Allergy Consumer Review Issue #60
Allergy Consumer Review Issue #60Dear Everyone,
Isn’t the Internet wonderful? Last month I received an email from a woman in England who had read this newsletter, wondering if I was the same Mercia Tapping who was her best friend in kindergarten. This I may say was over fifty years ago. Since then we have exchanged emails, and it has brought a big smile to my face going down memory lane. When you have nearly 50 years of your life to catch up, you have some explaining to do. So when she said that I must be proud of all the things I have achieved over the years, it gave me pause for thought, as those were not the words I would have chosen.
My father once told me when it was clear that I was not going to have children, that I should find some other and perhaps unique way of contributing to the world. I am at heart an educator, and can never resist the opportunity to share knowledge with others, especially if it will make their lives better in some way. Whether it is a good book, the movie that will make you smile, or in the case of this newsletter, my opinions as to what products actually work the way they should. This is my modest way of trying to make life better for others.
So this month, I have written about several issues that I feel will be of interest to many of you. Firstly, I took a broad sweep across many of our product categories and have pointed out those which in my opinion offer better than usual value for money. Also, our candid assessment of two new air cleaners, the Electrolux electrostatic air cleaner and the Blueair 301 air purifier, definitely fit the bill for “quiet air cleaners for bedroom use.” By the way, our best rated air purifier, the IQAir, are going up in price by mid-March so if you’ve been waiting to purchase one of these great machines – now is the time.
And for those of you who have suffered this winter in the Northeast, Spring is unbelievably just around the corner. Even the thought of it makes me happy!
So here’s to the last of winter!
In This Issue
- New Product Round Up: Sanitaire Vacuums, Wool Mattress Topper, Aquasana Shower Filter, Natual Lighting Lightboxes and Lamps and Silk Duvet Covers.
- Do You Get What You Pay For? Great Value Products and Why Some Products Cost More than Others.
- Sneak Preview of the New Exclusive BlueAir 301 Air Purifier for quiet small bedrooms –Coming Soon in Late March!
- Electrolux Air Purifier reviewed. Another great value for a small air purifier.
- Special Offer for Members for Sinus Relief
- Sinusitis in Children by Murray Grossan
Shop Talk
New Product Round Up: Sanitaire Vacuums, Wool Mattress Topper, Aquasana Shower Filter, Natual Lighting Lightboxes and Lamps and Silk Duvet Covers.
Sneak Preview of the New Exclusive BlueAir 301 Air Purifier for quiet small bedrooms –Coming Soon in Late March!
Special Offer for Members for Sinus Relief
Mercia Tapping
President / CEO AllergyBuyersClub.com
Contact Information
Disclaimer: Product and solution information reflect information available at the time of publication, including prices, availability, and reviews. To get the latest information, contact us or join our newsletter.
Coming Soon! A Special Offer on the New Exclusive Blueair 301 Air Purifier – Two Free Bonus Replacement Filters Included with Your Purchase!
The new Exclusive Blueair 301 air purifier will be available at the end of March 2004 and will come with two bonus replacement filters worth $90. This smaller air cleaner is quiet and ideal for a bedroom or small office. Value priced at $349.95, reserve yours today and you will receive the two bonus filters as well. We simply love this machine and could not recommend it more highly and think you will love it too.
Silk duvet covers (starting at $260) are simply the ultimate in luxury but most come in sizes that are too small. So we had some specially made in “oversize.” The only color right now for the oversized duvet is “honey” in a bamboo print, but I can tell you that I am now spoiled for life and have fantasies of how super silk sheets must feel. The only trouble with silk sheets is they are not made large enough for my deep mattresses. But once that problem is solved, I will be first in line.
Aquasana shower head filters are serious! They filter out more pollutants and have a bigger charcoal filter than anything else we have seen. No chlorine when you shower and will leave your hair feeling incredibly soft and clean. A little clunky in appearance, and the set up takes a few minutes, but Aquasana shower filters at $67.99 are the same as those being sold elsewhere under a different label at over twice the price! My husband is now such a fan of shower filters he insists on having spare filters around so he can replace them with no down time. Also Aquasana has an excellent water filter at $99.99 that does an effective job at a economical price per gallon of purified water. Did you know your coffee tastes better when you use purified water?
We have a whole new line of rugged Sanitaire vacuum cleaners starting at $149.95 which are mainly for commercial use including a backpack model which is rather intriguing. I prefer my pocketbook in backpack format so I am wondering whether a backpack would appeal as a “guy’s vacuum”? If my husband actually vacuumed (which he does not), I could see this having a masculine rugged appeal. No, I have not tried it out personally, as there are limits to what I will do at weekends in the name of product testing!
We also have some new natural lighting products including Full spectrum light boxes starting at $158.95 and Sunlight alarm clock desk lamps beginning at $98.95 that will be available in mid-March. I am a great fan of full spectrum lighting and have gradually converted over my whole house. And when you have done it, there is no turning back. The bathroom vanity lights were the last in the changeover and what natural lighting has done to showcase my paintings is a real pleasure. I got into full spectrum lighting when I bought a Verilux light box about 5 years ago, which is still going strong and I haven’t even replaced a bulb as yet. I even use my light box to light up my entire home office. When you turn it off, even with spot lights on, the room is noticeably darker.
We have added a new organic wool mattress pad starting at $259.95. Besides the added softness, these pads have the additional benefit by keeping your body temperature on a more even keel, giving you more warmth in the winter and cooler in the summer. Those are some of the magical thermal properties of wool.
Do You Get What You Pay For?
GREAT VALUE PRODUCTS AND WHY SOME PRODUCTS COST MORE THAN OTHERS.
Air Purifiers: Looking for a bargain in Air Purifiers is a challenge. Nobody in their right mind wants to sacrifice quality in the name of price. As one woman put it to me “I want a 5- star air purifier for a 3-star price”. For a complete explanation of different air purifier technologies refer to a previous article on the subject “All you wanted to know about air purifiers but were afraid to ask.”
Here is what is happening with the air purifier market. Air purifiers have been taken up by the “Big Box” companies and low-cost ones are now manufactured in China. Many of them are pretty worthless in terms of performance and can be found oversold by all sorts of disreputable companies. A surprising exception is the Hamilton Beach series, which we tested and found to be very efficient, and reasonably quiet The only drawback as they only do small spaces and cannot cope with odors and gases in an effective manner. But apart from that, they are an excellent deal and are now on sale starting at $99.95.
Most of the very high-performance air purifiers are manufactured by European or by smaller specialty manufacturers. The quality is often superb but the cost of manufacturing is higher. The IQAir series is a case in point, offering superb efficiency and cleaning power second to none, but you pay for the privilege. If you need both allergen and odor and gas control, I often tell people that the Austin Air beginning at $299 is an honest workhorse even if it is completely devoid of all the whistles and bells I prefer to see on a air purifier, like easy changing filters and replacement alerts. Later in this newsletter we review the new Blueair 301, an AllergyBuyersClub.com exclusive, and a very cost effective choice for a quiet air cleaner in a small (12×12) bedroom at $349.95. The Electrolux air cleaner (shown right) at $499.95 is also quiet and offers a good amount of efficient cleaning and low cost maintenance.
Dehumidifiers: The industry dirty little secret about low-cost dehumidifiers is that they break down soon as you look at them. I sat down with one US manufacturer the other day and he was telling us which of their machines were still made in the USA as opposed to Asia and admitted that the Asian ones reduced manufacturing costs but did not improve quality. I found this news somewhat dispiriting. So far we have had the best luck with Comfort-aire dehumidifiers beginning at $319.95 and yes they come from China but the return rate for defects last year was incredibly low, although the low temp models are loud. Since they have changed factories this year, I am holding my breath that the new factory will be as reliable. So bargain pickings here are pretty slim until you pay for either an Ebac (starting at $674) or the Santa Fe dehumidifiers ($1149.95 and up). Both Ebac and Santa Fe offer dehumidifiers that last for years and years and do a superior job and are quieter to boot.
Humidifiers: When all is said and done, I am starting to get convinced that the cheapest is also the best. This would be the Hamilton Beach, a brand of humidifiers ($69.95 -shown right) we rarely see returned to us. On the other hand, some of the Hunter humidifiers this year seem to be much noisier than I ever remembered and I am wondering whether they have a new source in Asia that is not producing the same quality as before. This is only a hunch and certainly not confirmed by Hunter. So the inexpensive Hamilton Beach is certainly simple to maintain, and on “quiet mode” my husband is happy to have it in our bedroom and it hugely reduces his snoring.
Shower Filters: Our new Aquasana shower filters at $67.99 are the best deal here as we found the exact same shower filter under a different label on a competitor’s site for nearly 3 times the price. This shower head filter has a huge amount of filter media which makes it inelegant to look at but my husband who tests out shower filters in our house voted it a winner.
Steam Cleaners: Here the clear winner for value for money is the WhiteWing vapor steamer which offers a lot of functionality for the price of $449.95. Another way of putting it, is this steam cleaner suits most of the people most of the time. This is to say that most people use steam cleaners intermittently and for short burst type of tasks such as when my husband lovingly cleans his golf clubs or I get inspired to clean some neglected nook and cranny in my house. The “clean freaks” are better off with the more expensive models such as the Ladybug, which will clean for hours on end without interruption and to a cleaning maven’s high standards (prices start at $1049.95).
Vacuum Cleaners: This is a tough call as to which are the best values since one has to balance both functionality and durability, and the latter is often not visible until years later. Most people tell us that they are fed up with their vacuum cleaner breaking down every two years and needing to replace it. Overall, if I had to pick a brand that offers incredible durability and a feature packed hepa vacuum, I would opt for any of the SEBO vacuums as they are mid priced starting at $429. I would also buy one now before the inevitable price increase I smell on the horizon. For a true bargain, the Electrolux Harmony canister vacuum for homes with carpets at $298 is tough to beat. What’s more, we have sold it for a couple of years now and we never see them sent back here so I am reasonably confident about the quality. The new Electrolux Oxygen for bare floors at $399.99 is worth mentioning because it is the first Electrolux vacuum cleaners out at this kind of price range and our staff are really quite entranced with it. Will it hold up over time? Well, the jury is still out on that one. And if you are on the other end of the Spectrum and just want the “very best money can buy,” then you would opt for the Miele Velvet vacuum priced at $1249.
Bedding: Our selection of bedding is vast but here is where quality can catch up with you pretty fast. For instance, in pillows the Primaloft are inexpensive starting at $74.95 for a set of two and are soft when you first purchase them but be prepared to dump them after 18 months when they compress and turn lumpy. We have 3-month old and 18-month old Primaloft pillows on our bed and the difference between them is astonishing. On the other hand, the more expensive Hypodown pillows beginning at $104.95 are like the Energizer Bunny and keep going and going. The same caveats apply to the Primaloft comforters starting at $119.95 but you can prolong their lives by always using a duvet cover but they only have a fraction of the warmth of a down comforter. The best kept secret value for the money in comforters is the Euphoria wool comforters beginning at $325, which are amazingly light in weight while providing breathability and warmth, and the silk comforters, the Imperial Delight and Ming Dynasty, which are cloud light and completely luxurious for summer months (prices begin at $200 for these silk comforters).
I have been trying out bargain brands of high thread count sheets recently (a tough job but someone has to do it!) in an effort to find something really well priced to offer our customers. Here is what I have found. Inexpensive sheet sets skimp on sizing, so if you have a mattress pad, a deeper mattress or a pillow larger than child’s size, the sheets do not fit. The Diva 400 thread count 100% cotton sateen sheets are fairly priced (starting at $99.95) and are amply oversized to fit deep mattresses.
New Exclusive Blueair 301 Air Purifier
Sneak Preview (2/26/04)
We pleaded with Blueair to put out a pintsized version of their big Blueair 501 air purifier, so we really had something nice to offer our Blueair customers who wanted a second air purifier for their office or child’s bedroom. As soon as we saw the sample Blueair 301, our staff were oohing and ahhing with comments like “oh, so cute!” We chose Blueair because in our experience with these machines, although their efficiency is not perfect, they are beautifully quiet, easy to take care off with filter changes taking all of 30 seconds, and we never see them returned to us. So we have ended up with an exclusive for our subscribers and web visitors, which is a super deal at the price of $349.95 includes two replacement filters, three filters in all. This is something to really consider! In a particle count efficiency test that we performed with the Blueair 301, the results were 86.4% on low, 88.6% on medium, 73.8% on high, and an average cleaning efficiency of 84.7%. This means that on average, 84.7% of the particles going into the machine were captured by the filter. This would be on all particulates 0.3 microns and larger. Providing the filters are changed regularly, there is no drop in efficiency and the results are acceptable. Although these results are not as high as with our best high end Hepa air cleaners, they are acceptable as 4 to 6 or more air changes are achieved. We have a more extensive review of the Blueair 301 on our web site but the bottom line is if you have a room of this size- yes you want one! I have two larger 501 Blueair air purifiers in our house and I am a great fan of them.
We were looking for an alternative to the Friedrich electrostatic air purifiers, for those who resolutely want to avoid some of the expense of replacing hepa filters. We were surprisingly pleased with the results of our testing of the Electrolux air purifiers, which are not without their drawbacks as noted below in a report by David Barnaby. When David says he likes a product, I listen, as he is worse than I am in giving products the thumbs down. My big grumble is that since Electrolux is owned by Eureka, they COULD have chosen to put into the machine their exclusive washable hepa filter which they use with their vacuum cleaners. But they did not and I intend to bring that up to them as a product improvement.The Electrolux air cleaner test results did not disappoint. David tested this air purifier over a 40-day period. With new filters, the particle count efficiency was 99.3% on speed 1; 93.2 for speed 2; 75.6 on speed 3. The average particle count efficiency is 89.4%.
The air cleaner was re-tested on day 40 for efficiency and the results were encouraging: 99.0% on speed 1; 93.8% on speed 2; and 66.1% on speed 3. The average particle count efficiency was 86.3% after running the unit for 40 days. The only noticeable reduction of efficiency was a 12.6% decrease on speed 3. The following is a summary of what David, who leads our product testing team, had to say about the Electrolux air cleaner.
Pluses:
- Has built-in indicator lights: Reminds owner that the filters need to be cleaned or replaced
- Air cleaner is quiet: Almost silent on low speed, quiet on medium speed and noticeably louder on high speed but not as noisy as other units on high.
- Easy access: for cleaning or replacing filters
- Quiet fan setting: This mode regulates the speed of the fan based upon the noise in the room; the fan will speed up when the sensor detects noise in the room, and slow down when it is quiet to not disturb the peace.
- Contains an air quality sensor: Allows the air cleaner to adjust the speeds based upon the contaminate level in the room
- Spare parts included: An additional corona wire is included
- Lightweight: Makes this air cleaner easy to carry
- Attractive exterior: Electrolux gave this air cleaner modern styling with a titanium gray color and a chrome knob that can blend into any environment, and kept the unit value-priced
- Efficient air filtration: Overall, this unit is a very efficient air cleaner considering that it is not a true HEPA-type air cleaner.
- Odor free: There was no discernable evidence of an ozone smell
Minuses:
- The accompanying air cleaner manual is not easy to understand
- Pre-filters will collect only very large-sized particles but it is a nice feature to have a pre-filter in an electrostatic air cleaner
- The electrostatic filter has an odor when new but the smell dissipated after running the air cleaner constantly on high for a few days
- The unit is considered high maintenance since an owner will have to:
- clean the filters regularly (every two months or when indicator light is displayed)
- replace the carbon pre-filter every three – six months, however it is okay to run the unit without this filter if not needed
- replace the electrostatic filter once a year depending upon how frequently the unit is used - This unit is not recommended for removal of high concentration of gases and odors since there is only a small amount of carbon in the filter
- Not recommended for those with multiple chemical sensitivities
Summary: The Electrolux air cleaner is value priced at $499.95 for the highly efficient air filtration that it provides. It is lightweight, attractive, and has user-friendly indicator lights to take the guesswork out of when to replace or clean the air cleaner, which is greatly appreciated.
Sinus
Irrigator For Our Subscribers
Dr Grossan’s Hydro-Pulse
Nasal Irrigator for sinus sufferers is available at AllergyBuyersClub.com!
Sinusitis in Children
Prevent Children’s Sinusitis Month
By Murray Grossan MD
This month, the American Academy of Otolaryngology – (ear nose and throat) in conjunction with the American Academy of Allergy is urging parents to take steps to prevent their kids from growing up with chronic sinusitis. Children are born with sinus cavities and they can be infected at any age. Often sinus problems start in childhood. Number one cause may be the child blowing the nose too hard. Parents are urged to teach their kids: Blow the nose GENTLY or not at all. Heavy blowing spreads the bacteria to uninfected areas including the ears and irritates the delicate nasal membranes so they can’t function to protect against disease. Here are 12 rules to teach the kids to avoid them growing up as a sinus patient – rules from the Tower ENT Group at Cedar Sinai Medical in Los Angeles.
1. If you see a green drainage from one side of the nose only, think of a foreign body – a raisin or a nut. Best to have this removed by an ENT specialist.
2. Insist your child blow his / her nose gently.
3. Follow your doctor’s instructions regarding medications. Never stop the antibiotic before the recommended dose. This is how we develop drug resistant bacteria.
4. Make sure your child is up on his immunizations.
5. Try to avoid the child getting chilled.
6. Don’t overheat the bedrooms.
7. Child’s bedroom should preferably be as bare as possible. No moth flakes, insecticides, or dust makers.
8. Pets should be kept out of the bedroom as well as out of the bed.
9. Moisturize the bedroom in cold or dry weather. Best method is to use pans of water for evaporation.
10. Avoid nasal sprays with Benzalkonium or Thimerosal as these may irritate the nose.
11. Avoid smoke in the child’s presence
12. If there is considerable dust, use a Hepa filter (not an ionizer)
There are some common sense steps to prevent a life of sinus misery for your child. It is very important to keep the moisture at no more than 50%. If the moisture goes above 50% this encourages mold growth. Check for leaks that may grow mold. A regular light bulb turned on in a damp closet or basement is a mold deterrent. Yellow green drainage that persists for more than a week suggests a sinus infection. Three of these episodes per year suggests a chronic sinus infection. If your very young child has a persistent nasal / sinus infection, ask your doctor about performing Proetz sinus irrigation. This is an inexpensive treatment parents can do at home. Here the child is placed with his head lowered and dilute nose drops are placed in one nostril and suctioned from the other with a simple nasal aspirator till all the colored pus is removed. (complete directions can be obtained from The Sinus Cure by Debra Bruce and Murray Grossan page 120. For the child 5 or older who has persistent sinus drainage, ask your doctor about using pulsatile irrigation to remove the pus and thick mucus to allow the natural healing to take place. Units such as the Hydro Pulse Nasal / Sinus irrigator are gentle enough for kids to use age 5 or older, and most kids (and adults) appreciate the relief they get. Because the pressure is regulated exactly right, it is much safer than sniffing from the hand or unregulated pots and syringes where the pressure can be too high.
Is it allergy? It is very important to follow your pediatrician’s instructions regarding the age at which foods are started. This helps avoid allergies. Your doctor’s advice for breast feeding is also an allergy preventer. If your child is sneezing, eyes look puffy, but he is free of fever or fatigue, note the date on your calendar. Often you can tell what the allergy is due to by using the pollen calendars available on the net.
Your doctor may recommend one of the cortisone sprays. At this time these nasal sprays have been in use for decades and are now felt to be safe for kids to use. Of course, any medication is best not taken if it isn’t necessary.
Morning sneezing? Usually this is an effort of the allergic child to get warm. Prevent this by having warm tea in bed before getting out of bed. Usually a thermos does well.
If the child has asthma, it is even more critical to prevent and clear sinus problems.
Does your child have sinusitis or enlarged adenoids? Adenoids are the tonsil like tissue in back of the nose. With sinus infection they may enlarge and block nasal breathing. Or they may enlarge on their own usually accompanied by enlarged tonsils. Before you rush to have surgery for this condition, ask your doctor about measures to shrink the adenoids. Clearing a sinus condition is the first step in getting adenoids back to normal size. Other methods include anti-inflammatory medications, often combined with antibiotics.Your doctor may recommend fruit enzymes for this, Papain from papaya or Bromelain from pineapple, such as the product Clearease™.
One reason the Allergy and ENT groups want to call attention to sinus and other childhood ailments is so that the parents can appreciate that a child who is constantly mouth breathing and is snoring, is not a healthy child. He / she may not sleep well, have bad breath, and be constantly fatigued, cranky, or run down. Such a child deserves care so they can grow up and not be one of the 35 million persons who now have sinusits. Despite the daily barrage of advertisements, the best thing for your child’s cold is still chicken soup, tea with lemon – honey, and bed rest. For best information, consult your doctor.
Dr Grossan’s Hydro-Pulse
Nasal Irrigator for sinus sufferers is available at AllergyBuyersClub.com
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