Category: Air Purification

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Mold Spores – Know the Enemy – Mold Part 2

A few questions we get fairly often are about mold spores in the air all the time and which ones are allergenic. Like pollens, mold spores are airborne allergens that are abundant, inside as well as outside, easily carried by air currents, and allergenic in their chemical makeup.

Found almost everywhere, mold spores in some areas are so numerous they often outnumber the pollens in the air.

Fortunately, however, only a few dozen different types of mold spores are significant allergens.  In general, Alternaria and Cladosporium (Hormodendrum) are the molds most commonly found both indoors and outdoors throughout the United States. Aspergillus, Penicillium, Helminthosporium, Epicoccum, Fusarium, Mucor, Rhizopus, and Aureobasidium (Pullularia) are also common.

Are there mold spore-related disorders?

Fungi or microorganisms related to them may cause other health problems similar to allergic diseases. Some kinds of Aspergillus may cause several different illnesses, including both infections and allergies. These fungi may lodge in the airways or a distant part of the lung and grow until they form a compact sphere known as a “fungus ball.”

In people with lung damage or serious underlying illnesses, Aspergillus may grasp the opportunity to invade the lungs or the whole body.  In some individuals, exposure to these fungi also can lead to asthma or to a lung disease resembling severe inflammatory asthma called allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis.

This latter condition, which occurs only in a minority of people with asthma, is characterized by wheezing, low-grade fever, and coughing up brown-flecked masses or mucus plugs.  Skin testing, blood tests, X-rays, and examination of the sputum for fungi can help establish the diagnosis. Corticosteroid drugs are usually effective in treating this reaction; immunotherapy (allergy shots) is not helpful.

IAQ Regulations and Mold Spores

Standards or Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) for airborne concentrations of mold, or mold spores, have not been set.  Currently, there are no EPA regulations or standards for airborne mold contaminants.

Up Next – Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)

Till next time

Cheryl
Allergy Store – Helping customers since 1989
800 771-2246

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Mask for Travel

On my recent travels, I only saw one person wearing a mask for travel.

Of course, the bulk of my trip was by car and the people with whom I traveled weren’t afraid of any germs that I might be sharing.

However, two legs of my trip were by plane and I did see one person wearing a mask for travel in the Houston airport.  From the sneezing and coughing I heard on the plane from Houston to Ft. Lauderdale, everyone should have had on a mask.  I am still waiting for that first tingle of the nose that tells you a cold is on the way.

Back when there was the H1N1 scare, the SARS scare, and the bird flu scare before that it was not uncommon to see people wearing a mask when they travel.

We are often asked if the U2 Sports mask is a good mask for travel.  The answer is “yes” if you are concerned about pollens and large particles of pollution in your destination city/country.  When my mother visited China, she said the residents referred to the heavy pollution as “the mist”.  As in “The mist is heavy today”.  How quaint and ever so much more polite than “Holy crap the pollution is so bad I can’t see today”.  It isn’t going to protect you from small particles such as bacteria and viruses.

If your concern is either catching or spreading disease, then the best mask for travel is the N95 Alpha Mask.  We still refer to it as the “Bird Flu” mask.  Because it is designed for 0.1-micron particle efficiency it will protect you against those pesky pollens and pollution particles, but it will also protect you on the plane or train from airborne viruses and bacteria.

Because it is lightweight, it doesn’t get hot and because it is disposable, it is inexpensive.

The person I saw at the airport was wearing an N95 mask. I wanted to ask her if she bought it from The Allergy Store, but I also wanted to make it to the Customer Service counter ahead of all the other people who had just had their connecting flights ruined by Continental Airlines.  So I didn’t ask her.

I also didn’t get to the Customer Service counter ahead of all the other people.

I also didn’t make it out of Houston that day.

Til Next Time!
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Eradicate Dust Mites – Warfare Part 3

So we continue our war on the dust mite and their allergens.

In Part 1, we killed dust mites by starving them to death through the use of dust mite-proof zippered mattress covers, pillow covers, and boxspring covers.  In Part 2, we eliminated dust mites by washing them away with De-Mite or Allersearch Allergen Wash.

The War Continues! Today, we will eradicate dust mites and other allergen particles floating in our air with the use of air filters.

People have been trying to eradicate dust mites and allergens from the breathing space for years using all sorts of methods. There have been air cleaners that produce ozone (a not-so-good idea) in an effort to oxidize the dust mites, air cleaners that claimed to eradicate dust mites by the use of ions (an idea that might boost the effectiveness of a HEPA filter but useless on its own), and ultraviolet lamps that claim to eradicate dust mites all through the house by simply installing it in the AC unit.

Maybe you can tell by my skeptical tone that I don’t believe there is scientific proof to back up these claims to eradicate dust mites.   Maybe you can’t tell….so I will make it clear.

Ozone machines, ionizers, and UV lights will not eradicate dust mites from your home.  You aren’t going to completely eradicate dust mites from your environment.

You can however eradicate little bits and pieces of dead dust mites, their feces, and other allergens from your breathing environment while you sleep with a properly sized and situated HEPA air cleaner and purifiers

HEPA is an acronym for High-Efficiency Particulate Air and it is a measurement. Just like an hour is a measurement of time (all hours have 60 minutes, some just seem longer or shorter) HEPA is a measurement of filtering ability. It means that 99.97% of all particles as small as 0.3 microns are arrested by the filter.

Filtration that fine has the ability to eradicate dust mite particles and feces from the air that passes through the filter. Dust mite allergens are in the 8 to 10-micron range.  Far larger than the HEPA definition and easy to eradicate if you can get the allergen to the filter.

HEPA filters work on the air exchange process.  That means taking the air from the room, using a motor to suck the air in and then passing it through the filter, and then sending the newly cleaned air out in the room.  As I type this, I can hear the low, gentle hum of the Austin Air HealthMate Junior working to eradicate the allergens from the room.

We carry many reliable and reputable brands of HEPA air cleaners to eradicate dust mites, allergens, odors, and chemicals.

I am fond of HealthMate machines because they just last and last and last.  Made in the USA, they are dependable and hard workers.  They are not energy hogs and when on the medium and low settings are not loud at all.  I especially like that their 5-year filters last so long that I have to write the filter date on the bottom of the machine or I would forget about filter changes.  I can’t honestly tell you how old the machine sitting in my office is. I can’t say that about many other small appliances..but I digress.

As we have stressed over and over, the most important room in the house is the bedroom. You want to place your HEPA air cleaner as close to the bed as possible.  The air closest to the machine is the cleanest and if you are going to eradicate dust mite particles from your breathing space while you sleep, then you want it close by.

If you don’t have rugs or carpeting or heavy draperies in your living area, then chances are you don’t have as many airborne particles in those rooms. You can put your HEPA air cleaner in just about any place in those rooms.

Let the war continue!