Bedless
27 May 2010 3 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: house woes, personal
We have been sleeping on the floor for over an year and a half. Whenever I mention this in passing to friends and acquaintances, it is almost always met with shock, surpise and some level of amusement too.
We have found it extremely comfortable, have a so-called-bed larger than the super-king size and our backs have never been better.
This situation came about because our rental flat No 4 (in the space of 5 years) was part-furnished and had everything going for it, except for a bed. Since we had planned on moving to our own place from rental flat No 4 and loved the flat in every other aspect, we decided to go ahead with the rental and buy a bed, once we moved into the property. Once we moved in, of course, we loved the floor arrangement so much that we never bothered to order a bed.
We have since moved to rental flat No 5 which was completely unfurnished. Again this was not a problem as we had accumulated everything but a bed, in the meanwhile. Rental flat No 5 had underfloor heating and we moved there during the winter, so sleeping on the floor was pure bliss. (not to mention nice, warm and cosy).
The only hitch was K and I started developing a rash in Rental Flat No 5. R escaped it all and was perfectly fine. A red, itchy rash all over the body, which started about 6 weeks after we moved in. The rashes would disappear on its own with new ones taking its place. It would disappear entirely if we stayed out of the house, so the house was the obvious cause of the problem.
The ever helpful doctors in this country had no clue what it was. Their suggested solution was to eat an anti-histamine tablet everyday or apply a steriod cream on the rash, both of which would effectively treat the symptoms, but not eradicate or identify the cause. The only way to eliminate the possible causes of the allergy was by a process of elimination.
We started by replacing all the sheets/pillows/duvets/duvet covers we were using. No effect. We steam cleaned the carpet (twice !). No effect. We bought a humidifier. No effect. We bought hypoallergenic duvets and pillows. No effect.
We finally ordered a bed to try and see if that improves the situation. Time will tell if it has any effect. If not, our last resort is to move homes and I hope it doesnt come to that. Because I am fed up of moving and so want to move to our own place next.
The irony is that our present flat is the newest flat we have ever lived in !Maybe it is time to move to an old house, full of character. Universe, are you listening ?
