vax for animal owners. If I had carpets rather than a couple of rugs I think I would call in the pros.

But I ripped up my carpets years ago. It just wasnt worth the hassle.

girlsyearapart · 20/07/2009 21:34

yes.. got it in one chegirl. Mil was 'oh poor dd2 poor little thing' etc to dd1 who she was watching in the bath. Made me feel worse as I, like you, enjoy hearing my baby scream blue murder..

chegirl · 20/07/2009 22:25

I know. It really helps matter doesnt it. It actually makes the child scream louder IMO.

girlsyearapart · 21/07/2009 06:15

oh well another night slept through! it must be working. Skin feeling softer too.

sparkle12mar08 · 21/07/2009 10:18

If you can get to a library with an online subscription to New Scientist I thoroughly recommend trying to get a look at the article, I found it a fascinating read and the researcher gives a detailed method for hoovering carpets effectively. I think it's this one - "Curse this house", 05 May 2001 by Rebecca Renner, Magazine issue 2289

chegirl · 21/07/2009 18:30

Glad its working girls

Oh my gosh sparkle I am tragically excited about the thought of that article!

Original poster

Sheilsie · 23/07/2009 21:44

Thanks girls. I'll look into a professional cleaner using the hot water extraction system, and also for the New Scientist article. And, much as I hate hoovering, I will endeavour to do so mega frequently in future. (A shame the same standards won't be met at my DD's nursery.)

OP posts:

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