Dear Everyone

I have to tell you something very strange about our company which defies statistical probability- a full 20% of the people here at AllergyBuyersClub.com share the same birthday, March 19th, and we unknowingly hired another one a couple of weeks ago - now is that weird or what? My birthday is NOT March 19th but I can tell you this group have quite the birthday bash each year. The only thing I have observed about all these people is they are all good team players. So someone please tell me the odds of this happening!     Bob Cobe, our product specialist, has been on my case for a while to improve the comparison charts and guides for various products we carry. Out of desperation, he has been doing them himself for the benefit of training our internal staff, and the results of his labors can be seen in our next newsletter, which will have a particular focus on humidifiers. Do not miss the press release below sent out by IQAir who have filed a complaint against Consumer Reports - gutsy move.   Enjoy the Fall, even if I am sneezing again!

Mercia

Our new staff has been turning to me for guidance as to what to recommend to our customers about dust mite encasings and covers. This is the essence of what I tell them and I try to keep it very simple.

Be clear as to whether you have dust mite allergies. You do this by going to an allergist for allergy tests.

Once you have discovered you have allergies to dust mites, figure out whether you have exposure to them. You are more likely to have dust mites in your home if you live down South in warmer climates or where there is a higher level of humidity. You can test out whether you have dust mites in your home by using a home test kit.

You can give yourself a break by cleaning your bedroom. See a past article on the Dust Free Bedroom.

A pillow collects up to 2 pounds of dust mite feces [the stuff you are allergic to] over a 2-year period. Therefore, your pillow is the most obvious place to start with dust mite encasings if you do not want to bury your nose into dust mites every night.

My favorite dust mite encasings are Cottonfresh and I think they are worth the extra money. Apart from the added benefit that they are organic and unbleached, they are also the softest. Think about it for a moment. The softest and most supple dust mite cover underneath your pillowcase means that your pillow retains its soft and supple feel. Important for those of us who like to scrunch up our pillows and mash them underneath our heads.

I get routinely get asked as to which is the BEST dust mite encasing or cover. The answer is when it comes to dust mite encasings we do not sell any brand which let the dust mites through. Our fabrics are tightly woven and the beesties simply cannot wiggle their way through. The best is a cosmetic or comfort choice, and we prefer ones which are made out of cotton.

Looking for a cheap dust mite cover? Then encase your mattress with a plastic or garbage bag. A little facetious? Well perhaps, but plastic does a great job, it cuts the dust mites off from their food source which is you and your skin flakes. Trouble is you will find it sweaty and the noise of the plastic would drive your crazy. Some encasings are only a small step away from a garbage bag- trust me I slept on one at my father’s condo this last Spring. Every time I turned over that darned crinkle sound woke me up. And I dare not take the cover off; the pillow was at least 30 years old! I was convinced I was sleeping on a bag of dust mites!

Do you need a dust mite cover on your box spring? In my mind unless you are super allergic it is going too far and you can do without one. But as a caveat dust mites do travel and crawl where they are not wanted. I like our middle of the road cotton dust mite encasings for this job

How about the mattress? It is worth having a dust mite encasing here, but remember if you have a latex mattress you probably do not need an encasing at all as latex is inhospitable to dust mites.

I get asked how often you need to wash the dust mite covers? This is a matter of hygiene not anything to do with the effectiveness of the dust mite covering. Washing dust mite covers does not rejuvenate them from the dust mite prevention perspective. Putting it bluntly, people drool into their pillows, sweat and do other things at night which make it necessary to freshen the bedding by washing. Dust mite covers are no exception.

How about dust-mite covers for duvets? In a perfect world you would have a duvet or comforter that was anti social for the dust mite party. These comforters are made out of silk or wool. Hypoallergenic down comforters can still be a breeding ground for dust mites but the ones with a higher thread count shell will keep the dust mites at bay. If you need a dust mite cover for your comforter again we think Cottonfresh wins out as it keeps the comforter supple and light which is how you want your comforter to be.

Why bother with a dust mite cover if your regular duvet cover is high thread count? Good question but unless your duvet cover has zippered tight enclosures, those adolescent dust mites will muscle their way through any opening.Adolescent dust mites for the uninitiated, as we found out from a man who breeds them for researchers tend to be pushy creatures who find their way through anything and will jump around in pursuing more food. Need I say more?

Dust Mite Encasings for your children’s beds? Buy them the cheapest covers, they will never know the difference. Buy the Cottonfresh for your own pillows.

The best and cost effective package? Buy our regular 2 cotton pillow encasings and mattress cover and add 2 Cottonfresh pillow dust mite encasings for your own pillows.

   
For All Dust Mites Encasings, Pillows, Comforters, Duvets and Mattresses

Cotton Fresh Pillows and Mattress Cotton Fresh Comforters and Duvets

All Cotton Comforters and Duvet All Cotton Mattress and Pillows

Pristine® Cotton Plus Baby Crib Comforters, Duvets Mattress and Pillows Extra Long Twin Matress

See all Dust Mites Encasings in our store!

For more information on the differences between our dust mite encasings please refer to our Dust Mite Encasing Comparison Chart. For more suggestions on how to control Dust mites please refer to the Dust Mite Solution Center.

For those of you who wish to delve into this subject of dust mites and dust mite encasings more deeply, the following article should be helpful.

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To see all of our healthy home products, go to our Store.

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IQAir Files Complaint With FTC Against Consumer Reports Magazine
Monday September 29th 2003

Watchdog Agency May Be Doing Consumers More Harm Than Good

SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif., Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/
-- IQAir North America announced today that it has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Consumer Reports Magazine and its parent company, Consumer Union, charging that the consumer watchdog organization actually harms consumers and businesses with inadequate investigative techniques and a biased selection process that ignores quality manufacturers in place of mass market distributors.

IQAir is the top rated room air cleaner according to Test (Stiftung Warentest), the prestigious German government funded testing agency, but since IQAir's inception they have been unable to get their product reviewed by the popular Consumer Reports organization. This month the October issue of Consumer Reports Magazine hit the newsstands with a much publicized article that blasted the Sharper Image's top selling Ionic Breeze as "poor" in most categories and bestowed top honors on Friedrich's electrostatic precipitator, a unit known to produce charged particles and that may produce the lung irritant ozone. IQAir was again not able to get their home HealthPro series tested for the article even though many consumer advocacy groups and specialty retailers consider them the best product in the category, including Consumer Review, AllergyBuyersClub.com, Air-Purifiers-America.com and many other groups that support allergy and asthma sufferers. The Hong Kong Hospital Authority this month tested IQAir as the only room air cleaner effective enough to be used in the fight against SARS.

Consumer Reports Magazine has often been accused of using market share to choose its test products. Specialty retailers who frequently deal with a higher quality of merchandise than mass retailers have long decried this practice since major brands like Honeywell, Hunter, and Friedrich are included, but smaller manufacturers who strive for a higher manufacturing standard are excluded simply because they don't sell as many units.

"Consumer Reports does a disservice to consumers," states IQAir President Frank Hammes. "Three and a half million room air cleaners were sold in America last year. Over the past two years, the nation has seen air cleaners move from a pure allergy and asthma control product to a tool that also helps victims of terrorist attacks cope with the aftermath of airborne pollution. They've become an integral part of the nation's homeland defense strategy. This is not a time for Consumer Reports to use outdated selection methods. They are keeping the best products from being tested."

At the heart of IQAir's complaint against Consumer Reports is not just their selection process, but also how the air purifier units are being tested. Consumer Reports adopted a testing procedure developed and promoted by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) for most of their air cleaner evaluation.

"AHAM is in their own words an advocacy group for manufacturers," explains Hammes. "They represent big industry interest and not that of consumers."

AHAM promotes a marketing program in which they certify the performance of room air cleaners of their members. According to insider information, the Consumer Reports tests were carried out by the same contract test laboratory that carries out all AHAM certification testing. The Consumer Reports test, like the AHAM test, is considered flawed by many industry experts, and most quality air purifier manufacturers do not sign up for AHAM certification because of the test flaws.

"Consumer Reports uses a biased selection process to choose which products to test," said Hammes. "Then when it does test the units it uses the AHAM test procedure which was designed by big business manufacturers to support the often inferior products they were trying to sell. The Consumer Reports test results confuse consumers rather than provide them with clear and accurate information. Parents with children who suffer from allergies and asthma will be guided to buy inferior quality room air cleaners because they put their trust in Consumer Reports."

IQAir North America, Inc. is a member of the Swiss-based IQAir Group that develops, manufactures and markets innovative air quality products for indoor environments. IQAir products are used worldwide by hospitals and other critical environments. They also manufacture home air cleaning units for allergy and asthma sufferers and individuals with chemical sensitivities.

IQAir is a registered trademark of the IQAir Group.
Source: IQAir North America, Inc.

http://www.allergybuyersclub.com/ap-iqair-comparison.html

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For many years I have been unable to get a proper night's sleep during the hay fever season. Every night I would spend hours sneezing, with my eyes running constantly. To be honest I had become resolved to the fact that this was just part of life. However, a friend recommended the Blueair air purifier, and I gave it a try. I have to say that it made a huge difference. At night I was hardly aware of the hay fever season at all, and can't remember being troubled by it at all at night; while during the day away from the air filter, it was back to normal!

I would really recommend this air filter. It not only does the job, but it is also very very quiet, so it happily runs all the time with very little noise. It certainly helped me.

Michael G

http://www.allergybuyersclubshopping.com/blueair.html

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During a flood cleanup, the indoor air quality in homes, offices or any type of building may at first glance be the last thing on anyone's mind, but failure to completely and properly dry building interiors and remove any and all contaminated materials can result in serious long-term health risks to building occupants.

Standing water and wet materials are a breeding ground for microorganisms, including bacteria and mold. They can trigger allergic reactions or make asthma symptoms worse, and continue to damage building materials, furnishings long after the flood.

Safety First

Safety is the first concern when entering a home or building that has been damaged by floodwaters. Here are some guidelines:

* Check for structural damage. Do not go in if there is any chance of the building collapsing.

* Upon entering the building, do not use matches, cigarette lighters or any other open flames, since natural gas and other combustible fumes may be trapped inside. Instead, use a flashlight.

* Be careful walking around. After a flood, steps and floors are often slippery with mud and covered with debris, including nails and broken glass.

* Keep the electrical power off until an electrician has inspected the electrical system for safety.

* Until local authorities proclaim the water supply to be safe, boil water for drinking and food preparation vigorously for five minutes before using.

Next Priority -- Drying Out

Once the building has been judged structurally sound, the next priority is to dry it out!

Many microorganisms, including mold begin growing within 24 to 48 hours. As a result, it is imperative to begin the drying process as soon as possible. Here are some steps to follow:

1. Remove standing water
2. Identify and remove animal carcasses and materials affected by the water
3. Dry out the area
4. Wear protective clothing
5. Clean and disinfect
6. Hire professional help

Remove Any Standing Water

Standing water is a breeding ground for microorganisms, which can become airborne and be inhaled. In addition, floodwater that contains sewage or decaying animal carcasses may also harbor infectious microorganisms. To minimize health problems and lessen structural damage, all standing water should be removed as quickly as possible.

Identify and Remove Animal Carcasses and Materials Affected by the Water

If a flood involves sewage-contaminated water or has animal carcasses floating in it, do not try to save any of the materials as exposure to this kind of water carries the additional hazard of infection with the hepatitis A virus.

Bag and throw away any materials that can trap mold. Also, make sure that there is no asbestos or lead in the materials to be thrown out. Disturbing or removing materials containing asbestos (such as in insulation) or lead (such as in lead-based paint) may result in elevated concentrations of those hazardous materials in the air. Just looking will not yield a definitive answer. Sampling may need to be done to verify the materials' composition.

Some materials tend to absorb and keep water more than others. If these materials get wet and cannot be thoroughly cleaned and dried, discard them. Otherwise, they can remain a source of future microbial growth. Mold may begin growing 24 hours after the materials become wet although there may not be any visible signs of it. Molds are mistakenly considered more of a nuisance than a health threat, but their damage can be long lasting. Examples of water-absorbing materials that must be removed and thrown out include:

These items can retain water and begin growing mold even if they appear to be dry. Some may become contaminated with mold while wet and continue to be a source of mold spores and exposure even after drying. Flooded carpet, for example, can store mold spores for years. Any carpet if not properly maintained can store mold spores, and flooded carpet allows the mold to grow further. Running fans and opening windows is not enough. Once carpet becomes colonized (mold growing in the material), it needs to be discarded unless professional cleaning can effectively remove the microbiological contaminants.

Remove all drywall and insulation damaged by water at least 12 inches above the high water mark. Visually inspect the wall interior and remove any other materials with visible mold growth. (This step may have to be carried out by a licensed contractor.) This removal of mold-contaminated material from the walls is crucial because both allergic and toxic effects can remain in dead spores.

Dry Out the Area

If areas are wet, yet have not suffered from a flood, set up fans and turn on the HVAC system to help dry things out. It is important to do this because microorganisms like mold can quickly begin growing in materials. These can later be released into the air and trigger allergies and asthma attacks along with other health problems. If humidity levels are increased for a long time then dust mites may grow. Dust mites prefer humidity levels above 60 percent.

Be patient! The proper drying out process can take a long time.

In large buildings, the typical drying out period may be 7 to 10 days. It is imperative to not only dry the building, but to dry it out correctly. Drying out large buildings is a very complex process and will require the help of professionals. Believe it or not, if a building is dried out too quickly, interior furnishing materials can become damaged.

If the structure does not have electricity, do not use internal combustion engines indoors since they can quickly emit deadly levels of carbon monoxide. Examples include gasoline-powered generators, camp stoves and lanterns, or charcoal-burning devices. Do not use combustion devices designed for outdoor use inside, even in an emergency, since that can be deadly!

Dress the Part

Because mold may have begun growing in some of the materials that will be removed, be sure to wear appropriate protective clothing. Cleaning up mold can be hazardous to health since mold counts are typically 10 to 1,000 times higher than background levels during the cleaning of mold damaged materials. Here are some steps to follow:

* Wear a dust mask or particulate respirator (sometimes referred to as a N95 or TC-21C particulate respirator) to keep from breathing in airborne spores. However, remember this type of mask will not protect the persion wearing it from the vapors of cleaning or bleach solutions that can irritate eyes, nose, and throat, and damage clothing and shoes. In addition to protective equipment, make sure the working area is ventilated well.

* Wear eye-protection

* Wear gloves. While removing materials, cover rubber gloves that may tear easily with work gloves. Be sure to wear gloves when using cleaning and disinfecting solutions.

* Wear sturdy waterproof boots to protect the feet from hazards, which may not visible in dirty floodwater.

* Wear protective clothing that is easily cleaned or discarded

Clean and Disinfect

All surfaces that are exposed to food, children or pets will need to be thoroughly cleaned. Also clean and disinfect non-porous materials such as glass, plastic or metal. Materials such as the tops of metal desks or file cabinets and concrete, cement, or tile floors can be cleaned using a solution
of one (1) part bleach to 10 parts water. Be sure the area is well ventilated.

* Ask staff or bystanders to leave when these areas are being cleaned.

* Before beginning to clean off any mold, try cleaning a small test patch of it first. If you feel that this adversely affected your health, you should consider paying a licensed contractor or professional to carry out the work.

* Use soap/detergent and hot water or a commercial cleaner. DO NOT APPLY ANY AMMONIA-BASED PRODUCTS! Ammonia or ammonia-based cleaners should not be used since residual ammonia can encourage mold growth.

* Thoroughly scrub all contaminated surfaces (use a stiff brush to clean block walls) with an excessive amount of soap/detergent.

* Rinse well with water

* After thorough cleaning and rinsing, disinfect the area. To disinfect, use a solution of 10 percent household bleach (for example, one (1) cup bleach per five (5) gallons of water) and a little detergent. (The detergent will help with the dirt and oil on the surface and act as a surfactant to help thoroughly wet all surfaces). NEVER MIX BLEACH AND AMMONIA SINCE THEY CAN FORM DEADLY VAPORS!

* Bleach solution should be applied with a handheld garden sprayer. For large exterior areas, you can spray using a garden hose and nozzle but avoid excessive amount of runoff or standing bleach.

* When disinfecting a large structure, make sure the entire surface is wetted (floors, joists and posts). Use a brush or broom to force the solution into crevices.

* Be sure you wash and disinfect the walls, floors, closets, shelves, and contents. The HVAC system should be evaluated for mold contamination and professional help engaged to handle the evaluation and cleaning of the system.

* Work over short time spans and rest in a fresh air location. Provide continuous and controlled ventilation in work area, with the area of contamination kept at a negative pressure in relationship with the rest of the home. Iin other words, air should flow from clean to dirty areas.

* Allow bleach solution to dry naturally for a six to eight hours.

* Air out the house (and the building if windows can be opened) out for about two to three days after the work. Increase airflow in the house by moving furniture away from walls and opening closet doors. Consider increasing outdoor airflow in buildings in which windows cannot be opened.

Hire Professional Help

Most mold remediation guidelines advise that if the area of mold growth is larger than 10 sq. ft. to hire a professional contractor to remove the mold and any contaminated materials. But be careful! After a major storm, unqualified opportunists may offer to help. Be wary of people who drive through neighborhoods offering help in cleaning up or repairs. Be sure that any contractors that are hired for cleanup or repairs are qualified to do the job. Check their credentials and their references. Insurance adjusters may be able to assist in finding reputable and qualified contractors.

Copyright © 2001 Aerias, LLC All rights reserved.
reprinted with permission

See our Mold Solution Buyers Guide at AllergyBuyersClub.com for our best-rated products for helping prevent and kill mold.

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