MCS safe building questions

[Guest guest]

 

This is a great dialoque about " to test or not to test " . I hope the original

poster is able to decide what to do. Depending on the conditions (of the house,

the occupants, the exposures, the nature of the MCS, and more), the response can

be varied; I don't see them detailed, so it's hard for me to comment. I would

LOVE to see a description of the MCS house - construction, age, history, hvac,

contents, foods, cleaning methods and products, electronics, etc.

Suffice to say, Carl's short answer is on the right track.

With this topic in mind, making an MCS-safe house safer, I have a need for some

info.

I am trying to develop an MCS-safe space, with recommendations to visitors.

If I could, I would like to ask for input from those of you who suffer. (I am

not ignorant of the situations and difficulties, I'm looking for direct input

from those who live with MCS; I'm just a friend!)

What would be the top 3 things you would do? Just 3! I know there are many, but

I need to find the most important things to correct and avoid.

I also want the least expensive and the easiest things to do that help - the

obvious #1 : No Smoking. EZ, free, big impact, and often is regulated anyway.

I don't want a debate, just input. Once I collect the responses, as many as

possible, we can discuss the importance or rational of priorities and

conditions.

E.g., everyone may put fragrance in the top 10 list of things to avoid, but

maybe only 20% place it in their own top 3.

Prioritization is going to be key. As is cost-benefit.

Just like testing doesn't change the response protocol in a mold contamination

situation: find mold, remove mold, verify mold is gone.

Sampling must, MUST, improve the power of decision-making with regard to the

response that will follow. And one should always predict and prepare for the

options before the sampling protocol is selected (and there are countless

protocols). In other words, if contaminant #1 is found by sampling, list what to

do. then, if #2 is found, decide if do anything differently. If response is the

same, then do not sample. If response is slightly different, do the one that

works for both. However, If response is greatly different, including with regard

to cost, prepare a simple cost-benefit and decide how to spend the money.

In MCS conditions, as most of you know, the product or cleaning agent is going

to have a potential impact that may be more severe than the contaminant it's

cleaning. So cleaning agents must be carefully discussed. Some can be hazardous

but can be rinsed and reduced before re-occupation. some have no impact on the

occupant. The best often are not friendly, for example, bleach can denature some

toxins and allergens, but few MCS would want to use bleach. Also, we have

limited knowledge about surfactants, and in the case in point, the surfactant

really becomes more important than any disinfectant. If I can remove the

contaminant, I don't need to kill it (or denature, if it's a toxin, allergen or

other chemical).

As Carl points out, routine situations require routine response, not expensive

sampling (I assume we all agree that the caveat is for special cases, when

sampling does provide additional info for others like attorneys, doctors, etc.)

Thank you in advance for your input.

Armour