I can't believe what I just did

[kel80]

I am extremely embarrassed, yet I need to post to get suggestions on what to do. I do mist my orchids sometimes and today I bought a new bottle. Unfortunately, I had another spray bottle out that is almost identical to the bottle I had intended on using.

I started to mist and did so continuously until I realized the bark was looking very foamy. I had used carpet cleaner on my phal instead of water. Thankfully I caught myself before I sprayed any others.

I took the orchid out of it's pot and hosed it in the sink with warm water. Then I soaked it for five minutes in a large bowl. I did this three times over and over.

The carpet cleaner is "Earth Choice Oxy Stain Control" and claims it is designed for the environment, so I hope it isn't a very harsh cleaner. The contents are Water, Hydrogen Peroxide, Ethyl Alcohol, Dipropylene glycgol monomethyl ether, and magnesium dodecyl sulfate.

Did I do the correct thing in "bathing" the orchid and spraying in my sink?

Any other suggestions? Do you find the ingredients in the carpet cleaners extremely harmful?

I'm such a ditz

[jerrymeola]

Treatment for this error is the same if someone drank it. Flush the poison from the system.

You did well. Be gentle with watering for a while. Be sure the roots are absorbing water before you water heavy again.

[janet_a]

i agree. it'll probably be fine.

me, i crack out the sharpie and write whatever it is on my spray bottles: "bleach solution" "worm poop"

[Maddy]

I once watered several small desk plants with water from a spray bottle before I realized it had soap of some kind in it. It didn't harm any of them. And yes, I really should have checked to see what was in the bottle first. (I have no idea what kind of soap it was because it had been left behind by someone who;d been let go - who'd also left behind the plants I was watering. I still have the adopted parlour palm.)

[kmarch]

Someone I know down here sprayed for insects 5-6 of his Phals then noticed he had sprayed them with....herbicide.

[sandra]

I'm a guilty ditz also Kel.

A while back I put a small dend in a bathing solution of hydrogen peroxide to cure an infested plant from millions of ants. 1/2 hour later, I realized I had reached for the wrong bottle only to realize I had used straight rubbing alcohol. I flushed it and it's now sitting on a shelf on the patio covered in keikis, lots and lots of keikis in it's attempt to live on.

All my spray bottles are labeled and I always make sure my glasses are on my face now when reaching for anything.

[kel80]

What's so funny (or not...) about this is that the bottle was clearly labeled, and it couldn't get any clearer that it was carpet cleaner.

Sometimes I don't know where I put my mind.

I am glad, however, to read similar stories so I don't feel too bad about it!

[Ellen]

Some people use soap solutions as an insecticide, so the carpet cleaner can't be too bad.

[turkeytaker]

He...I once sprayed my guys with Roundup. It was in a pumpsprayer labeled in big clear letters, and my other sprayer had WATER on it.

Everything survived.

[Tobi]

I checked with one of the chemists here at the lab where I work and he
pretty much agreed that the toxicity was not that great. The only 1 he was
concerned about the the Dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether only because
of it being a drying agent. But he said as long as you flushed it throughly with
water it should be alright.
Di- and tripropylene glycol ethers exhibit toxicological properties similar to the monopropylene derivatives, but present essentially no hazard with respect to vapour inhalation or skin contact.

[PhalPal]

A helpful tip that I use to distinguish similiar bottles from one another is colored tape all the way around the bottle, top and bottom. Write the contents of the bottle on the tape. A little splash of color catches your eye a little better then plain letters. My worm tea is green, orange oil orange, you get the idea!