(Note: Include a pic of your problem and your question gets posted first.)
Hello AT,
I just found out that my 3 year old daughter has allergies to dust mites and cockroaches - both the leading causes of childhood asthma.
Thankfully we don't have any cockroaches in our apartment, but we have two carpeted staircases inside our apartment (it's a duplex and one staircase leads into our apartment and the other leads up to the second floor of our apartment) that likely haven't been deep cleaned in years.
After googling dust mites, I discovered that they must be cleaned in a particular way. I can't imagine that our landlord will allow us to rip out the carpets so I am looking for a service that will deep clean these carpets to get rid of the allergens. Do you have any suggestions? Also, the more green the better. Anything you can offer would be terrific. Thanks, Brooke
Dear Brooke, dust mites are hard to get rid of, so if you are really concerned about the carpet and it is old AND you plan to stay in your apartment for some time, we recommend working out a deal to replace the carpet with your landlord. He may go for it if you share the costs.
As far as cleaning goes, we don't have a lot of carpet cleaning experience, so we would call the following recommended sources and ask for help or info:
New York's Little Elves - AT recommended
Imacuclean - AT recommended
Rug Renovating - Recommended by NY Mag
Zelf Rentals will rent you everything you need to do it yourself.
Simple Green is a great STRONG non-toxic carpet cleaner for spot cleaning.
A2Zcarpet.com says they have a big database of tips for deep carpet cleaning.
Good Luck! MGR
Check out the local Rent Board laws or find a tenant advocate group that may have more info on what your landlord is required to update on the property. Here in SF my friend is getting new carpet put in (for free) because the old stuff hadn't been replaced in so many years it was a fire hazard--but no one had ever mentioned it, so the landlord either didn't know about the law or kept quiet.
You are better off getting rid of the carpeting altogether -- see if your landlord will allow that. There are no rules in NYC about carpeting, but there might be something in your lease.
I also have dust mite allergies (and nothing else), as does my mother. I've purchased allergy-control products from this catalog:
http://www.allergycontrol.com/
It's one of the better ones I've found & my allergist gave me their catalog. I haven't used any of the carpet care products in the catalog, as I have commercial type carpet in my apartment that vacuums up easily.
With my allergies, I found that the bed (where I spent the most time next to places where dust mites live) was the main culprit and harbor for dust mites. I have used their wash solution for my bedding and purchased the allergen barriers for my mattress, duvet, and pillows, however, and those have made a big difference. The top of the line ones are very nice and I don't even notice them now (no plastic bag feeling or rustling etc).
A note from your daughter's Pediatrician describing her allergy and recommending the removal of all old carpeting,etc would probably convince your landlord to let you remove it. (I wouldn't replace it with more carpeting though until you were ready to move out - we used cork on my son's floor for this reason).
I have a similair issue, but it concerns mold. We've just moved into a coop Apt. and all the areas surrounding the bathroom (and its old, cracked and buckling tiles) smell like what I am geussing is mold and keep giving us mild sore throats and itchy eyes. Does anyone know of a solution for this, short of ripping out the bathroom walls? And I don't really want to burden the coop board since it isn't an emergency type situation and they're already scrimping to replace a no longer up to code elevator. Any advice would be appreciated. - Suzanne
BE WARNED: Don't ever use SEARS carpet cleaning service!!!
They are rude. Offer TERRIBLE "Customer Service."
No quality control. And don't stand by their "Money back if not satisfied" policy.
Be warned!!
A little off-topic here, but you can cut back on dust mites in your bed significantly by putting your pillows through the dryer once a week. The heat kills the mites.
I'm an asthmatic allergic to dust mites. Check out mission:allergy products. I bought a product which I mix with water, spray on my carpets and vacuum. It kills the mites. I can't say whether the pesticide is any good for you, either, but I seem to rememebr they've been pretty conscious about how toxic this stuff is. I've reacted well to it, I think.
Now, if it would only work for mice...
Simple Green is NOT non-toxic.
I have the very same allergies (but add mold to that) and they used to cause me huge problems - I was sick very frequently (every 3-4 weeks, or so). At the time, I lived in a carpeted basement apartment. My allergist told me that in order to be healthy & allergen-free, I needed to move out of the basement & to never have wall-to-wall carpet in my home again. I've done that & I haven't been sick in a year!