I posted yesterday about the fiasco I went through having to move to a different hotel room because they are fumigating, and it didn't end there. I knew there was going to be a problem as soon as I got off the elevator on the third floor ... it smelled horribly of whatever chemicals the exterminators are using.
With my extremely heightened sense of smell (hyperosmia) and sensitivity to chemicals of all sorts, this is a real problem. Even when they clean my room weekly, I have to open both windows, turn on exhaust fans, rinse the tub and sinks, and wipe down the counters and floors with vinegar before I can stay in the room for more than a couple of minutes, and it still smells horrible to me for at least 24 hours. I also have my own air purifier with HEPA filter running 24/7. I can't even stand lingering cooking odors ... while actually cooking something, it's fine, but when I leave the room and come back even hours later, the odor bothers me. Popcorn smells great while it's popping, but when I'm done eating it, it has to go! I'll put the empty bag in a used grocery sack, put that in the trash, and set it all in the hallway to go out next time I go downstairs or housekeeping grabs it. I can still smell it when I get up the next morning. Dish soap is the worst ... even the smallest squirt on a dishcloth for the two minutes it takes me to wash my couple of dishes is enough to send me through the roof. It's not just that something smells bad, it actually affects me emotionally/mentally, and makes me want to scream and throw things. Yep, hyperosmia is a real thing.
You can see why heavy-duty, toxic chemicals used for fumigating a large commercial building would be problematic.
Since they're treating the whole hotel one floor at a time, there's nowhere else for me to go, so I've got to deal with it as best I can. I opened both windows and set up my air purifier right away before I even moved anything in here. I propped the door open with a chair to keep the air circulating, but since it smelled in the hallway too, it probably wasn't very effective. As soon as everything was moved in several hours later, I set out to wipe down every surface I could reach. When I opened cupboard and pantry doors, the smell was even worse from being closed up, so I took everything out again and wiped those down, and ran all the dishes through the dishwasher, then left all the cabinet doors open.
The maintenance guy gave me an industrial fan that they use when drying the floors in common areas, so I set that to draw fresh air in from the bedroom, and I also kept the bathroom and microwave exhaust fans and my air purifier running continuously.
That was Thursday. Even with windows cracked and fans going, I slept little that night, because I couldn't get the smell out of my head. I got up Friday morning (with a massive headache) and started wiping things down again, sprinkled baking soda over the carpeted areas and vacuumed that up. By late in the day, the odor had dissipated considerably (finally!), and I was able to get a little sleep Friday night, still with purifier and exhaust fans running. It's Saturday morning now, and while it's still noticeable, it's more tolerable.
Oh, but did I mention that even after exposing us to chemicals that are enough to choke a horse, the roaches are still here?
The pups and I shared popcorn for a snack yesterday, and even with the microwave running for 3-4 minutes on high, I opened the door and a stinkin' roach came out! Before turning in for the night, I checked to see if I had anything in the dishwasher to be put away and one crawled out of there too. While watching a movie on my laptop last night, one came crawling from under my printer, right towards my hands. Ick, ick, ick. A short time later when reading in bed, I sensed movement out of the corner of my eye and yep, there was one on the nightstand. Seriously ... you can't kill these things! I smashed 2-3 others during the day in the kitchen and bathroom too, and when I opened the bathroom vanity drawer, there was a dead one in there, so I guess there's that.
So ... I had the hassle of moving, the dogs and I have ingested who-knows-what toxic chemicals, I've spent considerable time cleaning, endured cold, damp conditions while trying to air out the room, even overnight ... and still have to deal with roaches. Mind you, before they started the fumigation process, I never saw a single bug in the entire two months I've been in this hotel. And yes, of course I know they've been here even if I didn't see them, but if they're going to be here anyway even after the extensive extermination process, I'd just as soon they not show themselves so that I could pretend we weren't cohabitating.
Thus ends the moving-to-the-new-room saga (I hope!). I promise that I'll be sharing the blessings in my life too (and there are many), so don't tune me out just yet!
~ Marie Anne
If you haven't already, please read my first post that explains my mission for this blog.
With my extremely heightened sense of smell (hyperosmia) and sensitivity to chemicals of all sorts, this is a real problem. Even when they clean my room weekly, I have to open both windows, turn on exhaust fans, rinse the tub and sinks, and wipe down the counters and floors with vinegar before I can stay in the room for more than a couple of minutes, and it still smells horrible to me for at least 24 hours. I also have my own air purifier with HEPA filter running 24/7. I can't even stand lingering cooking odors ... while actually cooking something, it's fine, but when I leave the room and come back even hours later, the odor bothers me. Popcorn smells great while it's popping, but when I'm done eating it, it has to go! I'll put the empty bag in a used grocery sack, put that in the trash, and set it all in the hallway to go out next time I go downstairs or housekeeping grabs it. I can still smell it when I get up the next morning. Dish soap is the worst ... even the smallest squirt on a dishcloth for the two minutes it takes me to wash my couple of dishes is enough to send me through the roof. It's not just that something smells bad, it actually affects me emotionally/mentally, and makes me want to scream and throw things. Yep, hyperosmia is a real thing.
You can see why heavy-duty, toxic chemicals used for fumigating a large commercial building would be problematic.
Since they're treating the whole hotel one floor at a time, there's nowhere else for me to go, so I've got to deal with it as best I can. I opened both windows and set up my air purifier right away before I even moved anything in here. I propped the door open with a chair to keep the air circulating, but since it smelled in the hallway too, it probably wasn't very effective. As soon as everything was moved in several hours later, I set out to wipe down every surface I could reach. When I opened cupboard and pantry doors, the smell was even worse from being closed up, so I took everything out again and wiped those down, and ran all the dishes through the dishwasher, then left all the cabinet doors open.
The maintenance guy gave me an industrial fan that they use when drying the floors in common areas, so I set that to draw fresh air in from the bedroom, and I also kept the bathroom and microwave exhaust fans and my air purifier running continuously.
That was Thursday. Even with windows cracked and fans going, I slept little that night, because I couldn't get the smell out of my head. I got up Friday morning (with a massive headache) and started wiping things down again, sprinkled baking soda over the carpeted areas and vacuumed that up. By late in the day, the odor had dissipated considerably (finally!), and I was able to get a little sleep Friday night, still with purifier and exhaust fans running. It's Saturday morning now, and while it's still noticeable, it's more tolerable.
Oh, but did I mention that even after exposing us to chemicals that are enough to choke a horse, the roaches are still here?
 |
| Only DEAD roach I've found |
So ... I had the hassle of moving, the dogs and I have ingested who-knows-what toxic chemicals, I've spent considerable time cleaning, endured cold, damp conditions while trying to air out the room, even overnight ... and still have to deal with roaches. Mind you, before they started the fumigation process, I never saw a single bug in the entire two months I've been in this hotel. And yes, of course I know they've been here even if I didn't see them, but if they're going to be here anyway even after the extensive extermination process, I'd just as soon they not show themselves so that I could pretend we weren't cohabitating.
Thus ends the moving-to-the-new-room saga (I hope!). I promise that I'll be sharing the blessings in my life too (and there are many), so don't tune me out just yet!
~ Marie Anne
If you haven't already, please read my first post that explains my mission for this blog.
And I thought my wife had a sensitive nose. To pervert a quote of Monk's: "It's both a curse and a curse."
ReplyDeleteIt truly is!
Delete