How to cleanly and safely remove mercury from carpet?

Glass mercury thermometers can be found in many homes. These familiar devices are cheap and show accurate body temperature.

However, their essential disadvantage is their fragility. One careless movement is enough for the glass to burst and its toxic contents are outside the device.

If mercury gets on the carpet, there is no need to panic and take impulsive actions. Cleaning must be carried out correctly, protecting yourself and others from inhaling poisonous fumes.

What should not be done?

Mercury is a metal that poses a health hazard. Moreover, her couples are the threat. If she hit the carpet, then it is strictly forbidden to take the following actions:

1. Try to vacuum up the metal. It gets inside the device and settles on all its parts.

   With each subsequent turn on, the equipment will be a source of toxic fumes. Therefore, you will have to get rid of such a vacuum cleaner.

2. Sweep the mercury off the carpet with a broom. Its stiff rods will break large balls into small fractions. It will be difficult to collect them.

   Air currents and sweeping movements can spread metal throughout the room. In secluded places, he can lie for years and poison the air with poisonous vapors.

3. Clean carpet brushed... It will break large droplets into small pieces. They will penetrate into the deep structures of the carpet. It will be impossible to clean them out. You will have to get rid of the flooring.
4. Do not open windows and doors in the room at the same time. This will lead to the formation of a draft and poisonous fumes will spread faster throughout the apartment.

Preparing for collection at home

How to remove mercury from a broken thermometer from a carpet at home? To collect metal from the carpet yourself, you need to properly prepare for this procedure.

To do this, follow these steps:

• Remove pets and children from the premises.
• Put on rubber gloves.
• Protect respiratory system with respirator or cloth mask. It must be moistened with a solution of salt and water.
• Prepare a container for collecting mercury. A glass jar with a tight-fitting lid works best.

  A broken thermometer with mercury particles remaining in it must be placed in a separate container.

• The front door to the room must be closed, and the window must be opened. This will provide fresh air without creating a draft.
• Prepare tools for collecting mercury. This will require a rubber bulb, a plastic syringe, duct tape, and stiff sheets of paper.
• Dilute a weak solution of manganese.

If you cannot quickly prepare for the metal collection procedure, then you need to take breaks from work.

How to assemble?

To remove mercury particles from the carpet, the following sequence of actions must be observed:

1. Inspect the place of work. Collect by hand the fragments from the thermometer. You need to act carefully so as not to get hurt.
2. It is convenient to collect the balls of mercury with a rubber bulb. They press on it with fingers to form a vacuum, bring it to the drop found and pull it inside.

   With the help of a syringe, it is easy to move the metal into a container prepared for collection.

3. If you don't have a rubber bulb at home, you can use a disposable plastic syringe without a needle.
4. If the metal droplets are at some distance from each other, they can be pushed. It is convenient to do this with stiff sheets of white paper. Mercury will be clearly visible on them. Some factions can be collected with their help.
5. After all the visible particles are in the jar, it must be tightly corked and removed to a dark place. You should not put the container in sunlight, so as not to provoke increased evaporation of mercury, since it is not always possible to tightly close the jar at home.

When cleaning is completed, the carpet must be treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate... If he light colouredthen for carpet cleaning a soap and soda solution is suitable. The room continues to be ventilated for several weeks.

The carpet should be taken outside, to a non-residential area and carefully knocked out. During the procedure, you need to take care of the protection of the respiratory system.

Do not clean the product near playgrounds or sports grounds. The longer the carpet is outdoors, the better. It is necessary to wash the floors in the apartment at this time.

The mask and gloves in which the treatment was carried out are folded in a plastic bag and tied tightly. Things need to be removed and washed, and the person himself must take a shower.

What if the contents of a broken thermometer lay on the carpet for a long time?

If the mercury remains on the carpet for a long time, the situation becomes much more serious. On the feet of people and pets, it could spread throughout the apartment.

In such situation you need to send children to relatives or neighbors and call a specialized service, providing paid services for the collection of toxic metal, measuring its vapors in the apartment and full processing.

If there is no money for the services of professionals, you need to start cleaning yourself. To begin with, collect visible drops according to the instructions described above. Then all surfaces, including furniture, must be treated with a solution of bleach or potassium permanganate.

General wet cleaning is carried out in the apartment... You need to air the room for several weeks. Windows must remain open.

Turning to professionals

To carry out high-quality cleaning of an apartment from mercury, you need to contact professionals. Most cities have mercury services. Their services are paid.

Also you can call the Ministry of Emergency Situations, but they provide assistance only in the form of oral recommendations for cleaning the carpet and apartment from toxic metal.

Private services post their contacts in ads. They can be found on the Internet. The cost of measuring mercury vapor costs about 3000 rubles. The price of the service for professional cleaning of the apartment from toxic metal is negotiated on an individual basis.

You can also bring self-collected mercury to the organization and hand it over for disposal. Service price - 80 rubles. You should not save on it. It is forbidden to discharge hazardous waste into the sewer or throw it into a landfill.

Useful video

How to properly collect mercury if a thermometer crashed, video recommendations:

Conclusion

A broken thermometer and mercury on the carpet are not a cause for panic. It is necessary to properly prepare and collect the metal from the flooring.

You can do this yourself. but for the disposal of toxic waste, contact a professional.