Make A Clean SweepTo Rid Your Home Of Dust (NAPSA)—Dustis a four-letter word in many homes, and with good reason. Two new surveys reveal some interesting facts about dusting in the home. When it comes to children, allergies are more than a medical issue. According to a survey of children with allergies and their mothers, conducted by Swiffer, children with allergies are more likely to face school absenteeism, social isolation and negative emotionaleffects. The consequence of frequently missing school and social activities, the survey indicated, is that children with allergies must cope with a series of negative emotional effects. For instance, nearly 40 percent of children are disappointed, almost 30 percent feel isolated and an equal amount of children think of themselves as “different” when their allergies prevent them from doing something they enjoy or wantto do. Allergy experts agree that successfully removing allergens from the homeis one of the most important steps to help reduce symptomsof allergies. While 65 percent of moms say they dust and clean more frequently, only 10 percent rank trying to keep their house void of dust mite waste, pet dander and other allergens as a top priority. Yet, nearly two-thirds of children recognize that whentheir moms dust and clean regularly, they have fewer allergy symptoms and feel better. Using effective products, such as Swiffer, on any dry, hard surface that needs cleaning is essential to capture—not just move around—common household allergens such as pet dander on hardwoodfloors, dirt on window blinds andceiling fans, and dust on tele- visions and computer monitors. Another Swiffer survey revealed that Americans have an “out of sight, out of mind”attitude whenit comes to dusting. One in five Americansfeel that if they can’t see the dust, why bother dusting? This may be why nearly half of Americans say they neglect to dust window shades and blinds; 41 percent don’t dust their ceiling fans and 34 percent admit to skip- Dust, which about any surface, is a major cause of household allergies. ping the bookshelves. The neglect doesn’t end with select areas; sometimes entire rooms suffer. Bedrooms are the number one room people skip over when dusting (40 percent), followed by kitchens (15 percent) and the living room (11 percent). “People dislike dusting because there seems to be no really effective way to do it and they feel they are endlessly dusting their homes with little results,” says Jeff Campbell, cleaning expert and author of Speed Cleaning. “That is whyI like Swiffer to remove dust, not just stir it around.” Campbell offers several strategies for efficient and effective dusting: Start in one place and then work your way around the room without backtracking. Work from high to low places so the gravitational force doesn’t counteract your hard work. * Don’t forget to get to the places not in your immediate line of vision, like moldings, tops of picture framesandlightfixtures. When dusting blinds, turn the slats first one way and then the other so you clean both the window and room sides. Swiffer, developed by Procter & Gamble, is a scientifically proven method for effectively removing household allergens. The cloths have been found to capture and remove dirt, dust and hair better than conventional sweeping and dusting methods. To learn more, visit www.swiffer.com.
