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Spring Cleaning – Living Areas

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Posted in What Are Dust Mites
Have you started your Spring Cleaning yet?  Because we don’t have four seasons in South Florida only the calendar says it is Spring. We are about halfway through the dry season.  But, that doesn’t mean that we can’t do that annual deep clean.
Spring cleaning comes from a time when we relied more on wood, oil and coal burning sources for heat.  By the end of winter, after a home had been closed up for months in an effort to keep it warm the air was stuffy and most surfaces had accumulated ash and soot.  Warmer days meant a time to open the windows and doors and scrub away soot, ash, and dust.
You might not have a house full of ash and soot, but if you haven’t done a deep cleaning in awhile, there is no time like the present!  Don’t let the thought of a good Spring clean stop you before you get started.  While the idea is to clean every surface, that doesn’t mean you have to tackle the whole house at once.  For example, when I start a big cleaning job I break it down into rooms and tell myself I only need to do a few rooms at a time.  I generally start with the formal living and dining room and toss in a hallway or half-bath because these rooms are not filled with loads of “stuff” and I can finish them with minimal effort and get a feeling of accomplishment.
It helps to have a plan of attack and assemble your cleaning supplies in advance.  I started last weekend and was able to accomplish quite a bit in just a few hours.  I always start at the top and work to the bottom.  This means first knocking down any cobwebs in those corners where the walls and ceilings meet before I clean the walls. Yes, that is right…I clean my walls at least once a year if not more often.  Because I have a Miele vacuum cleaner with an adjustable wand I have no problem reaching up the length of the wall to the 10′ ceiling.  I just put the smooth floor brush on the wand, fully extend it then start at the top and vacuum down.  If you have washable curtains of slip covers, this is a great time to get them in the wash.  I washed mine last week with a little De-Mite laundry additive to get rid of any dust mites that might have collected there.
Next tackle the woodwork. If you have crown molding, start there then work down to any chair rail and lastly baseboards.  Give all the furniture a good dusting and if knickknacks are washable, take them to the kitchen sink and give them a good washing.  Otherwise, dust with a damp cloth.  This is a great time to treat your upholstered furniture with a denaturing agent like ADMS Dust Mite Spray. After you vacuum the cushions and give them a flip, just spray lightly.
Finally clean the floors.  I used my Vapamore steam cleaner to clean my tile floors.  It does such a fantastic job of cleaning and brings out the natural shine in the tile.  I do confess that I covet the new Primo model.  I have the old style MR100 and I have to keep a towel handy to purge and it doesn’t have the nifty retractable cord.  I would say that when mine is ready for replacement I will get the Primo, but unfortunately I know that my steam cleaner is like my Miele vacuum cleaner and is so well made it won’t need replacing for many years to come. If you have sealed wood or laminate floors, you can steam clean them as well.  If you have carpet, vacuum thoroughly, including the little cracks by the baseboard and then treat with X-Mite Powder or ADMS Dust Mite Spray.  If you use the X-Mite Powder, be sure to sweep it in thoroughly and then go on to cleaning the next room.  X-Mite needs to sit on the carpet for 3 hours to work properly.  If you are using the ADMS Spray, just lightly spray after you vacuum and call the room done.
You might have noticed that I didn’t mention anything about the windows.  That is because I don’t try to Spring Clean inside and outside at the same time.  I used to clean windows when I cleaned a room, but I found that gathering the extra supplies and running in and out just seemed to make the process last longer.  Now I clean all the windows in one fell swoop.  That is usually after I have the majority of the home deep cleaned or I can sweet talk my dear husband into doing it for me.
I also find it helps to set a time limit.  For example, I will tell myself I am going to deep clean “insert name of room/rooms” and I am going to have it done in “x hours”.
Otherwise I will make myself crazy and a 2 to 3 hour project will consume 6 or 7 hours.
If you have Spring cleaning tips, I’d love to hear them….just post your comments.
Til Next Time!

©Copyright 1996-2013 Cee DeeKay,Inc dba AllergyStore.com™ All Rights Reserved

Pollen Counts – Boy Oh Boy!

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Posted in What Are Dust Mites
The pollen count in Atlanta Georgia was 9,000 yesterday.  Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
If you are a tree with female reproductive parts its a very good thing.  That is because pollen is actually the male reproductive part of plants. These boy pollens depend on either the wind or insects (such as bees and wasps) to take them to the females to make their love connection.
If you are a human with seasonal allergies, a pollen count that high is a bad thing….a very bad thing.  Anything over 1,000 is considered extremely high and 9,000 is to the moon!  Counting pollen is a science..  The method currently used takes only 20 minutes and was devised by Walter Jinotti, a biomedical engineer who lived in the northeastern United States and suffered from hay fever.  Before Jenotti developed his method, pollen counts required 24 hours to devise and the data was already old by the time the collection was complete.  We take pollen counts for granted today, but it wasn’t always the case.  He was honored by the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 1997 as Inventor of the Year and held many patents, including one for a blood pump.
Weather trends and pollen counts go hand in hand.  Pollen counts tend to be higher following drought years because plants want to increase their chances of survival. The mild winter that most of the United States experienced caused the pollen to be produced much earlier this year.  Staying with the Atlanta example, they are peaking about 2 weeks earlier than normal.
If pollen counts are high one day and then low the next does that mean your allergy symptoms will go away immediately?  That is not the case.  Even if pollen counts dip temporarily do to rain, your symptoms may hang on for a day or more.
Conventional wisdom has always held that pollen counts are highest in the morning and lowest in the evening.  However, studies of some specific trees has shown that they are releasing their pollens at night.  This means if you have been sleeping with the windows open thinking you were protected from pollen you aren’t.  Those open windows aren’t a good idea in the first place, so if you are going to keep them open, get them fitted with special screens that will repel those pollens.  The MicroAirScreen by Group Weston will do the job.  
No matter if the windows are open or closed, keep your air cleaner running on high.  Each time the doors and windows are opened and each time a family member (human or pet) goes out and comes back in they will bring pollen attached to their hair, clothing (or fur) and shoes.  Speaking of shoes, its a good idea to leave them by the door so you don’t track pollen all over the house.  You also want to change your clothing in the bathroom, where hard surfaces prevail, so that it is easier to clean up those stray pollens (or lost boys).
You can get reliable pollen forecasts from several internet sites such as http://pollen.com  and http://weather.com.  You will also generally find pollen forecasts for your area in your local paper.  Which brings us back to the late Mr. Jinotti.  In 1982 his method of counting pollen was recognized by the Associated Press as the most reliable and accurate method for inclusion in newspapers.
Til Next Time!

©Copyright 1996-2013 Cee DeeKay,Inc dba AllergyStore.com™ All Rights Reserved

Recognize The Symptoms of Dust Mite Allergies

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Posted in Dust Mite Studies What Are Dust MitesTagged

Dust mite allergies are one of the most common forms of allergy known to man.  That’s because dust mites tend to multiply at a rapid rate and they generally tend to congregate in places where humans spend a great deal of time, specifically mattresses and pillows.  For this reason, it is almost impossible to avoid these tiny pests and exposure to the allergens they produce.

What are the symptoms of dust mite allergies?  They run the range from itchy, watery eyes to runny nose and sneezing.  Basically, all of the common symptoms that people generally tend to relate to allergic reaction.  The problem is that many of these symptoms mimic those of the common cold, so it is hard to know whether your symptoms are being caused by a cold or allergy.

If you find yourself suffering from nasal congestion, cough or wheezing on a regular basis, chances are good that you have an allergy.  Dust mite allergies will often present more prominently in the morning, after you’ve spent all night in an infested bed.  If you have allergy symptoms that persist for more than a week at a time, you might want to consider taking steps to try and remedy the situation.

This is particularly true for individuals with asthma and other respiratory ailments.  What are the symptoms of dust mite allergies in people like this?  They can include wheezing, whistling when you breathe, chest tightness and difficulty sleeping.  Left untreated, these symptoms can become dangerous and even life threatening.

So if you have dust mite allergies, what can you do to control the situation and prevent symptoms?  It is almost impossible to completely remove dust mites.  They are too small to be seen with the naked eye and they tend to burrow down into the stuffing of mattresses and pillows and even into box springs, so that simple vacuuming is ineffective.

If you’ve wondered What are the symptoms of dust mite allergies and want to avoid them, your best bet is using specially designed allergy control covers.  These are fabric covers that can zip on and off mattresses, box springs and pillows to provide an extra layer of protection between you and the dust mites.  Because the allergy covers have extremely small pores, even tiny dust mites won’t be able to penetrate, giving you a clean, allergen free surface to sleep on.

Another helpful tool in fighting dust mite allergies are sprays such as Allersearch ADMS Spray.  These products are designed to remove dust mites and other allergens from fabric and the air so that you can literally breathe easier knowing your house is allergen free.   There are specific types of sprays made especially for carpet, drapes, furniture and other surfaces, depending on your individual need.

You can’t easily avoid allergens, but there is no reason to become a prisoner to them.  With specially designed allergy control products, you can render your home clean from the inside out and keep your entire family free from unpleasant allergy symptoms.  Take the proper steps to block allergens today and say goodbye to the sneezing and wheezing for good!

Dust Mite Spray Keeps The Allergens Away

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Posted in Dust Mite Sprays Products

Dust mite spray is a simple and effective way to combat airborne allergens in your home.  While dust mites tend to accumulate in beds and bedding, they can also be found on just about every fabric surface including carpets, draperies and upholstered furniture.  A protective anti-allergy cover may work for bedding but these other surfaces require different measures.

Allergic reactions are triggered by proteins in dust mites, mold, animal dander and pollen.  When those proteins come in contact with the mucus membranes in your body, they can result in uncomfortable symptoms such as sneezing, watery eyes, wheezing and coughing.  In most cases, once an allergen has been identified, the obvious response is to try and eliminate it.

Since most allergens are microscopic and numerous, it is almost impossible to remove them entirely.  As a result, they can accumulate, particularly on fabric surfaces.  This is when it becomes necessary to rely on dust mite spray and other allergy fighting products.  It is the best way to render your home allergen free and reduce chronic allergy symptoms.

While allergy covers can be used on mattresses, box springs and pillows to prevent allergens from reaching your body in the first place, the same is not true for other fabric surfaces.  In the case of draperies, carpets and furniture you need to implement a different form of attack that will work effectively without the cost of replacing everything you own.

Dust mite spray, such as Allersearch ADMS is the answer to your allergy problem.  This unique product works by neutralizing the protein in dust mites and other substances that causes allergies.  A quick misting with ADMS will work where even expensive professional cleaning comes up short.  That’s because even the most thorough cleaning will never remove all the potential allergens from a fabric surface.

But ADMS is designed to render surfaces safe in just one application.  It won’t remove the dust mites, but it will prevent them from triggering allergic reaction.  And because it contains a mixture of non-toxic alkalis and acids, it is safe to use on just about any fabric and won’t harm pets or children either.   It’s the quick, easy way to combat allergies with proven results.

Using dust mite spray is not time consuming, a light misting once a month is usually all that’s necessary.  And there’s no need to soak the fabric.  Just lightly coat it and let it dry naturally.  You can vacuum either before use or after the spray dries to complete the process.  That’s literally all there is to it.

When you consider the cost of completely refitting your home with furniture, drapes and carpet, there’s really no reason not to give allergy sprays like ADMS a try.  It’s much cheaper and will allow your whole family to breathe easy.   Don’t let allergens put a crimp in your wallet, try anti-allergy spray and start living allergy free without the added expense!

Dust Mites – Sleeping With The Enemy

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Posted in Dust Mite Studies

Here is a pretty interesting collection of videos on news reports and shows about dust mites. Dust Mite video.

While what they all say is pretty much true the parts about the companies that sanitize and debug mattresses for a couple hundred bucks is nuts. They say the vacuum causes vibration which brings the dust mites up. Don’t think so.

I know of a company that uses powerful truck mounted vacuums if their vacuums could pull air through a mattress and they said no way. These vacuums pull 10,000 + CFM of air and if they can’t do it the handheld units can’t. The UV treatment works great for killing bacteria on the surface but does nothing where the light does not shine. At best this is a short term fix.

Your best bet is to use the specialized dust mite covers on your bedding. A good set may cost you $200 but will last for years and not a few months. We list a couple of sites that carry them but there are other places to buy them.

The one thing they did say that is 100% true. Every home, no matter how clean has dust mites.