Dyson Cleaners - Relief For Chronic Allergies?

I'm Allergic to Vacuuming
Can you be allergic to vacuuming? This might appear to be a funny question, but were you aware that vacuuming with the conventional vacuum cleaner will aggravate many allergy sufferers? It becomes clear when you look carefully at how a conventional vacuum cleaner works.

A traditional vacuum cleaner works in this way: 1) an electric motor gets air inside the vacuum 2) this air is forced through a bag with very tiny holes so that debris and dust are trapped into the bag, but air is forced out. One of the specific fundamental failures of the typical vacuum cleaner is that as you use the vacuum cleaner it fills up with dirt; and as it fills up with dirt, the dirt clogs up all the pores of the vacuum bag and restricts air flow. The result is a dramatic decrease in the vacuum's "suction" as you use it.

The problem with many allergens is that the contaminants are small (often between 0-40 microns). So if you want to capture the allergens in your vacuum cleaner, you need a vacuum bag or filter that has holes smaller than the size of the allergens. But small holes quickly get clogged and also make it harder for air to be forced through the bag. As a result intense allergy victims will purchase these fine pore vacuum bags (to trap the majority of allergens) and switch them between 5-10 times per month (to keep high suction). They will also buy special HEPA filters and have a someone else clean out the vacuum. But even using the right bag and following careful precautions may not be enough.

Pumping Allergens into the Air
Looking mainly at the physical systems, you can view a vacuum cleaner like a machine that actually sends allergens into the surrounding and further aggravating allergies. Different particles are drawn into the vacuum bag because of the motor and slowly "clog up" the bag and reduces its ability to create a vacuum. Sadly, it's the smallest contaminants (the ones which also result in the biggest problems) that escape the majority of vacuum bags. The scale for some typical household allergens vary from 0-40 microns

• Plant pollen: 10 - 24 microns
• Dust Mite: 10 - 40 microns
• Mold spore: 4 - 5 microns
• feline allergen: 0 - 2.5 microns

The Dyson, however, uses a entirely different system for separating dirt.The air is sent spinning in a primary "cyclone" where centrifugal force causes the heavier dirt particles to spin to the outside, and drop to the bottom. Some conventional bagless systems use a similar design to remove the heavier dirt particles, but a pleated filter is then used when it time to filter out the fine particles. The Dyson is totally different because the second stage is a set of 7 parallel tiny cyclones, each spinning at very high speeds. These 7 tiny cyclones force the tiny dust particles to drop out. After the cyclones, the air does go into a washable mechanical pre-motor filter made of foam and electrostatic filter paper, and then into a post-motor HEPA filter that never needs to be changed under normal usage. The result is great suction over the life of the vacuum and containment of particles within the vacuum.

Cleaning out the dirt and dust
There isn't any easy way to handle a vacuum bag or a filter without getting dirt, dust and allergens all over you with a traditional vacuum. The Dyson does just a little better in this area by having a trap door that frees when you pull a lever, but it is tough to avoid some exposure. When cleaning the Dyson, my best advice is to:

Empty dirt when the allergy sufferer is not home, or empty the vacuum cleaner outside . If you must empty the vacuum cleaner within the home, empty it within the garbage can directly, or have your family and friends help empty the vacuum cleaner. You should also wash your HEPA filter routinely (for the Dyson only).

A Final Note to Allergy Sufferers
No product is ever perfect, but the Dyson is about as close as it gets. The Dyson has been thoroughly tested out over many years and many different prototypes, and the result is simply an excellent product. How many of your household appliances are capable of really doing what they're supposed to do and generate that much excitement in the family?

If you suffer from serious allergies, I can guarantee you that you'll enjoy the Dyson.

Resources:
Finally, you can read here if you want to learn more about Dyson Cleaners and how they can help with allergies.