One of the main principles for mold / chemical reactivity, established by Erik Johnson, is decontaminating yourself after exposure to something that makes you sick. https://paradigmchange.me/edge/
Here are the specific steps we have developed over the years (ideally but not always ability to do):
1. Remove clothes in garage (mudroom for us though this later caused problems b/c we got a HIGHLY cross contaminating toxin in the mudroom this way, which then contaminated our house further and made us lose a ton of contaminated stuff. Long story you don’t want to hear. LOL I guess actually it means the same thing COULD happen in a garage…. So I’ll change to TRULY ideal: create a modest way to strip outside without being arrested 🙂 and have the 2. (clothes can) outside too. But for the VAST majority of toxins, the mudroom or garage really should be fine.
2. Put contaminated clothing directly into a metal container such as a new, clean, washed (for release oil chemicals usually on metal things), tightly-lidded galvanized metal trash can. (We keep errand clothes in this can until literally ready to put them in the washing machine. One of my friends was so sick they had to build a separate laundry house with facilities only for work clothes).
3. Streak to the bathroom. LOL My hubs would holler loudly (mudroom, no garage) and make sure the laundry “door-opening” curtain was closed. Someone could also use a piece of cloth (which would need to be washed later) or a length of paper towel.
4. Put baking soda in wet hair and beard and let it sit until done washing up.
5. Shower, possibly washing twice and putting washcloth outside afterward if the washcloth bothers the MCSer. Thankfully this doesn’t happen much for me. Hubs only had to wash twice when the toxin was SUPER SUPER bad. OR pour milk over skin in case the toxin is fat soluble. (You can experiment. Might be a waste of milk.)
6. Wash hair at least twice OR rinse off baking soda and then experiment with: vinegar, milk, etc. OR just realize that it’s not going to be perfect, and try to make do/endure. Stuff in hair often stays 3 days, but I’ve only had to seriously endure ONE particular toxin (pesticide) where I finally considered asking hubs to shave (and he did). Normally (like just scent) it’s not that bad to wait the three days and wait for it to wear off. Hair dryer outside can help, though.
7. Wash tub (ideal, we rarely do this).
Christa Upton Black Hills Picture Books Edgemont, SD 57735
