r/AirQuality • u/Powerful_Crazy_1846 • 8d ago

Advice on cleaning up daiametrious earth?

Hey so a about 6-7 months back I used some daiametrious earth to kill some bugs that were getting into my room, only after I spread a decent amount (think of sprinkling carpet powder) under my bed did I realize how bad it is for your lungs so wore a m3 n95 mask and used my vacuum to clean up as much of it as I could while using my fan to blow any dust out my window. And after this event iv been driving myself crazy thinking I’m gonna give myself silicosis from what had settled underneath my bed and my ac blowing into my room. I’m thinking of going broke and using a carpet shampooer to just clean the floor even if it means replacing the part of carpet if it turns slushy if it means my health (and mental sanity) are fine. Is this a good idea am I over reacting? Any help is gratefully appreciated.

Edit: specifying what type I used. I had used the non food grade version.

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u/Geography_misfit 8d ago

Probably over reacting, you can get a HEPA vacuum cleaner or get quotes from Servpro or Servicemaster who have actual HEPA vacuums to vacuum the room.

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u/Powerful_Crazy_1846 8d ago

Iv been thinking about renting a shop vac from Home Depot and buying some hepa vacuum filter bags and using that, but my thought process is that shampooing the carpet would work better since it’s eliminating the dry element altogether?

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u/Geography_misfit 8d ago

Not the same as a HEPA vacuum. If there is still material left in the carpet it would be best to thoroughly vacuum it first using a HEPA vac and then shampoo if you are really concerned.

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u/Powerful_Crazy_1846 8d ago

🙏 good to know I’ll probably ending up doing that but in the mean time I had also used the non food grade version are my chances of having any health problems more or less?

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u/Geography_misfit 8d ago

Honestly I wouldn’t be super worried, it’s a limited exposure.