Yikes! Major problem. First thing I'd do is contract with an organic plant supplier if possible. Then can you find out what the specific fungicides/insecticides they are, the ones causing most of the problem? The supplier should be able to supply you with a list of chems used and there are specific remedies depending on the chem. And I assume you are sure that it isn't an allergic reaction to some of the more toxic plants - like dieffenbachia or arrowhead? The sap from both cause many people systemic problems just from touch. I found this list of so-called toxic plants and if they are the problem then changing growers won't help. ;) Toxic Plants Do these come to you already potted up? If so, then in addition to hosing off the leaves, I would assume that the majority of the long-term problem is in the soil they are potted in rather than the plants themselves. Granted the plant will absorb some but most will dissipate quickly once they no longer have the soil as a source. Perhaps re-potting them in a good chem free potting soil will help? Is that feasible? Increasing the air flow in the store should help you too but that won't solve the real problem. Good luck and keep us posted.

In general, keep in mind that by producing fruit the plant is trying to reproduce. It's an evolutionary response to continue the strain of plant. As you know, pod production varies per plant, but there are a few things you can do to guarantee that you get good productivity out of your plants. First, one of the things you can do is use a fertilizer with a lower nitrogen content but higher potassium and phosphorous. P and K are for root growth and bloom production, and also help the plant to deal with 'stress' (like dryness, cold, etc). Just don't overfertilize, take your time and you will get good results. I recommend fish emulsion and seaweed extract. Next, a lot of people advise you to pinch off the first round of flowers, because the second round is going to be from a bigger plant with more possibility of bud production. Again, think like the plant would 'think' if it were fruiting to reproduce: the more pods it produces the more likely it is to succeed in reproducing. Also, if you pinch off the first few flowers, the plant can put more energy into growing larger and producing more fruit. Other things you can do along these lines is to a) make sure you never let a fruit ripen and fall off the plant (it sends a 'signal' to the plant that it has successfully dropped a fruit) and b) some people advise to not let your fruit ripen completely on the plant, to pick them first before they ripen. Third, some people advise to grow in a smaller pot, and some say a bigger pot. I know I have always had very good luck with 12 inch pots. If you grew a plant in a 12 inch pot and pinched off the first round of flowers and let the second round set, I think you would get quite the harvest. Next, don't transplant a lot. Start seeds 8-10 weeks before transplant, don't let the plant set fruit while in the seedling container, and transplant once into the container you will have it in all season. This is all I can think of now. Good luck this season, and I think between the pinching off, the fetilization and some TLC, and you will have a good harvest.

Yeah, it was me. Our Miele Senior Tech, said that they see the most problems with people who use "green", plant based soaps and softeners. He said they gum up much easier, and are actually harder to rinse! He said of course Persil and Miele Care Collection have been tested the most in Miele machines, but most he detergents are fine. Actually, up until somewhat recently, Miele was listed on the back of Tide he, as a recommended and tested product! I use Persil Colour Gel and Ariel Gel mit ActiLift about 90% of the time. I recently picked up a HUGE bottle of Tide he liquid with a touch of Downy with ActiLift (it was on sale for $9.99...and is HUGE). I've done 3 loads with this he Tide liquid with Downy...and I am actually shocked how clean my clothes are. Smells great too. A soft version of Downy. I still use a little liquid Downy FS in the dispenser, but not too much since this detergent has Downy in it. Stains are gone, odors removed, soft clothes and smells really clean and soft!!

I hear you, mrs pete. How would you change the garage entry/exit not to be through the kitchen. My front door is on the edge of my kitchen right now and I really don't mind. I like that my husband walks right into what we're doing at the end of the day, and we kiss him goodbye as he finishes breakfast. I'm not worried about tracking in mess or dirt from the outside very much. So is there something I'm missing? We might brush shoulders? No big to me. In all seriousness, I'd choose another plan with a better traffic pattern. The problem is that the kitchen is a busy area, and in an ideal situation you'd avoid running traffic through it. Someone walks in while someone else is opening the oven -- an accident occurs. The back door's left open, and it prevents the cook from using the cabinets on the end. The kids hear Dad coming in and run into the kitchen, getting in your way as you cook. It's easy to imagine any number of reasons why you don't want your main entrance funneled through the kitchen. Pictures always help -- first, this is your plan and the red line is the traffic flow -- note that a person coming in through the casual entrance must thread his way through the kitchen, cutting off the cook from the refrigerator and interrupting the cook's work, and even if we're talking momentarily, it's an aggravation that you can avoid: Now, in contrast, here are three kitchens from your plan's "first cousins" -- I'm not saying you should love these kitchens; just look at how much better the traffic pattern is. Note that each of these plans has a casual entrance through the porch, coming by the kitchen, allowing for the same family interactions that you described above -- but in each case, the person entering the house skirts the action /walks by without interrupting /is on the edge of things. No interruption for the cook. Personally, I like the last one best. You caught my attention with fire hazard. I have lived with my washer and dryer this way for a long time now, and I've also lived with a laundry room on the opposite end of the house. I prefer the close by, compact laundry areas. Is it really a fire hazard not to be on the outer wall, though? That's certainly something to consider. Think through it: In an ideal world, your dryer would vent directly to the outside. The connection would be about a foot long and straight. Lint would scoot straight outside. On the other hand, if you have an interior dryer, it must be connected through a longer tube, which means more space for lint to become "hung up"; this means every time you use your dryer, more and more lint is piling up -- and if you don't have it cleaned out every year, that lint can catch a spark as the dryer runs, and it can set your house on fire. The longer tube costs more to install, and you may or may not be able to clean it out yourself. I'm hearing lots of "this is what I've always had" -- I'll echo what CP says: Why go to the trouble of building and moving if you're looking to have what you have now? And beware of confirmation bias. I think you're enamored of this plan; look at it with objective eyes. Breakfast areas are such a joke to me. Why in the world would I want two tables. That's pure opinion. No positive or negative to it. My husband and I are choosing a dining room and a breakfast room because we're planning a retirement home. We want a large space for frequent family dinners, but we don't like the idea of sitting in that big room at a big table with 3/4 of the chairs empty. It would feel unsettling and empty to us. Worse than that, the reality is that I'm younger and in better health than my husband. At some point, I'll be alone in this house, and I really don't want to sit alone in a big dining room to eat my meals.