Conference moira::parenting_v3

    Hi Sheryl,
    
    I am having a demo done on my carpets tonight, from Kirby!  They are
    coming in and shampooing the livingroom... When they made the
    appointment they made it clear that if I had pets or small children,
    that the solutions were non-toxic, and the pets or children could be on
    the carpets almost immediately.  
    
    My "babies" are almost 16, and a little over 18, so I am not too worried
    about them... but you know I have the cats and the dog.. so was a
    little concerned.  If you want, I will talk to the guy and see what he
    uses to clean the carpets with....
    
    Hug Alexa for me!
    
    M-L

    m-l - 
    
    
    I had a "free" kirby demo (free carpet cleaning).  Just a bit of a
    warning... be prepared for a serious sales pitch and long.... night. 
    My demo lasted 2 hours.  
    
    The machine is impressive and carpet cleaned pretty well, but I just
    couldn't justify spending close to 2k for an appliance.
    
    Have fun!
    
    K.A.

    We also had a Kirby demo. Ours was shortened due to the fact that my
    husband had sold Electroluxes (SP?) before and knew what to expect.
    We also told the salesman, so he knew what he could get away with.
    
    We were definitely amazed at what it could pick up, but being pregnant
    at the time, I could not see lifting the thing. They are very heavy,
    even though the salesman tells you they aren't. I had a friend who
    had one, and she felt the same way.
    
    Sheila
    

I was also a victim of a silver-tongued Kirby salesman about 7 years ago.  
To this day I can't believe that he succeeded in talking me into getting 
rid of my Rainbow for that piece of sh!t he sold me.  P.T. Barnum was right 
in my case.

Ron    

>    	Does anyone know of any potential dangers/risks
>    to toddlers from professionally cleaned carpets?
    
		      ^  ^  ^
Please note that THIS |  |  |  is the subject of this topic, not a particular 
brand of vacuum cleaners.

Thanks
Clay

    I'm confused.  When we get our carpets clean, I plan to ask the
    cleaning service about their product's safety for toddlers.  Why did
    the basenoter not simply ask the cleaning service?
    
    There are several different methods of carpet cleaning.  Each involves
    different cleaning solutions.  The basenote question cannot be answered
    in this file without knowing the contents of the cleaning solution
    which has been proposed.
    
    Maybe the basenoter does not trust the cleanining service.  In that
    case, obtain the solution contents, post them here, and get opionions
    from those who have a background in chemistry or environmental hazards.
    
    Sorry if I'm a little irritable today, but it seems like we've taken a
    roundabout way, without enough information in the first place, when the
    answer might have been provided directly by the cleaning service.
    
    I myself would welcome information about SPECIFIC cleaning methods and
    solutions.
    
    Laura

I seem to have some *very* vague memories of some epidemiological studies
(somewhere, sometime...) that correlated cases of some serious childhood
illness with recent carpet cleaning.  I can't remember *any* details, and
I'm not even sure where I would have seen it or how to look it up again
(Science News, maybe?).  But .0 may have been inspired by vague recollections
of the same sort I'm having.

As for asking the cleaners, I confess that I would be astonished to hear
any service provider come out and say that there was a hazard associated
with their service.  There's always sufficient ambiguity associated with
epidemiological evidence so that one can, in perfectly good faith, say
"There's no problem," if that's what one wants to believe (or that's what
one's livelihood is tied to).

	-Neil

    To those of you with chemical and environmental backgrounds...
    
    Arn't those cleaning companies required to comply with "Right to Know"
    laws?  As in shouldn't they be carrying the MSDS sheets with the
    chemical breakdown, hazards to health, flamability etc?  I mean if DEC
    has to fill one of these sheets out for secretaries who use a lot of
    "white-out" which comes in 1/2 ounce bottles, why not cleaning solution
    that is sold by the gallon?
    
    The biggest hazard I see, from experience is it leaves walking from the
    damp carpet to plain floors like walking on ICE!  I have personally
    slipped to the floor and almost slipped several times when moving from
    freshly shampooed carpets to linoleum or the bathroom tiles.  And this
    stuff is so concentrated it doesn't wash off rubber soled shoes easily
    at all.  That is the biggest danger I see with carpet shampoos!
    
    I'm a doityourselfer, when it comes to carpet shampooing!
    
    Lyn

RE: Kirby vacuum cleaners

We have one that my wife bought about 18 years ago for $200.  It's really a 
great vacuum (if you're into that sort of thing), but there's no way I'd 
pay what they're asking these days.  We also had an in-home demo and a hard 
sell, and we will certainly never agree to one again.  We have better ways 
to spend an evening!

Steve

    RE: .6
    
    	Sorry I wasn't more to the point--I was pressed for time and
    didn't include all the information I had to date.  My husband
    had already spoken with the cleaning service and the reply
    he received was "it's biodegradable so I guess it's fine".
    
    	I called my pedi and she laughed and said "yes, that means
    you're guaranteed it will be fine in the year 2050."  She said
    NON-TOXIC was the word I was looking for, and to be sure I
    could call the poison control center.
    
    	We decide to go with the chem-dry process which (in writing)
    is guaranteed to be 100% safe and non-toxic (the magic word).
    
    	It is being done as I write this and Alexa can walk on it
    in about 1 hour--that's another selling point!!!
    
    
    Thanks for all of the advice!
    Sheryl