Sucking up allergies

This is the time of year when I start complaining that I’m dying from the heat. (I’m always either too hot or too cold.) And my boyfriend, who I’ve lived with for seven years, claims it’s not that bad. He says we don’t need to turn on the air-conditioning, meaning he doesn’t want to pay for it just yet. I usually win the battle. But this year, after all of my nagging, he had another reason to delay turning the thermostat. He didn’t want the vents to circulate the dust trapped in there since we turned off the heat a few months ago.

That does seem reasonable, and I do want to conserve energy. So in the works is a plan to suck all of the dust, pollen and allergens from our two-and-a-half-storey house before turning on the air conditioning or fans.

Here’s an interesting bit of info on vacuum cleaners: to trap allergens the bag must be a HEPA filter, which is the same as used in air purifiers. Hoover says the HEPA material traps 99.97% of dirt, dust and pollens.

Last year, Dyson came out with its DC23 model for $650 and Kenmore with a 12-amp Canister Vacuum for $500 (now it’s $450). But you have more options now, since Shark, Dirt Devil and Miele have new HEPA models, too. I got the chance to try the Hoover Platinum Collection HEPA vacuums recently, including the upright ($500), bagless upright ($550) and canister ($550).

Now the only thing I have to do is call a duct cleaning company and I’m ready for the heat!

Want more info? Here are 5 things you should know about allergies.

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