Studies Show Why "Spring Survival"
is Fast Replacing "Spring Cleaning!"
Which Will You Do This Year and Why?
by www.SixWise.com

Spring cleaning is a ritual many Americans partake in after the winter thaw, but this year you may want to put your cleaning into “overdrive” mode.

Why?

Because your home can be a dirty, disease-causing place, and the contaminants present stretch way beyond soap scum and dust bunnies. It’s important to not only be aware of the health risks lurking in your home, but also to proactively take steps to reduce them.

What might be lurking in your home right now that’s putting you and your family at risk?

Mice (and rats) are a serious and very prevalent cause of allergies and asthma. In one Johns Hopkins study, more than 25 percent of the homes tested contained levels of the mouse allergen high enough to aggravate asthma symptoms.

Mouse allergen is found in the mouse urine and dander. It can be anywhere in your home, but researchers with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences found that kitchen floors were most likely to have the mouse urinary proteins that can cause allergic and asthmatic reactions. High-rise apartments, mobile homes, duplexes, and triplexes had higher concentrations of the proteins as well.

The deer mouse and white-footed mouse also carry the Hantavirus, which causes a disease known as Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS).

You can become infected from this deadly disease through contaminated dust from the mice's droppings, urine and/or saliva in and out of your home. Once exposed to the Hantavirus, signs of sickness can take up to five weeks to appear and symptoms are similar to that of the flu:

• Fever

• Chills

• Muscle aches and pains

• Nausea and vomiting

After the initial symptoms, you will start to experience a shortness of breath and coughing. This is an indication that the disease is rapidly progressing and you need to immediately seek hospitalization.

The final stages of the disease result in internal bleeding and respiratory failure. Over half the cases of HPS have resulted in death.

We highly recommend removing any and all mice by humane methods capturing and pacing them in trunk of car releasing in rural areas 10 or more miles away, while assuring all trace excretions are eliminated.

Recommended Victor Electronic Mouse Trap

The very solvents that you use to keep your home clean can accumulate in household dust and linger on surfaces and in the air you breathe. Many conventional cleaning products are packed with harsh cleaning chemicals such as bleach, ammonia and alcohol along with artificial colors and powerful fragrances that can release toxic fumes, causing irritation of the eyes and possible antibiotic resistance due to unnecessary antibacterial compounds in the cleaners.

For instance, did you know that using conventional cleaning sprays and air fresheners at least once a week can increase your risk of asthma by 30-50 percent? It can.

And, according to researchers from the University of California-Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, cleaning a shower stall for 15 minutes with a product containing glycol ethers, which are common in household cleaners and classified as hazardous air pollutants by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, may result in exposures that are three times the recommended one-hour exposure limit.

If you have a pet, you should know that their droppings can be a danger to you and your kids. You can also track in pet feces on your shoes, exposing your family even if you don’t have a pet in your home.

Dog feces can transmit a number of bacteria and parasites to people, including roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, cryptosporidia, Giardia, Salmonella and Campylobacter.

Cats are also generally very safe pets, but they can transmit several diseases via feces, scratches or bites. These include Cat Scratch Disease and Bacillary Angiomatosis (BA), bacterial infections (Salmonella and Campylobacter), some intestinal parasites (Giardia, Cryptosporidium, hookworms, and roundworms), and, in very rare cases, plague.

There is also a rare risk of toxoplasmosis, an infection caused by a parasite. Though toxoplasmosis generally only causes mild symptoms in healthy adults, it is a risk to pregnant women because it can cause birth defects and miscarriages.

Indoor Air Pollutants

You may be surprised to learn that the Environmental Protection Agency says indoor air can be anywhere from two to five times as polluted as outdoor air -- and sometimes more than 100 times more polluted!

Toxins in indoor air can stem from a number of sources, including:

• Dust -- including the 20 common components that make up dust

• Cooking and heating appliances

• Building materials, carpets, paint and synthetic fabrics

• Disinfectants and household cleaners

• Air fresheners

• Perfumes

• Insecticides

• Tobacco smoke

• Mold

• Animal dander and mouse urine

• Radon gas

When you breathe in polluted air, the pollutants reach much further than your nose, mouth and even lungs. Polluted air affects all of your body's systems, particularly your respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

Think of it this way: your lungs are designed to transport oxygen you breathe in into your bloodstream, where it's carried throughout your entire body. Whatever is in that air, then, is also eventually transported, via your bloodstream, to all the organs in your body, including your heart, liver, brain and other organs. Air pollution has been linked to at least 16 health problems, including genetic abnormalities, and accounts for about 4 percent of deaths in the United States, according to the Environmental Science Engineering Program at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Superbugs That Spread by Touch

Superbugs like MRSA and C. diff (Clostridium difficile) are increasingly common in the United States, and they could be lingering in your home.

Clostridium difficile is a bacteria found in feces that may cause intestinal disease. It is easily spread from person to person or via contaminated objects and toilets. The bacteria reside in your gut, and most often infection occurs after a person receives antibiotics. Because antibiotics kill both the good and bad bacteria in your gut, it’s easy for C. diff to take over after the course is finished.

MRSA is also spread from person to person or via contaminated objects, but it first appears as a skin disease, rather than an intestinal one. MRSA typically begins as a skin rash that resembles small pimples, boils or spider bites. The bumps then progress into deep abscesses that may require surgical draining. If the infection spreads beyond the skin, it can lead to infections in your bones, joints, bloodstream, heart and lungs.

If you or your children have a skin wound that appears infected (warm, red or tender to touch, swelling, high fever), you should see your doctor right away. Request to have the wound tested for MRSA before starting any antibiotic therapy, as only certain antibiotics are effective against MRSA.

Likewise, if you’re in a hospital (or have recently been) and taking antibiotics, you should also ask to be tested for C. diff if you develop diarrhea. Prompt identification and treatment can help to stop the infection before it progresses to a dangerous level.

This year, along with your normal spring cleaning routine, we suggest going the extra mile to keep your family safe and reduce your exposure to toxins along with your risk of contracting illnesses.

With that in mind, here are the top spring survival tips that can benefit virtually every one of you:

• Make sure you keep your home, especially your kitchen and other frequently trafficked areas, at a microscopic level of clean. This includes floors, countertops, appliances, furniture and all home surfaces. But be warned: Common cleaners and cleaning tools like cotton rags and mops do not make the grade in terms of "deep" cleaning to avoid illness. You must seriously consider using clothes, mops and other cleaning tools that are made from ultramicrofibers.

Sixwise.com strongly endorses and offers you PerfectClean's entire line of ultramicrofiber high performance cleaning products. The ultramicrofibers in these products reach into microscopic nooks, crannies and crevices on your floors, countertops, furniture and other surfaces and remove everything in their path. No other type of cleaning tool can come remotely close to removing microscopic contaminants that can make you sick!

The ultramicrofibers found in PerfectClean products are positively charged while dirt and biological contaminants are negatively charged. This means that unlike any other type of cleaning tool, the PerfectClean ultramicrofibers grab everything and never let them go. Also, dangerous germs won't be spread around your floors or other surfaces as other cleaning tools tend to do!

Also, PerfectClean high-performance cleaning supplies not only provide infection prevention through dry cleaning, but also significantly reduce germs through damp cleaning -- just add water! You will no longer need to use toxic chemicals to clean anymore, because the PerfectCLEAN high-performance cleaning supplies work by adding just a bit of water. It's hassle-free and efficient cleaning, ideal to remove the health risks associated with pet feces, superbugs, mouse urine and droppings!

Plus, you will SAVE MONEY because, first of all, the hospitals and other commercial organizations trust using PerfectClean towels, duster covers and other ultramicrofiber products over a 100 times before replacing them! When you check out the entire PerfectClean line offered by SixWise.com, do the math -- the amount you'll save (for a far superior product) is incredible.

You'll save still more money, because you will be able to eliminate using paper towels, germ-infested sponges and rags, chemical cleaners and more by using PerfectClean instead, just as commercial hospitality and healthcare companies are doing!

According to the Centers for Disease Control, keeping your home clean is one of the most effective measures you should take to help prevent health issues, and two of the keys they cite are:

1. Use Preventative Measures
2. Buy the Least Harmful Product Available

No other product even comes close to PerfectClean in achieving these two keys, so click here to see the PerfectCLEAN PUREpack Antimicrobial Ultramicrofiber Cleaning Product Line available to you now at reduced Spring Cleaning Price Today.

• If you have or have had rodents in your home, the need for cleaning with PerfectCLEAN ultramicrofiber cleaning tools is even more urgent. In addition to using the best cleaning supplies available (PerfectCLEAN), it is equally important to follow these guidelines to ensure your home is rodent-free:

• Keep All Food in Tightly Sealed Containers.

• Cover Your Garbage with a Tight-Fitting Lid.

• Don't Let Your Pet's Food Remain in Their Bowls for Too Long.

• Patch Holes in Your Walls Properly to Keep Rodents Out.

• Practice safe pet care. Have your pet’s stool tested regularly by your veterinarian to catch any bacteria or parasites that are transmittable to humans. You can also drastically reduce your risk of contracting an illness from your cat by keeping it indoors only (many of the diseases are contracted when your cat eats a rodent or other animal outside).

• Keep your home’s air clean. People spend about 90 percent of their time indoors, so having clean air inside should be a top priority. That's why, according to leading health organizations like the American Lung Association, with the rapidly growing volume of air pollution in the home, having a high-quality air purifier is as crucial as having clean drinking water.

What should you look for in an air purifier?

The challenge with most air filters or purifiers is that air must be drawn to the unit, either through natural air flow, or through the use of a fan. This method results in uneven treatment and can leave pockets of polluted air, plus fans are noisy, subject to failure, and require higher levels of electricity.

Unlike most air purifiers, the top-rated PIONAIR™ Air Treatment System doesn't wait for pollutants to contact a filter or plate. Instead, the PIONAIR generates air-purifying technology that migrates through the area and neutralizes organic odors, microbes and molds at their source. As a result, the PIONAIR produces fresh clean air throughout your home or office uniformly, by addressing the pollutant source -- without the use of fans, filters, or plates!

PIONAIR uses the most effective air purifying technology, called "photocatalysis," which is actually a replication of how outdoor air is naturally purified. That is why, if you are considering an air purification system for your home, we highly recommend you consider a Pionair Air Treatment System ... while from an immediate health perspective there is little you can do to avoid outdoor pollution, there's a lot you can do about the more prevalent indoor air pollution, starting with using a high-quality air purifier of some sort in your home!

PIONAIR also comes in three sizes so you can choose the power level that is best for your individual family’s needs. The floor plan below can help you determine what size is right for you.

• The Pionair 350 Unit. covers 150 to 350 sq. ft. It is perfect for one bedroom, hospice room, classroom or office.

• Pionair's 750 Unit covers 350 to 750 sq. ft. It is great for large master bedroom/suite, kitchen/family room combinations, one-bedroom apartments.

• Our largest Pionair 1500 Unit covers 750 to 1500 sq. ft. The 1500 is perfect for ranch style and modular homes as well as one level in multi-level homes.

As you and your family prepare to enjoy the warm spring weather and coming summer, make sure you can do so with the peace of mind that your home is clean and safe. The spring survival tips above will go a long way toward keeping you and your family well this year and in the years to come.

Please Pass This On! Because YOU Know Loved Ones Who Could Benefit From This Article!

Recommended Reading

Spring Cleaning for Your Body: 10 Steps to Detoxify and Get Healthier for Spring

Seven Steps to REALLY Spring Clean Your Home for a Healthier and Happier You

Sources

American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Vol 176. pp. 735-741, (2007)

California Air Resources Board April 2006

Emerging Infectious Diseases Volume 15, Number 12–December 2009