Cadet Heaters...Round Two

So it's been almost three years since I replaced my rat-infested, formaldehyde-soaked, fiberglass-constructed furnace with electric Cadet wall heaters. I wrote a post on the effects of those brand new heaters: nausea, neck and back pain, and dizziness that lasted for about two weeks. After a frustrating two weeks, I washed the heaters' innards with vinegar and that seemed to do the trick. I haven't had a problem since and they gloriously heated my house very efficiently and relatively safely. I dust them every few months and don't put anything flammable in front of them so my house hasn't burned to the ground. My electric bills were much lower than when the furnace was running, even when it was brand new.

The Cadets have a two-year warranty although many have told me they last much longer. Perhaps others are using them only every now and then, to heat a bathroom or other small space. My three heaters are running about twelve hours a day and sometimes all night if temperatures hit freezing levels or under 25 degrees. Kitchen, living room, and office all winter long. I never use heaters in the spring, summer, and most of the fall when the temperatures are tolerable.

The Cadet in the kitchen stopped blowing heat. It still blows so I know it's not the motor or fan perhaps just the heating element. I thought for sure the cheap, plastic fan would be the first thing to break, but I guess not. This is the only heater attached to a separate temperature control knob. I don't know if that would have anything to do with it going out sooner than the other two. I called a few places then talked to a few more hardware store employees and they all said replacing just a part would cost as much as a new heater. So I bought a new heater. Very easy to install. Before installing I wiped the surfaces down the best I could before flipping it on.

BLAH. Immediately I could smell it. My head started spinning, my stomach lurching, and my spine tightening like an over stretched rubber band. I quickly sealed off the kitchen, brought in the fans, opened the kitchen window, and let the heater air itself out.

The discomfort only lasted for about an hour then I was able to remove the fans and close the window. I think washing down with vinegar is the secret. Even with the toxic offgassing these electric wall heaters are better than the furnace and far less expensive than that $5,000 split duct heatless piece of garbage salesmen were trying to sell me. We'll see if the other two heaters kick the bucket.

Cadet Heater Poisoning (Update)

I was so excited for my new Cadet Heaters, unfortunately I celebrated too soon. Remember this illustration I did last year in conjunction with the nausea and respiratory inflammation I experienced after turning on the toxic furnace? Well, there is a reason I've dug it out of the archives. It will serve to illustrate my current reactions to the Cadet Heaters.

It actually feels worse than it looks...

In September I turned the cadets on maybe twice for about ten minutes each time. It didn't take long to heat the house and since it was still fairly warm outside, I didn't see any reason to keep them on.

Later when autumn temperatures dropped, I kept them on. Within thirty minutes my sinuses, ears and glands started burning, and one hour later, my whole respiratory system from my nose to my lungs burned painfully, then dizziness and nausea followed by severe neck and spinal pain. Misery. I turned all the heaters off and aired the rooms.

Something in the heaters are offgassing. I'm not happy about this and this is my fault for not holding my ground and getting the heaters I wanted. I settled for the crappy, cheap heaters with too many plastic parts. Yeah, I can holler at myself for the rest of my life, but any new appliance is going to offgas and there is no guarantee the more expensive models would not have been problematic, although their innards are metal and not cheap PLASTIC. And who knows what kinds of sealants or treatments they use on the materials.

I drug all the fans and air purifiers out of closets and turned them on, opened all the windows in my house and within fifteen minutes, my body started clearing. I went to bed with all the bedroom doors upstairs shut and sealed, every window in the house open, and I left the heat on for about two hours. Such a waste of energy with all the windows open, but I needed to do something to offgas whatever needs to be offgassed.

The next morning the air seemed clear (and cold!), but still my lungs and ears started to burn slightly with very slight bouts of nausea. Something was in the air. Not as bad as the day before so I was hopeful if I keep the heaters on eventually whatever it is that is giving me grief will heat off. Strangely enough, I couldn't smell anything odd.

I keep reminding myself living with MCS is a constant risk AND I am thankful I didn't buy the $5,000 heating model and had the same problem. I've never had a problem with cadets in the past, but I've never had to deal with new ones. The toxic stuff just needs to offgas. I am being very hopeful and positive.

 

It's now been two weeks of off and on. A few times I left them on for up to four hours and either left the house or went to bed with my bedroom sealed. Even after I air the whole house out with opened windows and fans, I was still experiencing painful neck and spine inflammation, respiratory burning, dizziness, and extreme nausea.

I contacted the company and they offer no solution but only told me I'm the only person in their sixty year history who has ever complained of this. I find that hard to believe. I just want answers so I can figure out how to remedy the problem. Instead they asked me if I've ever been chemically sensitive to anything and then proceeded to ask me every little detail about my house, because it can't possibly be their heaters causing the problems. So frustrating. Then they just disappeared and I never heard back. They get an award for lousy customer service. Still, I persevered because these heaters are new and if I can just get them to a "used" state whatever is making me sick will burn itself out. I HOPE!

I waited another four days for my body to detox and clear the poison. I attempted to wash the plastic innards down with vinegar. I turned them back on again. It's such a risk each time. This time I sealed off individual rooms and tested only one heater at a time. I'm only experiencing slight throat dryness and some shoulder tension now. It seems to be getting better. I don't know if it's the constant use or the vinegar that helped, but I have hope!