Select your chemical and surface. Get step-by-step cleanup instructions, safety warnings, and what to never combine. Every claim backed by peer-reviewed studies. Built from 30+ PubMed studies and real family experience.
If you don't know, check for a service tag near your door, ask your property manager or look for the product container.
Select the primary surface you need to decontaminate. You can run this tool again for other surfaces.
This helps determine how much contamination to expect.
Fat-soluble pesticides bind to carpet fibers via hydrophobic bonding. A study of 434 California homes found permethrin carpet dust concentrations showed no significant change over 5 years (Gunier 2016, PMID 27341453). German researchers found permethrin at 100-150 mg/kg in carpets that were 5-10 years old (Boge 1996, PMID 9081512). Solvent-moistened wipes remove 84-97% from hard surfaces but only 31-39% from carpet (Bernard 2008, PMID 17900665). 83% of people who removed contaminated carpet reported health improvement (p<0.0001). The only effective solution is carpet removal.
Hydrogen peroxide oxidizes fipronil into fipronil sulfone, which has 6x greater binding affinity for vertebrate GABA receptors (Hainzl 1998, PMID 9860498) and is 33x more cytotoxic in human neuronal cells on a concentration basis (Romero 2016, PMID 27067106). Fipronil sulfone also accumulates in adipose tissue with a half-life of ~208 hours (Cravedi 2013, PMID 24016625). Bleach (8% sodium hypochlorite, pH 11.4) achieves >99% removal on nonporous surfaces without creating toxic metabolites (Oudejans 2020, PMID 32361138).
Type II pyrethroids (deltamethrin, cypermethrin) have an alpha-cyano group that makes their ester bond susceptible to oxidative attack by hydrogen peroxide. At 5-6% concentration, H2O2 generates reactive oxygen species that cleave the ester bond (Aiello 2021, PMID 34206625). Baking soda at pH 8.3 provides concurrent alkaline hydrolysis (deltamethrin half-life at pH 9 is only 2.5 days). The EPA-tested DF200 system uses this same dual mechanism (H2O2 + alkaline buffers) and achieved >94% removal on stainless steel (Oudejans 2020, PMID 32361138). This does NOT work for permethrin (Type I, no cyano group): <54% removal. Use bleach for permethrin.
Hard plastic toys can be cleaned using the countertop/food surface protocols (bleach sanitize and thorough rinse, or H2O2 spray and rinse). Fabric items like stuffed animals and bedding should be washed in hot water with detergent multiple times. For heavily contaminated soft items that cannot be thoroughly washed, replacement may be safer than attempting decontamination, especially for items that infants mouth or sleep on.
Consider professional remediation if: the contaminated area is larger than a single room; the pesticide was applied directly indoors and has been present for weeks or months; anyone in the home is experiencing persistent symptoms; you have an infant or immunocompromised family member; or the contamination involves multiple chemicals. A professional should use wipe-testing before and after to verify decontamination effectiveness.