Health Benefits

If you are presently using a portable vacuum to "clean" your home, you may be doing more harm that good. A study by Dr. Alfred V. Zamm finds that a portable vacuum might actually pollute more than it cleans. In his book, "Why Your House May Endanger Your Health",
he reports:

• The average six-room house accumulates 40 pounds of dust a year.
• A Yale University study found the air in 19 of 20 homes with children to be considerably more polluted than outside air.
• Portable vacuum cleaners or vacuums using paper bags suck dust from surfaces only to blow the smaller particles throughout the bag and right back in the home's air. Because of their small size these particles may slide through the system and become lodged deep in the lungs.

Central vacuum systems help remove more dirt and all particles are vented directly outside to the power unit. By venting fine dust outside the home, you remove airborne particles that contribute to asthma and can lead to colds, flu and possibly even cancer. Dust mites live in common households dust. Dust mites contribute to asthma particularly in children. Dust also serves as a collector for radon gas. What can you do to make your home a healthier place to live? Dr. Zamm offers these suggestions:

• Don't use dusters, mops, or brooms.
• Use portable vacuums as little as possible
• The main way to maintain a low house-dust condition, is of course, by frequent cleaning.
• The best vacuum system is a central vacuum system, one that pulls dust into a container outside the house.

Alarmed by the high cost of their national health care program, Swedish health authorities are considering central vacuum systems as a way to cut costs. No, you didn't misread the sentence. According to studies conducted in Sweden and other countries, high concentrations of dust mites are a leading cause of allergies in children. As you might imagine, dust mites live in the house dust that gets into carpets, furniture, upholstery, and other household materials.

Studies show how central vacuum systems are proven to remove more dirt, dust and grit than portable models. And, because central vacuum systems vent dirt and fine dust directly outside the home to the power unit, no fine particles are returned to the air in the house.

Dust mites thrive by living on the scales that we shed thousands of times each day. The role of dust mites Acarida and house dust in asthma is well documented throughout the world.

Swedish researchers found the least expensive and most cost effective way of reducing the concentration of dust in the home is a central vacuum system. They found it would be less expensive to install and maintain a central vacuum in each home in Sweden than it is to treat the medical problems of children and adults who suffer from house dust related illnesses.