Getting rid of household allergies: Are annoying allergies plaguing your loved ones?
Allergies can be the bane of a mum’s life. They are the reason behind your child’s constant sneezing, wheezing, dripping nose and non-stop itching. And then, of course, there’s the very serious risk that your little one could end up in hospital if the cause of the allergy goes unchecked.
If you or your loved ones suffer from allergies, know that you are not alone — almost 400 million people around the world suffer from allergies.
In Singapore, 99% of over 250 mums recently surveyed by theAsianparent Insights team, believe that dust in their house may affect their family’s health and trigger allergies in their little ones.
Needless to say, the root cause of this annoying issue is closer to home – literally – than you think.
Most Singaporean mums believe that dust is one of the main causes behind their family’s allergies, causing symptoms such as itching and coughing.
Many allergens (the little nasties that cause allergies) begin life inside our homes. Most of the time, the problems are too small to notice. Microscopic particles hidden in dust and dirt – such as dead skin, dust mites and pollen — are the main triggers of most allergies.
House dust is actually the number one cause of allergies in the home. This is affirmed by 81% of mums who participated in theAsianparent Insights survey, who said they are concerned by the effect dust mites can have on the health of their families.
Seventy percent of mums are worried about the impact of bed bugs on their family’s health, and 69% about bacteria. Almost half the mums surveyed (47%) are concerned about mold in relation to their family’s health, followed by 33% who are worried about the health impact of termites.
More than half the mums surveyed (69%) said their kids experience a runny or stuffy nose while at home and exactly half of those surveyed reported that their children coughed frequently.
Forty-nine percent and 25% of mums respectively said their kids suffered from itching and wheezing. All these symptoms are often associated with allergies.
To show you just how prevalent these tiny triggers of allergies are, here are some rather horrifying facts on allergens. We apologise if we make your skin crawl but we promise to tell you about getting rid of household allergies later in this article!
- One gram of house dust contains upto one million fungi spores
- Humans shed upto 28g of dead skin a month – roughly the weight of a packet of potato crisps!
- Dust mites feed on dead skin and their droppings trigger allergic reactions
- An average carpet can contain upto 1,000 dust mites per square metre
- Beds can contain between 100,000 and more than one million dust mites
How do Singapore mums clean their homes? Find out on the next page.
Are most of these methods doing a thorough job of eliminating allergens in the house?
Is your house really clean?
When it comes to cleaning the house, many Singaporean mums still rely on traditional methods such as mopping and sweeping — which certainly seem to get rid of surface dirt. According to the survey, 82% of mums rely on the mop to clean household dirt, while 58% use a vacuum cleaner with a cord.
Equal numbers of mums (50%) use a cloth, and broom and dustpan to clean their homes. Meanwhile 19% of mums use a duster and 18% use a cordless vacuum cleaner for house cleaning purposes.
However, the high prevalence of allergies reported among Singaporean kids seems to indicate that most of these cleaning methods aren’t perhaps doing a great job at eliminating allergens in the home.
How often do mums vacuum clean their homes?
Among all the methods we usually employ to keep our houses clean, vacuuming is generally regarded as the best way of getting rid of dust — and Singaporean mums are aware of this. According to the survey, the following is where in their homes Singaporean mums are using vacuum cleaners for cleaning purposes, and also how often they do so:
- 87% vacuum the living room at least once a week
- 86% vacuum the kitchen floor once a week
- 72% vacuum the carpet at least once a week
- 69% vacuum the ceiling/ ceiling corners at least once a week
- 55% vacuum their own mattresses less than once every 3-6 months. However, 62% know that they need to vacuum their mattresses often to get rid of dust and allergens.
- 52% vacuum their kids’ mattresses less than once every 3-6 months
- 35% vacuum the sofa at least once a week
But allergies are still rampant
Despite using various methods to clean their homes, many mums — 87% of those surveyed — are unsure if these methods are eliminating dust and allergens effectively. And 68% of mums are not sure if even their vacuum cleaner is doing a proper job of sucking up those allergens.
There are vacuums, and there are vacuums
We know know that traditional cleaning methods such as sweeping just don’t do a good enough job in getting your house allergen-free. This is where most people think a vacuum cleaner can help — but according to the survey result, allergies still pervade despite vacuum cleaner usage.
However, there is one vacuum cleaner that could make a difference to allergy sufferers in your family — the Dyson vacuum cleaner. Dyson vacuum cleaners are not your average vacuums — they efficiently and effortlessly suck up the dust that traditional cleaning methods leave behind.
So that they can best understand how to really get your house clean, Dyson actually has its own microbiology lab, where expert researchers work hard to find out the best ways to rid your homes of dust and allergens.
This knowledge then informs the design and features of all Dyson vacuum cleaners.
Here’s how a Dyson vacuum cleaner can allergy-proof your house.
Here are five features of a Dyson, that when combined, keep your home truly free of allergens.
- High dust removal: Dyson cleaner heads are fine-tuned to provide powerful suction that reduces allergens in your home.
- No loss of suction: Centrifugal forces fling those nasty allergens out of the airflow and into the bin.
- Whole machine filtration: The filter in a Dyson vacuum can trap microscopic particles down to 1/5,000 of a pinhead.
- Captures allergens, expels cleaner air: Dyson cyclones capture microscopic particles including pollen, mould and bacteria. The air that comes out is cleaner than the air that went in.
- Hygienic bin emptying: Dyson vacuums have no bags, meaning there is no need for you to touch the dust.
On the next page, check out the six handy tools that come with Dyson vacuum cleaners that bust household allergies and make household cleaning even more quick and efficient.
These handy tools work hard to keep every inch of your house spotless and allergen-free.
Up top tool
Sometimes, it’s just so difficult to reach awkward angles and spots in your home for thorough cleaning, e.g., the top of ceiling lamp-shades or your curtain rails. Your solution to this problem is this clever tool, which twists into different positions and angles for easy high-reach cleaning.
New carbon fibre soft dusting brush
Hard surfaces like tiled floors or floorboards can be difficult to clean with a vacuum cleaner due to their slippery surface. This is not the case with Dyson vacuums, though. The re-engineered soft dusting brush tool has ultra fine carbon fibre filaments for improved pick-up on hard surfaces.
Tangle-free turbine tool
Does your pet love sleeping on the couch or carpet, leaving behind long hairs in the process? If it does, you probably know just how hard it can be to remove those hairs. Dyson’s tangle-free turbine tool helps you in your cleaning quest with counter-rotating paddles that remove hair and fibre without tangling.
Mattress tool
If the thought of going to bed with millions of creepy dust mites (and their poo!) horrifies you, use this mattress tool to disperse those fears and get a good night’s sleep. It efficiently removes dirt and allergens from your mattresses and upholstered surfaces.
Do you want your child to be exposed to these nasty dust mites and their nastier poo? We think not! Eliminate these allergens with a Dyson vacuum.
Flexi crevice tool
You know that narrow gap between the fridge and wall that is oh-so-hard to clean? Dyson’s flexi crevice tool extends and flexes into awkward gaps such as this, thoroughly cleaning these spaces.
Groom tool
Your pet’s hair, especially during shedding season, can actually cause allergies. If you have a medium- to long-haired dog at home, you can easily get rid of loose hairs in its coat with Dyson’s handy groom tool. It’s as it’s a simple as “groom, suck, gone” — mess-free grooming at its best!
Mums, you’ll also be pleased to know that Dyson has been accredited by reputed organisations such as the National Asthma Council Australia and the British Allergy Foundation (Allergy UK).
So take control of your family’s allergies and bust that dust today with a Dyson vacuum cleaner.
Visit www.dyson.com.sg for more information. You can also follow this link to read about a mum’s review of the Dyson DC62 vacuum cleaner.
How do you handle household allergies? Do share your tips with us by leaving a comment below.