Allergy Consumer Review Issue #65
Allergy Consumer Review Issue #65Dear Everyone,
If you live in the Northeast, you are wondering if summer is ever going to arrive; not that I am grumbling as I am not a hot and humid weather fan. The summer is time for travel. Therefore, in order to be comfortable, allergy sufferers need to take extra precautions; there is some excellent advice in this month’s featured articles.
This month I myself had to endure a 1950s rundown motel by the beach for three nights complete with pink tile, roaches and rusty brown water! I can tell you from firsthand experience that regular air cleaners while they may remove the particulates do not make a dent on musty, mildew odors. Only hepa air purifiers with carbon filters such as the Austin Air Healthmate Jr. or Blueair 402 with smoke filters would be configured to make a dent on this small, smelly hotel bedroom and of course a small dehumidifier would have been even better, but hard to squeeze in the trunk of my car along with the other important things like golf clubs!
We are going to move our offices the end of this year, and my mold and mildew nose has eliminated several otherwise great-looking potential offices. Whenever we looked at office space below grade there was always a dampish odor. We have a great article this month by Bob Cobe, staff member at AllergyBuyersClub.com, on a “Guide to Everything You Wanted to Know about Dehumidifiers.” He also addresses how to get rid of musty odors in a follow up piece.
We are hard at work as usual this summer testing and sifting through new products for this fall so stayed tuned! By the way, we have a new summer products catalog and if you would like one, let us know by ordering here.
In the meantime, enjoy the rest of this so-called summer.
In This Issue
- New Product Roundup.
- Everything you wanted to know about Dehumidifiers, by Bob Cobe
- Removing Mold Odors, by Bob Cobe
- When You Fly, by Dr Murray Grossan
- “Traveling with Allergies”, by Alan Spira MD
- Shop Talk
- New Products Round-Up
- Allergy Relief Products
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.
Member Specials
Receive a Free Digital Thermometer with Humidity Sensor with the purchase of any Santa Fe Dehumidifier. These top-of-the-line dehumidifiers for the whole house or basement are quiet, energy star-rated and built to last. Enter “Send me my free thermometer” in the comments section at checkout and we will send it out to you.
The Airscreen Air Conditioner & Furnace Filter is on sale at $119.95 – save $20! Unlike the cheap disposable filters on the market, this is a permanent, washable electrostatic filter with a lifetime warranty. Great for combating indoor air pollution!
The Hamilton Beach Hepa air purifier in a black finish (exclusive to AllergyBuyersClub.com only) is now on sale for $179.95 – save $20! This great air cleaner features a unique three-stage filtration system, digital display and covers up to 350 square feet – ideal for the office or home.
Be sure to tell your friends and family about us. All they have to do is sign up for our newsletter and they will be receive members-only specials.
Also, take a look at the rest of our latest Special Offers and Clearance items to save some bucks on some really great air purifiers, dehumidifiers, hepa vacuums and more! New Product Round-Up
The new Miele Champagne Hepa vacuum cleaner is Miele’s newest mid-size model with a sleek gold metallic finish that has a Miele Sealed System™ similar to the Red Velvet, Solaris, and Blue Moon vacuums, and has earned certification for keeping virtually all allergens inside the vacuum cleaner. Priced at $1055.95, this powerful canister vacuum is ideal for a medium sized house.
The Delonghi 50-pt low temperature dehumidifier with a built-in pump is now available! Economically priced at $329.99, this Energy star rated dehumidifier features a integral condensate pump with a 16 ft. drainage hose, washable air filter and side air discharge for convenient placement against the wall. It operates down to 44 degrees F.
Everything You Wanted To Know About Dehumidifiers
by Bob Cobe
AllergyBuyersClub.com Staff
Q) What does a dehumidifier do?
A) It takes moisture out of the air by sucking in moist air on one side, moving that air over some ice cold tubes that causes the moisture to collect on these tubes and then drip into a bucket or tube, and pushing the dry air out the other. This dry air then mixes with the moist air making it a little drier, which in turn is pulled into the unit to become drier over and over again.
Q) What size dehumidifier do I need?
A) Sizing Rule of Thumb for most areas except coastal is:
Up to 400 square feet: 25 or 30 pint
Up to 800 square feet: 40 pint
Up to 1000 square feet: 50 pint
Up to 1300 square feet: 65 pint
- For coastal areas the square foot coverage will be reduced as much as 50%.
- All of these figures are based on an 8’ high ceiling. So if the height is 10’, then add 25% more to the square footage and if 12’ high, then add 50%, etc.
Q) How much will my dehumidifier be able to lower the humidity?
A) That will depend on a lot of things. Most importantly, the temperature in your room will determine the minimum humidity level you will be able to achieve. With most dehumidifiers the air comes out at around 30% humidity. At 70 degrees and higher it is possible to reduce the humidity to 35% to 40%. As the temperature goes below 70 degrees and down into the 50’s this will rise to 60 %. If the humidity reached is not as low as you want, you can heat the room or raise the dehumidifier off the floor where it is coldest. Since heat rises the air temperature will be higher as you elevate it towards the ceiling. This will enable you to further lower the humidity. There are other factors affecting how low you can bring the humidity level, such as the size of the area you are dehumidifying, construction of the room, and the area of the country where you live.
Q) What do you mean by 30 pint, 50 pint, or 65 pint dehumidifiers?
A) That number tells you approximately how many pints on water it can remove in 24 hours.
Q) What is a low temperature dehumidifier?
A) It is designed to operate at temperatures below 65 degrees. If the temperature drops to 65 degrees or below, the water will freeze on the condenser coils in the dehumidifier and either heat up and shorten it’s life, or cause it to cycle on and off as the water melts and quickly freezes without removing any moisture from the air. (Note – the Comfort-Aire low temp dehumidifiers are our category winners for the best low end value machines).
Q) How do I know what the humidity level is in the area I want to dehumidify?
A) You can use a hygrometer to measure the humidity. It is like a thermometer, but reads humidity levels and not temperature levels. We sell them and some units have hygrometers built into them.
Q) At what humidity level should I keep the room?
A) We recommend 50% or just below because mold will not grow below 50%.
Q) What happens if I try to keep the room at 40% or 35%?
A) You will be wasting money on electricity. And you usually cannot dehumidify much below 40%.
Q) What is an adjustable humidistat?
A) A dial or digital input that allows you to set the machine to dry the air to the level you choose.
Q) What happens if I buy too small a unit?
A) The unit will operate continuously and probably not dehumidify down to 50% to prevent mold.
Q) Won’t it still make the room feel more comfortable?
A) Yes, but it won’t prevent mold from growing because the humidity may stay above 50%?
Q) Will I be wasting money if I buy too large a dehumidifier?
A) Not necessarily. The unit will shut off more quickly and it gives you a margin of safety.
Q) How much will it cost to run?
A) We can’t tell you. It depends on how much moisture you need to remove and how long it needs to run to achieve your desired level?
Q) Should I turn off the dehumidifier in the winter?
A) If you want, but if you do leave it on it will work whenever the humidity rises should there be a leaky pipe or a quick thaw of the snow outside.
Q) How large is the water collection bucket?
A) Usually between 15 and 20 pints regardless of the capability of the unit.
Q) How often will I have to empty the bucket?
A) That depends on how much moisture you have in the room and how low you want to dehumidify.
Q) Does that mean that if I have a 65 pint unit with a 20 pint water bucket, that I will have to empty it more than once a day?
A) Yes, if you have that much moisture in the room.
But you won’t have to empty at all if you set up constant drainage using gravity or an auxiliary pump.
Q) Can the bucket overflow?
A) No. Almost every unit has a float switch to shut off the unit when the water rises to a certain level.
Q) How will air conditioning affect the dehumidifier?
A) If the area they want to dehumidify has air conditioning, then it will almost double the coverage of the dehumidifier.
Q) Can I mount this in the wall between 2 rooms?
A) Yes. It may not be as efficient as if it were in the same room. If you mount the dehumidifier in a wall, the moist air is pulled from one room and the dry air is pushed into the other, so you will have to leave the doors open between the rooms for air circulation or have a large gap under the door.
Q) Can I place the dehumidifier in a cabinet?
A) No. Some units produce a fair amount of heat that could cause a problem, and they need maximum airflow around them.
Q) How much heat do they produce?
A) It is partly a function of how long the unit needs to run to achieve a humidity level you want to attain.
In a large room or basement might be 3 or 4 degrees, but in a small room or a closet it could raise the temperature by 3-8 degrees.
Q) Won’t that heat make my air conditioner work harder and longer?
A) No. It is easier to cool or heat dry air than air with moisture and so the air conditioner will work less.
Q) Can I have windows open while I dehumidify?
A) No, or you will be trying to dry the air outside of your house.
Q) If I leave the cellar door open will it dehumidify the upstairs?
A) Only an insignificant amount. Better to leave it closed.
Also, if you have the windows open you will be trying to dehumidify the outdoors in addition to the upstairs. Therefore, it is recommended to keep the cellar door closed.
Q) Can I use an air purifier at the same time I’m using the dehumidifier in the room?
A) Yes, neither will affect the other.
Q) Does a dehumidifier cool the room?
A) No, it actually adds heat, but it will feel much more pleasant because the air is drier.
Q) Which side is the bucket on? Or which side does the air come out?
A) The bucket will be on the side where the air is pulled in. Drawing from the front means front bucket.
(Note: Our Comfort-Aire and Millennium dehumidifiers have front buckets; the Delonghi dehumidifiers have a rear bucket.)
Q) Do I need to place the dehumidifier in the center of the room?
A) Placement does not have to be in the center of a room, but placing it near the middle would be helpful. Since humidity will equalize itself in an air space it is not absolutely necessary for it to be located in the middle of the room.
Q) Can I dehumidify more than 1 room?
A) No, if the connecting doors are shut.
Yes, but not as well as a unit in each room. The room in which the unit is placed will become the driest. The dehumidification process can be helped by using a small fan ($7 -$10) to move the air out of the back of these satellite rooms.
Q) Does the dehumidifier filter help clean the air that I breathe?
A) Not really. The filter is used to prevent dust from getting on the cold coils and reducing efficiency.
Q) How often should the filter be cleaned?
A) Check it monthly in the beginning to find out how often it needs to be cleaned and then clean accordingly.
Q) How do I clean the filter?
A) Remove it according to the instruction manual, and then wash it under faucet using low pressure or rinse it out in the sink. Try to wash the particles back out instead of forcing them through the filter.
Q) What can happen if I don’t wash the filter?
A) The clogged filter will restrict the airflow and reduce the efficiency and could cause it to overheat which will shorten the working life of the unit.
Q) What is your “whole house” Santa Fe dehumidifier?
A) It is a commercial quality home unit that can remove up to 86 pints of water/day and has a built in pump. It is very quiet and uses only 5.3 amps of power. You can place it in a central area of a home and use it with either the doors between the rooms left open or with a lot of space under the doors.
Q) How does your Santa Fe basement dehumidifier work?
A) It is also industrial grade and can remove up to 106 pints/day with a drain tube to remove the water. A pump is optional as is a duct kit to allow ducting into multiple rooms. This ducting from room to room can be as simple as dryer hose or PVC pipe. It can be used freestanding, or add ducting to it to duct into multiple rooms, or be tied into a central air/ heating system’s ducting.
AllergyBuyersClub.com has an extensive range of residential and commercial dehumidifiers and a great deal of information about each one which we invite you to explore before calling our dehumidifier experts at 1-888-236-7231. See our dehumidifier selection guide for more useful buying information.
See all the dehumidifiers at Allergybuyersclub.com
Removing Mold Odors
by Bob Cobe
AllergyBuyersClub.com Staff
It is easy to assume that gas filters (carbon) are a cure-all for all gas and odor problems such as mold or smoke. Gas filters work best on “finite” odors; that is, odors that end. If someone wearing perfume walks into a room and eventually leaves or someone cooks food with an odor, those odors and gasses will only be reduced somewhat when occurring and eliminated only when the perfumed person leaves the room or the cooking stops. But if you spill perfume on the carpeting, live above a restaurant, or have mold growing, you can only reduce these odors slightly. You cannot totally eliminate them because these odors and gasses are constantly present. You must remove the source.
The best way to eliminate a mold or mildew odor is to bring the humidity below 50 with a dehumidifier that will put the mold into a “hibernation” state. This humidity level does not kill the mold, but it stops it from growing and “breathing” that gives off the mycotoxins that we smell. The mold can start to “breathe” again if the humidity level goes above 50 for more than about 72 hours, so constant dehumidifying is necessary.
Even if mold has been stopped from “breathing” or is even killed, unless it is actually removed, the spores can still cause an allergic reaction and using an air purifier is advised. Use of an air purifier will help alleviate some of the symptoms of the mold by reducing the air born mold spores. Also, if it has an activated carbon gas filter it will adsorb some of the mycotoxins from the mold if it is toxic. Keep in mind, however, most carbon gas filters are going to be in the range of 70 to 90 percent efficient at removing the gases from the air. Therefore, as in the case of the mold spores, it will help alleviate some of the symptoms but is not a cure-all.
You will need to eliminate the source of the mold by cleaning and removing it in order to reduce the mold spores and possible mycotoxins they are emitting. We recommend the use of an air cleaner to help reduce some of the symptoms until the source is removed by cleaning. Furthermore, it’s use afterwards is warranted if the end user is allergic to mold and wants to maintain a low mold particle count.
AllergyBuyersClub.com has an extensive range of residential and commercial dehumidifiers and air purifiers and a great deal of information about them all and we invite you to explore our site before calling our product experts at 1-888-236-7231. Also, check out our Mold Solution Buyers Guide to further help with mold problems.
When You Fly
by Murray Grossan MD
Avoid The Common Cold / Sinus Infection While Flying
Getting sick when you fly is such a drag. My patient, EJ, hadn’t flown in 5 years because she would be sick for a week after the flight. And as though fate was against her, she always managed to sit next to the person on the flight who was coughing and had never heard of Kleenex.
Most airplanes today recirculate the air. There was a comparison of flights with filtered and unfiltered fresh air, which actually showed that there was little observable difference —both found about a 20% incidence of common colds among passengers who fly. This 20% is much too high to be an acceptable number. In fact, many of these colds are preventable.
The primary reason for a cold is failure of the natural defense of the body Mucociliary Clearance system. This is the protective system that grabs the virus and bacteria, and moves it by cilia action to the stomach where the acids kill the bacteria or virus. Normally these cilia move at 15 pulses per second. They act as oars to move a blanket of thin mucus, where the virus is trapped, out of the nose to the stomach. This prevents the virus from entering the body through the nose. But the key here is thin mucus.
On commercial flights the air is quite dry. This dries the nose. So, even if the cilia do their best, the mucus is still too thick to move. Because it is stagnant, bacteria and viruses can multiply and enter the body. Therefore it is vital to intake adequate fluids during flight. These fluids do not include alcohol and coffee. What is needed is warm water, preferably a green tea with mint — and lots of it! Lemon and honey are also good. Warm tea with or without caffeine helps move the cilia. Ice drinks slow the cilia. Since the key here is moisturizing the nose, saline nasal sprays (free of preservatives – see below) and a nasal moisturizing gel are helpful.
Many ordinary medications may dry the nose. For my patients I find that certain types of nasal moisturizing gels are best. The reason the gels are best is that in order for the virus to enter the body it must attach to a nasal protein called ICAM-1. A gel with the appropriate formulation can help to prevent this attachment. The best gels have ingredients which allow the body’s natural defense elements — lysozyme, good white blood cells, etc., to be able to travel to where they are needed to fight invading organisms in this way. Read the ingredients to see if your gel aids lysozyme action. For example, Breathe-ease XL Nasal Moisturizing Gel is a water soluble gel that can cover the nasal membranes and provide moisture to the area.
Avoid getting chilled as that will lower your resistance. Avoid undue fatigue. For saline type sprays, use before boarding, and about every two hours during the flight. With gels, use before boarding and about every 3-4 hours during flight. In particular, use twice a day after arrival as this will help fight any infection trying to get a foothold. Don’t forget the liquid intake!
Some doctors may prescribe an antibiotic ointment that similarly covers the nasal membranes, and as an antibiotic kills certain bacteria. The problem here is that they are expensive, and most require the use of fingers or a Q tip to get it positioned, and there is the risk of developing a sensitivity or resistance to the antibiotic. For example Breathe-ease XL nasal gel has an “in the nose” applicator and only contains natural products. Whatever gel or ointment is used it MUST be water soluble, only water soluble products should be used in the nose. Petroleum-based or other non-water soluble materials could end up in the lungs, where they could remain permanently.
Although preventing a cold when you fly is important, preventing a blood clot is far more important to concern yourself with when flying. Frequent walking about, pushing against the bulkheads and straining the legs back and forth works well.
In summary: To prevent getting a common cold while flying:
* Drink lots of liquids especially tea
* Keep the nose moist by using moisturizer gel or liquid spray
* Find a gel which aids lysozyme action
* Don’t get chilled or over fatigued
* Carry tea bags on the plane
*Aircraft Cabin Air Recirculation and Symptoms of the Common Cold Jessica Nutik Zitter; Peter D. Mazonson; Dave P. Miller; Stephen B. Hulley; John R. Balmes – Journal of the American Medical Association. 2002;288:483-486
Murray Grossan, MD
www.grossan.com
For information about Grossan products, visit
www.hydromedonline.com
Dr Grossan’s Hydro-Pulse
Nasal Irrigator for sinus sufferers is available at AllergyBuyersClub.com
Traveling with Allergies©
by Alan Spira MD, DTM&H, FRSTM
From the The Travel Medicine Center
Travel is Back! Global travel is growing yet again and travelers are seeking more exotic and dynamic destinations.
Some of these destinations have much to offer, including allergens and pollutants. The developing world, where 8 million Americans visit annually, is among the highest risk for this. Many developing nations have increasingly greater problems with air pollution as emission controls and growing economies contribute to pollutants and allergens being released into the air. Having an exacerbation of allergy or new onset allergies can greatly affect, even ruin, a journey. Preparing for the possibility has real physical and psychological benefits.
If you already suffer from environmental allergies, be sure to take the medications that work for you on the trip. Get an extra prescription from your health caregiver and keep the spare set in your luggage when you check in, keeping the original set on you. This protects you in case of loss or theft. Please keep the medication in the original pharmacy labeled bottles so you don’t face hassles at the airport. Be wary of purchasing medications abroad; the World Health Organization believes that between 20-80% of product sold in developing nation pharmacies is fake, invalid or the wrong medicine.
Some countries have specific and strict rules about bringing medications across their borders, even if legitimately prescribed elsewhere. For example, pseudephedrine (Sudafed®) is not permitted in Japan and if you are found to have it, expect it to be confiscated at the airport. It can be rather difficult to keep tabs on which medications are forbidden in various countries, so it would be wise to consult with a Travel Medicine specialist before departure.
Travelers with serious allergies, such as to medications or foods should be wary. It is possible that you would not be told about the presence of certain compounds as you travel, often simply for language reasons alone. If you were to receive an prescription for medication but did not know it had a component of your allergen, for example penicillin, then you could develop a severe reaction, such as angioedema or anaphylaxis which can progress to shock. The same is true for foods; for example, many sauces in Thailand have peanut in them, and if you were unaware of this and were allergic to peanuts, trouble would be waiting in the wings. If this applies to you, be sure to travel with diphenhydramine, a prescription for steroids such as medrol and an EpiPen autoinjector in case a severe, life-threatening allergy develops.
Your allergist will help you in choosing specific medication or therapy for your specific allergies. As much is possible, get the allergies under control before departure, to minimize exacerbation or simply suffering from them at all during your journey.
Optimally, it is best to begin your health preparations for travel at least a month before departure. It may be that you don’t have that much time, but the more time you have, the more effectively you can prepare your body and mind to prevent illness during your journey. Consult with a Travel Medicine specialist to get the appropriate vaccinations and counseling on how to avoid destination-specific disease in addition to your allergy preparations. It makes much more sense to avoid trouble than trying to fix illness while you are on your trip. Many disease of travel can seriously affect your daily living and some are potentially fatal; yet with a proper orientation to prevention, you can readily remove nearly all these threats, giving you peace of body and peace of mind.
Healthy Travels!
Dr. Alan Spira, MD, DTM&H, FRSTM
The Travel Medicine Center
131 N Robertson Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Appts: 310.360.1331
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