Contamination / cleaning question

[LeopardM]

Hi,

Sorry for posting what seems like a silly question, but I need some advice because I'm having a problem deciding what is a normal response to a problem and how much my thinking is being influenced by OCD.

 

My contamination OCD is centred around the fear that I've contaminated my carpets, basically by not keeping my bathroom/toilets clean in the past, and this has spread around my house. I've been making slow progress with ERP around the house, and I'm just starting the toughest exposures so far which is touching the carpet without washing my hands. It's taken me about a year and a half to build up to this, which is way too long, but I've finally got there.

 

The problem is that I've had mice in my house during that time (and on previous occasions) so there are mouse droppings around the house - not so many that you'd immediately notice them, but they are there. I don't think I have mice at the moment as I got the pest controllers in, but you never know as they are sneaky little things and quite good at hiding!

 

Anyway, the problem is I don't know what a normal response to this would be as I tidy up my house from the neglect it's had due to my OCD (I haven't vacuumed my carpets for years for fear of spreading germs). I could steam clean my carpets, but I fear that this would be an excuse for my OCD as I've been resisting doing it as a response to my contamination fears (I bought a steam cleaner when I thought I had contaminated my carpets, but before I knew it was OCD). Or I could pick up the droppings (with gloves on) as I find them and spray that small area with disinfectant, but not worry about any contamination spreading further. Or I could just vacuum as normal and not worry about it at all. But I'm worried that this is less than a normal person would do, for example I know my family use disinfectant when cleaning up if their pets make a mess.

 

Sorry for the long post but I'm struggling to remember what a normal person would do in this circumstance. I don't want to give in to my OCD as this would feel like a step backwards. On the other hand I don't want to do something that a normal person would regard as dirty. Thanks for any advice.

[BelAnna]

Hi Leopard, 

I think it would really vary person to person. I have contamination OCD but re. a normal response, I think some people would Vax or steam clean the carpet after vacuuming whilst others would just vacuum up the mouse poo.

If you haven't vacuumed the carpet for a very long time and have had a mouse infestation then I think it's reasonable to complete a comparable CBT task (picking up something from someone else's carpet or the floor at work?) rather than touching the floor without handwashing. However it could be that you need to do this to get over this fear so maybe not!

 

Edited October 20, 2019 by BelAnna

[AfraidOfManyThings]

Yeah it's quite alright to clean this time around.  But after you've cleaned, you shouldn't have urges to clean further and wash hands more than necessary

Edited October 20, 2019 by AfraidOfManyThings
mispelt words

[PolarBear]

Kill two birds with one stone. Expose yourself by vacuuming (which you have been avoiding) and suck up any turds that happen to be around. Then, schedule a vacuuming every week. That's about what most people do.

Edited October 20, 2019 by PolarBear

[dksea]

3 hours ago, PolarBear said:

Then, schedule a vacuuming every week. That's about what most people do.

Wait, I'm supposed to vacuum EVERY week? 
 

[paradoxer]

^ Slacker! 

[PolarBear]

Heh, well, you set your own schedule. 

[LeopardM]

Thanks for all your replies. I might pick up the droppings before i vacuum, I'll see how it goes, but I think the most important thing for me is to avoid using this as an excuse to disinfect the carpet, so I'll resist that. Although I'm anxious about using the vacuum, if I can get through that I want to stick to a regular schedule - I really want to live in a normal, clean house again.