Allergy Consumer Review Issue #49

In This Issue

A new disease called SARS - CDC

Retrofitting your Too Hard Mattress with Mattress Pads- by Mercia Tapping

Latex Mattresses versus Memory Foam - by Tony Keleman

When is Surgery required for an Allergy Patient - by Murray Grossan MD

Tips about Vapor Steam Cleaning - Burping - by Bob Cobe

IQAir Air Purifier - Customer Comments

Question: Do Dehumidifiers raise the Temperature? Answer by David Barnaby

Question: Dehumidifier and Crawl Space. Answer by David Barnaby

Question: Filters for Heating Vents? Answer by David Barnaby

Question: What Efficiency of Air Purifiers means. Answer by Mercia Tapping

Allergy Relief Products

Basic Information About SARS
FACT SHEET from the website of the Center for Disease Control (CDC)

April 16, 2003, 12:30 PM ET

Download PDF version formatted for print (130 KB / 2 pages) http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/pdf/factsheet.pdf

A new disease called SARS
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is investigating a new disease called severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) that has recently been reported in Asia, North America, and Europe. As of April 13, about 190 cases of SARS had been reported in the United States. This fact sheet provides basic information about the disease and what is being done to combat its spread.

Symptoms of SARS
In general, SARS begins with a fever greater than 100.4°F (>38.0°C). Other symptoms may include headache, an overall feeling of discomfort, and body aches. Some people also experience mild respiratory symptoms. After 2 to 7 days, SARS patients may develop a dry cough and have trouble breathing.

How SARS spreads
The primary way that SARS appears to spread is by close person-to-person contact. Most cases of SARS have involved people who cared for or lived with someone with SARS, or had direct contact with infectious material (for example, respiratory secretions) from a person who has SARS. Potential ways in which SARS can be spread include touching the skin of other people or objects that are contaminated with infectious droplets and then touching your eye(s), nose, or mouth. This can happen when someone who is sick with SARS coughs or sneezes droplets onto themselves, other people, or nearby surfaces. It also is possible that SARS can be spread more broadly through the air or by other ways that are currently not known.

Who is at risk for SARS
Cases of SARS continue to be reported mainly among people who have had direct close contact with an infected person, such as those sharing a household with a SARS patient and health-care workers who did not use infection control procedures while taking care of a SARS patient. In the United States, there is no indication of community spread at this time. CDC continues to monitor this situation very closely.

Possible cause of SARS
Scientists at CDC and other laboratories have detected a previously unrecognized coronavirus in patients with SARS. The new coronavirus is the leading hypothesis for the cause of SARS, however, other viruses are still under investigation as potential causes.

CDC RECOMMENDATIONS
CDC has issued recommendations and guidelines for people who may be affected by this outbreak.

For individuals considering travel to affected parts of Asia:
CDC advises that people planning elective or nonessential travel to mainland China and Hong Kong, Singapore, and Hanoi, Vietnam may wish to postpone their trips until further notice. Visit the Travelers' Health web site for more information about CDC's advice to travelers.

For individuals who think they might have SARS:
People with symptoms of SARS (fever greater than 100.4°F (>38.0°C) accompanied by a cough and/or difficulty breathing) should consult a health-care provider. To help the health-care provider make a diagnosis, tell them about any recent travel to places where SARS has been reported or whether there was contact with someone who had these symptoms

For family members caring for someone with SARS:
CDC has developed interim infection control recommendations for patients with suspected SARS in the household. These basic precautions should be followed for 10 days after respiratory symptoms and fever are gone. During that time, SARS patients are asked to limit interactions outside the home (not go to work, school, or other public areas).

For health-care workers:
Transmission of SARS to health-care workers appears to have occurred after close contact with sick people before recommended infection control precautions were put into use. CDC has issued interim infection control recommendations for health-care settings see Interim Domestic Infection Control Guidance in the Health-Care and Community Setting for Patients with Suspected SARS page as well as for the management of exposures to SARS in health-care and other institutional settings, see Domestic Guidance for Management of Exposures to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) for Healthcare and Other Institutional Settings.

What CDC is doing about SARS
CDC is working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners in a global effort to address the SARS outbreak. For its part, CDC has taken the following actions:

• Activated its Emergency Operations Center to provide round-the-clock coordination and response.
• Committed more than 300 medical experts and support staff to work on the SARS response.
• Deployed medical officers, epidemiologists, and other specialists to assist with on-site investigations around the world.
• Provided ongoing assistance to state and local health departments in investigating possible cases of SARS in the United States.
• Conducted extensive laboratory testing of clinical specimens from SARS patients to identify the cause of the disease.
• Initiated a system for distributing health alert notices to travelers who may have been exposed to cases of SARS.
  

For more information, visit CDC's SARS Web site, or call the CDC public response hotline at (888) 246-2675 (English), (888) 246-2857 (Español), or (866) 874-2646 (TTY)

CDC protects people's health and safety by preventing and controlling diseases and injuries; enhances health decisions by providing credible information on critical health issues; and promotes healthy living through strong partnerships with local, national, and international organizations.

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RETROFITTING YOUR TOO HARD MATTRESS
By Mercia Tapping, President, AllergyBuyersClub.com

After a recent visit to London sleeping on my father's much too hard guestroom bed, and sleeping on a similar guest room bed at home when my husband and I were keeping each other up with our hacking coughs and colds, I began to think of what you could do to retrofit a bed which is not old, but where the mattress is just way too hard. I then made a quick marketing survey around our offices and found a bunch of other people in a similar position. Until recently, conventional wisdom had it, that the firmer the mattress, the better it was for you. Unfortunately, this has turned out not to be true, and us baby boomers are finding our backs and joints are hurting with our extra firm mattresses.

Just to get our terms straight, "mattress toppers or mattress pads" are for retrofitting existing mattresses to make them feel softer and give the back more support. These pads are most often made of memory foam or latex and vary from 2 inches to 5 inches in depth. Depending on the construction and materials used, you can expect to pay anywhere from $300-$800 for a premium mattress pad or topper.

Next on the food chain are various kinds of pads also called "mattress pads" usually made out of wool, alpaca and wool, synthetic down or real down. There are two kinds of wool mattress pads. Some wool mattress pads are unencased, a bit like a sheepskin rug only finer, some are encased in some kind of covering like cotton. Most people would agree that some kind of wool pad lasts the longest out of this category of pad. All these kinds of mattress pads are designed to give your mattress an extra degree of softness and comfort but not necessarily enough support for severely aching joints and backs. Expect to pay anywhere from $100 to $500 for this kind of pad.

The last kind of "mattress pad" is usually made of cotton and is for hygienic purposes only and for mattress protection. These kinds of pads are priced under $100.

I am disappointed to report that we tested recently a well- known brand of memory foam wrapped in down mattress pad, and it got the big thumbs down. Why were we disappointed? It was fabulously comfortable but it smelled to high heaven of the anti-microbial it was sprayed with, and goodness knows what else. Even after a week of out-gassing, our staff uniformly said it smelled like skunk or rotten cabbage. Also, the number of people recently who have written to me after bad reactions to memory foam, convinced me that this material is a loser, even though it seems to hold out such promise. So then the next best thing was to examine natural latex. This turned out to be as comfortable as memory foam, in fact even more so, but thankfully odor-free. Of course, if money is no object then the 3 inch or 5 inch Royal Pedic mattress pad at $499, or the new Euphoria mattress pad at $399.95 upwards is the best way to go. I have a Royal-Pedic mattress pad on my own bed and am totally in love with it. The problem for most people is that this price is almost the equivalent of an inexpensive bed.

However, in my own house, I have that 2-year-old less expensive bed which is my refuge when my husband has a bad cold or snores too loudly. That is when I, followed by a troop of three Siamese cats, switch beds at 3am. Then in the morning when I get up, I have had a creaking back.

So that is when I decide to spring for the Euphoria natural latex mattress pad. It made a very significant difference to the feel of the mattress and the support to my back. I liked the "feel" of the latex, supportive without being too soft. But the real proof was waking up the next time I had to use the guest room without getting out of bed feeling like a cripple. It does not make my "cheapo" guest room bed into a Royal Pedic equivalent but the difference and improvement is quite distinct. Enough to make the purchase worthwhile.

So what is a cost effective solution for a mattress pad or topper? We have added a number of mattress pads recently, which are listed in our new Mattress Pad Comparison Chart. The wool or even the wool and alpaca mattress pads are beautifully healthy and long lasting but not for those who are looking for the Princess and the Pea approach. Reusing an existing spare comforter you might have tucked away in a closet, is the most cost effective solution of all. It does not give you any support but it does make the mattress feel a bit softer! I am a fan of the lambs wool mattress pads, the Elite at $69.95 upwards if your mattress is not overly hard already is what I have on my bed but I put it on top of the Royal Pedic Pad using it as much as anything just to protect the mattress. Along the same lines, but MUCH thicker and luxurious is the new mattress pad by Vista Wool at $299.00 which has every member of staff here putting one on their own "to buy" list. This is for the pampered or for "the to die for" gift. It is not cheap but it is certainly quite sumptuous and feels wonderfully soft underneath the sheets. What we like about this kind of wool mattress pad is that by using a vapor steam cleaner, we can restore the pile and nap of the wool, when it gets mashed down over time. It is also a lot softer than the encased wool mattress pads. A Vista Wool mattress pad is truly a luxurious indulgence; not quite enough support to really relieve aching backs (although it did improve mine somewhat), but the comfort level was a dramatic improvement.

One thing I have to warn you about is when you add a mattress pad, you add extra depth to your mattress, and guess what - your regular sheets will no longer fit. Luckily both the Diva 400tc or Dreamfit 300tc sheets fit just fine, as they are made precisely for the more popular deeper mattresses on the market today. My personal favorite is the new Diva Dots 400tc sheets. The factory where they are made told us they were trying to compete with FieldCrest Charisma. Since I own some Charisma, which was unbelievably expensive, I did a comparison, and quite frankly like the Diva Dots better as they seem much silkier.

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LATEX MATTRESS VERSUS MEMORY FOAM
By Tony Keleman

Editor's Note: We routinely get asked questions about how natural latex compares to memory foam for a mattress. Here is the reply from Royal Pedic.

Latex is not temperature sensitive. Most people consider that an advantage when looking at mattress fill. Temperature sensitive polyurethane foam is hard and gives a mattress a firm feel if the room temperature is cool. When room temperature is normal, or on the warm side, the foam gets very soft and non supportive. Additional problems with temperature sensitive foam are that your body heat and weight creates a mold into a mattress that your body is nestled in - some people call it a trough. If you try to roll from your back to your side you practically have to do a hand plant to push your body up so you can turn. In addition, temperature sensitive foam softens where there is the most body weight. Most of a person's body weight is in the torso section. Many people complain that they feel like they are in a hammock like position because their torso is sinking into the mattress, creating a curve in the spine.

In comparison, the 7-Zone latex mattress has a firmer lumbar zone to prevent the spine from sagging. The non-temperature sensitive natural latex also means that the mattress will be the same level of firmness regardless of room temperature. Latex is a breathable material as well; temperature sensitive foam sleeps hot or clammy like. And further, the health aspects of latex are generally better received as the temperature sensitive foam out gasses vapors that for some people cause asthma attacks, or other allergic or chemically sensitive reactions.

Tony Kelemen
Royal-Pedic Mattress Manufacturing

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When is Surgery Required for an Allergy Patient?
By Dr. Murray Grossan

You may have heard some horror stories about ear, nose and throat doctors (ENT), but what you may not have heard is that they are trained specialists who are capable of performing many surgical techniques. In most cases there is a real indication for performing surgery. The benefit of surgery is to clear a chronic infection and open the airway, however, this will not cure the allergy itself.

Asthma

Asthma patients suffer from heavy bacterial drainage into the chest and often breathe through their mouth. In Asthma, breathing through the mouth dries the chest. If the nose is blocked, it cannot moisten and warm the air that passes to the lungs. This aggravates the Asthma.

Is there pus dripping from the sinuses into the lungs? Normally, liquid from the Sinus can appear in the lungs in 16 hours. The infected material from the sinus into the lungs can then act as a trigger for the asthma sufferer. If such a chronic sinus condition cannot be cleared by pulsatile irrigation or other means, then a surgical approach may be necessary.

Nasal-Sinus Polyps

Here is one example where surgery might be the best choice.

If the nose and sinuses are filled with polyps and the patient has failed medical treatment such as a course of prednisone with antibiotic and cortisone sprays, surgery may be the best answer. Continuing to have too much sinus blockage due to nasal polyps is not a pleasant alternative.

Sleep Apnea

In sleep apnea, the content of oxygen in the body may fall to dangerous levels due to blocked airways. This means the patient is not breathing regularly during sleep. An example of this is when you get a fresh cold and cannot sleep due to nasal congestion.

The symptoms may include: fatigue, falling asleep in the daytime or while driving, and waking up in the morning feeling tired instead of rested. Sleep apnea is diagnosed by monitoring the patient's oxygen level and how often he or she stops breathing during sleep.

Various things can cause sleep apnea. A common reason is being overweight. Fat causes the palate to be so heavy that it blocks regular intake of air. Losing weight may take the excess weight off of the palate and uvula so that it no longer obstructs the breathing pattern.

Sleep Apnea may also be the result of the jaw falling back at night. A dental mouth guard may be a simple solution to clear the condition. If the nose is the cause, it can also be easily treated. Moisturizers such as Clear Ease used during sleep may prevent nasal dryness.

Another problem, (diagnosed by an ENT) could be that the uvula and soft palate are just too floppy or flaccid and a procedure called Uvulo Plasty may be necessary. This procedure called Somnoplasty may be done in the operating room or in the office.

Other doctors may use a suture to pull the tongue permanently forward.

Unfortunately the reason there are so many approaches is that results vary among doctors. However, most doctors agree that all sleep apnea patients should try a CPAP machine first. Here the patient uses a device that delivers air to him via a mask. The machine pushes pressurized air past the obstruction. The user must wear the mask all night. Wearing a mask during sleep can be objectionable and the noise associated with it maybe bothersome. Although drop out rate is high, when the mask is used the results of high energy in the morning and being wide-awake all day can be excellent.

Deviated Septum

Almost everyone has some irregularity of his or her septum. The septum is the part that divides the nose into two halves. If you place the index finger of each hand into each nostril, the hard part in between is the nasal septum.
One misconception is that straightening a deviated septum will cure an allergy. It won't. On the other hand we get many patients referred to ENT by allergists because despite clearing the dust allergy, there is still enough blockage of breathing from the septum being pushed over to where it blocks the passage.

Many deviated septum cases develop in childhood after a trauma. Surgical correction is up to the doctor looking at the nose and depends on if he thinks the deviated septum will grow straight as the child matures, or if it will get worse. If the deviated septum is so bad that little or no air can get through, then surgical correction may be the best course.

When the deviated septum is convex to the left and concave to the right, the septum is blocking the left side and there is room to breathe on the right (case can be vice versa). Because of the wide-open space on the right, the turbines on the right side of the nose may enlarge to fit that space. The patient is now blocked on both sides of the nose.

Hypertrophied Nasal Turbinates

Turbinates are like bookshelves, only much thicker. Air flows in the nostrils over the turbinates where it is warmed and moistened. Turbinates secrete the mucus to moisten air to the lungs. This is the same mucus in the mechanism that acts against bacteria.

When the turbinates become too large they become a major factor in blocking good breathing. If allergy and medication approaches have failed, a surgical solution called submucus resection of the turbinate can be performed. After an incision is made, mucosa is lifted off the turbinate bone. Then parts of the bone are removed and the flap is replaced. Before the turbinate stood out like a large shelf. Now with bone removed, it falls to the side where it won't obstruct any more. In addition, the procedure reduces the vascular supply, so there is less swelling. This procedure is safe for the mucosa and the cilia system. Another method doctor's use is a heat wave or microwave needle. The energy "cooks" the tissue but spares the surface cilia and reduces bacteria.

Chronic Sinusitis

Chronic sinusitis is when the infection hangs on despite the use of antibiotics or other treatments. The patient often has one episode every 3 months.Since most of these chronic infections are caused by failure of the cilia to do their job of sweeping out the bacteria, use of pulsatile irrigation such as Hydro Pulse® is often a good remedy. The sinus infection will heal if the cilia can get back to its normal motion. Adding the antibiotic to the Hydro Pulse may also help. But this may not be adequate. There may be an anatomical blockage to the sinus openings. The radiologist may report "obstruction to the osteomeatal complex" which means that the opening to the Maxillary sinus (The Sinus below the eye and above your teeth) is blocked.

In this situation, it best to do surgery called FESS, via the nose, to get the closure opened. At the same time as the closure is opened, diseased tissue is removed from the sinuses.

Chronic Sinusitis can also be found in the Frontal sinus. The Frontal sinus is the one above the eye. The drainage from this sinus is rather long and can cause the bone to build up, tissue to thicken or an overwhelming infection. The patient complains of pain above the eye or headache. If this sinus remains infected, it can push through behind into the brain. Surgery is required in such cases.

Other sinuses - the Sphenoid way in back, or the Ethmoids between the eyes, may also need surgical opening due to the loss in ability to drain or difficulty in getting medication to the infected area area.

Dependent Nasal Tip

As we age, fat leaves the skin of the nose. This causes the tip of the nose to droop. This in turn causes a valve near the opening of the nose to "close" and make breathing difficult. One can tape the tip of the nose up, thereby opening the valve, or have it done surgically. This will help the patient to avoid problems sleeping.

Reduced Complications of Sinus Surgery

In Sinus surgery the doctor is working near the brain and the eye. The doctor is working on the system that supplies mucus to the air we breathe and filters that air of bacteria and toxins. Some doctors reduce complications by using 3 D computerized imaging to visualize where their instruments are. One such system is called Insta Trak. The tip of the instrument is on three screens so the doctor will have a more accurate direction.

Allergies Do Not Cause Sinusitis

It is important to understand that allergies are not the cause of sinus disease. However, in the exhaustion stage of allergy, the exhausted cilia may slow or stop sweeping out bacteria. This causes the infection.

It is important to understand that before the sinus surgery you are allergic to cats. After sinus surgery that clears infection, opens your air passages, etc you will still be allergic to cats.

Before you are scheduled for surgery, your doctor will take a CAT scan, and then demonstrate to you that the sinus drainage is blocked, and his surgery is for the purpose of unblocking it. For example, headaches above your eye, in front of your head, may be due to the Frontal Sinus being blocked. This blockage of bacteria can multiply and put pressure on the sinus membrane with pain and fever. Sometimes in such blockage, surgery is the only answer.

Surgical correction of the blockage may be the only recourse when other treatments such as: allergy desensitization, dust proofing the bedroom, allergen avoidance and pulsatile irrigation with the Hydro Pulse do not cure the patient.

Surgery due to allergies is avoided when possible, however, sometimes the benefits of surgery are sufficient to warrant this approach.

Dr. Murray Grossan is a noted ENT specialist . He is one of the USA's leading medical experts on Sinusitis. Dr Grossan is the creator of the pulsatile nasal irrigator attachment to Waterpik, an award winning medical device and subject of numerous research studies over the past 20 years. Visit Dr. Grossan's web site.

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If you own a vapor steam cleaner, remember to "burp" it before you use it every time.

Fill the steam cleaner with water, plug it in, and wait until the OK light turns on. Then press the trigger to release the steam for about 15 to 30 seconds to get the air out of the system.

Take your finger off the trigger and wait until the OK light turns on again and then begin your cleaning. Also remember to let your steam cleaner just steam after every time you stop to change a tool or move to another room so that the steam that has just condensed into water in the hose will be turned again into steam.

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Hi Mary Jo,

I just wanted to let you know that the IQAir Healthpro air purifier that I had ordered the end of July 2002 has been a Godsend for me. Sunday, approximately 10 miles from my home, a wild fire started in the Angeles National Forest. A day later, the mountains about 3 miles north of where I live were ablaze. The temperature was over 100 degrees, the smoke chokingly thick and ash was falling everywhere.

With the heavy smoke enveloping the community, there were many suffering from the ill effects. TV broadcasters were telling people to stay indoors with their windows and doors shut. Luckily, I was running both the IQ HealthPro and the Blueair purifiers full blast so I did not have any odor of smoke inside my residence.

The fire has continued to march eastward and is estimated to burn another month or so. This has been deemed one of the worst fires to hit Southern California. I thank allergybuyersclub.com for testing and recommending the best purifiers on the market.

Please continue to test, recommend and sell the best products out there.

Wishing you and yours the best.

Jean O
La Verne, Calif.

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QUESTION:

Hi,
I lived in Singapore, where the temperature and humidity is high. I bought a local made dehumidifier recently, to control the growth of mold in my home. As instructed by the manual, I kept all the windows and doors of the kitchen closed, and kept the dehumidifier running. It works, and collects about 4-8 litres of water per day.

However, I noticed that the air blown out from the dehumidifier is warm. As a result, the whole kitchen becomes warm and stuffy. Which makes me wonder is this is normal? Do all dehumidifiers blow out warm air? Can't it be just air at room temperature, as I understand that cold air will condense, which is not good for controlling moisture.

Singapore is warm enough already, and while this dehumidifier does control moisture level, it brings me another set of problems.

Please advise. Thanks.
Tang

ANSWER

Tang,

Dehumidifiers are designed to remove the moisture from the air not to cool. Unfortunately, the way they remove this moisture is to reheat the air to further dry it after it releases its moisture. Basically, the room temperature humid air enters the dehumidifier where it is cooled to its dew point which results in its releasing its moisture. This dried air is then heated by the combination of latent heat of condensation, which is a natural result of the process, and by circulating through the condenser where heat is exchanged from it to the air. The result is the air going back into the room will be slightly warmer than it was going in, usually around 2 to 5 degrees.

If you are having a problem with the kitchen getting too warm, it also could be that the dehumidifier you are using is too small for the job so it is always running. You should be using a dehumidifier that is able to bring the humidity down to between 40 to 50 percent and then have an adjustable humidistat that will shut the unit off. This will allow the room not to get as warm as if the dehumidifier is constantly running.

Finally, you may want to use a portable air conditioner, which will both cool and dehumidify at the same time.

Please feel free to contact me to discuss any of the dehumidifiers we offer from our website.

Sincerely,
Dave Barnaby

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QUESTION

From: Fred R.
I have a new addition to my home - about 1,900 sq.ft. of crawl space. The crawlspace is approx 44" high from the bottom of the floor joist to the top of the stone base floor. The crawl space is well vented with foundation vents and I have 6 mill visqueen on the dirt floor covered with 4" of crushed gravel. I also have two sump pumps.

The problem is that during construction, the floor got wet and there is some white and black mold on the floor joist and the underside of the floor sheathing. My thought is to dry out the crawl space and the mold will go away before it gets too bad. Would a dehumidifier work for this problem or do I need to force some more air circulation under the house with fans?

Thanks for your help,
Fred

ANSWER

Hi Fred,

Getting the humidity under control will help your mold problem but not eliminate it all together. The mold will remain active as long as the humidity remains high usually 60% or higher. Therefore, if you lower the humidity with a dehumidifier to 50% and maintain it there, the mold will become inactive and not get any worse. However, it will not die and disappear and it will still emit mold spores. For this reason, it would be beneficial to eradicate the mold by cleaning it up and removing it. There are several ways you can do this. First, you can kill the mold with heat by using a vapor steam cleaner. This is a dry vapor steam at 180 to 220 degrees, which will kill most mold. Keep in mind, there are many different kinds of mold and some of them are heat resistant. Second, you can spray a solution of tea tree oil and water approximately 2 teaspoons to 2 cups of water. The only problem with this method is that the smell is very strong and tea tree oil is expensive but a little goes a long way. Third, grapefruit seed extract or citrus seed extract and water can be used. You mix 20 drops of citrus seed extract with 2 cups of water and mix it in a spray bottle and spray on the problem areas. Do not rinse. Fourth, you can use straight vinegar in a spray bottle and apply it to the problem areas and do not rinse it. This is the cheapest method but like the tea tree oil the smell is very strong.

I would caution you to be careful when cleaning up mold. I recommend you wear a mask to prevent your inhaling the airborne mold spores that will be present especially when you disrupt the mold. Also, you should isolate the area as much as possible so the mold spores cannot circulate to another area of the basement where it can begin to develop in a new area.

In answering your question as to whether or not it is helpful to run fans, this is a good idea because when there is water in a liquid state it will aid in the evaporation of the water and then the increased humidity caused by the evaporation should be removed with a dehumidifier. In addition, mold likes a dark environment with no air movement to develop so circulating the air with fans will discourage its development.

Keep in mind there are three things necessary for mold to grow. You need mold spores which there will always be a supply of because it is in the outside air and infiltrates inside to your home. You need a porous surface for the mold to feed on like wood, wall board, etc. which we all have. The final thing needed is moisture with humidity 60% and higher. This is why if you eliminate any moisture and control the humidity with a dehumidifier, you will not develop mold. Keep in mind, you will still need to remove the mold you already have.

Based on the dimensions you gave me, you would need to remove approximately 38 pints of moisture per day to maintain a relative humidity of 50%. If the average temperature in your crawl space is always above 66 degrees you could consider the 50 pint Comfort-aire dehumidifier for $299.95. For temperatures down to around 52 degrees the Delonghi 40 pint DN40G dehumidifier for $259.95 would be appropriate.

Besides a dehumidifier, another way to prevent mold from redeveloping would be to remove the mold spores that are airborne. This is normally next to impossible especially if there is mold already present in a particular area. However, assuming the mold in the area will be removed eventually this can be accomplished over a 4 week period through the use of a fairly new product we have on our website. It is called the Airfree Enviro RL 60 air sterilizer. The way it works is the mold spores enter the air sterilizer through convection where they go into a chamber where they are incinerated at 400 to 600 degrees. The air is then cooled and the sterilized air is emitted back into the room. Slowly over time the amount of mold spores in the air will be reduced down to zero and by leaving the unit running continuously, any new mold spores introduced into the air will be removed. The net result is if conditions arise to encourage the formation of mold like water or excessive humidity, mold will not develop because you have removed one of the three things necessary for mold to develop. In your case, you would need 4 of the units because one of these units will sterilize an area of 250 square feet with a ceiling height of 8 feet, which is 2000 cubic feet. You have approximately 7600 cubic feet so 4 units would be recommended. The nice thing about this unit is it is completely quiet and there are no filters to change and zero maintenance. The electrical usage is like a light bulb so it might cost you a couple of dollars a month to run one of these.

I have a few websites to give you where you will be able to get additional information on mold removal.

At our own website
http://www.allergybuyersclub.com/solution-mold.html
http://www.allergybuyersclub.com/mold-center.html

World Wide web sites
http://www.1877moldfree.com/google.html
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/molds/mold_remediation.html
http://www.servicemaster.ca/11B_SMC_mold_household_mold.shtml

One final note, I failed to mention to you that the most important thing to do when you have mold is to consider the source of the mold to begin with and make sure the reason for the mold occurring in the first place has been remedied. It sounds like you have already taken care of this based on the fact the mold was a result of water leaking during construction.

Please feel free to contact me to discuss any of the products we offer from our website.

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QUESTION: HEPA FILTERS FOR HEATING VENTS?
Answers by David Barnaby, Allergy Buyers Club Staff

QUESTION

From: Elizabeth L

Do you have or know somewhere that carries a (thin) hepa filter to cover a heating vent? Thanks!

ANSWER

We do not recommend covering a heating vent with a hepa filter because of the resistance a hepa filter presents to air movement. Use of this filter would stifle the circulation of air through your heating vent so it is not recommended.

The best thing you can do is to install a quality grade furnace filter in your whole house central heating system. These furnace filters can eliminate 50% of all dust and can also be anywhere from 70 to 90 percent efficient at removing the smaller particulates as small as 1 to 1.5 microns.

Keep in mind, the particles smaller than this down to 0.3 of a micron would still require a hepa filter, but using it in your furnace would create too much back pressure on your heating system and would reduce the overall air flow. We have furnace filters ranging in price from $79.95 to $349.95. These are permanent filters that require periodic cleaning every 2 to 4 months. They last a lifetime and do not have to be replaced.

Please feel free to contact me to discuss any of the products we offer from our website.

Sincerely,
Dave Barnaby

See all furnace filters at AllergyBuyersClub.com

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QUESTION

From: Carol C

Hi Mercia, Sorry to bother you again

What does efficiency mean, whether it's 99 percent or 15 percent? Does it clean X percent of some array of particles over X volume of room over X amount of time? I need a simple, accurate way to say it.

Cheers,

ANSWER

Carol,
The dirty air in a room is sucked into the hepa filter by a fan. There are millions of particles per cubic foot as the dirty air gets sucked into the machine. After the air has passed through the filter, clean air gets expelled out into the room. The EFFICIENCY rating of the machine, is the ratio between the dirty air going in as measured by particles per cubic foot, and the measured particles per cubic foot coming out as clean air into the room. In other words, some machines suck dirty air into the filter and blow a huge proportion of still dirty air out the other side. How could that possibly happen if all the machines have hepa filters in them? Answer NOT ALL the air actually hits the hepa filter in a badly designed machine. It's like having a leaky drafty house. In the best designed machines of which there are few, ALL the air gets forced through the filter so the clean air has zero or near zero particles coming out the machine.

The best air purifiers filter over 90% of the air that goes into the unite. A couple are over 95%.One is nearly 100%.Many air purifiers, sadly, are like a sieve; air goes in and very little ever hits the hepa filter and it just comes out the other side as dirty as ever.

Now then imagine if an air purifier takes several passes to get the same air clean because it is inefficient- it will take longer to clean the air in the room, but it might get the room clean eventually. So if your allergies are not bad, or it is not so important to you, you might well decide to go with a cheaper, less efficient machine- you have time on your side. On the other hand, if you are really sick or really need to filter out allergens of viruses as fast as possible, then actual efficiency is important.

This is the air filter industry's little secret- all hepa air purifiers are not made equal even when they all have hepa filters in them. Many factors affect the efficiency of the machine-the filter size itself- some hepa filters are huge and other's teeny. Some hepa filters are thrown together and the pleating on them is uneven so the filter media is not so reliable. Some manufacturers talk about hepa -"something" which is a sure sign that the filter is substandard. Some hepa filters are fine when the fan speed is low (and therefore smaller room coverage) and some are still efficient when the fan speed is up (larger coverage).

AHAM rates air purifiers for room size based on high fan speed - problem is no one wants to run them on high fan speed because they are noisy. So most consumers buy an air purifier with hepa filter AHAM rated for a room size and then run it on low fan speed (usually)1/4 ration to high fan speed and then wonder why they do not work. The issue is they have bought an undersized machine. They ought to buy a machine which they think is too big, then run it on lower and quieter fan speeds and then they will get close to what they want.

Ok...I am going to stop now before I start confusing you...there is way more to this story. What is important to understand is HEPA is the best technology and this is what the government at Ready.gov is recommending for homeland defense security and also gave FEMA grants to citizens after 9/11 in NYC. There are other air purifier filter technologies that compete with HEPA; their advantage is they are often quieter and cheaper to run, but their efficiency is terrible (15 to 30%). Not what I would want to trust my health to.

Good Luck- it is a very complex subject and I truly have tried to keep it simple!

Mercia Tapping
President
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