The “event” on January 9, 2009, was a broken water pipe at the top end of the street. I think it was on private property, according to what I was told. They did their repairs using PVC or other plastic type pipe and glued parts together.
The glue and plastic residues somehow back-washed into my drinking water, and I had a full load of laundry in at the time. ALL of my remaining safe clothes were in the machine, except for what I was wearing.
I was told it was impossible for the back-wash to happen, but happen it did. Since they didn’t want to believe it was possible, they did nothing about it to help. I could not afford to send water samples to a lab as evidence, and was too sick to pursue it.
The chemical residues would not wash out of my clothing or the plastic drum of the washer. I tried washing them dozens of times…
I didn’t tolerate any of the chemicals in tap water after that and couldn’t afford water filtration systems, and couldn’t find funding for it.
I had to buy spring water in glass bottles for all my drinking, cooking, and clothes washing needs, and I got sick every time I showered (even with 2 filters at a time) or washed my dishes. Heart palpitations, dizziness, and more brain fog are what I remember (and still get from unfiltered water).
I managed to detox some clothing using lake water while at the cabin, but have been unable to figure out a safe for me way to resolve the situation here.
Here at least I have some water filtration inside, which helps a great deal. Yet I don’t have a sink in the laundry room where I could soak small things to detox them, and I can’t carry big pots of water back and forth anymore.
I don’t have a way to wash heavy things or wring them out by hand. I am just not physically able. And without a dryer, I often can’t wash the few things I do have, because the air is too humid for them to hang dry before they get mildewy.
I am running out of things to wear again.
I can’t buy used machines because the regular laundry product residues (some of which seem designed to be permanent) that I am so disabled by are impossible to remove.
New machines have manufacturing oil residues, with some new rubber and plastic parts that can off-gas for years. Stainless steel is much easier to clean, and doesn’t absorb contaminants like plastics do, but the motors can still emit fumes when hot until they are burned off, and I can’t do the cleaning myself, or burn off the motors here.
New hoses would be an issue too, and I’d probably need to find food grade hoses. Unfortunately no-one is making filters to filter the machine water from the hoses.
I really need safe-for-me machines with SS interiors, and help to get them. I don’t have the physical strength to keep this up.
Seriously "Sensitive" to Pollution 
I am so sorry its gotn so bad. I am tired too. Tired of the fight that is normal for us day after day. Cranilsacral therapy is helping my mucles and bones relax, it cant do anything for my poor liver that works so hard to get rid of chemicals its double in size of normal.
Tired of writing another letter to the editor, another one to the mayor…why cant the 1stresponders use fragfree handsanitizers?
But wait i am so mad now. We have the right to live and im turning into a real bitch about it.
The ADA conference last month about MCS acomadation gives me hope. Its on the web,if u havnt seen it yet.Americans are so dense most cant see past the end of their driveways.
Does it help to know u are not alone?
My shrink says to talk nice to my body,lol
Could someone please bomb the Avon plant? Wow better say goodbye for now. Nancy.
http://Www.ada-audio.com maybe?
Nancy, I posted about the accommodation resources when I found they were put online:
https://lindasepp.wordpress.com/2014/12/27/new-mcses-accommodation-resource/
I don’t believe in violence or retaliation, so I’d rather people join the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and write AVON letters to stop poisoning people and manufacture safe cosmetics.
I’m sorry you have been having so much trouble yourself.
My liver seems very sluggish too, and may be why I have so little energy most of the time. My mind wants to do things and my body just refuses to follow… I am patient with my body while the dishes keep piling up :/ They haven’t learned to wash themselves yet. I keep hoping…
I am glad you’ve been able to receive craniosacral work. I miss being able to receive body and energy work and wish there were more fragrance-free health and alt health practitioners around so we could all benefit from the different modalities that are beneficial. Maybe someday?
Wow i forget…have you tried a high school science class? Maybe a teacher would like to try to make u a simple washing machine. Some kid just made a prostic hand on a 3d printer of plastic of couse. Do they still have metal shops in schools? What about a vintage machine from a collector, it would cost too much if not found in your town. I saw a collecttion of old washing machine on some TV show some old guy just loved them!
Im manic today, maybe ill clean house.
Everyone in the whole world with mcs scream at high noon.
Do u know the % of pll in the world with it?
Thanks for your ideas Nancy.
There are a lot of people in the world with MCS/ES, but I don’t know how many. More everyday.
The latest statistical research from a few years ago indicates over 3% of the population are disabled, and over 30% affected. I think there will be new results released this year from Canada. We’ll see how many more.
And btw, if you’re manic and in a cleaning mode, could you come here and clean my place too? ;-)
I would love too come and clean your home. Its my place i dont want to do. I miss the Canary Report. I used to talk to a suffer downunder at 3am here. They are 3pm. No one to chat with now. USA had a conference on CMS last month, how to accommodate a CMSer in a natural disaster. Go to http://Www.ADA-audio.org. I hope that works. Very happy to see the USA finally doing something for CMS. Oh the toxicbaby website messed me up for a few days!
Sorry about that on the website, I put the warning there because I couldn’t get past the main page.
I miss the Canary Report too. …
I wonder why we sometimes find it easier to help someone else than ourselves?
I have direct links to those new ADA resources on this post:
https://lindasepp.wordpress.com/2014/12/27/new-mcses-accommodation-resource/
The only help I can offer is have you rewrite your post. You know from reading my blog that I believe in the Law of Attraction — that we get what we put our attention — emotions — expectations on. You are focused on “what is” and that is going to bring you more of “what is” — which in this case is LACK of a washing machine — LACK of clean water and — LACK of MCS safe clothes.
If you want to state what happened in the past o educate about the facts of living with MCS do it with no emotion attached) and then ask for your fellow bloggers to see you happy and surrounded by clean water and the perfect washing machine and beautiful clothes that are perfect for you. Instead of listing all the things that are obstacles — state not what you NEED but what you WANT and then be open to it coming to you in any crazy miraculous way the the Universe wants to arrange things.
Hope this helped. You deserve an abundant happy life. <3
Thank you Colleen <3
I focused more on what has happened, the history, and got stuck there because , well I did… I have been hurting from it and feeling very stuck in it… I wasn't expecting to even write this post… so I didn't think about what I was doing with it except marking the anniversary… and it didn't make me feel good, which should have been a clue…
You helped me. I decided to spend the week really focusing on attracting what I want. I’ve gone back and re-read books on it. Reading your post allowed me to clearly see how I’ve been doing the same things. I now substitute I deserve to be prosperous, for the former, I need money. And i was having trouble being happy about my MCS situation — it’s much better to attract from a happy place — so I’m thinking happy thoughts about other stuff — listening to uplifting music or watching a sunset and then I ask for what I want.
Venting is good if it is quick to identify what you don’t want and then switch quickly to what you do want. My problem with venting is that it tends to turn into an avalanche of bad thoughts and I have trouble stopping them once they started. So I guess the point of this reply is that I have total empathy for the “why me?” thoughts you’re experiencing right now. But I care about you too much to let you stay there — so pet a cat or watch a comedy or whistle a happy tune or dance or whatever makes you happy. And I’ll add my happy washing machine thoughts to your’s. I can hear the swish swish sound of the washer now. :D
<3
I love the sound of about to be clean clothes swishing in a washing machine :-)
I’ve been wondering what it was about my post or comments that made you think i was experiencing “why me” thoughts?
Our lives unknowingly change overnight. I’m sorry for your struggles.
Thank you.
I want this to change so that I do have a safe washer and dryer, and nice, safe, clean clothing, and towels, and bedding again…
Good washing machines really are a luxury. Your voice is making others aware. Who knows, maybe your comments will encourage someone to invent a safe machine. Getting rid of awful laundry products would be an added bonus.
We can hope!
You just made me remember another issue many of us face – so many W&D manufacturers put free samples of toxic laundry products into the machines before boxing up and shipping.
Some of those chemicals are volatile and get permanently embedded in the plastic parts and can make the machines unsafe to use.
I am so so sorry you had to deal with this! I do not know much about the law of attraction, but I will imagine for you not only a washing machine but a whole store filled with organic cotton, fragrance-free clothing dyed with beautiful but nontoxic dyes. No, forget the store… just your own very large walk-in closet. :-)
<3 <3 <3
What a mess Linda! Literally too, I guess. I have been circling the appliance problem for a while and not making any progress either. Our washer, dryer, and vacuum cleaner have all been on their last legs for a while now. My electrical engineering husband has patched, re wired, and disabled safety features on all of them to keep them going so that we can continue to avoid the problem…but it’s headed our way!
Certainly not my definition of fun :/
My 30? yr old vacuum cleaner made it here when I moved, but the first time I picked it up to use it, it fell apart in a way that was not repairable (the case was just too old) and 3 1/2 years later, well … a safe for indoor use vacuum cleaner is also on my list of things to find…
What is it with appliance and technology manufacturers having to make things so toxic these days?
Hi Linda
Is there a particular washing machine you may be okay with? If so, do you know the price and who sells it? I wish with all my heart you didn’t have to go through this. And I can understand how tired you must feel. It makes things worse when we are not listened to. However, please know, we ALL have your back. And will do whatever we can to support you. Thank you for your blog and for bringing awareness to these issues.
The Allergy washer by Asko is available in Australia. It’s an older model and can only be bought from places that sell old stock and seconds/damaged machines (dents and little things that don’t matter, really). We bought one, haven’t used as yet because the house is not built and I’m scared to use it in the place I’m in (moulds, washing machine leaks–seem to rear their ugly heads, and I need to be in a safe place). It has the steel drum and can do (i think) 7 rinses. The companies’s theory behind all those rinses is that people who are allergic to soap need to rinse their clothes more; it seems saner to just skip the soap and use bicarb or an FF safe soap! Anyway, I hope this helps. Here is the link where I first found it: http://theinteriorsaddict.com/the-washing-machine-for-asthmatics-and-allergy-sufferers
And this is another link that has all the specs: http://www.asko.co.nz/laundry-care/washers/w6888-allergy-washer-7kg—1800rpm/ (Sorry, I can’t find a Canadian one.)
(We bought ours from E and S Traders in Victoria, Australia. I can’t promise it’s good because I haven’t used it yet but can say, theoretically, it ticks all the boxes.)
For now, my older washing machine is outside hooked up to a garden tap. It still has toxic hoses and may have mould from the previous house.
I wish much Dana to be bestowed upon you… (If that makes sense.)
Thanks Miche!
That did make sense too ;-)
That sounds like a really good machine you got! I hope the refurb company cleaned it out really well for you! I’ve never seen or heard of them here :-(
Another feature I would like to have is one that allows for overnight soaks, which are really almost necessary for detoxing new clothing (or bedding), or at least make it so they require far fewer washings to get all those unnecessary and unwanted chemical residues out. That one at least has 2 hr soaks!
Most new machines will self drain apparently, if you turn them off, have low water levels that don’t rinse well, and hence require a whole second cycle to rinse (even if just baking soda)
Many of the new machines also have wireless devices that communicate with the “smart” meters, and I need machines that don’t emit wireless frequencies.
I was looking over a year ago, (and have several times before that), but have run into sales people who know nothing (when I call, as I am housebound) and they refer me to websites that also have incomplete info, and then when I try to call head offices for more info, I don’t get called back. Customer service isn’t what it used to be!
I need people who can help me find out what is available here (I am a lousy online shopper – I pull up so much garbage I can’t get through it, unlike research, which I somehow find much easier… maybe it’s the wrong keywords? I don’t know), and other people who could help me get a machine cleaned up and safe to use before it came here.
If I was healthier and all of my brain worked the way it was intended to, maybe I’d have been able to solve this one, but since I haven’t been able to, I am asking for help.
Linda, this is an awful scenario for you. My husband & I would like to help you purchase a machine. Do the sell Speed Queen in Canada?
We had to bu a new machine 6 months ago and are very pleased with it. Its tolerable for me and I have severe MCS. I researched before we purchased as I was in a panic when our 20 year old machine finally died.
Google Debra Lynn Dadd Speed Queen and you can see some info on it.
We are of meager means but want to will contribute 500 US dollars to the price the price. Perhaps some other followers can contribute to this cause?
Liz, I am in tears from your kind offer <3
I looked at the simplest Speed Queens and they seem perfect!
When I called around Ottawa last year, I couldn't find anything even remotely similarly suitable as these machines!
I entered my postal code and it brings up NY retailers, about an hour away (right down the highway – about as easy as it gets for people who drive) but still across the border.
I would have to find out somehow if there's another way – a Canadian distributor, or if someone is out there who can help get them across the border to me.
I have no idea about duty etc either …
It made me wonder if Speed Queen offers any charitable assistance?
I wonder if they would be willing to "safely" pre-clean a pair of machines (or at least a washer, depending on cost) from manufacturing residues (before assembly would be easiest), as I don't know if just cleaning the outer, easily accessible areas would be enough for me.
Maybe they can at least help get them across the border and to me somehow (or to someone who could clean them and run them a bit before I do, just to get the 1st residues off?
So many little bits to think about (I may have to write them all on pieces of paper and try to fit together a puzzle)
I don't derive pleasure from having to ask people to do so many things so differently for me, but in this world, I have to… as I have lost weeks of being able to think or speak clearly, like from that new HRV the other year, that had to be removed (there was a lot of plastic in it) and from other new things… even from foods that had some fragrance residues on them…
If everyone can help me work my way through the details and how to organize them (those parts of my brain really don't function well – it gets overwhelmed very easily from trying to sort out and maintain sense of the numerous bits of info that are required for some tasks – like there aren't enough synapses or neurotransmitters or something) I would be forever grateful for the help working through it all.
Liz, my deepest gratitude and love to you and your husband <3
Wow thats so nice! I can donate $50.00 if u need it. Dont do the fundme thing.they take to much. Ill just mail it to u.
Thank you Nancy <3
Pledges are good <3 <3 <3
Please let's wait until all the details are sorted out before actually sending anything though – I don't want to accept anything until it's all a go, ok?
If I have to use US $ to purchase, then getting $ here in CDN and converting back will lose a lot of the donations, and that's not fair.
The fundme sites I looked at weren't set up for Canadians, or wanted 30% or something astronomical, but there may be others… I have just been to brain dead to be able to sort through that kind of information… Some parts of my brain work, others don't…
Me too, Linda, let me know… I definitely want you to have a good washing machine! I hope this works out!
<3 <3 <3
Linda, when I Google Speed Queen in Canada Google brings me to a page that says:
“Speed Queen is not authorized to sell home laundry in Canada.
Please see our Huebsch Canada Home Laundry website to locate a dealer nearest you”
I went to that link and pulled up this link http://home.huebsch.com/contact/locator/dealer-results.aspx which lists dealers in Toronto. Take a look and are you able to call? I’m thinking that the Huebsch machine is maybe made by the same people as Speed Queen?
What you want to get is a top loading machine, not a front loader. And don’t worry my appliance store said manufacturers stopped putting laundry samples in machines because consumers did not want them!
It would be wonderful if the Huebsch is a replica of the Speed Queen with a different name! Let’s hope & pray!
Thank you LIZ, Miss D has a call in to Speed Queen too.
The Speed Queen top loader here is perfect for me!!!
It is simple, has no plastic drums, has adjustable water levels (not just low), and the ability to open the lid and do long (overnight) soaks!
http://www.speedqueen.com/products/top-load-washers.aspx#build-your-own?mn=AWN432SP113TW01
I hope they make the same model here!
I am trying to find all the details/specs for the machines by this other company, but they aren’t as revealing on the website. I may have to dig deeper (or get a better brain)…
There are local vendors in the Ottawa area, where I am now, and I remember one salesperson suggested this H company a couple of years ago, but they didn’t have half the features or had something like an outer plastic drum that made it unworkable for me at the time, I don’t remember now.
I am hoping and praying that solutions are near <3
This one seems to be the same or almost the same, the one with the extra rinse – it’s a bit hard on my brain going back and forth the sites
http://home.huebsch.com/products/product.aspx?id=428
The Ottawa retailers did not list this brand on their websites, so they may need to special order it.
In which case, it would be good to find out if a machine can be pre-cleaned from the manufacturing oils using vodka, baking soda and either Seventh Generation Free and Clear or Nature Clean (fragrance free), and off-gassed (used a bit with no materials inside) before shipping, and how much extra they would charge to do that, as most machines can’t be taken apart that easily for cleaning (and I don’t know anyone here who has a garage or space to do it in).
The laundry room here doesn’t have a window, and the HRV was never replaced, so there’s no ventilation, except into my kitchen and living room :/ and I don’t have an outdoor safe place here or garage.
I hope I am not repeating myself (too much anyway). I am trying to process and keep track of more new stuff than I am able to right now. One of these days my brain may surprise me and be able to do these things again!
Linda, What is HRV?
What I did with the Speed Queen was tape bubble wrap around the bottom perimeter so that it touched the floor to keep in any engine fumes. You could also use towels. After a few months it has fallen off , there are no fumes. The agitator barrel has no smell, and there is no plastic smell. Perhaps a slight enamel smell in the beginning, but not a problem.
We have laundry room with no window, but there are 2 doors one that opens to garage & one to the kitchen. Do you have a door?
Where would they need to clean from manufacturing oil?
HRV’s are heat recovery ventilators.
This place was built with having one in mind to do air exchanges, they bring in fresh air and expel stale air (heating up the fresh air as it comes in) as there’s very little natural ventilation here (nor is there a bathroom or kitchen fan), but the HRV was not VOC filtered (for woodsmoke or laundry fumes) so I frequently had to turn it off to prevent it from pulling those fumes inside whenever the outdoor air was full of them (pretty often, but depending on prevailing winds).
As the machine was almost 20 years old when I moved here, it didn’t seem to like being turned on and off, it probably wasn’t designed for that either. The new machine that eventually got ordered to replace it didn’t work out for quite a few reasons, some of which I wrote about when it happened. I never did get around to putting up the follow-up post (I got really brain injured from it, my best friend was dying then, and I think I just wanted to put it all behind me after, also not knowing how to write it without ruffling feathers).
Manufacturing oil residues are left on everything that is machine shopped – they use some kind of lubrication in the equipment. It usually washes off fairly easily, but has to be done with rags that are not fragrance and fabric softener saturated as that just defeats the purpose, exchanging one toxic residue for another.
The door to the laundry room/pantry here is between my kitchen and living area, which are open to each other, no other doors, so the only place for any off-gassing fumes to go would be into my air. Hence, if you could detect it, the enamel would definitely need to off-gas (for at least a few days) somewhere that is not here. And I don’t have safe for me towels or rags to surround the bottom with (one of the reasons I need the machines ;-) )
I would definitely need to find a way to have the machines cleaned (at least thoroughly wiped down) and aired a bit, as well as run at least a few times before being brought inside here.
Sometimes it takes a village…
Linda, Huebsch is definitely the same as Speed Queen, thats the brand name that is used in Canada!
Great! Thanks so much!
I understand the preparations…Well, first we need to find a store that carries the machine & see how they can accommodate you.
The enamel smell did not last & was not strong. I can put my nose right to it now & smell nothing.
When I did our first load I washed some old towels just to see if there would be any residue left on them. Not a thing!
Corbeil Appliances is the local store.
I think they need to special order them in, as they weren’t listed on their website. I signed up for their newsletter which gives me a chance to win something like $650 worth of appliances. They also sell the Miele vacuum cleaners, which might eventually be more suitable than the others, once off-gassed.
These H… (Speed Queen) machines definitely look like the safest ones available for people with MCS/ES! As well as the most practical ones re what they do (the new machines are so unsuitable, one reason after the other).
This has been one of the biggest hurdles, finding a suitable machine.
Next we need to figure out the other little details :-)
I am so grateful for your assistance Liz <3
Glad to help,Linda. Will you he able to call to Corbel about your needs?
Thanks Liz.
Hopefully I will have a good phone day on Monday afternoon (too bad I can’t make calls after midnight when my brain seems to function better), and I can ask for their staff person who is best able to handle disability related needs.
I’ll ask about cleaning and running the machines and what it would take for them to do that.
I am in better shape than I was a couple of years ago when I tried to find a solution…
At that time I needed more research on machines, and just like everyone else did, I was told to go online and search (although they were much more helpful than other places)…
Now that we know what is required, it’s much easier for them (and everyone else)
:-)
I can relate to good phone day. With chronic migraines I rarely have one. And if I do its in late afternoon. You should try to get to sleep by 11pm. Its not good for cortisol levels to go to bed late. I’m a night owl too, but changed my sleep habits & it is for the better.
If I lived in Hawaii, I could be a morning person ;-)
There’s something about the energy at night being calmer and the air being cleaner…
I’ve tried for years to change my “timing”.
I think my body clock is also somehow just set for another time zone. I did much better the year I was in California, without trying.
Here it doesn’t matter how hard I’ve tried to change my schedule… things (usually exposures) always happen to swing it right back. I don’t have the energy to fight it now… Perhaps when I’ve recovered more, this will change… I’m thinking it will be much easier to be conscious during the day if the air and extra activities don’t affect my CNS etc…
One of my biggest difficulties with phone calls happens when I have to leave messages and people return my calls on bad brain days… Which is most of the time. My good talking (or explaining and asking people who don’t understand) times have been few and far between… My social timing and perceptions usually go MIA with exposures.
I also suspect that if I didn’t have to exert so much energy to wash my clothes etc by hand, and then recover from it, that the energy could go to healing other parts of me <3
And I hope there’s a way for you to become free of the chronic migraines <3 I used to get them fairly regularly when I was younger, and they were brutal.
Thanks Linda, I have had headaches since grade school, but now they are chronic. It just takes something like opening the door to let our dog out and get a split second whiff of chimney smoke to do it.
I do use wet cotton balls in my nose when I open mail, or when I leave the house to go to my car to protect me somewhat from laundry or smoke scents in the air. Or in Drs. office. It helps to block the instant trigeminal nerve pathway in nose.
My diet consists of only 5 foods that I can tolerate without headache reaction, either immediate or delayed. It’s so tough with everything else going on not to enjoy any comfort food.
I have to take sleep meds to sleep, I’m a fibromyalgia insomniac, and have interstitial bladder, I would be up & down all night to the bathroom without the sleep meds. I still wake every 2-4 hours with!
Linda, I can’t imagine doing laundry by hand. Just thinking of hurts! You must have a good back at least, right?
Re: the phone calls. I hate the idea of anyone calling me back, same as you! But there have been times where old friends will call me from another state, I pick it up, and feel so ‘out of it’ during the conversation, but they don’t notice.. (I’ve asked).
So sometimes, I think our brain magnifies our brain fog in our own mind because it is an altered state to us, but others do not notice. The worst is when someone like the cable people for example, won’t let you finish a sentence, now that can drive me nuts!
Here’s praying for happy brain days now & forever!
So much suffering, so much rigmarole, just to survive in this toxic world :/
I hope things improve, that you are able to re-introduce more foods, and have more healing <3
I can at least eat more foods, (still much more restricted than "normal" people) but can't always get any that don't have fragrance contamination… At least now I can get safe eggs and one kind of safe for me bread again. I had lost so much weight, my ribs were sticking out in a very scary looking way last year. I've put on a bit of weight, but not enough…
Lately my diet, my kitchen, my food supplies, and I have not been on the best of terms… I'm hoping this too shall pass soon…
I don't tolerate any pharmaceutical meds (or many supplements), but I am taking some herbal remedies that are helping on a deeper level while still aggravating some things on a more immediate level. I'm still giving it a go as this is what I have available, and they do have a very good chance of doing much more good and healing in the bigger picture. And, big bonus, I am not having to go empty my bladder every 90 minutes during the day or several times a night anymore either! This is more recent.
You mentioned my back… When I moved here, my back was in much better shape. I really ruined it the first year I lived here because I had to use the shower filter for extra water filtration for my clothes (city water chemical residues hurt me if they are left in clothing), and the toilet is in the way, the taps are 1/2 way up the wall, so washing things in the tub involved all kinds of contortions that my back hasn't recovered from yet… plus I think I shifted a rib a few months ago when I had a couple of seizures after an exposure… so bending over forward can get really uncomfortable… These darn bodies just aren't indestructable!!!
Anyway, after talking with the water filtration people, they thought that since the pre-filter wasn't showing a mess when it was changed, that 2 carbon filters and no prefilter would be ok here (a 2 stage instead of a 3 stage system that my dr had ordered was installed here, and it wasn't enough for me)…
With double carbon, I could wash clothes in the kitchen sink…
(I'm going to end up having to buy a few extra filters (about $130 ea, 2 at a time, I think they used to be) for the first year I have a washer, as I will blow through a lot of water trying to catch up and get some clothes, sheets, and towels made safe to use…. sighs… I don't know how that will all come together… one step at a time…)
This past year has been much more humid, and my stuff was getting funky before drying. Maybe I'm not able to wring it out as well as I used to… I also have to have the energy to wash all my dishes first, be able to finish all the washing before 10 pm (the sounds bother my very noise sensitive neighbor), have low humidity, and something else i can't remember now, in order to wash any clothes… It's just not working out at all anymore, not having machines …
Thank the powers that be for my congestion and isolation as small mercies…
Forgot to mention, I changed my sleep time gradually over a few years. I use to stay up until 1 or 2 am. I read how unhealthy that was & wanted to change, also I was not getting enough sleep and my muscle & nerve pains were getting worse. I always liked staying up late because like you that’s when I felt the best, and I hated going to bed because I knew I’d wake up sick anyway.
So it took a lot of convincing myself to try. I just then started taking sleep meds earlier. Now I am accustomed to it and its second nature. However I am still not a morning person! LOL.
I get over the part about how unhealthy staying up all night is supposed to be by knowing that on the other side of the planet, it is daytime, and I am up for that ;-)
My goodness Linda, the descriptions of your ordeal with the tub washing was excruciating to hear about. Did you see the add about Corbels clearance sale… It mentions demonstration models…I wonder if that would be an option?
I got that email!
I talked with Linda at SQ/H – she could smell the machines for at least 4 loads and she’s not a canary!
She transferred me to their tech department (Alliance machines) and we talked a little about the issues…
He said the fronts do come off, the motors are not entirely enclosed – they are ventilated (= equals some extra running is necessary for me)…
That they make 1200 – 1500 of variations on the top loaders a day, so to have a day/ run changed to pre-clean/off-gas a new safe from the box model number would require some numbers, even to do it once every few months…
Basically that now we need to talk with appliance stores, and get their sales rep to talk with the SQ/H sales reps, and pass that on down the line, and when the request numbers justify it, a business decision will follow…
For now the dealer (or someone else) would need to be requested to prep the machines…
I am waiting for a call back from a Corbeil rep – they were all busy… I mentioned wanting to talk with someone who enjoyed disability related requests :D
Linda, you lost me with the box model # requiring some numbers and then the request # business decision.
What are the variations? 1200-1500?
What I did with the bubble wrap on mine surely made a difference!
Well at least you got started. Maybe you will connect with someone very compassionate who will throw in the dryer for free?
I’m a bit lost too ;-) That was about having enough demand to justify the creation of a new line-model # that is pre-cleaned and offgassed (or with sealed motors) at the factory so they are safe to use right out of the box!
Corbeil just called back. They have the machines on order, none in stock right now.
Washer is $1140.00
Dryer is $1000.00
Plus tax
I didn’t ask about delivery.
Machines without plastic drums just cost more…
I did ask about pre-cleaning and running them a number of times to get the “new car smell” off them, and he said their warehouses and stores don’t have hook-ups, so they can’t do it.
I asked him to help me find a solution, if he could ask around, since I need to find a way to get the machines and have them safe to come inside. He said he would. And that he’d get back to me by Friday (I asked for that too).
He understood too that open vented motors are cheaper to make than enclosed ones… that the cheaper motors do need ventilation (so even if I could find safe bubble wrap, the bubble wrap around the bottom of the machine would prevent ventilation and could cause it to overheat and blow) …
So… safe out of the box machines would cost even more…
This is what the world is like. The challenges that need to be solved…
I loved what Moms Across America said on a fb post the other day regarding something similar, pesticides:
“Unacceptable on so many counts.
1. That this is allowed.
2. That it is not labeled.
3. That is costs more to avoid this.
4. That people who cannot pay more for organic are forced to eat toxins.
5. The people who do eat pesticide covered food and get sick have to pay more for doctors bills.
6. Those doctors prescribe chemical medicines which often make people have side effects (more sick).
7. When anyone gets sick it adds to the national burden of health care costs and we ALL pay more.
For what?
For the chemical companies to make a profit, and so farmers don’t have to pay laborers to pull weeds.
Cheap, toxic food = Expensive Health care costs.”
This is all preventable suffering… Non-toxic should be the norm!
You did good with all those phone contacts. I’ll be praying for good news on Friday. Our SQ was around 900 including tax.
I’ll tell you I was so scared about off gassing that we looked into hooking it up in our garage, which would have required knocking down sheetrock, rewiring a new outlet & a mess. We had the machine in the garage for about a week, out of the box while we tried to figure out what to do
. Finally I smelled the barrel up close & it was tolerable, that’s when I came up with bubble wrap idea & said let’s try it. It worked out. Now I am praying our dryer doesn’t go, It is a stackable, and I love it. Its at least 18 years, but going strong. I imagine a dryer would be more problematic because of the heat on the enamel…
Thanks… now to wait and pray…
I hope your dryer lasts as long as you need it to!
And that when you do need a new one, that there are pre-off-gassed models to choose from!
They really should be safe for everyone to use straight out of the box!
A week in the garage would certainly help the enamel off-gas! I don’t have a place here to do that…
Just a small yard in front that is over-run with squirrels :-)
(might have something to do with the bird feeders and peanuts I put out there for them)
For a dryer (or even a blender) it isn’t just that though, the enamel will cure eventually just sitting somewhere in the air, it’s the stuff in motors that takes time to burn off. Most motors thankfully will be ok after an undetermined number of times run.
I did have a computer once that had to be vented outside when turned on, (and covered when off) as it never off-gassed.
And when the hot water tank had to be replaced here, despite them saying they had it filled and drained several times with hot water, it took me a week of having to heat it hot and then run it down the drain till it got cold again (several times a day) before the manufacturing oil residues were sufficiently gone for me to be able to touch the water (to wash dishes with hot – I had to boil cold water, and couldn’t shower) and not get sick from merely breathing the fumes (and then it took more than a month to recover from the exposures, for my brain chemistry to repair itself).
Lucky me, I have super-power petrochemical detection abilities!
They don’t scare me, I don’t worry about what will or won’t happen.
I’ve just had enough experience to know that certain things will make it too difficult for me to function… just like knowing that if I walk in front of a car, there’s a bigger chance of my body being badly damaged than the car being able to swerve to avoid hitting me…
Even so, I sometimes forget to take necessary precautions, or can’t smell the warning signs, (or just couldn’t be bothered (or wishful thinking) that has happened a few times too) and then end up paying for it for days or weeks to come… I keep hoping this too shall pass… It hasn’t, but at least I am still very slowly regaining more brain power, on some days anyway… although the self-editing powers are still mostly MIA…
We are lucky to have a garage to run things like even toasters to outgas. We also cook in there as cooking smoke makes me very ill. I subsist on mostly steak & turkey, makes smoke when cooked so it has to be outside or in garage!
We canaries really do need separates weather-proof off-gassing sheds of some sort!
And some service providers who can do it for us when we can’t do it ourselves!
(well, we wouldn’t need all that if things were non-toxic to begin with)
And much better kitchen ventilation too! My range hood is a recirculating one = almost useless, except perhaps the fan dries a bit of humidity, hard to tell though…
Do you have someone that fills your tank for you?
When I was driving, I had to have someone else fill the tank. I could sometimes arrange to meet someone at a gas station and they would do everything while i sat in the car with windows tightly closed and the vents shut… and I would pay them away from the pumps.
The car is just sitting and getting rusty here now… In over 3 years I couldn’t figure out how to drive anywhere except one nearby store, and couldn’t even do that half the time I had orders to pick up there because the outdoor air here has too much laundry product fumes (or I was dealing with exposures from other indoor necessities). This area is built in a nonsensical (to me anyway) way, not easy to get around…
Now the car needs some muffler repairs or replacement, and I can’t make them happen myself either. The one person who can take it in hasn’t been available… and I couldn’t afford it back when the plates needed to be renewed etc last summer…
I may try to sell it, altho the market for 20 year old cars isn’t booming… I will have to deal with all that this spring… I don’t know… Holding on to things, esp those that incur expenses, hoping I’ll be able to make use of them “someday” is a bit odd… But It may be the last car I’ll ever be able to have (barring miracles) so it may be worth trying to keep going as long as possible…
Hoping I’ll have a blast of insight to help me make some decisions, if poverty doesn’t make them for me… for now it’s a wait and see thing…
Oh my Linda, well I would hate to give up a safe car too. My husbands car is 16 years old & constantly in for repairs. We bought it used traveled 6 hours to get it. My car which also bought used from a dealer who was on the lookout for us, is 9 years old. Not only did we need a chemical free car before it was detailed, but we have back problems & I have sciatica & need special seats. We were so blessed to find these!
Do you have food delivered to your home? We have online shopping at our market, we pick that up, we order also from Whole Foods, the delivery boy leaves it in the garage. My husband unpacks the bags wearing cotton & a mask as the paper bags give him migraine, me too.
Oh for non-toxic everythings!!!
I am fortunate to have had a weekly organic delivery service for fruit and veg. It’s pretty straightforward stuff, very standard fare, and a lot that I can’t eat… but it is (almost always) fragrance free and is delivered to my door <3
When I started kefir making in the summer (someone surprised me with some grains and goat milk), I was having a lot of trouble getting the glass bottled organic goat milk from a "health" food store, because it is totally incense saturated, which would get into the plastic lids :/
I have recently started also ordering from the other organic delivery service because they carry that goat milk, but it means I have to have a minimum order with them, and keep track of extra stuff… it's very complicated for me… sighs… keeping track of things isn't easy for me…
For other stuff, I have to find people to shop and or pick up everything else I need.
A couple of store managers have even delivered for me when I couldn't find anyone else!!!
Others have been quite offensive…
I'm really thankful for all the good people out there without whose help I couldn't survive:-)
I have to unpack, wash, and repack a lot of the things outside, or bring them in and wrap them in old wax paper cereal bags or mylar if I can’t do it right away.
Paper bags can come into the foyer (they are usually fragrance-free) but jars with labels can be a problem, I often have to cover them with foil as the fumes don’t wash off, and the labels don’t come off easy… and i don’t have a garage to do it in…
It’s complicated… It’s impossible to be without exposures…
When you pick things up, do they bring the things outside for you? I’ve asked for that over the years, and have been accommodated that way. They will put things into my trunk (I have it covered with mylar to prevent off-gassing into the car) and I didn’t have to touch any of it till I got home, as some of the 2nd and 3rd hand fragrance? chems will burn my skin.
It’s worth asking them anyway… as disability related accommodation if not from the kindness of their hearts and as good customer service
The one thing we have a problem with paper goods… toilet paper and paper towels. They are full of perfume from that grocer & health store. So every few months he goes to Costco and gets bulk….. The products don’t smell from there…. amazingly. What do you do for TP and water?
Its the formaldehyde from paper bags too that gets us!
I found a janitorial supply company that delivers cases of t.p. The brand is ok, not 100% safe, but tolerable. They are individually wrapped in paper rolls (no plastic) and in a fully enclosed case. The “consumer” (as opposed to commercial) versions are all in plastic and in green-washed cases that have open tops and bottoms 9to look as if they care about the environment by using less cardboard). This allows for all kinds of fragrance contamination.
I have given up on paper towels for now – I don’t have the room to store a case full for the amount I need… I bought 6 rolls in late 2010 or early 2011 and am almost run out now… I will need more, as some things need a disposeable when they are dealing with toxic residues… for everything else I use my sponges or cloths.
For water there’s a 2 stage (should have been 3 stage) whole house unit that now has 2 carbon filters instead of a prefilter and carbon (one carbon was not enough for me), plus a 2 stage filter with ceramic and carbon in the kitchen for drinking and cooking. I would love another stage of carbon or something for the whole house, as it can still get to me. These all need to be replaced every 6 months.
When I start doing laundry again, as I will be playing 6 + years of catch-up, and trying to detox new everything (which requires massive work, I have a post somewhere about laundry decontamination procedures that some of us have to go through to get the chemicals out)… so i suspect I’ll need to replace the 2 whole house carbon filters every 3 months for a while – I’ll need to fund-raise for that too…
Oh darn the first part of my comment disappeared…. too tire to do it over, but our grocery has drive up, puts in trunk, keeps it in separate bun away from fragrance and we never have to go inside….99 a year so worth it!
We really need those kinds of options!
And we do usually have to pay extra…
I am looking at a 20% exchange rate, plus tax, duty, and shipping fees for anything from the US now. For some of the less toxic stuff, there are no Canadian distributors. I had to give up on a daily supplement I was using when they raised the price AND the exchange rate went into the double digits last summer.
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Could I order and send it to you?
Thank you for offering Liz <3
You said you were of modest means, not rolling around with wads of extra cash lying around!
I'm trying a less convenient (and possibly healthier, at least a more sustainable) way to get the same nutrients.
The Goatein was easy, and much needed for many years, but along with the huge price increases, the big plastic tubs (they increased the tub size without increasing the content size???) and the shipping pollution, and that it wasn't even a certified organic product, all made the decision to stop getting it easier to make.
Someone gifted me some kefir grains and a few bottles of organic goat milk (that comes in glass bottles) around the same time, so I've been making kefir (that's quite a journey too – as they are temperamental little things, very sensitive to weather changes, and being able to get a steady supply of the goat milk here has been very challenging too, but finally I think, worked out, although not effortlessly).
You are very kind <3 I hope everyone you encounter is kind too <3
Oh I never heard of goatein? Speaking of Kefir, hubby & I did the body ecology diet about 15 years ago. We made kefir, and cultured vegetables, and the rest of the protocol. We gave it a go for a year. All the while feeling awful, but holding out hope for MCS recovery. One day a friend told us how awful we looked…. and next day we said enough of that…. and orders pizza.
I’m dairy free, gluten free and so free I get sick for longing for foods I can’t eat….
Have your ever tried glutathione? or any of its precursors? I bout a jug of glutamine, its sitting on
I have to avoid moo dairy, and goat or sheep cheese iss ok in moderation. I am maybe pushing it a bit, but use little of the kefir, maybe 1/2 cup a day at most, more like 1/3 C with breakfast… I wish I had someone I could easily give the rest to… as I do make more than I consume :-(
I used the Goatein as a part of my glutathione precursor plan. I read the Pall Protocol (and discussions) many years ago and when I first started adjusting my supplements and diet, it was a great help. I didn’t tolerate many of the things, but found enough to make a difference.
There was a great supplement shop nearby that carried the “to naturopaths only” supplements that regilar stores didn’t carry, and their quality seemed to agree more with me, and if they didn’t, the store would refund me.
That made a huge difference in my ability to seek supplements I could tolerate. Spending $50-$100 on something only to have it rejected by the body isn’t affordable. I don’t have that now. I’ve lost a few supplements over the years because they changed ingredients or ingredient suppliers and I didn’t tolerate the replacements.
However much the protocol helped at first (and it was a lot) it wasn’t enough to prevent the serious brain crash I suffered from a series of exposures I had no way of avoiding… there were huge roadblocks everywhere… it ended up like being imprisoned and drugged for crimes I did not commit…
Someday I hope to be able to discuss some of what happened with both medical and policy professionals, as it became clear no-one understood what was happening to me, they weren’t listening to what I was saying, and I was too ill to be able to keep trying to repeat things… It was very strange…
I am still recovering from all that happened. I am grateful to have improvements, and have had some really hopeful ones, but the setbacks are difficult, as their causes have become more difficult to determine. My sense of smell not working well, dental issues, physical decline, etc all complicate matters…
These aren’t solvable without a village. The problems were created and compounded by so many things, that resolving them is also a complex process, and will likely require an advocates help. My abilities are too limited and inconsistent :/
the rest of my comment… its on my counter, waiting for a safe day to try it. Have a Dr appts tomorrow. Expect to feel sick for a few days after from the visit. Ironic huh?
Linda, I hope you find another help that can give you more happy days and improvement. It would be wonderful if you could write about your experiences & get some attention to it. Have you documented everything?
I was at my Pulmonologist today for a test. The technician said she can gets migraine from perfumes and wishes they would ask patients to come without fragrance. She also had to switch her detergent to some baby free brand she didn’t remember name, because she got so itchy from her other brand.
We talked about MCS & she was very interested, I explained she is sensitive now, and she needs to be very careful that she doesn’t tilt into someone like me. I have her email she gave me her email to send her some info.
There are so many young people on the verge of illness and I hate to see them get sicker because of ignorance of fragrance chemicals. She had no idea about trade secret laws or the chemical bath that is in the fragrance, and she was really concerned.
Don’t you wish there was a mega company that made fragrance free products and blasted the airways with commercials on why we should buy FF & what’s in the other stuff? That’s the only way the public will get the message!
Oh I had to taken a breathing test today. The mouthpiece had the smell of vanilla, it gave me agitation where I was stumbling over my words & felt like I was on speed, & a headache. As soon as I left that room I could talk normal.
The tech said the mouthpiece used to come smelling awful like rubber & now they smell like the vanilla. I wonder what the chemicals are in the flavorings & how does that get approved?
There was a small plant that made flavorings for candy a couple of towns over from where I used to live. I remember passing there one summer with windows open & I got an instant migraine. I asked my friend what is that odor its giving me such a bad headache, its horrible…when she told me it was a candy flavoring company I could not believe it!! Do you know the substances they use for these flavorings? Smell of someone chewing flavored gum gives me a headache too!
It a Febreze world …..Beam me up Scotty!
IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances Inc) makes them
“Using the knowledge gained from the consumer insights process, we strategically focus our resources to formulate the two main components of a flavor or fragrance: innovative materials (taste and scent building blocks), and delivery systems (taste and scent releases). To develop these technologies, in 2010 IFF spent approximately 8.3% of total sales, or nearly $220 million.Our R&D program employs roughly 170 scientists, 90 Ph.D.’s, and 320 application engineers to support basic molecular discovery, new delivery systems, and new applications.”
“Our proprietary encapsulation technology, which consists of individual fragrance droplets coated with a protective polymetric shell delivers superior fragrance performance throughout the product lifestyle and has applications across several product categories. And our exclusive polymer delivery system, PolyIFF, is a “solid fragrance” technology allowing us to add scent to functional or molded plastic.”
Regarding a book, it’s hard to know if I’ll ever be able to organize something like that. Some days I am more hopeful than others… My housing crisis story was in the paper years ago, and discussed in forums online. Some people say it has helped them. It hasn’t done much for me… I am very fortunate that my name came up for this home, and that I get a small monthly income to keep me alive, and that I was somehow guided to take as good care of myself as I possibly could during some really difficult times, but there’s no organized advocacy or assistance for people like me (and you), and benefits we used to be eligible for here have been reduced or removed, making it harder to exist. I’m at a bit of a loss lately as to what more I can possibly be expected to do with what I have access to…
Interesting about the molded plastic. But what about the food flavorings why aren’t they regulated?
What is Generally Recognized As Safe, and For Whom?
https://lindasepp.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/what-is-generally-recognized-as-safe-and-for-whom/
Do you think you could record on your tablet or laptop your story a little at a time & maybe there is one or 2 canaries that could put it all together?
It’s somewhere on my list of things to do…
I need to get a better keyboard and mouse if I’m going to write more – the ones I have are cheap and brutal… and the laptop is getting on too (it had been used a year or 2 when it was gifted to me in 2010), so will need to be replaced soon too…
I didn’t hear back from Corbeil, so I’m guessing the guy didn’t find a way to address the issues. I also had a bad week so didn’t try to call back to ask…
Maybe when the Mercury Retrograde is over, things will progress…
What is ‘the mercury retrograde’ ???
Communication and equipment breakdowns and delays seem to be more prevalent during Mercury Retrogrades (astrologically speaking). Whether or not it is true in my life (or more so during than at other times), I haven’t put to the test, I just notice a lot of people blaming Mercury when things go wrong during the retrogrades
OK, I get it now, we’re talking about the planet! This Mercury Madness is really getting the best of my mind, as you can imagine I was automatically thinking of the heavy metal poisoning… I really wish I could think about something else for a change… free my mind of this Mercury Poisoning! : (
I hope so, that you find and receive what you need to clear and repair the effects <3
Hi Linda, checking to see if you have any news. I was out of it for about a week after a Dr.’s appointment last week. So many exposures.
Hope to near some good news soon!
I must say…the planets are not in control of our days. Never were never will be. Don’t we have enough things to waylay us on earth? A few million miles away I am so not worried about. :)
Don’t you think we should be able to see a doctor without getting disabled and/or sick for a week or more from doing so?
Glad you are feeling better now.
I haven’t had any news.
Is there anyone (fragrance-free) out there (in the Ottawa area, or driving distance from here) who can detox a new washer and dryer for me?
I can’t bring anything new here until they have been cleaned thoroughly of manufacturing oils and run a number of times to burn off the new motor oils.
I need help with this.
I will try to call Corbeil again soon (even if they don’t return calls they were the only vendor in the area last year) to see if they still carry the Huebsch machines and how much they cost now, as the exchange rate makes 1 US dollar cost about $1.50 Canadian now, so $1000 U$ would be over $1500 CDN…
It’s January 2017 and I’m still looking for assistance to be able to aquire safe laundry machines.
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Hi I am not sure if this is the right place for this post or not I don’t have what it takes today to read a lot and it did say washing machine…. which is my newest problem. Where I live a new front load washer has come it smells like rubber makes me sick goes to all rooms cause of the heating… could it be the hoses are there safe for us hosing?
what is a safe alternative if I can arrange that likely not is there a safe way to get rid of the rubber smell…
any ideas would be appriciated?
It has only been here since Friday is the fact that it makes me sick a good enough reason for the store to take it back and if they do what would be an alternative?
The new gasket and hose rubbers are hugely problematic for many of us.
I can’t offer any advice now. Are you in any of the facebook support groups? Those are usually the best places to get answers.
We bought washer hoses that smelled so strongly of rubber I moved out
You moved out or you removed the hoses?
I’ve had to remove hoses (and/or not be able to bring them in in the first place). Some of them are nasty toxic and they do not offgas.
I would not want my filtered laundry water going through toxic hoses, contaminating my laundry.