Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Dust Mites, Begone!


Giving the small carpet a much needed once-over, for this little piece of floor cover is Lillie & Awang's favourite wrestling pad. Imagine the amount of cat fur shed here...

A marked difference between the left and right sides of the carpet after being vacuumed.

Vacuuming the big cushion revealed its original mossy hue from dirty grey.

Out with the old and in with the new; sucking out stale air from a small cushion by putting it in a clean garbage bag.

Ewww! It's dust mites galore...!



If only we could see dust mites having a whale of a time on our beddings and sofas, and in the lush softness of our carpets, we'd probably get the heebie-jeebies each time we think of using the mattress or the divan.

Dust mites are microscopic beings that live and thrive in household dust. They feed off tiny flakes of human skin and breed in carpets, beddings, curtains and furniture.

Not content with soiling our abode, they are also bent on fouling up our health. Dust mites have been identified as being the main cause of allergies to asthma, bronchitis, hay fever, itchy burning eyes, runny nose, shortness of breath, sinus infections, headaches, colds and flu and God knows what else.

Let's give this scenario some thought. We are about to lower our derriere onto a sofa, or our body onto a mattress, well knowing it is crawling with millions of dust mites waiting to pounce upon our skin.

Our only saving grace is that we don't see the teeming mass with our naked eyes. If we do, we'd probably think life in a vacuum wouldn't be half as bad, after all.

For the sake of sanity, I personally have adopted the attitude of "what you don't see you don't worry about." It's either that or the nuthouse for finicky, neat freak me.

So when Pak Abu informed that the purchase of his new golf set "Ena" came with a free cleaning service for our sofas and beddings, a no-obligation product demonstration as it were, I gave my okay without much ado.

The appointed day came a couple of Thursdays ago with the arrival of Rukhaidah Abd Karim and Adnan Mohd Noh, two staffers from Filter Twin Sdn Bhd, hauling what looked like a mini UFO on wheels.

Pak Abu and I sat there fascinated as they assembled the contraption and proceeded to explain, step by step, the functions of the machine and what they intended to do in our house.

Dubbed "Dust Mite Terminator" but professionally named FilterQueen, it removes dust and dirt from surfaces using cyclonic action and patented filtration system before releasing cleaner, healthier air back into the environment.

This American-made and patented product has been around since 1928 and has been in Malaysia for the last quarter of a century (26 years to be exact).

I'm plugging it for the simple reason that I saw how it effectively dredged those microscopic thingies from my carpet, furniture and stuffs, and I want to share the experience.

Unlike those fancy, cutesy Japanese brands that won the day by putting a higher premium on the aesthetics (but I'm not saying they aren't any good, lest I get sued!), FilterQueen is a sturdy cylindrical thing in black, with a no-nonsense, menacing look that screams "Watch Out Dust Mites! We Mean Business!"

The likeable duo of Rukhaidah and Adnan spent more than one hour vacuuming and dislodging our unwelcome dwellers. Out they came in mini piles, giving me the chills just knowing they were in every nook and cranny of this teeny weeny pad of ours.

Thank you guys for the demonstration. We really appreciate it. And to my readers, do check out their simple website at http://www.filterqueen.com.my/ (looks unfinished though; perhaps it's under reconstruction).

Alternatively, you can call Sales Executive Rukhaidah or Quality Air Consultant Adnan at 603-8024 9636 for a no-obligation demo. Their office is located at The Summit, Lot S2.52, Persiaran Kewajipan, USJ1, 47600 UEP, Subang Jaya.

FilterQueen isn't the cheapest thing ever invented (that much I'll allow), but it sure does one hell of a job. And if you are keen, they have easy payment schemes too to suit your budget. Alternatively, they also offer monthly cleaning service for your home/office at specific rates.

7 comments:

Pat said...

You just had to do the dust mite lecture, didn't you? Sigh. Like I needed further reminding, what with my sinuses that are forever inflamed, and my asthma. . . .

But you are right. Toffee lives with us indoors, and if I don't vacuum the heck out of everything, we'd be lost beneath her fallen fur! Not a pleasant thought,that. And if you factor in the dust mites ...sigh.

Ok, I'll get out the damn vacuum cleaner and start work now. Thank heavens we've no carpets, but the settee, the chairs, the bookshelves . . . . Thanks a lot, my dear.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

lol... ooo u poor thing.. :P

Pak Idrus said...

Kama, the only way to get rid of dust mite is by drying the carpet in the sun everyday which is impossible. Carpets are not suitable in the tropic where the weather is humid. To live a healthy life you must get rid of all you carpets and use a laminated wood flooring.

On the advice of my son in law, an ENT specialist we got rid of all our carpets and now have laminated wood flooring. We use Tikar mengkuang for deco. Now no more sinus problems or other respiratory problems. I could felt the differences after we got rid the carpets and now live a healthy life.

The machine could get rid of the dust mite for a while only and after that it would continue breeding. Once the light is switched off and the place is dark, million of the dust mite would fly all over and because it is so tiny, it get into our nostril and there is where it continue breeding and the beginning of the health problems.

Well, That is my advice. Get rid of the carpets and it would surly kept everyone in the house healthy. Take care.

Naz in Norway said...

Because of EJ's asthma, we too have opted not to have carpets nor heavy curtains at home. No tiny trinkets and decos here and there. Only big pieces yang senang nak keep clean.
Orang tanya kenapa tak decorate, we simply say it's scandinavian style ;D

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Pak Idrus - Indeed. A friend of mine, an ENT specialist too (kat Damansara Spcialist Centre, PJ) said more or less the same thing about dust mites. I hv half a mind to use tikar mengkuang a la rumah dulu-dulu.. tapi the cats will shred them to pieces i think.. heheh

Naz - you are into minimalism by circumstances but it works well for you kan? after all scandinavians are noted for their uncluttered style in interior design.

Anonymous said...

Very good message

Unknown said...

if you have carpet in your home.you must have very efficient vacume cleaner other wise dust is too dirty and may cause of variouse type of elergy.
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