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Well, they gave me some drops to prevent the eye irritation from dust mites. Unfortunately, the drops didn't really work. They only decreased whatever reaction I'm having by 10-15%. They want to try new drops on me now...
I normally don't repeat myself, but you seem to be spinning your wheels, so I will suggest once again to have one or more ozone generators placed in the house overnight, stay at a motel for that night, and get someone to turn them off and remove them the next day, and open the house up. If there is an outgassing of volatile compounds, this could resolve it. If it doesn't, you have eliminated a few possibilities of what the problem could be.
I wouldn't say I'm spinning my wheels. I'm trying to narrow down the possibilities without spending money when I have to. After reading through the EPA's comments on Ozone Generators, I think I'll pass on that "fix" for now. I may look into it if I can't resolve my issue any other way. Thanks though.
Bueno - that link was not helpful. I was NOT suggesting that ozone be used while she was in the house, but as a remedial, and that is obvious from my post. The one cited study in the EPA site about the untested by-products of ozone remediation stated that the byproducts were unknown.
That is unnecessarily alarmist when taken in the context of the rest of the article. In point of fact, the ozone would REDOX the exact same way that normal air would over a longer period of time. Example - plastic normally ages and becomes yellowish and more brittle with age. With ozone, the process is speeded up. When there is a redox reaction, most all of the time the end product is far less active than either the ozone or the substance it reacts with, which is exactly WHY ozone works to kill smoke odors and reduce carcinogenic compounds to inert substances.
I could go on about the validity of some of the other EPA published material, but I don't want to get into that argument. I'll just say that any government entity that declares exhaled breath as a pollutant and at the same time warns of the danger of a form of oxygen has some very strange priorities and scientific methodologies.
Alex, I don't recall, were you helped by allergy medications like claritin or benadryl? Seems a simple test -- if you itch and have a seemingly "allergic" reaction, you take bendadryl, and 30 minutes later the reaction is much improved; tomorrow, you notice the problem, don't take bendaryl, and 30 minutes later you still itch.... then it's an allergy. Maybe your dust mites, maybe leftover dander from previous owners if they had a pet, maybe something not included in the allergy test.
But if the benadryl DOESN'T help you then it's not an allergy, it's a sensitivity. Seems that would be a much different problem -- it's a chemical in your house, something like that. Entirely different tree to go barking up.
Alex, I must have missed something. You said in your first post that you have cats and now you test positive for cat allergies. Could your cats stay with a friend for a few days to see if that helps?
Alex, I must have missed something. You said in your first post that you have cats and now you test positive for cat allergies. Could your cats stay with a friend for a few days to see if that helps?
I was thinking the same thing. But, she had the cats in the apartment, and didn't have the allergy symptoms then.
OP - did you have wood floors in your apartment? Carpet would obviously hold a lot more cat dander and fur.
Good luck with this! I feel so bad for you not being able to enjoy your new house
Bueno - that link was not helpful. I was NOT suggesting that ozone be used while she was in the house, but as a remedial, and that is obvious from my post. The one cited study in the EPA site about the untested by-products of ozone remediation stated that the byproducts were unknown.
That is unnecessarily alarmist when taken in the context of the rest of the article. In point of fact, the ozone would REDOX the exact same way that normal air would over a longer period of time. Example - plastic normally ages and becomes yellowish and more brittle with age. With ozone, the process is speeded up. When there is a redox reaction, most all of the time the end product is far less active than either the ozone or the substance it reacts with, which is exactly WHY ozone works to kill smoke odors and reduce carcinogenic compounds to inert substances.
I could go on about the validity of some of the other EPA published material, but I don't want to get into that argument. I'll just say that any government entity that declares exhaled breath as a pollutant and at the same time warns of the danger of a form of oxygen has some very strange priorities and scientific methodologies.
Way to take out something out of context to support your point.
In fairness, here is an article proposing Ozone as an effective method of air cleanup, specifically for the reduction of VOCs in a newly constructed home.
http://hkms.org/Documents/Lowen%20n%20Associates%20Rpt%20030822.pdf (broken link)
Most literature I found though, deems it ineffective at the levels that ozone generators sold as household appliances generate.
I wasn't referring to the mass market ozone generators. Some of those work on small problems, but the type needed here is the same as used in fire restoration. I am guessing that you must have had that confused when you saw that I mentioned ozone generators.
What I was using to support my point was proper use of an ad hom attack, where the veracity of a source is brought into question because of numerous instances of previous questionable judgment.
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