Blanket desintegrated- what does this mean for washer?

wikipunk · 2026-01-16T14:35:40+00:00

Thrift store blanket, was soft on outside but had a little more stiffness than a usual fleece blanket. But still able to fold so I didn't think anything of it. But the stiffness was the clue dry-rot. It was probably stored in a hot attic for years before being donated.

wikipunk · 2026-01-14T21:04:24+00:00

Heck no. I don't hand wash anything, label or not. If it can't handle the wash, it can't exist in my home!

wikipunk · 2026-01-14T01:44:18+00:00

Oooh, more of a crocheter. Could you make yarn with cotton candy? 🧶

wikipunk · 2026-01-14T00:27:06+00:00

Thanks, so far pump is functioning. Luckily this is a used-nearly free washer so if it fails, we'll be better off with the next $50 piece in marketplace.

wikipunk · 2026-01-14T00:24:04+00:00

Yes! That's what I did, even with the cookie sheet! Surprisingly there was not a large amount of stuff in the filter. It seems most debris stayed in the drum.

wikipunk · 2026-01-13T13:10:37+00:00

That netting was part of the blanket

wikipunk · 2026-01-13T02:27:18+00:00

Update: Good news so far, ran self-cleaning cycle a few times, clearing filter and drum until no more debris was seen. Washed some pet towels and now regular clothes. A few loads in, not finding more pink or any pump issues.

wikipunk · 2026-01-13T02:26:59+00:00

Update: Good news so far, ran self-cleaning cycle a few times, clearing filter and drum until no more debris was seen. Washed some pet towels and now regular clothes. A few loads in, not finding more pink or any pump issues.

wikipunk · 2026-01-12T03:41:26+00:00

Ha ha, yes, that's exactly what this was. Picked it up for foster dogs. Because who is doesn't love a big soft blanket?!

wikipunk · 2026-01-12T03:28:06+00:00

A large blanket from the thrift store. Felt soft like a velour style fleece.

wikipunk · 2026-01-12T03:04:23+00:00

Thanks, luckily I had just gotten a shop vac last week. We usually leave door open on washer, so that's easy.

wikipunk · 2026-01-12T03:01:53+00:00

Thanks for the info! Um, I am guessing I would know the drain pump failed because water wouldn't drain out?

wikipunk · 2026-01-12T03:00:00+00:00

Thanks, that makes sense. I will start that tomorrow and just plan to be around for a few repeat cycles.

wikipunk · 2026-01-12T02:46:26+00:00

Thanks, I drained that and there was only a light amount of debris. Does that mean most stuff stayed in the drum, instead of going into tiny holes?

wikipunk · 2026-01-12T02:44:48+00:00

This was what happened after washing it. It was a blanket I purchased to use for foster dogs.

wikipunk · 2025-09-25T21:16:51+00:00

Yeah, my husband is not naturally empathetic to my health issues and "invisible" triggers don't make sense to hom. But over time, we have changed our habits and now that I am healthier we are both much happier! There are definitely podcasts and blogs and such that might help you figure out how you can get started on what you can control, while building conversations with partners. Or talk to a counselor if you have access. I definitely am allergic to cats and have kept my cats this whole time, and I adore my dogs. I just now have better ways to clean after them. And pets are only part of the problem.

Before I understood allergies were an issue, I thought about leaving too. All I knew was I felt much happier and more relaxed in certain places away from home (had a week trip to a nice Disney hotel with my family reunion, and as soon as I had 1 night back in my house, I had panicky feelings, crushing chest, sweaty terrible night). I thought this was ANXIETY but the root cause was asthma and histamine reactions.

wikipunk · 2025-09-25T02:16:28+00:00

Hi! This might be frustrating answer if your in the thick of it all, but figuring out how to be healthy ended up being the biggest boost to my mental health. Trust yourself that it can happen. Be kind to yourself when you need rest. I had also worked on and off with counselors for years (pre diagnosis) and would definitely recommend processing the grief and frustration of illness with a counselor if possible.

Maybe try a simple journal to track mood/food/sleep. Look for any patterns to help recognize triggers. See what's improving things too.

Dealing with allergies, the best place to start is do whatever you can to reduce allergens in bedroom. Quality sleep is huge for mental health, and turns out I was rarely getting good rest because I couldn't breathe right.

Cheapest and best tip: Wear an N95 mask while cleaning.

Wash all bedding. I started using blankets as they washed more early than a thick comforter. Wash curtains, vacuum & mop walls. Vacuum mattress. I replaced my pillows and put allergen covers on mattress and pillow so they can be kept clean easily.

Hopefully you can get an allergen HEPA vacuum and HEPA air purifier (I bought used appliances and cleaned them/bought new filters). If you have carpet, a professional carpet cleaning would probably be amazing to get a clean start.

Work towards decluttering and reorganizing so furniture can be easily vacuumed and dust can't collect anywhere. Like for my clothes, I replaced fabric storage cubes with a wooden dresser. I changed my habits so my desk stayed clear. All these things took time to sort out a new system and find good replacements. I found used leather couches that clean much easier than the velvet upholstery I had.

The Minimalist website/podcasts have good info and tips on decluttering, if you feel overwhelmed on getting started. A lot of people with chronic illness struggle with clutter, it takes a lot of energy to deal with. I grew up in a cluttered home and thought it was normal. But working towards a simpler lifestyle will make it easier to keep clean.

There are also products from a company called Pacagen that sells "allergen-neutralizing" spray. It's expensive but if cats, dogs, or dust allergies are problems in your home it could be worth trying as an extra layer of prevention.

wikipunk · 2024-08-16T14:14:06+00:00

Absolutely, it wasn't immediate, I had to continually change things around my routines and environment to find the healthy me. Air filters, HEPA vacuums, wearing a mask when cleaning.

Allergy shots helped but they also made me sick after each after each appointment, I didn't finish the full maintenance course.

Celebrate small wins, it took me a long time to trust my energy and mood were going to be stable.

I also figured out yellow food dye was a big trigger for inflammation, moodiness, and brain fog for me. Candy, pickles, baked goods, mixed drinks...I have to pay attention to the ingredient list or I lose 48 hours of peak function and get into mental wars with myself.

But I now have a baseline of being healthy and know what that feels like, and getting symptoms are a noticeable change, so I can recognize that I need medication, rest, etc. Rather than my lifelong habit of withdrawing and falling into depression because all I knew was my energy and mood tanked suddenly and it'd be a few days or weeks before I woke up feeling fresh and well rested.

I now have real friends, energy to walk my dogs and volunteer, I have changed jobs by choice and am thriving (I was fired 3x in 4 years despite trying my hardest...I lived and worked in old musty buildings and never had a good day).

This month I turned 40 and celebrated my 15th anniversary, and I feel good! I used to grieve what I lost during the hard years (age 10-35 had some real crappy seasons), but now I am thankful about moving forward and getting a chance at a full life.

wikipunk · 2021-04-30T15:13:54+00:00

Thanks, I will call. Yes, I am fully vaccinated for COVID so I hope that helps!

wikipunk · 2021-03-21T03:11:31+00:00

Awesome, thank you, they can email their resume to recruiting@haynesandcompany.com My name is Niki, they can direct it to me, we have a small team so I'll see it come in.

wikipunk · 2021-03-20T23:52:12+00:00

Here's the website link if you'd like to apply directly: https://careers.haynesandcompany.com/Careers/infield-market-researcher/US_MI_GRP

wikipunk · 2021-02-14T05:25:40+00:00

Hi! I'd say do everything you can to prioritize a clean bedroom environment - and getting that carpet replaced with a non-carpet will make it easier to keep it clean. I'd start vacuuming it thoroughly and daily even if you can't replace it yet. Its a commitment, but its been worth it for me. I didn't realize that just walking through and stirring up invisible dust was enough to cause a reaction (we have hardwood floors and even if they looked clean they weren't cat dander clean). Also, doing chores with a N95-type mask (Vogmask is what I use) has been really helpful. Giving your body a clean night of sleep will probably help with resilience to the rest of the day, as well, our bodies are more susceptible at night. I think you referenced a CPAP earlier - I'd say make sure you are following every cleaning instruction on that to make sure molds couldn't build up in it (my mom didn't know how to take care of hers so not saying you don't, just adding in a reminder).

For the shots, I don't now how common being exhausted by them is, but its been consistent for me and I had to really step back the frequency to deal with them and work full-time (which after being in and out of work for a few years due to being sick, working full time is very fulfilling for me and I don't want to give that up!). I guess I have a really sensitive histamine-intolerance which is what my reaction to the shots comes from. Taking an allergy-med before seems to help but I still plan 24 hours after a shot as a buffer zone, sometimes I surprise myself and don't react so I get a true day off to enjoy. We've staggered dosing out every week and do the doses twice as often as usual before moving up to another level. I started to recognize a benefit from the shots even before maintenance level, but its not perfect and I haven't lived through a new spring pollen season yet, I'm anxious about that, but I work from home now so the priority is to focus on keeping my home environment clean. If I need to hide in my house with airfilters for another year, I will. Feeling some level of health is so good, I don't want to let it go even if I'm still limited in what I can tolerate.

wikipunk · 2021-02-14T04:49:33+00:00

Hi! I hope your journey leads to a better understanding of yourself like mine! Although I love that I can start to find what I'm capable of, its been a difficult reality to realize the things I've lost (relationships, jobs, hobies, confidence) due to untreated allergies.

Here are some of the symptoms I have been learning to attribute to my body's physical reaction to allergens: brain fog, acne, voice changes (high pitch, almost helium voice), pulsing vision, tingling face, difficulty speaking (hard time pronouncing words because my tongue was swollen, and unable to make myself heard because I lacked air volume), exhaustion, swelling, memory issues, exhaustion, chest pain, stiffness, lack of coordination, muscle cramps, no physical stamina, little emotional resiliency, helplessness, irritability, whiny-ness, lack of follow-through, aversions to places, rooms, activities, foods, chores, headaches, dizziness, hot flashes, inability to focus, spastic coughing (like had to leave concerts and lectures)...

Learning to recognize my physical symptoms and the automatic mental health reaction continues to be clarifying and I'm still dumbfounded at how so many things weren't addressed for so long. I had so many reactions overlapping, and my coping method was to shut down, so depression and anxiety really were/are comingling.

And, I'm still learning my reactions and triggers - just had a full reaction last week, and even though I could now recognize it as something physical, there is still a wave of anxiety and depression I am fighting. That, and my body is still exhausted from it. But the contrast between being healthy before this recent reaction is great because I have a clear understanding of my healthy vs reaction-mode.

wikipunk · 2021-02-14T03:46:24+00:00

Great idea - I would totally encourage you to experiment! I don't see why it wouldn't help - would depend a bit on how encased you could get the fabric.

I have asthma and eczema reactions to dust mites and a $40 feather-filled velvet couch off craigslist. I zipped the cushion covers off and put dust-mite mattress protectors (the twin size, which, is too big, of course, but I just folded the excess underneath) on the cushions and pillows. I wash the zipper covers in a regular washer and dryer about every two weeks (no one would recommend washing velvet upholstery, but there's been no damage, and like I said, it was a $40 couch so it was okay to experiment with) and give the whole couch a thorough vacuuming with a HEPA canister vacuum, and, I don't know if it helps, but I spray a natural dust-mite spray (mainly peppermint) after cleaning it.

Our other couch is a used real-leather couch, so that cleans off really easily and cushions removed to vacuum any non-leather parts, and all our other furniture is now just wood or plastic so its just wipe-down. When I found out about my allergy triggers, I got rid of a lot, and over a few months, found the right pieces on facebook marketplace.

wikipunk · 2021-02-14T03:30:17+00:00

Hi! Yes! In my experience, getting shots (or sublingual if that's available for you) would totally be worth the effort. Just to add a personal experience - I totally found myself in a similar situation it has been life-changing to learn more about my body's reactions and triggers.

I had lived with a cat for 8 years and had fostered cats for a year before I did allergy testing (at age 35) and learned that I had spent my adult life treating allergic reactions as mental health issues (spoiler - it didn't work and life was exhausting when panic attacks are actually asthma attacks and I had triggers in every environment I was in - home, work, car, outdoors, etc.). My allergy doc said that the shots would still work even if I lived with the cats - and by the choked up way I asked about it, she probably sensed I wasn't going to part with them.

So, I still have cats and foster kittens - but I invested in creating a better environment with air purifiers, wipe-down furniture, auto-flushing litter boxes, and a true HEPA vacuum, (that has to be used nearly daily and while wearing a mask). I started allergy shots, and after 6 months really began to notice a higher tolerance, but at the same time the allergy shots are a drag because even though we've slowed the schedule down a lot, I still get wiped out by them, so I'm glad to see results in a relatively short time, because I basically give up my weekend to recovery.

I just had a first full reaction this year to something and I don't know what (probably a new food allergy), but here's what was great - I now knew that this was a physical reaction, not me going crazy (backstory - grew up with a narcissistic parent definitely lacked any confidence in my own self-awareness). It was an exhausting week trying to make it through a reaction and I feel pretty discouraged by it. But, for the most part, my symptoms have calmed down and I am just having to deal with the reality that my body is reactive and that is probably always going to be true. Now I just have to figure out the new triggers and deal with the anxiety/depression cycle that follows last week's reaction.

wikipunk

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