My “day job” requires that I do a lot of researching and writing for our clients. I recently had the opportunity to share my experience with asthma and ways we have helped our daughter breath a little easier. I know many people in our food allergy community also deal with asthma and may find some of this information useful.
Air Filtration
We have gone through many air filtration products. We would love to install a whole house air purifier and humidifier but, have not been able to do that just yet. Our allergist advised us not to use portable humidifiers in the winter because of the bacteria that can grow in the units. He recommended a whole house humidifier since it uses fresh water. During the winter months, we have been boiling water in an open pot on the stove and running the shower in the evenings on the hottest setting for 20 – 30 minutes. Currently we are using Fresh Air by Eco Quest. It is a very compact, yet a powerful air purifier that uses an electrostatic precipitator to purify the air. This unit was actually given to us, however, I believe they cost between $700 – $800. Be aware that some of these types of units can actually create an ozone layer in your home. Ozone gasses in your home can actually be irritating to the lungs and hinder the body from healing from respiratory infections.
According to Consumer Reports, the best models for room air purifiers are the Whirlpool AP51030K (costs about $300) and Hunter 30547 (costs about $260). Things to look for with room purifiers are noise levels, HEPA filters, filter replacement indicators and and obviously performance. For whole house air purification, Consumer Reports recommended the Lennox Healthy climate HC16 which must be professionally installed. It costs about $350 plus the cost of installation. They also recommend the
3M Filtrete Elite Allergen 2200 MPR filter which costs about $25 and does not require professional installation. I believe this is the filter that we use as well.
Indoor Air Quality
We have banned cigarette smoking, candles, chemical cleaners, most paints and solvents, pesticides, air fresheners and for our little canary, many foods from our home. You might consider testing your home for radon (a cancer causing natural gas), mold and carbon monoxide. To prevent the growth of mold, we use fans and dehumidifiers year round in the basement and bathrooms. It would definitely be a good idea to have the air ducts cleaned as well.
Vacuum Cleaners
We use a bag-less vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter. My husband actually dislikes the bag-less part of the vacuum because he has difficulty with emptying the container of dust. He wears a filtered mask when he does clean it out. When I clean it out, I use a plastic grocery bag and hold it tight around the top of the container and flip it over then tie it off quickly to minimize the amount of airborne dust.
Consumer Reports recommend the Kenmore Intuition 28014 canister, HEPA filtered bagged vacuum (approximate retail $569) and the Kenmore Intuition 31100 upright, HEPA filtered bag vacuum (approximate retail $249). If you would prefer a bag-less vacuum cleaner, Consumer Reports recommends Eureka AirSpeed AS1000A upright vacuum (approximate retail $100) which has HEPA filtration as well.
Cleaning Products
For the most part, we only use a mix of 50/50 vinegar and water or Shaklee Get Clean products. For the toilet bowl, we use Stanley Home Products Silent Maid dispenser (http://www.stanley-home-products.com/item/Bowl-Refresher-Dispenser-8) filled with straight white vinegar. It drips a small amount of vinegar in the water with each flush and in our home needs to be refilled every three months or so. No bowl scrubbing is required! For grime around the sink faucets, white vinegar left to sit for an hour or so will loosen the grime so that it can be wiped away easily. Shaklee’s Heavy Duty Scour Off (http://www.shaklee.com/products.php?sku=00430) is a great product for tough clean ups with not only pots and pans but, even crayon on a wall. Basic H cleaner is super all purpose cleaner (http://www.shaklee.com/products.php?sku=00015) that lasts a long time! We are still using our original bottle from November 2008 because it only requires 2 drops to make a 16 oz bottle of window cleaner and a 1/4th teaspoon for an all purpose cleaner!
Pets
Ideally, we try to bath our dog once a week and brush him down before coming back in from outside during peak pollen months. Sometimes, I also use unscented, natural baby wet wipes to remove pollen and dust from outside. We have found that the Wal-Mart generic unscented wipes to be the least irritating and the strongest material.
Clothing
We use “free and clear” detergents, avoid perfumes and scented body products. You can add vinegar to the rinse water for softness and to remove excess soap. It is a natural fabric softner and helps to prevent static. We also buy gently used clothing to avoid off gassing from new clothing or we wash new clothing several times through before using. We also air dry clothes that we can’t dry in the dryer inside instead of outside to prevent pollen from collecting in our clothing.
Furniture
Our allergist recommends using as few cloth products in the home as possible (curtains, fabric furniture, throw pillows, throw rugs, carpeting, etc…). Leather and solid wood (not pressed wood) furniture is ideal. Blinds are better than curtains to help contain dust. Before bringing new furniture in your home, let it air out in the garage for a few days.
Paint
When possible, paint or refinish items outside with low-VOC or no-VOC products. A baby’s room tends to be the most toxic room in the house because new parents fill the room with new furnishings, paint, carpet and toys that are all off-gassing. This article gives some great suggestions for paints to use: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/green-your-nursery-paint.html Here is another article: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1594/is_n6_v8/ai_20099787/
Flooring
Hard wood or tile floors are much better than carpeting and vinyl flooring due to off-gassing, dust collecting and toxic sealants. I love my Shark Steam mop for cleaning our floors. I only use water, no cleaners are needed! http://www.sharkclean.com/Shark-Steam-Products/
Yard Work
We avoid pesticides and herbicides as much as possible. I have found there are many natural, non-toxic home-made remedies that are just as effective as toxic chemicals. Visit http://www.allpestco.com/ to get some ideas of how to use Borax, baking soda, white vinegar, baby powder and more to take care of many of those needs.
To minimize pollen irritation from cutting grass, where a face mask while mowing, leave your mowing shoes outside, wash clothes and shower as soon as possible after mowing as well.
Travel
For us to travel, I literally have to use spreadsheets to plan ahead. I typically chose a hotel with a kitchenette so that we can prepare our own foods and pet-free, smoke-free hotels. I also call ahead and request that sheets are rinsed twice and that the room is cleaned with vinegar before we arrive. We bring our own hand soap and bath products as well. For rental cars, I request cars with low mileage and smoke-free. I also request that they clean the car with vinegar or baby wipes if possible.
Bath and Body Products
We try to chose products with ingredients that we can read and that are unscented. We use unscented Seventh Generation hand wash and several of Shaklee’s products. At one point, I used a deodorant crystal (http://www.naturallyfreshdeodorantcrystal.com/) but, I did not personally care for it since it does not act as an antiperspirant. I have found the Environmental Working Group a great resource for finding quality, non-toxic products. The Skin-Deep database that they have created has made shopping for bath and body products much easier: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/.
If you have tips to add to this, please post a comment!
