Let's Talk Allergies

When Green Cleaning Products Aren’t Green

Happy Earth Day!

People talk so much these days about going “green.” They look for ways to do more with less, preserve natural resources, and reduce dependence on petrochemical-based products. If you have had any experience with green cleaning products, you know that you can pay a premium price for a product that doesn’t work as well as the conventional product.

Sometimes, even if the green cleaning product works, it might not be so green after all. I know I am not the only one who has picked up a bottle of one of the major brands of “green” all-purpose cleaners (you know, the generation), thinking I am using the best cleaner with the least minimal impact and ingredients. But have you ever actually read the list of ingredients on these cleaners?

Here are the ingredients in one all-purpose cleaner:

Aqua (water), lauryl polyglucose, decyl glucoside and lauramine oxide (plant-derived cleaning agents), sodium gluconate (water softener), sodium carbonate (mineral-derived alkalinity builder), methylisothiazolinone and benzisothiazolinone (preservatives).

Wow! Talk about a mouthful! If you can’t say it….don’t use it!

I compared it to the list of ingredients in the EnviroRite Multi-Purpose Cleaner. What a difference! The Multi-Purpose Cleaner only has 4 ingredients listed. I can pronounce all of them. How do water, palm kernel-based surfactants, and vegetable-based glycerine sound for simple? There are no preservatives, and the last ingredient has the most complicated name, “naturally derived alkaline builders,” that adjust the pH.

This Earth Day, keep it simple, truly green, and clean! Use green cleaning products!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store
1-800-771-2246

AC Filters and UV Lights Don’t Get Along

Well, you learn something new every day. That is for sure when you work at The Allergy Store. Today I learned how ac filters can be damaged by ultraviolet light.

Today, we had an interesting customer call. The pleated, disposable air conditioning filters they purchased some time ago are starting to crumble. AC filers are not supposed to crumble.

For as many years as we have been selling pleated, disposable ac filters, I have never heard of the filtering media crumbling. We discussed the situation at length so that when I phoned our manufacturer, I could give him a full report.

When I spoke with the manufacturer, he was also stumped. However, he asked me one important question, “Does she have an ultra-violet light installed so that it is shining on the filter media area?” I had not thought to ask her this question. He went on to explain that the filter media in the disposable electrostatic filters is 100% polyester. He says they use no cotton or wool fibers in the material as they do not want to encourage mold growth on the filter media.

However, polyester can be destroyed by exposure to intense ultraviolet light.

I phoned the customer back to ask if she had UV lights in the area of the filters and she told me “Yes”. The filters were installed with a UV light shining directly on them.

Mystery solved! She is moving the ultraviolet light so that it will not shine on the filters.

We all learned something. As well as our custom-made, pleated electrostatic disposable filters are made, so they can’t stand up to continuous ultraviolet light.

Wishing you the best of health

Cheryl Krause

AllergyStore.com

800 771-2246

Portable Steam Cleaner From Vapamore

We just added the Vapamore MR-100 portable steam cleaner to our product line-up. For awhile we have been looking at various portable steam cleaner models. After using the MR-100 to clean everything from the bathroom tile, windows, grout, Jeep wheels and a mattress we decided it meets our quality standards.

Remember.. We won’t sell something we don’t use. We decided we like to use the Vapamore portable steam cleaner because it is easy and effective.

We found using steam easily melts away the dirt and grime, while removing germs and bacteria from the surfaces that you’re cleaning. It is an economical and green thing to do.

When you clean with steam, there is no need to use harsh and toxic chemicals. We were thrilled to find out that steam kills dust mites and bed bugs too!

Check it out.

Wishing you the best of health
Mike Krause
Allergystore.com

800-771-2246