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How do water-based vacuums work and are they better than traditional vacuum cleaners?

Do you like how fresh the air seems after a rainstorm?  Well, that is the effect of the rain “washing” dust and microbes out of the air.  Sure, on a hot summer’s day it’s not long until these contaminants return, but it’s a welcome respite.  It’s nature’s air purifier!

This brings us to the topic of water-based vacuum cleaners.  Mechanically, the suction part of the vacuum (with or without a rotary brush to dislodge dirt) is the same as traditional vacuum cleaners.  However, using water to “filter” dust out of the air stream is the main difference. 

Let’s talk about how filtration using water as a filter is different from filtration using other mechanical means, such as a cyclonic separator or filter.  When a stream of dirty air is filtered by water, the dirt or dust in the air gets wet and heavy, and thus becomes entrained in the water, leaving the air “clean” on exit.  However, most water-based vacuums also use HEPA filters, in order to prevent any remaining dust or dust in water droplets from leaving the machine.   These HEPA filters are designed to get wet, whereas non-water-based vacuums do not have filters that can get wet.  

In traditional vacuums, the incoming dirty air stream usually first passes through a vacuum bag or cyclone, which filters out larger particles of dirt and hair.   In bagless systems, the cyclone uses centrifugal force to “spin” out these large particles so that the user only has to empty a cup of dirt, not replace the bag.  Single-stage or multi-stage cyclones can be employed, where a multi-stage cyclone allows the vacuum to operate longer without losing suction.  After the bag or cyclone, a final filter (this is where the HEPA filter is found if the vacuum has one) filters out any remaining dust in the air stream before exhaust.

The attraction and “wow” factor of water-based vacuums usually lies in the dirty water that you empty from the vacuum after cleaning.  If the floor is cleaned with a traditional vacuum and then with a water-based vacuum, being able to “see” the dirt that’s left behind drives enthusiasm for the water-based vacuum.  No one cuts open the bag from their traditional vacuum after cleaning, so the satisfaction of seeing that dirty water makes one think that water-based vacuums provide superior cleaning power. 

Although we haven’t tested them, we thought we’d share some insight on the most common water-based vacuum brands and what their customers like and dislike about them. 

Rainbow Vacuum Cleaners

You may have heard of or viewed a Rainbow Vacuum Cleaner, the first vacuum to remove dust from its vacuum stream using water.  The manufacturer, RexAir, was formed in the 1920’s and has been improving the Rainbow ever since it was introduced in the 1950’s. (The Original Water-Based Cleaning System)  It relies on a rotating brush to dislodge dirt, and the suction power of the vacuum motor to bring it into the machine, where the filters purify the air before exhaust.  According to product literature, its unique water filtration system captures typical household dirt, while remaining microscopic particles are caught by the HEPA Neutralizer Filtration System. This two-stage filtration combination removes nearly 100% of dirt and contaminants.  The company uses a network of Independent Authorized Rainbow Distributors which demonstrate the product in homes and businesses, so it’s not sold online.  Purchase prices for these units are not published either, however, customers seem to verify that these vacuums are the most expensive on the market.  Devoted Rainbow customers seem to keep their vacuums for 15-20 years, so the price per vacuum may be a very good value.  The units weigh in at about 20 pounds and rely on smooth casters to roll through your home.  Rainbow is “Certified Asthma & Allergy Friendly” and AHAM Certified: The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) certifies that the Rainbow is a proven air cleaner designed to reduce air pollutants that contribute to poor indoor air quality.  The weight of the E2 model is approximately 40 lbs and comes with an 8 year warranty.

Sirena vacuums ($600-990) are designed and made in Canada.  They can pick up wet or dry messes, and come with an assortment of tools to get into nearly every crevice.  The motor is quite powerful, providing ample suction, and the water reservoir hold 3.5 liters of water maximum, which is quite a lot of water in which to filter out dust and dirt.  It weighs 40 lbs and comes with a 10 year warranty.

Quantum X ($439) is an upright vacuum, meaning you don’t have to drag a canister around with you while you clean.  The power head can extend up to 18”, making it a good competitor to most canister vacuums, and it has a hose for smaller cleaning attachments.  The upright style affords less room for the water compartment, but this also allows it to be more portable.  It weighs 27.1 lbs. 

Kalorik Water Filtration Canister Vacuum Cleaner ($120) is a good budget cleaner made by a Belgian company that has been in business since 1930. Termed the “poor man’s Rainbow” by one reviewer, it’s a great option for those with pets and/or allergies, and it’s a lot lighter at 14.3 lbs.  The suction head does not have a rotating brush, but it has a high/low adjustment, very powerful suction, and picks up wet and dry messes. Without the rotating brush, it’s best suited for hard floors and not carpets.  It has a 1 year warranty.  

These four vacuums all use water as a filter, but are different from cleaners that vacuum and mop at the same time.  I use the CrossWave floor and area rug cleaner by Bissell ($257), which uses water to clean AND filter out dust.  For homes that have no wall-to-wall carpet or a lot of area rugs, these types of upright vacuums are convenient and ideal because they perform two functions at one time–vacuuming and mopping, with good efficiency (check out our article on using these types of vacuums to tackle dust in your home).

In all, many customers (including myself) prefer water-based vacuums over traditional ones because:

1. You can see the dirt they pull off your floors very readily when you empty the vacuum, which is both satisfying and disgusting.  Whether this is more than the dirt that is captured by traditional vacuums is not measured.

2. There’s no bag to retain smelly dirt (especially pet hair).  With traditional vacuums, this smelly dirt stays in your home until you replace the bag, and it also expels smelly air every time you vacuum until you replace the bag.  (As a pet owner, I appreciate this!)

3. There are no bags to purchase and replace! 

4. They are very good at retaining suction (most work until the suction compartment is completely clogged with debris or pet hair), and restoring suction is very easy to do–empty the compartment!

5. Many of these models remove wet or dry messes (traditional vacuums can only handle dry dirt). 

6. Many of these models allow addition of essential oils to the filter water or cleaning water for a fresh scent of your choice, and some, like the Rainbow and Sirena, double as air purifiers.

The “cons” of water-based vacuums are that: 

1. Of course, water is heavy and more quality construction can make the unit VERY heavy and bulky, to the point of not being mobile enough to clean separate floors in a home if you are physically challenged.  Most water-based models are “cannister” type instead of “upright” in order to more easily and stably move the water around.

2. Water-based vacuums can be more costly than traditional vacuums.

3. Some water-based vacuums (like the Bissell CrossWave) require a detergent to enhance cleaning of the floors.  This detergent is an added operating cost and can have toxic ingredients in it (unless you make your own, check out our recipe here). 

4. If your vacuum uses water to “scrub” and then suck up dirt and debris, water that stays on your floor can temporarily increase humidity in your home, albeit less than regular mopping.  If water is used to clean carpeting, you must be careful that it’s thoroughly dried, and quickly, so that mold doesn’t have a chance to take root.

Do you prefer another type of vacuum that we haven’t discussed?  Let us know!

How to safely remove old carpet

Upon testing my bedroom carpet as part of a series of mold tests in my home, I found this:

I scheduled time to remove the carpet the next week.  Now, how do I do this safely?

Research revealed two extremes:

1. removing the carpet with no breathing equipment and no dust abatement (although this guy has some great tips, I cringe at the way he’s throwing the carpet around with no dust mask)

2. removing the carpet with breathing equipment, a zillion garbage bags and gallons of mold eliminator (this method is costly and WET!) 

I had to find a solution in the median.  Here’s what I came up with for my situation (I am moderately sensitive to mold). 

Supply list:

• Respirator with extra set of filters

• Heavy gloves

• Old clothes

• Knee pads

• TotalClean concentrate (or several pre-mixed spray bottles)

• Clean garden sprayer

• Rags

• Plastic sheeting and painters tape for taping off vents and covering heavy furniture

• Old towels to block under door

• Heavy duty garbage bags (also known as contractor bags)

• Carpet knife with extra blades or utility knife with extra blades

• Duct tape

• Pliers for pulling carpet

• Nail puller to remove staples in padding

• Pry bar and hammer to remove tack strips

• HEPA vacuum with new bag for cleanup

• Air Angel and/or Germ Defender: helps with dust and mold mitigation

Prep, prep, prep…it’s tedious but so worth it.  

• Move whatever furniture, clothing and decor you can easily move, into another room. I took the long-overdue opportunity to get a new mattress, so I could escort my old one to the dump!

• Use dollies on furniture that is too heavy or large to move out of the room.

• Turn off the HVAC and cover any ceiling, floor or wall registers with plastic sheeting and painter’s tape

• Measure TotalClean concentrate and water into garden sprayer at 1:7 parts respectively or empty pre-mixed spray bottles into sprayer.

• Block under door(s) with old towels so that dust doesn’t migrate through the house.

• Open window and remove screen if you plan to toss the carpet out of the window (also block off the area below)

• Turn on the Air Angel and/or Germ Defender to help dust particles clump together and fall to the floor; the ions also destroy mold and bacteria on contact

• Suit up with all protective gear including your respirator!

My strategies for minimizing dust will be to dampen a section of the carpet with the sprayer; cut the carpet into a  manageable section, remove it, and do the same three steps for the carpet pad underneath.  You’ll want to make the least number of cuts, because cutting through the carpet releases a lot of dust and fibers into the air.  I realize that this method will only wet the top of the carpet and not the cut edge or bottom, but short of soaking the carpet and subfloor, I found this is the best solution.  I liked the idea of tossing the carpet out of the window on a good weather day and bagging or binning it outside so that I didn’t drag the bags through the house.  I removed the carpet, padding and staples as I went, because I had a heavy piece of furniture left in the room and did not want to move it around more than necessary.

1. Starting in one corner, use the sprayer to dampen the carpet in a 2’x8’ section.  Cut just inside that section with the carpet knife.  

2. Use pliers to grab the carpet in the corner and wrestle it from the tack strips. If you can’t get it out, try cutting the corner out with your knife and pulling out just the corner.

3. Roll it up gently and dispose of it in a contractor bag (or toss it out a window!)  If bagging it, then you can use the duct tape to keep it rolled tightly.

4. Spray the carpet pad underneath and cut it.

5. Dispose of it in the same way.

6. Remove staples holding the padding to the floor with the nail puller.

7. Remove tack strips using the pry bar and hammer.  They are super-sharp!  (If you plan on replacing with new carpet and the tack strips are not rusty or damaged, you can leave them in place).  

Repeat steps 1-5 until the whole room is devoid of carpet and padding!  If you can handle more than 2x8’ of damp carpet at a time, you can  Then, use a HEPA vacuum to thoroughly vacuum the floors to remove dust.  You will want to wipe down the walls, window(s) and ceiling fan with TotalClean because dust is now everywhere.  Finally, you can remove the sheeting from your register(s) and change clothes and shower–you earned it!  It’s best to add a bit of EC3 Laundry Additive to your clothing when washing it to avoid spreading mold to any of your clean clothing. 

If you have a new floor already scheduled for installation, good for you! Make sure that the subfloor dries out completely before 48 hours have passed, and definitely before installing new flooring (use of the sprayer makes it unlikely to soak the subfloor).   If you haven’t picked out new flooring yet, you can remove/replace any nails or screws that are sticking out, use a non-toxic floor paint, and/or use an area rug to cover over any rough areas until that day comes.  Try not to wait too long, however, so that excessive wear of the subfloor doesn’t occur.  

Mold is not just toxic to humans; your furry friends suffer from it too.

If you or anyone in your household is experiencing sensitivity to mold, it’s best to check in with your pets, too.  Since dogs, cats, rabbits and other pets spend a lot of time on the floor and the ground outside, they can be even more prone to inhalation and ingestion of mold than we are.  According to a registered vet technician on the natural pet website nhvpethealth.com, typically your dog or cat will show the following symptoms when experiencing mold:

• itching
• redness of the skin
• dry, scaly skin
• hair loss
• chronic ear infections
• head shaking
• chewing/licking skin, especially the paws

It doesn’t stop with their skin, though.  Because mold affects their respiratory and digestive systems in similar ways to ours, serious breathing and digestion issues can develop from mold.

Mold is everywhere.  Here are some common types of mold your pet may encounter, and where they are found (nhvpethealth.com):

• Aspergillus – found in plants and damp basements
• Spondylocladium – found in plants or in air ducts
• Hormodendrum – found on leaves
• Fusarium – found on plants, often crops
• Penicillium – found on plants or stored items
• Helminthosporium – found in soil, especially in summer

You can actually test your pet's fur to see the relative amount and variety of molds they may be carrying.  To do so, you can purchase mold test plates from Immunolytics and follow their advice for testing here. 

Since many pets eliminate waste in the backyard, it’s almost impossible to keep mold out of their paws and fur.  However, inside is where you can control their surroundings a bit better; the following are some tips from experts!

Try to keep them out of damp basements or garages where mold proliferates.  

If your pet’s bedding is made of old carpet or furniture that can’t be effectively washed, discard it and find a new alternative that can be laundered more frequently.  When washing, try one of these:

• CitriSafe Remedy Laundry Liquid Detergent can replace your regular detergent to reduce mold and dirt.
•  EC3 Laundry Additive is a non-toxic solution you can add to your wash to reduce mold in their bedding.

Try to use a brush on their fur before coming inside, and wipe him/her down with a damp cloth.  Weekly baths with a soothing shampoo containing essential oils will help eliminate mold in their fur.

• CitriSafe shampoo is non-toxic to pets and humans and safely eliminates mold in pet fur.  
• 4Legger has a variety of gentle shampoos that smell wonderful!  

Here are 2 sprays gentle enough to be misted directly on your pet’s fur and bedding between washings to keep mold under control:

• EC3 Mold Solution Spray is a botanical blend of citrus seed extracts, water, vegetable glycerin and surfactants.  
• Citrisafe Multipurpose Treatment Spray is also made from purified water, a botanical blend, and surfactant.  It deodorizes and controls mold.
• For even more convenience, keep CitriSafe's Remedy Multi-Purpose Mold Treatment Wipes near the door your pet uses, to quickly wipe them (and their paws!) down when coming in from outside.  

Adding an Omega3 supplement will help to strengthen the skin barrier, which helps to prevent secondary infections caused by allergies.  You can try breaking a fish oil capsule over their food, or checking with your vet for their preferred supplement.

K9 Mask is a new product that can protect dogs from breathing in mold and other allergens when it’s highest outside.  The masks can also be used in wildfire smoke and other air pollution environments.

Finally, for your own health as well as your pets’, clean for mold as much as possible using a HEPA vacuum and non-toxic cleaners like TotalClean on your surfaces, even on floors!  

What do our holiday traditions really cost?

Okay…we all know that visiting the Christmas Tree Lot the day after Thanksgiving can be really expensive, and prices get better the longer you can wait to get one.  That’s not what I’m talking about!   I wanted to know, are some of our traditions costing us in our health?  After my manager shared how his family “mysteriously” gets allergies every December after bringing home a live tree, I had to do some research!

As it turns out, Christmas tree allergies are real.  If you experience any of the following after bringing home a live tree or other live pine decorations, the pine may be an allergen, or it may be carrying allergens (advancedsinusandallergy.com).

• Runny nose
• Watery eyes
• Sneezing
• Coughing
• Wheezing
• Itchy eyes and nose
• Dark circles under your eyes
• Skin rash

Now that you may be making some mental connections, here is what scientists have found about homes with live trees:

• Mold: pine trees can carry 53 different types of mold!  (Researchers at SUNY Upstate Medical University).  Many of these are allergens and especially so for infants and children.  The mold, which is attached to leaves, branches and bark, multiplies in your warm home and spores are released during the agitation of bringing the tree in, setting it up, placing lights and decorations on it and watering it.  A 2007 study found that apartments containing a live Christmas had a 6-fold increase in airborne mold, which did not return to normal until after the tree was removed.  Weed, grass and tree pollens were also found in the air during the time Christmas trees were in the house, because of course, live trees once lived in fields with other weeds and trees.  
• The beloved pine scent emitted by Christmas trees is actually a family of VOCs called terpenes.  Terpenes are made naturally in the tree sap, and real or artificial terpenes are often used in pine-scented cleaning products and home fragrances.  Terpenes can unfortunately be allergenic to some people. 
• Dust mites and insect droppings come with live and artificial trees that have been in storage because they naturally accumulate dust. 

Bringing home a live tree is a deeply-ingrained tradition for many American families, so unless your allergies become severe, simply treating your tree appropriately may help you to suffer a lot less this season!

• Formerly, it was recommended to spray the tree down with water and allow it to dry naturally outside for a day or two, or blow off the water with a leaf blower before bringing it inside (advancedsinusandallergy.com).  However, water is just what mold needs to keep growing and multiplying!  Therefore, we’re going out on a limb here (pun intended) to say that the same EC3 Mold Solution Spray or  Remedy Mold Treatment Spray by CitriSafe that is safe for humans and pets, is a great treatment for live and artificial Christmas trees.  Yes, use that leaf blower on your live or artificial tree to remove dust outside (with a mask of course), and then give it a good misting of EC3 Mold Solution Spray or  Remedy Mold Treatment Spray over every branch (don’t be afraid to use too much).  This should drastically reduce the amount of mold in your home while the tree is up!  Treat live garlands, wreaths and other live decorations in the same way.
• Dispose of the tree as soon as possible, because any mold that was not touched by the spray will continue to grow.  

If you opt for an artificial tree, you still may suffer from allergies if it’s improperly stored.  Here are some tips:

• Storing trees and decorations in unconditioned spaces like attics and basements can expose them to mold and dust.  In these situations, don’t use cardboard boxes; change the storage container to a sealed plastic bin or optimally, make a little room in your conditioned space for storage.  
• Use a mask when retrieving them out of storage.
• Use a cloth misted with EC3 Mold Solution Spray or use CitriSafe's Remedy Multi-Purpose Mold Treatment Wipes to wipe down ornaments and lights before adding them to the tree. 

Scented candles and sprays may smell nice, but they can seriously irritate your respiratory system and add unwanted VOCs and toxic chemicals to your air.  Instead, we can show you a number of ways to add holiday fragrance without the allergies in this post!  With the vodka air fresheners mentioned,  if you have several spray bottles, you can “decorate” your home with different holiday scents by adding drops from an assortment of essential oils like this one. 

This holiday season, break the mold (pun intended) by dis-inviting mold and allergens from your decorating party: it will be less costly for your health! 

How to have clear sinuses

Going through yet another round of stuffy nose and headaches, I decided to research all the ways that I or my environment is sabotaging my sinuses.  

First of all, it could be sinusitis (also called rhinosinusitis): an inflammation of the paranasal sinuses, the cavities within the bones that surround the nose (Harvard Health).  Inflammation blocks the ostia, which are the narrow channels that drain into the nasal cavity, so that drainage becomes blocked.  Sinusitis can be caused by a cold, allergies, or a deformity such as deviated septum or nasal polyps.  Here are the different lengths of sinusitis (healthline.com)

• Acute sinusitis can be caused by a cold, but then a secondary infection can happen once the sinuses get inflamed and blocked.  Technically acute sinusitis lasts less than 4 weeks.

• Subacute sinusitis lasts from 4-12 weeks.

• Recurrent acute sinusitis occurs when you have the same symptoms 4 or more times per year, but it lasts over 7 days each time.

• Chronic sinusitis symptoms last over 12 weeks.

Well what is causing it?  

Normal sinuses are lined with a thin layer of mucus that traps dust, germs and other particles in the air. Tiny hair-like projections in the sinuses sweep the mucus (and whatever is trapped in it) towards openings that lead to the back of the throat. From there, it slides down to the stomach. This continual process is a normal body function.(American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology) Here are some of the common irritants that can interrupt this process:

• Dust:  A dose of good old dust, whether it’s from a woodshop, mowing the grass on a very dry day, or bringing out boxes from an attic, can overload the sinuses. The problem is that dust is a very complex mixture of irritants.  It can contain dustmites and their feces, chemicals, 

• Pollen:  Plants have to reproduce, and sadly the weeds seem to be the worst offenders to our noses.  In addition, you’re not just imagining it: pollen really is becoming worse every year!  Check out our post on allergies here. 

• Mold:  Mold is dangerous in that unlike other allergens, it can colonize and actually grow inside your sinuses, since they are warm, moist and dark.  Then, the rest of your body is susceptible to other colonizations as you breathe the mold spores and swallow them with mucous.   

• VOCs:  VOCs can cause inflammation that leads to sinusitis.  A 2001 study showed that patients with chronic rhinosinusitis were exposed to higher levels of volatile organic compounds than healthy subjects.

We at HypoAir are not medical professionals, so we can’t recommend the techniques and drugs that doctors use for prevention and relief of sinusitis.  However, natural techniques are generally milder, and many of our clients are very sensitive to medications anyway, so we are glad to report that sinusitis can often be prevented or treated easily!  Here are some of the ways to do it:

• I have to say that mask-wearing definitely cut down on my nasal issues when I was required/bothered to wear one.  Why?   Masks filter out many of the airborne contaminants listed above that can trigger sinusitis, as well as germs like bacteria and viruses.  Two+ years into the coronavirus pandemic, the stigma of wearing a mask is virtually nil, and there are a plethora of masks you can use to protect yourself against pollutants and germs alike (see our post on masks). 

• Nasal irrigation is the number one defense against sinusitis according to Harvard Health (steps included in the article).  Whether you choose to use a bulb, small pitcher or neti pot, the homemade rinse works great to flush away the irritants that can block drainage and start a nasty infection.   It’s recommended to do this daily if you can!

• Hydrate–your body as well as your nose!  Drink plenty of water during the day, and use a plain nasal saline spray several times a day if you are in a dry environment.  Adding a drop of food-grade tea tree oil or oregano oil (oregano oil is a bit harsher) to the saline spray adds a layer of antimicrobial protection to your spray. 

• Avoid being unprotected in moldy and dusty places.  If you have to go down into a moldy basement or into a dusty attic, make sure to wear an N95 or respirator mask that seals well, and don’t take it off until you are safely in a clean place. 

• Keep pollen, dust and pollution out while letting fresh air into your home, by installing some Window Ventilation Filters in your open windows.  They are easy to install and can be vacuumed a number of times before replacement.

• Neutralize pollutants by adding a bipolar device by HypoAir to your home.  Positive and negative ions neutralize mold and germs by damaging their outer layers, and they cause small nanoparticles to stick together and drop out of the air in order to avoid breathing them in.

• The Whole-Home Polar Ionizer installs into your AC system to distribute ions to every room of your home.  

• Germ Defenders and Air Angels are room-sized, portable ionizers that are super-easy to maintain.

• Be very vigilant about humidity levels in your home, so that mold does not gain a foothold.  You can monitor humidity easily using our inexpensive Humidity Sensors to maintain humidity between 40-60%.  If you see any water intrusion into your home, make sure to deal with it promptly to prevent mold growth! 

• Use a MERV 13 filter (if possible) in your furnace/HVAC and change it regularly!

• Use a standalone HEPA filter in areas where you spend a lot of time (living room, bedroom)

• Clean as often as you can using a non-toxic, unscented cleaner: TotalClean fits the bill perfectly!  Safe to use around food, people and pets, TotalClean is the solution to replace all of the VOC-producing cleaners that can irritate and inflame sinus pathways. 

Think about the agony of sinusitis or a sinus infection and the time you lose while you battle it:  isn’t an ounce of prevention totally worth a pound of cure?  We think so!