the ancient oil tank in our basement sprung a leak, and the resulting fumes found us scrambling to pack up diapers, food, and clothes and camp out in one of camp's retreat cottages for a few nights.
"we're going on an ADVENTURE!" was dylan's gleeful mantra. she was a trooper and enjoyed trying out a new big girl bed. we swaddled james into a little bundle on the floor, and jim and i squeezed into a cozy twin bed for two nights.
all things considered, it wasn't a bad way to spend two snowy days. we didn't have to pay for a hotel or be confined to one room, and it was nice to get a break from tv and computers and have more time to read and rest.
we are happy to be back at home now. well, the three of us are are home; jim is back on the road for a conference. we got enough snow that they cancelled church while jim was packing up to go away. again.
the fumes were worrisome, mostly because no one seemed to be able to determine the toxicity. we soaked up the oil and some of the smell with saw dust and soda ash, but you can't really do much about the oil that has soaked into a concrete foundation.
i called the non-emergency police line to ask about hazmat, and they didn't even return my phone call. i called the fire department, and they sent two volunteers to check things out, but they didn't have any advice about air quality. the oil company couldn't be reached, and the guys who installed the new tank didn't know anything either.
we aired out the house while we were gone, and i don't smell anything right now, but i'm still not thrilled. i plan to get a few more houseplants, because supposedly they can purify the air a bit, but i don't know they they can do anything about petroleum fumes.
anyone have any wisdom for me?
5 comments:
I'm not sure but you might try poking around here or contacting her.
http://www.thesmartmama.com/
An adventure for sure!
Sorry...no help from this direction...but good luck!!!
hope you can get some answers - it's a bit of a concern.
Glad you had a place to go though!
Ugh. No ideas, just sympathy. I hope you can find some answers that make you feel better!
Just sympathy from me too. Ugh!
I did set our basement on fire once and the fire dept said the best way to get the smoke smell out was to set out big bowls of white vinegar. I don't know if it only works for smoke, though.
Post a Comment