Question from Jay
Dear Debra, we are a military family moving from one place to another, and we are approaching our time to move again. I found a beautiful brand new apartment complex that just opened in april 2012, and the idea of living in a brand new place is very tempting, (especially if you think about the risk of finding bugs, which is a common issue in apartments). I was wondering what were your thoughts about it, considering that the place has probably not off-gassed yet at all, that everything is brand new, (carpets, cabinets, and wooden floor). Should I just move there and let it air out for a few days? Or do you think that an older place would be better? Thank you in advance for your advice.
Debra’s Answer
Let is air out a few days? No. New apartments need more than an airing out. They are filled with toxic chemicals from carpets and particleboard cabinets especially. You’d need to do a major makeover to make it healthy.
I would recommend an older apartment where materials have offgassed. You may be able to kill a lot of the bugs with a major heat treatment or other nontoxic method.
SSM and Guadalupe, thank you for your comments. I am definitely going to follow your advice. I am concerned with bugs because I had a very stressful experience a few years ago, when we had our unit infested with cockroaches, and we were not able to get rid of them with any “non-toxic” method. The apartment complex kept sending the exterminator to my door, and I kept refusing to let them spray my unit with their -perfectly safe for children and pets- stuff that they didn’t even know the ingredients of. We ended up getting rid of all of our furniture, in order to avoid bring the bugs with us. We found out that the whole building was infested. It was very stressful. This is why I am so concerned with bugs, although I rather live with bugs than in a highly toxic environment.
Regarding oven cleaners: Yes, 2 years later it should have outgassed. Regardless of what you are smelling, you should trying cleaning it as Debra suggested, with plain water. If you don’t have one already, go to the hardware store and buy an inexpensive gas mask. Not the “dust mask” type that is simply a piece of synthetic fabric, but one with replacable cartridges. I think I bought ours for about $20-25 and have found it invaluable for when we do work with toxic chemicals, such as some paints or varnishes. It cuts down on about 90-95% of the fumes. If you are extremely sensitive to chemicals, you might either opt for a much more expensive gas mask or simply hire someone to clean your oven for you (with plain water, of course).
It was a new apartment complex that sent my body into a major chemical overload, top that off it was supposed to be a ‘green building’. I would not move into a new anything – older would be so much healthier for your family. If the new residence, as in older, has carpet then have them cleaned by a company that can extract any residual build ups – go in yourself and give it a good cleaning from top to bottom of all hard surfaces with vinegar and water, then air it out. I know military housing has high expectations with cleanliness, but not necesarily with the products used to get the units clean.
Debra is absolutely right on here – as is Guadalupe, thank goodness you thought to ask.
I agree with Debra, you cannot outgass a new apartment in even a year. I tried. I don’t know what kinds of bugs you are concerned about, but I think most pests are easy to kill with nontoxic means, and it can also be easy to keep them from comming in from neighboring walls using nontoxic products. However, I have heard that bedbugs are the exception, and are very difficult to keep out if other units have an infestation. If you find an older apartment unit you like, you may want to discretely speak with some of the residents and, gently, ask about bedbugs. Its a delicate topic many people don’t want to talk about. I use essential oil products, diatomaceous earth, boric acid and the like to successfully keep my house bug free (& smelling great.) The key is to treat both the inside and outside of your house on a regular schedule. I also got rid of silverfish by keeping kitchen and bathroom counters and sinks and all the showers and tubs DRIED down and sprayed with a vinegar and essential oil mix after each use. Good luck with your move!
Debra, thank you for your advice. Unfortunately, there is more to consider: an older place may have been recently painted and may have been treated with conventional pesticides, so would in that case still be less harmful than the toxics of the brand new place? Another thing I really don’t know how to fix is a previously used oven, which people probably cleaned with the most terribly toxic cleaners. Do you know of any way I could clean off that bad stuff from the oven? I remember being in one place 2 years ago, and NEVER use the oven because I could smell that stuff every time I opened it. So horrible.
COMMENT FROM DEBRA:
Yes of course, all the things you say may be true. On the other hand, I have repeatedly found older homes/condos/apartments that have NOT been recently painted or pesticided and those would be better than a newer home.
Regarding the oven, oven cleaner is volatile and could be removed with plain water, but should have already outgassed. Maybe you are smelling something else.