On Sunday, I was watching football on television and checking out the Ryder Cup during the commercials. The golf was incredible, and I sent a text message to a friend to see if he was watching the US beat the Europeans. He texted me back saying that he could not watch golf because he was cleaning up mold in his house. They exact text message read: “No golf. Mold!” He moved into his house less than a year ago. The mold problem reared its ugly head sometime this summer. Mold is a powerful and pervasive allergen that can be inhaled in the form of airborne spores. Ironically, removing mold and mildew involves harsh chemicals that cause allergic reactions or trigger asthma attacks. Because our company carries mold cleaners, I called him later that day and asked him some questions about what he was using to clean up the mold and mold stains. My friend said that he was using bleach. To our staff, using bleach is a poor (and somewhat dangerous) choice to fight mold and to control mold’s affects in the home.

The war against mold involves two fronts. Initially, you must determine your moisture problem. Mold can ONLY flourish in damp areas. You need to dry out the area or room where the mold is present. For this job, a dehumidifier works very well. Plus, it works to ensure that the damp area stays dry. Secondly, the mold has to be removed with a cleaner. The mold may leave stains, but more importantly, you must remove the spores. On drywall, you can replace the damaged piece or you can clean the mold and apply paint. If you take care of your water problem and clean the area thoroughly, you should not have a reoccurrence of mold.

More than 80% of allergy sufferers are sensitive to mold spores. Because mold causes sneezing, chronic cough, runny nose, congestion, itchy and watery eyes, rashes, sinus headaches, and respiratory problems, cleaning up the mold in your home is a health and safety issue. Most household cleaning products are composed of chlorine bleach; yet bleach is one of the most dangerous substances to use when cleaning your home. You must be careful not to mix the bleach with anything other than water. The wrong mixture of bleach with an acid causes chlorine gas to be produced which is very dangerous. Also, any combination of chlorine bleach and ammonia can be explosive, if not fatal.

Often, bleach cleaners fail to remove the mold spores. Because bleach whitens, you could be fooled into thinking you have removed the mold when in reality you have simply whitened it. To clean the area, remove the mold, and protect the surface is a two step process. Clean the area and remove the mold with Vital Oxide. Vital Oxide is a safe and effective solution for mold removal, odor control, green cleaning, and broad spectrum disinfection. To seal and protect the area after cleaning, we recommend M-1 Sure Cote Mold and Mildew Resistant Sealant or AllerMold. M-1 Sure Cote is a clear, non-yellowing, non-toxic, and odorless mildew resistant coating. The compound protects any surface exposed to moisture, high humidity, and weather. It instantly eliminates musty odors. AllerMold is a safe non-toxic agent which inhibits the growth of mold. If applied every two months, AllerMold can help prevent the recurrence of mold in your home. So, the next time you need to remove mold in your house, please think twice before quickly reaching for the bleach. There are more effective and safer alternatives available.

For as long as I can remember there were plants all throughout our household. Some, like the Aloe Vera, I understood. More than once during my childhood I had the gel from this plant applied to burns. What can I say? It took me a while to catch on to cooking. Other plants, like the spider plant, cactus, and a variety of ferns, seemed to have little value to me aside from giving me a new source of dirt in which to play. After high school, I picked up the habit of keeping at least a couple spider plants in the apartments or houses where I have lived, and aside from their aesthetic appeal, plants have a practical purpose in the home.

As technology and advances in home building has grown, houses have become more tightly sealed. More tightly sealed homes help reduce your heating and cooling costs but unlike the drafty house I grew up in, the air inside newer houses is not often exchanged with outside air. Harsh chemicals used in the production and treatment of wood, carpet, furniture and paint remained trapped. Add to this a few burnt dinners, a pet and a smoker and you can see how the air inside your home can be just as, if not more, polluted than outside air. This is partly why we stress the use of an air purifier so much.

Air purifiers will filter and trap dust, pollen, odors, VOC’s, chemicals and other pollutants found more commonly in modern homes. In addition to these, keeping a few plants around the house is a good idea. Certain plants have the innate ability to filter chemicals, like benzene or formaldehyde, very efficiently. A Peace Lily, like the one in our office, effectively removes benzene, xylene and toluene, while a spider plant will absorb formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is commonly found in glues and resins used in flooring, furniture, cabinets, and countertops, among other things. This increasingly important chemical can be found in nearly all aspects of our lives, yet simply because it is present does not make it safe.

Short and long term exposure to formaldehyde can have serious consequences to your health, particularly your respiratory system. However, plants like the spider plant will absorb significant amounts of these chemicals. Different varieties of Dracaenas, Philodendrons, palms and ferns all have been shown to absorb chemicals commonly off-gassed by flooring, paint, carpet, etc.

Some people have concerns about plants inside the home and not without reason. Plants do often accumulate dust. One way I get around this is periodically setting my houseplants outside when it is about to rain. If I don’t feel like packing them outside, I place them in the kitchen sink and rinse them with the kitchen sprayer. Both ways work well to eliminate dust. Mold is another concern some people have with keeping plants. As a general rule, if plants are growing in ideal conditions, mold will not be an issue. Often overwatering is the culprit in mold formation. Mold needs moisture, and overwatering your plants can create an environment where mold can flourish.

Regardless of your situation, a few plants around the house can be very beneficial. When used with other allergy control measures they can be add a little color and life to your home as well as do their part to keep the air you breathe clean.

As fall begins and the new school year starts, many children may complain that they are allergic to school. While I certainly had my share of allergic attacks because of homework, there is a chance that your child is not far off the mark. If going to school makes your child feel ill, do not simply discount the symptoms as the back-to-school blues. Each new classroom (or new school if you moved over the summer) is a new environment with distinct allergens and irritants. These unfamiliar allergens can cause new symptoms – or familiar ones – such as sneezing, runny nose, nasal congestion, eye irritation, and headaches. These symptoms lead to irritability and exhaustion. Your child will not be able to concentrate because of their allergy symptoms.

A newly constructed school is a point of pride in any community, but new construction is a source for multiple allergy triggers. These irritants include dirt, dust, and chemicals. Chemicals and odors from the installation of new carpeting and flooring are harmful. Other seemingly innocuous odors from air fresheners, colognes, perfumes, and other artificial scents can also cause allergy symptoms. Other allergens commonly found at schools include: chalk powder, dust mites, and animal dander from classroom pets.

You do your best to make your home clean and allergen-free, but you have very little control over the school environment. What can you do? First, you have to think and act like a detective. Ask your child questions and pay attention to the details of the answers. Ask your child about classroom pets. Even cute hamsters and gerbils can cause allergy symptoms. Carefully, evaluate what is causing your child's symptoms. Secondly, make a plan. You must anticipate the presence of new allergens, and you have to talk with your child about ways to avoid those allergens.

What steps can parents and children take to avoid school allergy symptoms? If you suspect your child is allergic to something at school, take a tour of the school and class room. The offending allergen might be easier to spot in person. If you have not done so already, schedule a visit with an allergist or immunologist. These doctors will advise you on appropriate medications, immunotherapy, and prevention techniques. If your child comes home from school with nasal congestion, make sure their symptoms are alleviated before bedtime. A stuffy nose keeps your child from sleeping properly. Lack of sleep can severely hinder their performance in school. When playing outside at school, children must avoid fields which can harbor large amounts of weeds and pollen. During the fall ragweed season, this is critical. Talk to teachers about what the teachers can do to help. Communicating your concerns and ideas while being supportive of a more allergy-free classroom will help your child and their classmates.

To avoid school allergens, teachers can do a variety of things. Make sure that dust does not accumulate in the classroom. Keep classroom windows closed to keep pollen from coming inside. If you use a chalkboard, allergic children should not sit in the front row, because chalk dust may trigger allergies. If you have a chemically sensitive child in the class, choose craft projects that do not use known irritants. If your class has a nap time, any pillows provided should have allergy-proof dust mite encasings. Cleaning with harsh chemical solutions should be done after hours or at night when no children are present. Depending on your school’s financial situation, speak to your school administrator about purchasing a classroom air purifier. Air purifiers clean the air and help everyone breathe better.

Together, school administrators and parents can do a great deal to reduce the effect of allergens at school. Hopefully, the only thing that will cause an allergic reaction is that backpack full of homework.

Ancestors of Allergy is an abbreviated history of the origins and pioneers in the broader field of immunology. Beginning with accounts that stretch back thousands of years, Ancestors walks us through the rudimentary descriptions and treatments of allergies and asthma up through current times. For those interested in a brief but interesting history of those who discovered and shaped the study and treatment of these respiratory ailments, Ancestors is a quick, but excellent read.

Culture by culture, allergies and asthma have been described and treated. Over two thousand years ago the Chinese had identified asthma-like symptoms, such as wheezing, and were treating it with the ephedra plant. In ancient Greece, Hippocrates first coined the terms "asthma,” and the Greeks were the first to recognize pollen as a source of asthmatic symptoms. From the Egypt to China, India to the Americas, ancient civilizations often used a mix of religion and medicine to recognize and develop treatments for medical symptoms similar to what we more modernly describe as allergies and asthma.

In the 1600's with the advent of the microscope, researchers were able to begin studying microscopic particles that caused many of these ailments. With the invention of the stethoscope in 1816, discoveries and advances began to occur at a rapid pace. The practice of vaccination, with one byproduct being hypersensitivity (later recognized as anaphylactic shock), was first introduced and observed during this period. Though often uneven and disjointed, by the late 1800's there were individuals across the globe studying allergies and asthma. Their work laid the foundation for advances that would come during the 20th century.

The 20th century was a time of great change in the field of immunology. As research grew, those involved began carving a legitimate space for immunology studies in the larger field of medicine. Early on epinephrine was starting to gain ground as a treatment while the Leopold brothers developed the first dust-free and temperature- and humidity-controlled room, complete with a rudimentary air cleaning system, used to study and treat asthma, allergies and other respiratory ailments. Factors such as heredity and seasonal changes were more concretely linked to respiratory problems, and the identification of causative agents grew. During the 1930’s antihistamines and the basis for the skin prick test were also discovered, and the actual physiological basis for allergic and asthmatic reactions was outlined. All of these discoveries, some actively sought and some found by accident, sent the field speeding along while advances in pharmacology have brought us to where we are today.

Filled with excerpts from historical texts and pictures of the pioneers of the day, Ancestors gives us a general outline of how allergies and asthma have grown from a condition attributed to displeasing a deity to a branch of medicine studied on the molecular level. While it may seem a bit disjointed at times, it is good to remember that this is an abbreviated history that spans six continents and thousands of years. Ancestors reminds us that in spite of all the advances we have made, there is still much that is unknown, and as pharmacology continues to evolve so advances the understanding and treatment of allergies and asthma.

...ok, maybe just safer.

In a continuing effort to provide the best products for our customers, we at achoo! Allergy are always looking for new products and technologies in the air purifier/air cleaner field. Recently we discovered a relatively new Swedish company that offers a very modern and sleek air cleaner. Sold primarily in Europe this unit is being launched into the North American market this fall.

This new product purports to offer a better take on a not-so-new technology, ionization. With the collapse of the Sharper Image and its popular Ionic Breeze, there have been few positives emerging when it comes to ionizing air purifiers. The production of ozone, a harmful lung irritant, and low efficiency have been two serious problems plaguing this technology. LightAir believes it has solved these problems with the LightAir IonFlow 50.

The IonFlow 50 comes in three styles, two of which are free standing and a third that can be suspended from overhead. All three are extremely light, quiet and compact. Their stylish appearance helps them blend into the décor of most rooms. Each unit, which consumes a fraction of the energy used to power a standard light bulb, is very energy efficient. As with all filter plate air purifiers, the LightAir does not contain filters, and maintaining them consists of regularly washing the collector plates.

What is most important is the production of ozone and how efficient the unit is. Tests performed in Sweden show that in an enclosed room, steady-state ozone concentration was below the detectable limit of the measuring instruments used (0.002 ppm). The test ran for several hours, and the absence of ozone remained constant. Initial particle reduction tests have also yielded good results. While this is certainly promising, the results of a comparative particle reduction test have yet to be released.


The LightAir IonFlow is a very sleek and modern looking air cleaner. While testing has shown it produces no ozone, the actual efficiency of the product compared to more traditional air purifiers has yet to be shown, and the fact remains, there are some particles, specifically some types of bacteria, which cannot be charged. Additionally, we have questions concerning the LightAir’s odor removing ability. The LightAir seems like a marked improvement over its predecessors, and initial results look good. The design makes this a new attractive product, but until we can compare its efficiency to industry leaders it is difficult to say whether this would be a fitting product for our customers.