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91% Alcohol Health/Safety Question
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bitebedbugsback
newbite
Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 32
Posted 3 weeks ago
Thu Oct 29 2009 15:58:09
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Is it safe to use 91% alcohol on my mattress? If so, how long do I have to wait until I can use the mattress again? What about my sheets? The carpet??
I want to go all -- I'd like to bath my mattress in the stuff -- but obviously health and safety is a factor, so I want to get an idea of how much is safe to use, what it's safe to use on, and how long to wait before I can lay down on the mattress/sheets again.
A related question: can I spray Murphys on my mattress? The carpet??
EDIT: I don't smoke. Also, a PCO is coming back next week for treatment (just so I don't give the impression I'm not using professional help).
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Adele
senior member
Joined: May '08
Posts: 556
Posted 3 weeks ago
Thu Oct 29 2009 16:34:34
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if you are being treated by a PCO you should check with them.
91% alcohol has very strong fumes and in any scenario should be used sparingly and not within anything flamable. common sense rules here
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bitebedbugsback
newbite
Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 32
Posted 3 weeks ago
Thu Oct 29 2009 16:51:24
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The PCO said I can spray around my mattress until treatment starts. It's not on the checklist he gave me, but he did say it's something I can do. I suppose he gave the impression not to use it all over my mattress, though.
Can I use Murphys on my mattress? I guess a steam cleaner would be best but man they're expensive! I already dropped about $400 on stuff like encasements, climb up interceptors, new pillows, XL/XXL Ziploc bags, etc. And I'd really like a Packtite but that's another $300...Whew!
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buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 1,130
Posted 3 weeks ago
Thu Oct 29 2009 20:26:55
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I wouldn't go dumping 91% alcohol on the mattress, but it dries pretty darned fast, so I can't see any danger in putting it on a mattress until the PCO comes in to treat as long as you aren't going through crazy quantities of it.
I would use 91% alcohol on a mattress before I'd use Murphy's, only because Murphy's being detergent based will foam and foam and foam for a long time. (I know. In my early panicky stages I sprayed a Murphy's Oil Soap and water mixture on the vinyl encasement I had on the futon, and it seemed like no matter how much I added water and went over and over it again it still kept foaming.)
If you put the 91% alcohol in a spray bottle and give the mattress a once over with it, and there's still alcohol left in the bottle when you're done, and you NEVER take any open flames near the mattress, I don't think there's any danger that I can see immediately in any of that.
If you're going through more than one spray bottle of alcohol in treating the bed until treatment starts, that's too much. If you're going through half of the regular sized bottles of 91% alcohol spraying the bed, that's too much.
If treatment didn't start for weeks, that might be an exposure to more of it than is wise, but if you're talking about spritzing the bed to kill any mobile bugs so that you can sleep more soundly for a day or two before the PCO comes to treat, it sounds safe to me.
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