Fear of chemicals

[Brandy snap]

Hi,

I wonder if anyone has the same fear as me? I am scared to use things like spray cleaners for limescale in shower cubicles, caustic oven cleaner, cleaners for getting rid of mould in grouting, just about anything other than Jif cream cleaner, normal washing machine liquid and dishwashing liquid. Even when using aerosol spray polish I hold my breath as long as I can while wiping it off then rush out of the room. I am scared of inhaling it. Even if I wore a mask I would think something harmful had got through the mask. I am trying to find natural alternatives for tackling areas of mould and limescale (substances which are not at all harmful to touch or breathe). What do you all use? Do you get on OK with it? When I am in the supermarket I stand there for ages reading all the warnings and if anything has got a large cross indicating it can be harmful I put it back. I would like to clean up my house and would really appreciate any feedback. Thank you. x

[Phill2]

Hi Brandy
I used to be the same (even wore gloves to spray flies) but seem to have gotten over it.
Best of luck.
Phill

Don't believe everything you think.

[strawberrie]

hi brandy, i am the same, i cant stand to use things like oven cleaner (probably why my oven has never been cleaned [:I]), and also i'm a bit of a tightwad [:I], so i started making some of my own cleaning stuff. Generally you can use a mix of half vinegar, half water as an antibacterial cleaner. To be honest, vinegar and bicarb of soda can be used for most things, and as they are obviously edible, you know that you're not leaving lots of nasty chemicals on surfaces. Tea tree oil is supposed to be good for mildew (although i havent tried it). You can buy large quantities of bicarb from bath bomb shops on ebay, much better than buying the little tubs for cake making!

The book 'better basics for the home' by annie berthold-bond has millions of recipes for non-toxic cleaners (and body care too). I would recommend it. I have also got tons of links to websites that give you recipes, if you are interested just pm me and i will try and figure out how to send you the links! Same goes for anyone else who's interested.

A little warning though, if you start reading up about what goes into lots of household stuff it can be quite scary, so try not to take it too seriously, as otherwise you can become pretty obsessive about everything round the house [:I] Being poisoned is one of my particular fears, and i think not wanting to use chemicals ties in with that, is it the same for you?

mag

[sarah1984]

Hi Brandysnap,

Although I'm 100% sure those chemicals couldn't harm you in any way if you follow the directions on the packet, you should pat yourself on the back for trying to find natural alternatives as they're so much better for the environment. M&S have a range of cleaning products using 100% natural ingredients and essential oils, and I would also recommend Ecover, a range of eco-friendly products sold in most supermarkets. The good thing about it, the packaging is 100% biodegradable too!

Love
Sarah

[Brandy snap]

Thank you Jullip, Strawberrie and Sarah for your replies. I identify with your wearing gloves Jullip! Glad you have overcome this problem now.

Thanks Strawberrie for the offer of links. Much appreciated. I'm sending you my e-mail address. Thank you.

Thank you also Sarah for recommending M&S and Ecover. I will investigate.

My main worry is breathing in fumes/fine particles of caustic substances etc and harming my lungs/having difficulty breathing. Every time people come to stay I wish I could have a blitz on the house beforehand and feel ashamed of mould on grouting, limescale on shower door etc (we live in a very hard water area). Also ashamed of oven. And taps are getting grotty. I worry about the mould itself (as it has harmful spores and can trigger asthma - which I don't have but there is always a first time) and also the substance used to get rid of it. I am also phobic about things like kettle defurrer and iron descaler. It says boil the kettle three times before using it again after you've used the product but even when I've boiled it 10 times I think I can still taste it. I never use hairspray and even worry about hair mousse. Was in the middle of hair removing once and suddenly panicked and husband had to get it all off my legs. Have waxes now!

Thank you all again for your replies. Good to know there are people out there who understand.

Love Brandy xxx

[strawberrie]

hi brandy, ive sent you the links, let us know how you get on.

i am the same with hair remover cream, especially cos one that i bought said 'can cause blindness' on it!

you can definitely use vinegar to descale your kettle, i think you just leave it in overnight, im sure there will be instructions on one of those websites that will tell you how to do it.

i seem to have a fear of something nasty giving me some long term damage that i wouldnt yet know about. I decorated our bathroom and had to sand some of the ceiling. Afterwards i found out that artex used to have asbestos in it, and i convinced myself i must have asbestos poisoning, even though our bathroom ceiling didnt even have artex on it!

And when there was that scare about cancer causing dyes in supermarket sauces, it really upset me, i had to check the list about a million times to make sure i hadnt eaten any of them. And then i chucked out anything in the kitchen that i still wasnt sure about! [:I]

its a bit weird isnt it?

mag

[Brandy snap]

Hello Strawberrie,

Strange you should mention fear of asbestos. The whole of our downstairs walls had to be done in Artex as the cats were ripping the wallpaper - we are surrounded by Artex. Then I read about that asbestos scare and even though my husband said it is only older Artex which contained it, I still think there might be some in it and I might be breathing it in. Cannot touch the walls!

Yes, the sauces also I identify with. I hid them at the bottom of the dustbin!

And do you remember them showing the last eclipse on the television? I was convinced that I had irreversible damage to my retinas by watching it.

In fact the list is endless.

Good to have a soulmate!! Thanks for links.

Love Brandy xxx

[sarah1984]

Hi Brandy,
Read a really interesting article in my mum's Prima magazine that made me think of you...

It recommended a cleaning range called Method that makes all-purpose sprays using natural ingredients includring cucumber and grapefruit (available at selected John Lewis stores).

White vinegar (not malt!) can be used for cleaning and descaling taps and shower heads;cleaning windows, mirrors and glass; and neutralising pet stains and odours on upholstery. If you soak paper towels in a half and half solution of vinegar and water, wrap them round the taps and secure a plastic bag over the taps with an elastic band overnight it removes scaling.

Another natural cleaning range is Squeeki Clean who can be contacted on 01204 600500.

Hope this helps,
Sarah[8D]

[anxious]

Hi,
wow only just read this, do you lot have OCD because i am just like you say and worse but i have put it down to OCD (which i suffered greatly with when i was younger). I learn more about anxiety every day!
I only use products that have been around years JIFF or Flash. The only spray i'll use is MR Sheen. Ive been know to hold my breath whilst cleaning to avoid fumes etc. I'm now into bicarb,tea tree oil etc.
Don't start me on asbestos[Sigh...]

anx

Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects

[davidthegnome]

Hi BrandySnap,

The fear of chemicals I think is a normal thing with people who have anxiety. Particularly if we've read a lot of bad or possibly dangerous stuff about these chemicals. Me for example, I read a book about toxins and such and found myself paranoid about chemicals of all sorts for some time. Even tooth paste and shampoo were making me nervous. Ugh, I still get a little nervous about it from time to time, but it's not so bad as it was.

I just think of all the times I've used that stuff I'm nervous about and how it has never hurt me. It's not likely to hurt you either, but kudos for seeking out better, cleaner cleaning methods. I wonder, if you're ashamed about how some parts of your house look, could you afford to hire someone to come in to help you clean even once a month or so? Do you have anyone around the house who would be willing to help you?
There's no shame in asking for help. You'll probably feel better about the house and better in general just for being able to get those areas clean. You could even ask a friend.

Please don't feel you have to be guilty about it. None of it is your fault. It's the anxiety making you worry about it so much and the anxiety is probably responsible for your shame and guilt as well. My heart goes out to you, you're a good person. I wish I knew you better, or lived close-by, I'd help you get that stuff clean and I'd use whatever cleaning stuff you wanted.

Have the chemicals ever really hurt you before? I'm going to assume they haven't, but that you've been anxious that they might. Just remember every time you've been around them and not been harmed by them. Also, if you attempt to give those fears a visualization, like imagine them as a cartoon character telling you something bad is going to happen. Like Goofy with his huge silly ears saying "Watch out, hyuk! that could be bad!" It may sound kind of silly, but this kind of thing has helped for me.


Good luck to you and God bless you, remember no anxiety lasts forever,


David

[Brandy snap]

Hi Sarah, Anxious and David,

Thanks for replying to my post. I appreciate your natural cleaning tips Sarah and will check them out.

I also hold my breath when I've used a spray Anxious! Can definitely identify with that.

Thank you so much for wanting to help David. I was trying to imagine what that would be like. I think it is the attitude of the other person that affects me a lot. My husband does do some things in the house, which I do appreciate, but he is very impatient to get things finished. For instance he will wipe over the TV screen with his used handkerchief rather than find a clean duster, ditto shelves (round ornaments, doesn't move them). He hoovers the easy parts (doesn't move furniture). He painted round the radiators and units (didn't move them). He won't use protective masking tape tape when painting - prefers to get it on the window then scratch it off with a blade - scratched the front door glass. He insists on sticking broken cups and mugs back together with super glue then puts them in the washing machine and although I won't use the mended ones I worry myself sick about glue residue coming off onto cups I do use. He lights fires in his incinerator when burning bank statements right next to the house on the path as he says it ruins the grass if he takes it further away. I can't get away from the smoke which seems to seep in even when windows closed. He spends a penny sitting down and twice it has gone through the gap between the china bowl and loo seat and soaked the floor. He wears his best clothes for doing dirty things and ruins them. There has been a leak in the loft for years (rain gets through the tiles) which made a mark on the bedroom ceiling and he has put a bucket and a baby bath to catch it but sometimes it misses or overflows and I can smell a nasty smell always but scared to go up myself as it is lined with fibre glass insulation which I am scared to breathe in - think smell may be rot in the wood of the floor? Feel ashamed to invite people in. (He has a very poor sense of smell). He has seen the programme on rogue roofers and thinks it will be a major job anyway and too expensive - my parents things (since they died) are all up there and I'm constantly worried about them or that the ceiling will collapse on top of us while we're in bed. I can't relax on holiday for worrying the bath might be full and overflowing. He doesn't change his underpants every day and won't use deodorant as he says it makes him itch and get sore. He is so impatient mowing the lawn that he is always cutting through the flex - ditto hedgetrimmer. He broke both his shoulderblades varnishing the porch roof when he fell off the ladder. He was arrested when the builders of our extension told him to go and find a piece of bent wire from a building site near us as they had run out of wall ties for the corner and it was getting dark. A policeman came to tell me and asked me to pay the builders - I had my rollers in and couldn't count the money as I was shaking so much. He irons delicate things on maximum heat. He slices apples with a carving knigfe while holding them in mid air, holding the apple in his left hand and hacking away at the apple in the fashion of Psycho. He goes through the dustbin when our daughters have had a clear out and I will find things they have thrown away at the back of his desk drawer. He looks in people's skips to see if there is anything useful and I feel so embarrassed. He wouldn't wait for the special anti-rot paint to dry before planting the posts to make an archway in our garden. He uses the dischcloth to wipe the floor. He has done 10 things rushing while I'm still doing my first thing slowly and carefully. I think I have got off the point sorry - it was you making me think of someone else helping, David. He likes to have 'a quick whizz round' as he puts it. I am slow and methodical. Actually that was quite therapeutic! Love Brandy Snapxx

[davidthegnome]

Sheesh. Your husband sounds like quite a character. I don't know BrandySnap, I wish I could offer more advice. Good luck, hope you're feeling ok.


God Bless you,

David

[Brandy snap]

Hello David, My husband did get a letter of apology from the police a few days later. Someone had been stealing large amounts of breeze blocks from the building site and I suppose when they saw him looking round for that bit of bent wire they thought he might be the phantom breeze block thief! A policeman knocking at the door doesn't help with panic attacks though - I thought someone must have died. I didn't even know my husband had gone out - I thought he was in the garage!! Actually you did help as I felt better offloading all that, thanks. Love Brandy Snap xx