So I move out of my girlfriends house, partly because of my allergies to her cats I move into an apartment, only to discover my terrible sensitivity to the smell of the new carpet It burns my eyes, my nose, I'm unable to breath, I get awful sleep and I feel as if my IQ has dropped any suggestions- I have been leaving the windows open during the day to air out and it hasn't really done too much thanks in advance
Come on you guys, he's lookig for serious answers. Get another cat. You'll forget all about the carpet.
Maybe try cleaning the carpet to tone it down a bit. The new smell goes away rather quickly. Or, put a fan in the window to keep blowing fresh air in.
Don't clean the carpet with chemicals. It sounds like you may be hyper-sensitive to this carpet. This is not uncommon. More and more people are becoming allergic. I suggest you 1. Purchase a very good HEPA vacuum and use it daily or install a central vac system. 2. Keep the windows open (if this is an option) a blower or fan is a good idea 3. Replace the carpet with hardwood 4. Stay out of the apt as much as you can 5. Find a good HEPA / Charcol filter air purification system.
New carpet out-gasses formaldehyde and other nasty chemicals. Does not bother most, but some folks have great probs with it. Airing out for a month might help, or if it is a rental, the nuclear weapon is "reasonable accommodation" as mandated by the Americans with disability act, i.e. change carpet to a type that is made to prevent this prob. There are some houses built completely like this.
My wife has the same problems (severe formaldehyde allergy). If you are going to keep the carpet you need something like this to clean & seal the fibers: www.nontoxic.com/nontoxicpaints/carpetseal.html They worked for her (& we recently gave the leftovers to a friend who had the same problem).
