As some of you know, I work at a restaurant on weekends. Well, there I am cleaning off a table and wiping it down with windex and paper towels, getting it ready for the next group of people to be seated. A lady in a group of four at a table to the right of me goes crazy and starts breathing heavily through a napkin, crying and then finally runs outside. One of the guys with her says "YOU SHOULDN'T BE DOING THAT WHILE PEOPLE ARE EATING NEARBY--SHE HAS MULTIPLE CHEMICAL SENSITIVITY!" I'm like "Oh My God, I'm sorry. I've never even heard of that--Is she going to be alright?" (It took me by huge surprise and I thought I did something extremely wrong). Then he's like "We might need an ambulance!! She could easily pass out from the fumes! We can't sit here, we have to move".

 

By this time, one of my coworkers comes over to see whats going on and the guy with the group says "we have to move!!". One of the servers said "well those tables were just sprayed with windex too but you can sit wherever you'd like". The actual server assigned to that table didn't know what was going on until he came over and saw them moving. When the people were done eating, they left a really small tip and the server for that table asked the customer what he did wrong, and the weirdo said "oh you're service was fine, I'm sorry you have to take the grunt for your co-workers". Then he left, but came right back inside and talked to my manager. My manager finally got fed up with him and told him to get out of the restaurant. He wanted everyone's name including the manager, and servers to tell the restaurant owner what happend.

 

I looked up Multiple Chemical Sensitivity on the internet and its something that most doctors don't even think is real except psychologically. Its probably the same people that think aerosol cans containing chemicals are attached to the back of planes as they're flying, leaving chemtrails for purposes of genocide. Don't we have bubbles for these people?!?! As much cologne as I wear, it's a good thing I wasn't wearing Acqua Di Gio that day, she would have went right into a seizure.  :roll:

my friend, put "safe" on your netflix lineup. fantastic/stylish todd haynes movie, freaked me out, it will explain everything. not saying i totally buy into it, but unlike almost all movies this one really did jolt me and leave me thinking about mcs -- to this day. 

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114323/

 

My friend had to study Multiple Chemical Sensitivity for a research project. The results that he found were quite surprising: It's mainly psychological. Given that they were doing super-controlled tests with placebos and whatnot, the results were the same. Reactions to water, vodka, Windex, what have you -- as long as it was clear and had some 'scent', they were all over the place.

 

It's the same reasoning behind knee pain to some extent. I recalled reading in a journal about a group of users with chronic knee pain. One group had the incision made and the joint repaired -- they felt great afterwards. Another had the incision made but no joint repair was done -- and they also reported feeling equally as great -- even after walking around months after! Weird.

 

I've switched to organic cleaning materials. Not for the reasons listed above, but because its more healthy than spraying chemically-laced products around. A little more expensive but well worth it, and just as good IMO.

I thought people put Windex on their cuts?

I thought people put Windex on their cuts?

 

:wtf:

I don't know about multiple chemical sensitivity, but I know that just a few things set off an allergic reaction for me. I have common allergies to certain types of dust & pollen, and Flonase usually works well for most of those.

 

Wearing clothes washed with laundry detergents containing perfumes and dyes doesn't cause severe problems for me, but I'll go around all day with watery eyes and a runny nose, and besides, they just smell bad to me. It's becoming increasingly difficult to find dye- and perfume-free detergents in the supermarkets.

 

Some bath soaps, like Irish Spring, set me off, too. Plain old Ivory soap in the shower and Original Neutrogena face soap are OK. Most cleaning products like ammonia, Windex, or chlorine bleach don't bother me.

Whether or not the woman has a legitimate condition, the people with her were rude.  Leaving a small tip over this?  I don't think these people should be eating out. 

 

I do have to wonder about this if the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Allergy and Immunology do not recognize MCS. 

^

 

Have you been to a natural-foods or a market that sells natural products? Wild Oats sells items you are longing for...

I don't know about multiple chemical sensitivity, but I know that just a few things set off an allergic reaction for me. I have common allergies to certain types of dust & pollen, and Flonase usually works well for most of those.

 

Wearing clothes washed with laundry detergents containing perfumes and dyes doesn't cause severe problems for me, but I'll go around all day with watery eyes and a runny nose, and besides, they just smell bad to me. It's becoming increasingly difficult to find dye- and perfume-free detergents in the supermarkets.

 

Now, I do have allergies and asthma.  I cannot wear perfume or most scented lotions, but perfume or cologne on someone else usually doesn't bother me.  I can't do yard work or garden either, and I can't be around cats for long or my eyes will swell up.  I've never had a reaction to cleaning products.

 

Fortunately, years of allergy shots and a few prescriptions for asthma medications have really helped keep things under control.

I've encountered a surprising number of customers who are allergic to water.  I had a guy just a couple of days ago who was allergic to potatoes.

Frankly, you can make all those natural cleaners at home for cheap. I was at Target, and they had this "all-natural" window cleaner that was twice the price as Windex. All that shat is water, a little lemon and a little white vinegar. There are a number of different ways you can do it, but geez, white vinegar is like nearly 50% of every recipe!

I have a family member who works for an exclusive housekeeping company on Pittsbugh that caters to an upper income clientele cleaning their homes.  All they use is vinegar and other natural cleaners to clean with.  If there is a stubborn issue such as a stain they need to oontact a manager who needs to contact the home owner for permission to use a chemical type product.  I asked her about it, she says the vinegar actually cleans very well.  Just as an aside, they also never make the beds.  Seems the dust mites just dry up and die when exposed to air and light all day instead of trapped between the sheets all day.

Those people shouldn't be allowed out in public.

Congrats to the manager for throwing them out.

HOWEVER

The practice of spraying stinky cleaning products in crowded dining rooms is not good. The smell puts a person off their food.

The old fashioned way was to bring a dampened towel out from the kitchen & wipe the table down.

Probably not as hygienic - but how hygienic do you have to be ?

Just don't use the towel to wipe your face between tables. (seen it)

I'm surprised I have to explain this to anyone over the age of 12, but here's how it works (and this goes out to the idiots who "crop dust" gym equipment while I'm using the next machine over):

 

1. Grab a rag/towel/paper towel.

2. Grab the spray bottle of cleaner.

3. Spray the cleaner INTO THE F#CKING TOWEL.

4. Clean.

 

That way, whatever it is you're trying to clean gets clean without it getting all over people around you. David, I imagine the lady was being a bit melodramatic, but seriously - if you work in a restaurant and need to clean tables while people are eating, use the method I described above. 

Yeah, I hate those nasty chemicals, I'd much rather use a little acetic acid.

Those people shouldn't be allowed out in public.

Congrats to the manager for throwing them out.

HOWEVER

The practice of spraying stinky cleaning products in crowded dining rooms is not good. The smell puts a person off their food.

The old fashioned way was to bring a dampened towel out from the kitchen & wipe the table down.

Probably not as hygienic - but how hygienic do you have to be ?

Just don't use the towel to wipe your face between tables. (seen it)

 

The wet towels are soaking in a sanitizer solution per health code, so its very hygenic.  You could eat directly off the tables, assuming that they have been cleaned.