Ever wondered why you start sneezing as soon as you start your vacuuming in your home or business? You may not only be allergic to cleanliness as your mother once told you. You may also be reacting to the particles of dust that does not get trapped by your vacuum cleaner’s filter bags and subsequently, gets exhausted into the air.
Dust particles are usually large and heavy and just lay around. That is why you don’t sneeze until you start vacuuming. By vacuuming, you are disturbing the resting dust particles and activating them; tossing them about in the air.
Often, vacuum cleaners do not provide you with the adequate dust filtration that you need. This can happen due to a number of reasons, For example:
- Your filter bags may be impacted with so much dust that no more dust can be contained within the bag. Some or most of the dust you suck up with your vacuum, gets thrown back out into the air.
- Your vacuum’s hose may be damaged or misaligned.
If any one of this is true, then your vacuuming is really fruitless. All you are doing is displacing the dust back into the air.
Use a Dust Mask
Once you have corrected any such issues by changing your vacuum bags or by fixing damaged or broken connections, try again. You may not need to purchase a new vacuum cleaner after all.
I also recommend wearing a dust mask for these vacuum cleaners. Very inexpensive masks can be purchased at your nearby drugstore. As strange as you may think you may look, vacuuming with a dust mask, it will help in forming a second barrier, or safety, against airborne dust.
Upgrade Your Vacuum Cleaner
There are many types of vacuums on the market that can adequately minimize the dust particles from becoming airborne while you vacuum.
Here are a few things to keep in mind, if you are looking to purchase a new vacuum cleaner.
If you are concerned with the dust issues while vacuuming, I recommend one of two types of vacuum cleaners; filter bag vacuums (often called “HEPA vacuums”) or bag-less vacuums such as the cyclonic type.
Before I go on, there is a point I need to make here. The term “HEPA” vacuum cleaner is often used loosely and sometimes called “High Efficiency Particulate Air vacuums.” Most HEPA vacuums are not true High Efficiency Particulate Arrestors (HEPA) and the term “HEPA” as used for most vacuums, may be slightly misleading.
But for general house cleaning, the difference is insignificant.
However, if you feel that you need a true HEPA filtered vacuum cleaner to protect you against the dust in your home-office, you seriously need to have a professional take a look at your situation as this may be an indicator of more serious issues than cannot be corrected by normal vacuuming alone.
A true HEPA vacuum uses an air filter that operates at 99.97% efficiency and removes particles up to 0.3 microns from the exhaust air. This type of filter is normally used in high sensitivity areas where there are immuno-compromised individuals that need that extra level of protection; such as hospitals.
True HEPA filters can become costly to replace.
For the purposes of general vacuuming, you do not need to be concerned with the difference in terminology. If it says “HEPA filtered” or “high efficiency particulate air,” it should be good enough for general household vacuuming and it will be better on your budget.
HEPA Masks
Some people feel that they need to wear a HEPA filtered dust mask. This is the least practical solution of all, for a number of reasons:
-
To efficiently wear a HEPA filtered mask, you must be fitted for it and you need to have it re-fitted regularly by someone certified to perform the fit test.
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Buying the mask and filters and maintenance can become expensive; especially if you vacuum often.
Most dust particles can be effectively controlled by way of the other methods that I have mentioned above.
If you need more protection when vacuuming, there may be other issues, beyond general dust contaminants such as moisture intrusion, construction, etc. that need to be addressed first.
If you are allergic to the act of cleaning itself, then leave the dust alone.
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Posted under Health and Safety, Posts
This post was written by admin on September 4, 2008
