Allergy Consumer Review Issue #59
Allergy Consumer Review Issue #59Dear Everyone,
At time of writing, it is a bone chilling -4º F today outside in Boston, and I am in grumpy golf withdrawal and winter hibernation. My husband who had prostate surgery a month ago, has taken full advantage and has been saying all week “Honey, in my condition, I should not go outside and collect the mail” – which is all of 100 feet from our front door. But meanwhile, he has been back at work for two weeks.
Given the freezing weather, we reluctantly took our Ming Dynasty silk comforter off our bed as the temperature in our bedroom dips to about 60º F at night. Our heating system is not that effective at getting the heat upstairs. So we brought in the big winter guns with our Monarch Hypodown 800 fill Arctic comforter and we are as toasty as can be except for my husband’s bald head. I wish I had a camera last night when I came to bed. I found him with a ski hat on his head, complete with earflaps since the temperature was 62º. It was quite the sight!
I did not get brownie points recently at home for forgetting to change the filter on my husband’s shower head in a timely manner – should be every six months. He has an allergy to chlorine and broke out in hives. My husband has had some “down time” at home recently, so he now is on a mission to make sure that we change all replacement filters in our house on time, whether be it our vacuum filters, air filters or furnace filters and water filters. Without realizing it, he has become accustomed to living in a clean air and water bubble at home, which would be truly pristine if we did not have a little cat dander floating around from my three Siamese cats.
Our big news on the personal front was the birth of twin girls to my husband’s youngest daughter on the same day in December my husband had prostate surgery. So I have written a quick piece for this newsletter on the “allergy free nursery,” and shared with you the silk baby blankets that I bought as the luxury baby gift. Photos of the proud grandfather and babies can be found later in the newsletter.
If you haven’t seen it recently, we have a new look to AllergyBuyersClub.com which is aimed at helping you navigate your way around the website better. We are also currently overhauling the technology behind the site and within 3 months you will find our online store spruced up and much more user friendly.
There’s interesting gossip later in this newsletter about the class action suit on behalf of some purchasers of the Ionic Breeze air purifier. We’ve never been a big fan of this machine. All in all, there is some really good stuff in this newsletter. You should not miss the price alerts for upcoming price hikes for several of our steam cleaners by January 31st, 2004 because of the strong Euro currency situation.
All I can say at the moment is keep warm if you are in the Northeast!
In This Issue
- New Vacuum Cleaner Round up for 2004
- Top Tips To Create an Allergy Free Nursery
- The Perfect Baby Gift – Silk and Fleece Blankets
- Class Action Suit involving Ionic Breeze
- Shop Talk
- New Vacuum Cleaner Round up for 2004
- The Perfect Baby Gift – Silk and Fleece Blankets
- Allergy Relief Products
Mercia Tapping
President / CEO AllergyBuyersClub.com
Contact Information
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New Vacuum Cleaners Introduced for 2004 – Reviews & Comments
By Mercia Tapping
A few years ago a vacuum cleaner manufacturer came to call and said “I bet you never thought that when you graduated college you would end up selling vacuum cleaners!” He was right- never in my wildest dreams, and more so because vacuum cleaning was the dreaded task that my Mother used to ask me to do as a teenager, at the age when you treat the family house as a hotel.
In a recent edition of this newsletter, I summarized the points to look for when purchasing a good hepa vacuum cleaner in my Vacuum Cleaners Buyers Guide. We ourselves brought into the office in 2003 a number of eager contestants who wished to be tested, in hopes of joining the AllergyBuyersClub.com exalted list of recommended vacuum cleaners for 2004. One of whom even offered to sponsor this newsletter. Sadly while nameless, many did not make the cut and were sent packing. But the good news is we did find a few that brought smiles to our faces, which is difficult to do when you start from disliking the whole concept of having to vacuum in the first place.
I am a canister type of gal, so I will talk about those first. Heading the list in vacuum cleaner self indulgence is the new Miele Red Velvet whose color and finish live up to its name. More importantly, when you have gotten over the price of $1249.00, this vacuum combines all the famed features of the Miele Silver Moon with a new big power brush, which was my only real criticism of the Silver Moon. Incidentally, the Silver Moon is being discontinued soon, so if you want it, buy it soon. To me the perfect vacuum cleaner is light and therefore easy to maneuver such as the Silver Moon, but I want it paired with a really powerful power head. The Miele Red Velvet hits the perfect note with me, and goes on my wish list for a luxury housewarming gift when my new golf-side condo is built in 2005.
I am a loyal fan of the Sebo C3 canister, which I use in my own home, and we use the X1 upright in our offices, which tells you we are SEBO fans. Now we are offering two new SEBO canister vacuum cleaners, which also have a lot going for it. The K2 and K3 Sebo Vacuum Cleaners are Sebo’s answer to providing a lighter weight, slightly less powerful, and hence less expensive version [$499.00 and $759.00] of the best selling Sebo C1 and C2 canister. The Sebo K2 is especially keenly priced and will give the new Electrolux Harmony an honest horse race.
Coming up the rear in prices but more pocketbook friendly are the new Electrolux vacuum cleaners. Here is the history of this new line of vacuum cleaners. Eureka bought the Electrolux brand and factory to produce a series of vacuum cleaners, which at first glance [and even second in some cases] look suspiciously like the Eureka Oxygen line. Eureka told me that they were being made at the old Electrolux factory. They do indeed sport some improvements over the current Oxygen line, which is now being discontinued. Of the new Electrolux line, it is in my opinion the least expensive model is the best. The Electrolux Harmony Canister at $298, which is geared towards those of you with almost bare floors and a few scatter rugs, is a cute, little, quiet vacuum which got the guys in our office saying “way cool” and everyone sidling up to ask if they could buy the demo for their own home. Almost everything about this vacuum cleaner is done right. The famous washable hepa filter is optional with this machine, although a standard hepa filter is included. This vacuum cleaner is well worth taking a look at and we like it a lot. It is not recycled Eureka Oxygen, so I had to swallow my skepticism, as it represents some real design breakthroughs at Electrolux.
The Electrolux Oxygen and Oxygen Ultra canister vacuums are price-bashing [$399.99 to $599.99] competitors aimed at taking a hefty swipe at the high priced European vacuums on the market. I do not feel they offer a great deal more than the old Oxygen line [which we liked], but for sheer value compared to the European competitors they cannot be beat. They have built on their Eureka Oxygen legacy and if you want to support the domestic brand, which in our experience has a pretty good track record, these are well worth taking a look at. The new low price is certainly going to be popular among consumers.
Then for the upright vacuum cleaner devotees among you we have some great new entries. Best news of all is that they are cheaper!
My own personal favorites in uprights are the SEBOs. These are for people who are searching out best in class. We use the SEBO X1 in our office and have had no complaints over the two years in which we have offered this upright vacuum cleaner. Given our successful history with SEBO, I was very interested when the SEO vacuum cleaner manufacturer came to call with new vacuums for us to review. They did not disappoint, and there was giddy laughter while we tested them and found they actually performed the way we wanted. After testing so many duds last year, we were just ecstatic! Sebo has additional high-end vacuums in the X series, the SEBO X4 and SEBO X5.To put it succinctly, the advantages these vacuums have over the X1 is BIG improved suction power. In our office, we have typical flat thin office type carpet, but if you have Berber or pet hair at home, the extra suction power would be extremely useful.
The vacuums in the Sebo X series work especially well if you have different carpeting or flooring heights as the vacuum self adjusts to the right height. The Sebo X4 at $699.00 and X5 at $749.00 represent the Rolls Royce of uprights. However if you have wall- to- wall straight uniform carpeting throughout your home, then the G series at $549.00 give you the extra power you need but at no extra price over the X1 upright.
See all the vacuum cleaners at Allergybuyersclub.com
Top Tips to Create an Allergy-free Nursery
By Mercia Tapping, AllergyBuyersClub.com
The allergy free nursery became important in our family when twins arrived last month – each was under 4 lbs. Protecting babies while their immune systems are not fully developed is a real priority. We have been using hand sanitizers religiously before touching these tiny newborns. Here are some quick tips to make your home allergy free for the new babies in your family.
1. Test the indoor environmental conditions of your home. It is always a good idea to first test your home for: molds, dust mites, pet dander, cockroach allergens, fiberglass fibers, formaldehydes and other pollutants. There are several types of dust mite, mold and allergen test kits available starting at $99.95
2. Use toxic free cribs and furniture. Of course, anything that you buy in retail stores has had to pass “Child Safe” laws, but the purists will appreciate a toxic free maple crib and furniture to match. The crib is much nicer than it appears in the pictures we currently have on our site. It is light in color and beautifully made. The advantage of the matching furniture is it is so classic in appearance, it could literally last a lifetime – from cradle to the grave.
3. Use HEPA air purifiers in the baby nursery. A good HEPA (high efficiency particulate absolute) air cleaner can remove up to 99.95% of airborne allergens from your household air! A high-grade air purifier is essential for allergy suffers in order to achieve excellent indoor air quality. HEPA air purifiers do require periodic filter replacement, but clean air in the nursery is a must. Both the Blueair and Hamilton Beach machines are favorite choices for a small nursery. If you have a baby with asthma, then the IQAir is the air cleaner of choice.
4. Vacuum up pollen spores, dust mites and other allergens (including pet dander) with a high grade HEPA vacuum cleaner twice weekly. Vacuum walls, carpet, flooring, chairs and furniture…everywhere with a HEPA filter vacuum cleaner. Use the hand tools on the vacuum to get hard-to-reach areas. Good hand tools on your vacuum cleaner are the answer here. It also helps if you keep carpeting to a minimum.
5. Sanitize, deodorize and disinfect your home and nursery with a vapor steam cleaner. Vapor steam cleaners do not use supermarket chemicals, but use just water to clean the nursery floors, rugs, changing table and much more around the rest of your house. Steam cleaning kills dust mites, mold spores and other unwanted bacteria. It improves indoor air quality and reduces allergen counts in the air and potential respiratory ailments for your newborn. A lightweight steam cleaner like our WhiteWing Steamer, would be a superb way to keep the nursery sanitary at all times.
6. Keep dust mites at bay. Wash all nursery bedding in 140-degree hot water. This helps to eliminate dust mites, pet allergens and pollen. Use dust mite encasings in the nursery for the baby mattress, to protect your baby from dust mites. If you use a latex mattress in the crib, the latex is naturally inhospitable to dust mites. Fibers like silk are also naturally dust mite repellent, as they do not retain the moisture that dust mites need to thrive.
7. In winter use a humidifier. During this cold dry weather, a humidifier is a must. We prefer a warm mist humidifier such as the Slant Fin as it provides a nicer feel for a baby’s room but put it out of reach because the vapor does come out warm although not at burn temperature. A cool mist humidifier such as the Hamilton Beach would also be a very acceptable choice.
8. Keep pets off of the crib and out of the nursery. There is no need to give your pets away when the babies arrive. In fact, I believe in the benefit of bringing up pets and children together. All you need to do is keep them out of the nursery when you are not in the room. In my own childhood, my poor mother had heart failure when she saw two big dark paw prints in my baby crib and no baby! Turned out the dog had gently lifted me up in his mouth and taken me into his dog basket and she found us later all curled up sleeping together! No small wonder why I turned out to be an animal lover later in life!
9. If your house has high humidity, reduce moisture levels with a dehumidifier. Dehumidifiers help control mold and dust mites in all environments. Since they tend to be noisy, I would put a dehumidifier close to, but not inside the nursery. I would not buy a low temperature one since they are noisier and better off in basements. Clearly, I would not like to think of any infant having to cope with even just the discomfort of high humidity, but everyone does not have central air conditioning and for those that do not, a dehumidifier is a godsend.
10. Use a furnace filter to add protection and help clean your indoor air. Washable furnace filters will help effectively clean the air in your entire home with the use of your air purifier. We gave one of the new mothers in our company a gift of our best EnviroSept furnace filter and a particulate counter to measure the “before and after.” She shamefacedly admitted that the particle count went down in her house by over half! And we will not even mention what the “before count” was, but it caused raised eyebrows in our office!
11. Wash any rugs. When babies start to crawl, any carpets are a trap for all sorts of unmentionables, from bacteria to formaldehyde . . . many pollutants that you would not want your infant burying their face into. Washable rugs or hypoallergenic rugs which you can then go over with a steam cleaner, are the way to keep the babies faces out of all the dust mites, and bacteria which thrive in carpets.
December 10th 2003 is a date our family will never forget. It is the day when my husband had his prostate surgery and his youngest daughter gave birth to twin girls. His last memory before he woke up post-surgery was getting the news of their birth. Needless to say it was a bit hectic for a while. One of my tasks was to find the perfect baby gift and something my stepdaughter would not have already.
On posing this questions to one of our bedding enthusiasts at our office, she showed me a new product from one of our supplies – silk baby blanket lined with fleece. These blankets defy description, as they are so soft and delicate. Jacquard silk one side, and the softest of fleece on the other. The perfect gift for the pampered baby- and in our case two!
Available in Pink or Blue at $94.95
Class Action Suit On Behalf Of All Purchasers Of Ionic Breeze Air Purifiers
Sharper Image
A class action lawsuit has been filed against The Sharper Image in regards to the sale of Ionic Breeze air purifiers. The suit alleges that the product does not perform up to the company’s claims that it will clean the air of airborne irritants, allergens and pollutants, eliminate odors and freshen the air. The suit also claims that the product does not meet federal ozone emission regulations. The suit was filed on behalf of all those who purchased an Ionic Breeze air purifier from The Sharper Image in the past four years.
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Posted in: Newsletter
