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Old 03-16-2012, 10:29 AM
 
Location: The Land of Oz
112 posts, read 579,894 times
Reputation: 128

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Guys,
I have a question. Are laundry exhaust fumes harmful to breath. I ask this because after my husband lost his job, we had to movie into my parents house. While I was living out west, someone built a laundromat right in front of my parents house, and I mean the exhaust fan and pipes all face the the front yard. Because they live in the Southeast, I can see where nobody would care if this is bad for the environment, let alone if anybody died from toxic fumes. So long as somebody is making money, they don't care in this town.
My problem is the noise and the fumes.
The noise from the fan is so loud that when you're outside, you can't hear anybody talk. It's very loud. Then the smell. It always smells like fabric softener. Our nostrils burn. The smell is overwhelming. I'm so worried about me and my family getting cancer from living so close to this toxic spewing laundromat. We want to move, but we can't. To poor. Plus my parents live here. This has been their home for over 30 years. I'm not really sure what to do. Me and my oldest daughter have asthma. I've had it since childhood and could manage it well, but after moving back here, she and I both have terrible wheezing, shortness of breath, cough, tightness in chest.........in other words chronic asthma attacks. And everyone has had chronic sinus problems. Everyone!!!!
I'm not sure what to do. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it illegal to put a laundromat right in front of a residence like this. I live on a dead in street so this house gets the brunt of it (we're right in front of it) but I do have another neighbor who has complained about the noise and smell.
We can't even go outside without getting sick from the smell.
Any advice is welcomed. Thx
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Old 03-16-2012, 11:02 AM
 
Location: Mostly in my head
19,855 posts, read 65,574,293 times
Reputation: 19374
You can check the zoning laws but if it has been there a while I suspect it is legal. In older neighborhoods the city can change the zoning to allow more commercial. You can also complain to the city's environmental control office if they have one.
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Old 03-16-2012, 12:40 PM
 
Location: San Antonio, TX
11,495 posts, read 26,718,094 times
Reputation: 28029
Dry cleaning fumes can be dangerous to you, regular laundry exhaust probably not, except for the lint.


It's unfortunate that it's right in front of your parents' house, but if it doesn't bother them, only you, I wouldn't complain too much about it to them. It will only make them feel bad, or maybe make the fumes start irritating them too.
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Old 03-16-2012, 12:45 PM
 
1,683 posts, read 2,878,631 times
Reputation: 2151
Is it a laundromat or a dry cleaners?

I wouldn't worry too much about a laundromat that uses normal cleaners but if it a dry cleaners I would be very much worried. I don't want to sound as an alarmest but dry cleaners are some of the most filthy, contaminated places. Gas stations get a bad rap but they don't have anything on dry cleaners. I would take my chances with petroleum fumes vs. chlorinated solvents any day.

http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hm/drycleaner.pdf
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Old 03-16-2012, 04:25 PM
 
Location: The Land of Oz
112 posts, read 579,894 times
Reputation: 128
Thx guys,
It's a regular ole laundromat. And that's true that the zoning has changed. To my knowledge, the area infront of the house is commercial but from what I know, our street is still residential. My dad told me today that he's called the local health department about this three times before. The noise is terrible and the smell is overwhelming. What I got from my dad was that at one time there was a sewer leak and it was running into their yard. It was fixed but my dad thinks that there's something leaking from the laundromat.
It does bother my parents, but I'm very sensitive to chemicals and fragrances. So is my 17 year old daughter. My parents don't have asthma. We do.
The guy that put that up there is a complet idiot. But he owns half the town and could careless if it ruined my parents property value and our health, maybe even theirs in the long run.
I'm so angry cause we're stuck here for now and can't get out until our finical troubles turn around. I hope we can make it until then.
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Old 09-05-2015, 06:28 PM
 
1 posts, read 10,369 times
Reputation: 12
Do indeed worry about "normal" laundry chemicals. We're going through the same thing in an apartment with a broken exhaust line. it goes into the attic and then into the vents of my apartment. Google "toxic fumes from laundry and you'll get all the facts. My kids have had chronic breathing problems, a severe allergy attack, my allergies have come back so severely that i have been to the physician several times, it is affecting my liver, lungs and sinuses. Some of these chemicals are harmful enough by themselves but mix them... we've actually had to leave our apartment for a couple days. The long term effects can be severe. More people need to speak up to have the apartment laundry equipment checked and regulated. I quit smoking years ago, but the effects of these chemicals have caused me much more damage.
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Old 09-06-2015, 12:00 AM
 
Location: Out there somewhere...a traveling man.
44,541 posts, read 61,201,075 times
Reputation: 125501
OP take your concerns to your city/county/state Health Dept and file a complaint, they will check it out and make the business conform to health codes and/or recommend to them ways to solve the problem if they're in violation.
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