HELP! House just treated for termites!

[beemama]

We're closing on this house tomorrow, there's no way out... it was just treated yesterday & the smell is awful. I shudder to think what that smell is doing in our systems! It's probably in my breastmilk. Ohmy.
I am freaking out!

We bought a large air purifier, I already have a small purifier, we're borrowing a negative ion generator, we bought 4 large plants . Is there anything else we can do? Will it ever be "safe"? We're going to pay a full months rent where we are right now so we don't have to move right in.
I AM FREAKING OUT! I can't even tell if I'm coherent.

[beemama]

okay, so I've calmed down a bit. does anyone have any suggested reading,more ideas for cleaning indoor air? We've got a list of plants we want to buy & have put about 10 in there already. And the air purifiers are running on high. Opening the windows isn't an option yet, they treated along the borders outside. My google searches are just coming up with plants & air filter ads.
THis is not how I envisioned my first home buying experience... it's a nightmare! I'm afraid of my new house!
So many people are trying to tell me that it's nothing to worry about, that chances are every house I've ever lived in has been treated... but these are also people who don't understand the whole trip to St. Louis(80 miles away) every week to buy organic foods.
Hope somebody out there has some advice for me!

[momto l&a]

I dont know anything about termite treatment/spray but I figure that if all windows are opened to allow the house to air out and everything (walls, carpets/floors ect) is wash should help alot.

Congrats on your new house Me moved into our polace the beginning of May and are still getting settled but loving our place, nothing like YOUR own home!

[suebearsmom]

Prayers for your protection and that you will have wisdom.can you look into renting an ozone genarator? If you can,I would ozone the heck out of each room and then you have to air the rooms and get the air moving to break up the ozone because that isnt good for your lungs,but the ozone will break down the termite spray.Catherine

[xenabyte]

Before we moved in: we had the carpets steamcleaned in our new place, I wiped down all the floors with a damp mop, I had the air ducts cleaned (this was a brand new house too...but glad we did it, construction dust and ick in the ducts!!)

I ran two Ionic Breeze Filters full time (m. bedroom and family room/kitchen), put every plant I had in the house, I bought some 'Zeolite' bags (mesh bags with basically volcanic rocks) and put them in every room (they absorb chemicals in the air).

I cranked up the heat a bit (to drive off some of the chemical smells) and THEN opened the upper windows and allowed it to air out thoroughly for a few days. I still leave certain windows cracked to allow some fresh air to enter/exit.
I ran the upstairs bathroom fans to pull the air up and out, while leaving a basement window open.

We didn't even have any bug killer smells, but the paint/stain and new carpet smell was giving me headaches and I didn't want our newborn in the house until it had aired out some.

Not much else you can do, you either try to 'drive it off faster and let it exit' or you try to wipe up any residue or absorb it with plants or stuff like Zeolite chemical absorbers.

I sympathize with you!

[beemama]

Hey! Thanks for all of the prayers, well-wishings & tips! I'm in a new-ish town, don't know anyone(other than dh) who really thinks like me on these things.
We opened up the garage doors, and we're going to open the windows upstairs with the all of the fans on, that sounds like a good idea since the downstairs windows are right by the spray (outside). I never even thought about having the ducts cleaned, that's a great idea!
We did borrow an ozone machine & cranked it in the worst part of the house & it smelled totally different in about 5 hours. I'm optimistic about that little machine.

[suebearsmom]

Ozone is great for that kind of thing.Was the house tented? Catherine

[beemama]

No, it wasn't tented. They did it by some sort of injection method, treating all of the ground level wood. It's a tri-level house, so really only one floor & the garage got the brunt of it, but I would guess the fumes to be in the whole house. We've got a steam cleaner lined up for next week. We went in to clean today & I can't smell anything, even in the garage. I'm feeling safer & safer about it.
In this world, you can never be totally "safe"... there are so many chemicals out there in wide use!
We've got a great wheat grass juicer, we're going to start growing it again once we get a little more settled, that should really help us clean out if we're breathing in gases. We also plan on keeping alot of plants in there & running the air purifiers. The ozone machine is going back to MIL at some point, but we'll definitely make use of it in the meantime.

[PikkuMyy]

You're supposed to stay out of a house for at least a week if it's tented so if you stay out of it for that long you should be ok. Sounds like you have quite a few plans already to help! Too bad you have to spend an extra month's rent...

[Oh the Irony]

How has everything worked out?

Just found out that the house we will be living in was treated with Termidor--25 gallons underneath the house. None was actually in the house...

Was looking in achives for info and found your post. I am currently freaking out like you were.

[beemama]

We're doing well, we're sleeping here now. This is my first post from the new house! The smell was completely gone within a couple of days. We didn't have any in the house either, it was all around the threshhold. We're still running purifiers & have plants. The negative ion generator just went back yesterday. I feel much better about it.... I wish we could've avoided it altogether though! Good luck wolfmama....