Breathe Free With an Air Purifier

Air is the most important thing we take into our bodies. While we can go days without food and water, we can only last a few minutes without air. It is our most basic necessity. Unfortunately, with the pollution of the modern age, what is most important to us can actually hurt us. One very effective way to raise the air quality in your home is by using an air purifier. Also called air cleaners or air scrubbers, air purifiers come in many shapes, sizes, and types. But with many varieties, what are the features you should look for?

Better quality air purifiers use HEPA filters. HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air and means that the air purifier has been rated by the US Department of Energy. Originally designed in the 1940s to prevent the spread of airborne radioactive contaminants during the Manhattan Project, HEPA filters are used today in hospitals, nuclear facilities, clean rooms, and anywhere that air quality is truly vital.

HEPA filers trap 99.97% of particles as small as .3 microns. This means that for every 10,000 particles that enter the filter only 3 particles will get through. The efficiency of HEPA filters is measured in particles of .3 microns, because this is the most difficult size to capture, and the size that passes most easily into the human respiratory system. To give you some idea of how small a micron is, one micron is equal to 1 millionth of a meter. It takes 25,400 microns to equal 1 inch. Pollen is between 5 and 100 microns, and a human hair is between 70 and 100 microns.

HEPA filters can protect you from almost all airborne particles, including pollen, mold spores, pet dander, and dust. But a HEPA filter, no matter how efficient, won't capture airborne chemicals and toxins. We don't realize what a toxic world we live in. Everything in our homes, including our carpets, wood furniture, upholstery, and cosmetics, lets off some toxic chemicals that make their way into our lungs. Some common toxins that are probably in our homes right now are benzene, formaldehyde, toluene, methanol, and ozone. These can cause cancer, blindness, and damage to the central nervous system. Our bodies have no defense from these chemicals, so we have to stop them before they get into our bodies.

To trap toxic chemicals, some air purifiers use activated carbon. Activated carbon is carbon that has been processed so that it has tiny fissures. These pores trap toxic chemicals as they enter the purifier. One pound of activated carbon has 200 miles of pores. Low quality air cleaners usually only have pre-filters that consist of a sponge material sprayed with carbon dust. These last a very short time (a few days), and don't trap a lot of toxins. The best air purifiers have carbon filters with several pounds of carbon, enough to last for years of continuous use.

Another air quality concern is viruses and germs. This is especially true in homes with young children, who can pick up all sorts of germs from their friends at school and bring them home. To help solve this problem, many air purifiers come with UV lamps to kill germs before they can make you and your family sick. Used in both water and air purification, UV-C (also called "short wave" or "germicidal" UV waves) break down matter and destroy the DNA of biological contaminants. Having a UV bulb in your air purifier will kill viruses, germs, dust mites, and mold - anything with DNA. The UV light is contained within the air purifier, so you don't have to worry about exposure to it. Most UV bulbs last a long time - at least 10,000 hours of continuous use.

Air purifiers range in price from tens of dollars to several hundred dollars. Getting a really good quality air purifier (one with all of the elements listed above) is an investment, but it's an investment that pays off in your family's health.

8 Simple Things You can Do to Decrease Your Pollen Exposure

It would be a massive understatement to say that seasonal allergies are no fun. Across the United States each spring, tens of millions of allergy sufferers begin sneezing. The most common cause? Pollen.

Pollens are the tiny male cells that grasses, weeds, and trees release each spring to continue the life cycle. Because they're spread mostly by the wind, they're carried far and wide, easily infiltrating our homes.

Now, short of locking yourself in a pollen-proof box for most of the year, there's no way to completely avoid pollen, but there are some simple ways to decrease your exposure and alleviate some of your symptoms.

1. Knowing is half the battle: First, you should see an allergist or immunologist for an allergy test. This will tell you what type of pollens and molds you're allergic to (it will also tell you what other allergies you might have, such as dust mites or pet dander). Once you know what you're allergic to, you can try to avoid exposure to it.
   
   
2. Track the source of your problem: It's possible to track pollen counts online. The National Allergy Bureau tracks different types of pollen in the air all across the country. Some newspapers and TV weather reports also give pollen counts. Avoid spending too much time outside on days when the pollen count is too high.
   
   
3. Sometimes it's best to stay home: After months of cold weather, it can be nice to get outside for a change. However, it's best to stay indoors when the pollen count is high, usually between 5 and 10 am. If you are outside during those hours, avoid intense outdoor activities, such as exercise or strenuous work. You can also minimize pollen exposure by wearing a pollen and dust mask while outdoors.
   
   Weather also affects the amount of pollen in the air. Pollen is usually highest on hot, breezy days. Gentle, sustained rain washes most of the pollen out of the rain, but thunderstorms can stir it up.


4. Wash the problem out of your hair: Since pollen sticks to clothing, skin, and hair, take a shower and wash your hair before going to bed so that pollen from your hair can't be transferred to your pillow. Also, washing your hands after being outside can keep pollen from being transferred from hands to eyes, where they can cause irritation. It's a good idea to use a special anti-allergen laundry detergent, which will remove not only pollen, but pet dander and other allergens as well.
   


5. Spring freshness isn't the only thing getting into those sheets: Even though you might want to take advantage of that fresh spring breeze to hang your laundry up outside, hanging clothes are like a filter trap for pollen. Using a clothes dryer instead minimizes the amount of pollen that can get on clothes and sheets. The heat of the dryer also neutralizes the pollen.
   


6. Do some spring cleaning: Pollen and other allergy-causing agents can be reduced, although not eliminated, through regular cleaning. Using a HEPA vacuum cleaner is best, but if that's not an option you can upgrade the air filtration in your current vacuum to include exhaust filters and multi-layer bags for high allergen containment. Be careful, however, as cleaning without a HEPA vacuum or HEPA air cleaner can stir up more dust and pollen, sometimes making your symptoms worse.
   


7. No pollen allowed: If you have pets that spend time outside, keep them out of the bedroom. If that's not feasible, at least keep them off your bed. Pets not only carry (and deposit) pet dander, but can also have pollen stuck to their fur.
   
   If your pets spend a lot of time outside, you should bathe them frequently. Using a pet shampoo that minimizes allergens will help reduce both pollen and pet dander


8. Lock out pollen: Keep your windows and outside doors closed as much as possible during the pollen season. Using central air conditioning as much as possible (if you have it) will keep keep pollen outside. If it's not possible to air condition the entire house, use a room air conditioner in the bedroom of the person with allergies and keep the windows and doors to that room closed. Check A/C filters often to make sure they're clean. This not only increases their efficiency, but saves energy and money.
   
   If you don't want to give up that fresh outdoor breeze, you can get a window screen that will lock out pollen and other allergens.

For more information:
National Allergy Bureau Pollen Count by Region (courtesy of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology)
Allergy Be Gone Allergists Directory by state

Welcome to Allergy Be Gone

Hello, and welcome to the Allergy Be Gone blog. We decided to start this blog in order to educate more people about the things that are important to us. Allergy Be Gone was started in order to help allergy sufferers by providing them information and products to alleviate their symptoms.

Here are some of the things we plan to do in this blog:

• Provide allergy avoidance information: Helping allergy and asthma sufferers was one of the founding principles of Allergy Be Gone. Asthma and allergies strike 1 out of every 4 Americans, and approximately 20 million Americans have asthma (according to the American Academy of Asthma & Immunology). With many types of allergies and many ways to reduce symptoms, we want to do as much as we can to help.
  
• Help those suffering from other diseases: I recently wrote a section of our website about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a serious, though not untreatable, disorder that effects up to 10% of the population. We hope to help more people by talking about disorders like SAD, and many others.
  
• Highlight and review products: Even if you don't suffer from allergies, there are still new and better products coming out all the time, which will get your house cleaner or keep you safer from germs. We plan to showcase these products when we come across them.
  
• Address commonly asked questions: Is a canister or upright vacuum right for you? Should you choose a warm mist or cool mist humidifier? What does HEPA really mean?
  

We also want to hear from our readers. If you have any questions (or answers) please post them in the comments.