Best way to get poison ivy oils off of stuff that can't fit in washer?
November 18, 2020 7:46 AM

I dog-sat a gorgeous Lab. Who was apparently covered in urushiol. I'm HIGHLY allergic and am now covered in rash. There's not much I can do about the current rashes, but help me clean everything to please make new ones stoppppppp

He, of course, laid on everything. Multiple beds, pillows, sheets, rugs, and throw blankets. And the couch. I have washed literally everything that will fit in a washing machine, in hot water with soap. I also presoaked it all in TecNu.

However - what can I do about the couch? The back cushions have slip covers, which I'm currently washing. But the base cushion doesn't have a removable cover.

And if I've washed all bedding, the actual mattresses and pillows should be fine, right? Oils probably haven't seeped through, right?

The rugs I'm less concerned about, since it's not like I lie around on them. But if you have an easy way to give me peace of mind that I'm not like... tracking oil from rug to bed with my socks or something...

Thank you, I'm miserable.
posted by functionequalsform to Health & Fitness (5 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
Oh - I also just remembered he was in the back seat of my car. Gah.

So, uh, ideas for that would be nice too.
posted by functionequalsform at 7:49 AM on November 18, 2020


Oh, that's awful.

I would recommend soaking a cloth in TecNu and using it to wipe the couch down.

I had a re-exposure problem last fall where I kept getting PO on my legs, and I never figured out where it came from -- maybe socks? It's really persistent.
posted by suelac at 9:01 AM on November 18, 2020


Alcohol denatures urushiol. Normally I recommend hand sanitizer, but in the case of your couch and other fabrics, spraying it down with rubbing alcohol should do the trick, and should be safe for most fabrics/surfaces (though I would spot-test anyway).
posted by wind_up_horse at 10:19 AM on November 18, 2020


Seconding rubbing alcohol. My son uses it to clean his hiking gear. You should be able to wipe down your car seats too. Check for color transfer, but be generous with the alcohol and really scrub it off thoroughly. You have my sincere sympathy, I get poison ivy from my cats and it's miserable.
posted by LaBellaStella at 1:01 PM on November 18, 2020


Or even just vodka, if you can find cheaper vodka. Costumers do this for unwashable stage garments - you can repeatedly alcohol-mist things that can’t be alcohol-soaked, though alcohol-soaked is faster.
posted by clew at 6:30 PM on November 18, 2020


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