Indoor Air Quality Compromised By Cheap, Old Vacuums

If you've ever felt as though you need to clean your house after vacuuming

, you could be suffering from poor indoor air quality as a result of a faulty or out-dated vacuum cleaner. As it turns out, our vacuum cleaners those pieces of technology we trust to remove dust, dirt, and bacteria from flooring and upholstery to keep us health could actually be polluting our indoor air. Since humans spend 90% of their time indoors, this is a serious concern, especially for those suffering from respiratory allergies and asthma.

Study Confirms Vacuums are Polluting Indoor Air Quality with Tiny Dust Particles and Bacteria

A recent study based in Australia researched the extent of indoor exposure to biological and non-biological aerosols (airborne allergens and pollutants) depending on the vacuum cleaner technology being used. They tested 21 different vacuum cleaners for emissions of 62 different air pollutants, including bacteria and extremely small particulate matter (between 0.009 and 20 m). They screened for several factors, including indoor air temperature, exhaust filters in use, price of the vacuum cleaner (between $100 and $800), age of vacuum cleaner (six months to 22 years), and the type of dust bags used. The vacuum cleaners were made by 11 different manufacturers, including Dyson, Hoover, Sanyo, Electrolux, iRobot.

Their findings were troubling for those concerned about things like asthma and respiratory allergies. Both bacteria and very small dust particles were emitted to some extent from every one of the vacuum cleaners, with a large variability depending on the parameters tested. The results showed that the more expensive models generally performed much more effectively than cheaper models.

How to Protect Your Indoor Air Quality with a Safer Vacuum Cleaner

The cautionary tale for homeowners is to stay away from old vacuum cleaners that use conventional bag technology, especially if the system doesn't have a sufficient air filtration mechanism. Even the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cautions homeowners to be careful when vacuuming because of the potential for indoor air to be contaminated with mite airborne allergens and other biological pollutants.

In fact, their recommendation is that homeowners install and use a central vacuum system that is vented to the outdoors to avoid airborne allergens. If a central vacuum system is not practical, The Lung Association recommends that homeowners invest in a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter to keep indoor air quality healthy.

The greatest risk to those using a vacuum cleaner is from a really old model that has never been cleaned these old, dirty vacuums may release more pollutants than they collect. As a result, another important factor for protecting indoor air quality is regular cleaning of vacuum air filters, regardless of the type used. Like regular AC duct cleaning to remove airborne allergens, scheduled cleaning of a vacuum filter is necessary to prevent the excess release of bacteria and dust particles that would pollute indoor air quality.

Homeowners who fear they should abandon vacuuming altogether should take note that it is important to continue vacuuming, especially when family members are dealing with troublesome respiratory allergies and asthma. Not vacuuming will only contribute to an accumulation of airborne allergens so regular vacuuming should always be exercised to limit pollution of indoor air quality.

by: jbueno399

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