Guest guest Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 If you use ammonia make sure to wear gloves, ventilate well, and especially, to rinse well afterward even if the ammonia has appeared to completely have dried up. Ammonia cuts the grease film and often, dissolves the mold toxins in the film, but it doesn't deactivate many of them, so rinsing the dirty water away and rinsing with clean water afterward is essential.. Otherwise, I would say that there is a good chance that places where dirty ammonia had dried - the residue there afterward - can contain concentrated mycotoxins. Its a great cleaner, but leaving the dirty ammonia water to dry on things is not good.. Ammonia is only good for metal and glass.. and there it is important to remember that it doesn't deactivate many mycotoxins, it just cuts teh grease and makes them dissolve in the water.. it will be in that dirty water until it goes down the drain.. (Make sure to wear gloves and rinse afterward) I spoke with Dr. Straus about cleaning mycotoxins with ammonia and he thought that for almost everything, that a strong solution of bleach in soapy water, left on items for at least 15-30 minutes, was better. That would actually break the toxins apart, making them nontoxic.. However, the bleach itself is so caustic its absolutely essential to remove it by mopping it al up with rags, etc, and then rinse everything well with clean water after its use. Its also essential that the bleach both penetrate the items (if they are semi porous) and then stay there for a while..to allow it to work. In the case of wood, then people will use wire brushes, etc, to scrape off mold.. Then it needs to ALL be rinsed off... Gypsum wallboard (i.e. " sheetrock " ) that has gotten moldy shouldn't be washed, *it should be removed and replaced* (strong) Bleach and detergent was also tested as being the best way to wash fabric.. according to Dr. Straus. (who has done extensive research on this specific thing, far more than anybody else..including testing items that were washed for residual trichothecene toxins. Some of the toxins that are produced from stachybotrys are so impervious to destruction that they can survive very high temperatures.. over 500 degrees Fahrenheit.. hotter than an oven.. Bleach does deactivate them, IF its left on the material long enough and if the bleach is strong enough.. Then it has to be rinsed away completely, its dangerous to leave on things.. (it will also damage them.) Dont get strong bleach on your eyes or skin, or breathe it . It can do serious damage.. > I am planning to wash nearly everything is sight with ammonia. This > has worked with many things in the past, as far as I can tell by my > reactions. Now I am planning to try to clean the other appliances to > make it as safe as I can before I plug in the new fridge- I really do > not want to contaminate it! I remember reading Dr Croft said that he > has remediated houses with ammonia, but would like some input on how > to do this with the dishwasher. I was thinking I would run the > self-cleaning cycle on the range, the heat ought to do alot. > > Any ideas? I was doing ok until this last round in the kitchen last > fall; but I have not been great since then. Hopefully, with the moldy > fridge out, I can get better. > > Thank you very much, > > > > _ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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