Allergies and your vacuum cleaner
We spend more than 90% of our time indoors. We should be able to breathe indoor air without discomfort or any health risks. However, the truth is just the opposite: Indoor air is often two to five times more polluted than outdoor air.
During the past several decades, allergies and asthma occurrence has doubled or tripled every decade. One-third of the Western European population suffers from some kind of allergy or is hyper-sensitive. Currently, 40% of all children in Western Europe have some kind of allergy.
The main cause of this dramatic raise in allergies is increasingly dirty indoor air. Hay fever and asthma are the most common type of allergies caused by airborne particles. More than 6% of the adult population has asthmatic problems and 22% suffer from hay fever. Pollen, mite excrements, pet dander and birds are just a few sources leading to allergies. Cigarette smoke, exhaust fumes and other air pollutants are also strong contributors.
We consume 0.5 litres of air per breath we take – in total 12,000 litres of air per day. In every litre of air we inhale millions of airborne particles such as pollen, dust and pet dander. 99% of all particles are smaller than a thousandth of a millimetre and invisible. The smaller the particles, the deeper into the lungs they will reach and the longer they will stay in your body.
Some airborne particles can be seen with the naked eye, but not until they have come to rest on bookshelves, lamps etc. A vacuum cleaner should pick up all dust, visible as well as invisible particles and not release them again. Unfortunately, one of the main causes of polluted indoor air is old vacuum cleaners which may take away the visible dust, but actually make the air worse to breathe.
Old vacuum cleaners make matters worse
Ordinary vacuum cleaners without closed systems expel more small particles than the surrounding air contains, even if they use a HEPA-filter (High Efficiency Particulate Air), since not all of the air passes the filter system. A vacuum cleaner therefore needs a clean-air system consisting of several elements:
The dust bag acts as the first stage of filtration and takes care of visible particles with minimal suction loss. Important is to find a tight dust bag which clogs slowly, allowing the user to keep the suction power up longer.
HEPA-filter stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air, which today is widely used at producers of microchips, NASA and surgery theatres in hospitals. Most vacuum cleaners use different kind of HEPA-filters. But just because a vacuum cleaner contains a HEPA-filter, it does not mean that the vacuum cleaner offers HEPA filtration performance. HEPA-filters are very tight and therefore restrict the airflow, whereas a vacuum cleaner needs high airflow for good dust pick-up.
If the air cannot go through the HEPA material, it will take an easier way, as it does in most ordinary vacuum cleaners. Without a completely sealed system, the dust particles will therefore re-enter the air in your home. The Electrolux Oxy³system, however, is constructed with a special airtight body and flush-fitting joints that ensure zero leakage throughout the entire system. All exhaust air is forced through two HEPA12 filters, one before the motor and one after, which purifies the air to 99.95% and then diffuses it through our soft diffusion system. No more smelly air being emitted in a jet stream out the back – just clean air. The system stays air-tight over time thanks to the self-seal filter fitting where the pressure from the airflow through the cleaner.
Choosing the right vacuum cleaner can therefore be an important step towards a healthier environment for the whole family. Cleaner air is especially important for people who already have allergy problems, and it can prevent others from getting them.
Air pollution sources
The most common air pollutants are mould spores, bacteria, viruses, pollen and tiny dust from pets. Most people who experience allergy problems from indoor allergens can trace the source to: pets, mites, pollen and smoke.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not the animal’s fur that stirs up a reaction, but rather the animal dander, or dead skin, and the dried saliva resulting from the animal licking itself. These tiny, flaked particles are nearly impossible to pick up with a regular household vacuum cleaner.
They are the microscopic creatures that reside in bedding, furniture and carpets and survive on human dander or dead skin. The mites’ decaying body parts and excrement are what really cause the suffering. This allergen can also be transferred to clothes and hence survive on unnatural material and places.
Problems with pollen are most frequent in spring time when it is released in large amounts from trees and flowers.
Your home should ideally be declared a non smoking zone. 5 million mostly dangerous particles circulate around a smoker compared to 50 000 particles for a non-smoker. Passive smoking is also highly hazardous as a non-smoker inhales more dangerous substances than the smoker himself. About 20-30% of all children continuously breathing smoke develop allergy or asthma.
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