About Us
Mark and Maggie
SunClean Carpet Care was inspired when my wife Chris was pregnant with our daughter Maggie.
We got ready for her arrival by reorganizing our home and buying a new crib, and I went out and rented a carpet machine to clean the carpets. I put the unused portion of carpet cleaner in the trunk of my car, and then forgot about it.
Something strange began to happen though. For three days after cleaning our carpet, my health declined. I had blurred vision, hand tremers and nausea. I decided I should go to the doctor to see what the matter was.
Then it dawned on me that my symptoms intensified while I was driving. On a hunch, I opened the hatchback to find a half gallon of carpet cleaner solution had spilled into the trunk. I had been breathing in the fumes of the carpet cleaner in the enclosed space of our Geo Prizm for 3 days. What exactly was in that bottle anyway?! After cleaning up my car trunk, my symptoms dissappeared quickly.
Although I was feeling better, I was still concerned about the chemicals I had just put in my carpet and their effect of the health of my family; so I found a really great organic carpet cleaning solution to reclean our carpet. Not only did the carpet look and smell great, but the fibers felt softer than they had ever felt before.
Over the next several months, I educated myself about what goes into carpet cleaning solutions and discovered that carpet cleaning as it is being practiced now and for decades uses toxic chemicals as the primary solvents.
Here is a partial list of the dangerous chemicals and their effects found in carpet cleaning products:
Acetone Inhalation of high concentrations in the air caused irritation of the throat in humans in as little as 5 minutes. Inhalation of concentrations of 1000 ppm caused irritation of the eyes and of the throat in less than 1 hour.Benzene Benzene causes cancer and other illnesses. Benzene is a "notorious cause" of bone marrow failure. "Vast quantities of epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory data" link benzene to aplastic anemia, acute leukemia, and bone marrow abnormalities as well as acute myeloid leukemia, aplastic anemia, myleodysplastic syndrome, acute lymphoblastic leukemia , and chronic myeloid leukemia .Styrene Styrene is regarded as a "hazardous chemical", especially in case of eye contact, but also in case of skin contact, of ingestion and of inhalation, according to several sources.The US EPA has described styrene to be "a suspected toxin to the gastrointestinal tract, kidney, and respiratory system, among others."Hexane Inhalation of high concentrations produces first a state of mild euphoria, followed by somnolence with headaches and nausea.The long-term toxicity of n-hexane in humans is well known.[6]Extensive peripheral nervous system failure is known to occur in humans chronically exposed to levels of n-hexane ranging from 400 to 600 ppm, with occasional exposures up to 2,500 ppm. The initial symptoms are tingling and cramps in the arms and legs, followed by general muscular weakness. In severe cases, atrophy of the skeletal muscles is observed, along with a loss of coordination and problems of vision. Similar symptoms are observed in animal models. They are associated with a degeneration of the peripheral nervous system (and eventually the central nervous system), starting with the distal portions of the longer and wider nerve axons. The toxicity is not due to hexane itself but to one of its metabolites, hexane-2,5-dione. It is believed that this reacts with the amino group of the side chain of lysine residues in proteins, causing cross-linking and a loss of protein function.Toluene should not be inhaled due to its health effects. Low to moderate levels can cause tiredness, confusion, weakness, drunken-type actions, memory loss, nausea, loss of appetite, and hearing and color vision loss. These symptoms usually disappear when exposure is stopped. Inhaling high levels of toluene in a short time may cause light-headedness, nausea, or sleepiness. It can also cause unconsciousness, and even death.[15][16]
Formaldehyde In view of its widespread use, toxicity and volatility, exposure to formaldehyde is a significant consideration for human health.[5] On 10 June 2011, the US National Toxicology Program has described formaldehyde as "known to be a human carcinogen".
Now so enlightened, my wife and I felt there was a place for a completely organic carpet cleaning company in our community, and so in 2005, We started SunClean Carpet Care, and we've been doing our part to help keep homes organic, non-toxic (and clean) ever since.
We got ready for her arrival by reorganizing our home and buying a new crib, and I went out and rented a carpet machine to clean the carpets. I put the unused portion of carpet cleaner in the trunk of my car, and then forgot about it.
Something strange began to happen though. For three days after cleaning our carpet, my health declined. I had blurred vision, hand tremers and nausea. I decided I should go to the doctor to see what the matter was.
Then it dawned on me that my symptoms intensified while I was driving. On a hunch, I opened the hatchback to find a half gallon of carpet cleaner solution had spilled into the trunk. I had been breathing in the fumes of the carpet cleaner in the enclosed space of our Geo Prizm for 3 days. What exactly was in that bottle anyway?! After cleaning up my car trunk, my symptoms dissappeared quickly.
Although I was feeling better, I was still concerned about the chemicals I had just put in my carpet and their effect of the health of my family; so I found a really great organic carpet cleaning solution to reclean our carpet. Not only did the carpet look and smell great, but the fibers felt softer than they had ever felt before.
Over the next several months, I educated myself about what goes into carpet cleaning solutions and discovered that carpet cleaning as it is being practiced now and for decades uses toxic chemicals as the primary solvents.
Here is a partial list of the dangerous chemicals and their effects found in carpet cleaning products:
Acetone Inhalation of high concentrations in the air caused irritation of the throat in humans in as little as 5 minutes. Inhalation of concentrations of 1000 ppm caused irritation of the eyes and of the throat in less than 1 hour.Benzene Benzene causes cancer and other illnesses. Benzene is a "notorious cause" of bone marrow failure. "Vast quantities of epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory data" link benzene to aplastic anemia, acute leukemia, and bone marrow abnormalities as well as acute myeloid leukemia, aplastic anemia, myleodysplastic syndrome, acute lymphoblastic leukemia , and chronic myeloid leukemia .Styrene Styrene is regarded as a "hazardous chemical", especially in case of eye contact, but also in case of skin contact, of ingestion and of inhalation, according to several sources.The US EPA has described styrene to be "a suspected toxin to the gastrointestinal tract, kidney, and respiratory system, among others."Hexane Inhalation of high concentrations produces first a state of mild euphoria, followed by somnolence with headaches and nausea.The long-term toxicity of n-hexane in humans is well known.[6]Extensive peripheral nervous system failure is known to occur in humans chronically exposed to levels of n-hexane ranging from 400 to 600 ppm, with occasional exposures up to 2,500 ppm. The initial symptoms are tingling and cramps in the arms and legs, followed by general muscular weakness. In severe cases, atrophy of the skeletal muscles is observed, along with a loss of coordination and problems of vision. Similar symptoms are observed in animal models. They are associated with a degeneration of the peripheral nervous system (and eventually the central nervous system), starting with the distal portions of the longer and wider nerve axons. The toxicity is not due to hexane itself but to one of its metabolites, hexane-2,5-dione. It is believed that this reacts with the amino group of the side chain of lysine residues in proteins, causing cross-linking and a loss of protein function.Toluene should not be inhaled due to its health effects. Low to moderate levels can cause tiredness, confusion, weakness, drunken-type actions, memory loss, nausea, loss of appetite, and hearing and color vision loss. These symptoms usually disappear when exposure is stopped. Inhaling high levels of toluene in a short time may cause light-headedness, nausea, or sleepiness. It can also cause unconsciousness, and even death.[15][16]
Formaldehyde In view of its widespread use, toxicity and volatility, exposure to formaldehyde is a significant consideration for human health.[5] On 10 June 2011, the US National Toxicology Program has described formaldehyde as "known to be a human carcinogen".
Now so enlightened, my wife and I felt there was a place for a completely organic carpet cleaning company in our community, and so in 2005, We started SunClean Carpet Care, and we've been doing our part to help keep homes organic, non-toxic (and clean) ever since.
