3 ms·
I use a Kärcher SC3 steam cleaner. It's cheap (~€100) and pretty good. Even the SC2 is decent. As an alternative, Polti high-end ones are excellent. They inven
by nextos 9y ago
I use a Kärcher SC3 steam cleaner. It's cheap (~€100) and pretty good. Even the SC2 is decent. As an alternative, Polti high-end ones are excellent. They invented domestic steamers, and I've seen some used at hospitals. The have accessories for e.g. steaming your mattress to get rid of dust mites.
I use a Miele C3 Silence vacuum cleaner. It's the cheapest (~€220) Miele vacuum cleaner that has top (A class in EU) filtration. More expensive models just buy you more accessories. Sadly, Mieles are super expensive in the US, and you can't do arbitrage due to different voltage. Nilfisk made in Denmark used to be extraordinary, but now they are pretty mediocre. /u/touchmyfuckingcoffee is a very famous vacuum technician in Reddit, and he recommends Miele and Riccar. He doesn't like bagless. Neither do i. Worse filtration and a mess to dispose if you are allergic.
I use a Coway 1008 DH air filter. It's cheap (€400), efficient, and uses low energy. IQAir has great reputation, but in some tests it has shown mediocre performance [1]. Perhaps these tests are not measuring particles in the smallest range, where IQAir claims to excel. I've seen some guys from IQAir at HN, perhaps they can clarify.
For house cleaning I use stuff from Sonett. Bio-D is also good, cheaper and easier to find. I also use probiotics from Chrisal. In the US, these might not be easy to find. I'm sure there are equivalent brands there. Check their ingredient lists. Bio-D cleaning stuff is so safe their hand soap is basically the same formula as their countertop cleaner. Many items are certified by Allergy UK.
I'm happy to hear any other recommendations from fellow allergics. I also found a two-stage filter for my shower (Sprite + Vitamin C Sonaki) did wonders to avoid spraying chlorine into my airways and reduce inflammation and itchiness.
[1] https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-air-purifier/ https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-air-purifier/
- hartator 9y agoThanks man! What do you think about the Hepa filters in Roomba robot vacuums?
- nextos 9y agoAs far as I can see, they have dust reemission class B in EU, which means they are OK, but probably leak some particles. It's understandable. On a small machine with little power, if they put a better filter (more resistance) the vacuum is not going to have much suction.
- danieldk 9y agoI use a Kärcher SC3 steam cleaner. It's cheap (~€100) and pretty good. Even the SC2 is decent. I'd like to add a me-too. We bought a Kärcher SC3 to remove old wallpaper when we moved to another apartment (IIRC the price of hiring a steamer for a couple of days made buying one attractive). We use it now to clean our tiled floors, the bathroom, etc. and it has been excellent. The hot steam removes most stains without much effort, it works without detergents, and it is far less work than mopping the floor.
- vymague 9y agoI wonder, what's your opinion about DIY air filters? Like a box fan plus a furnace filter. Both are not common in Europe, but you could get a different type of fan, and affordable HEPA filters from aliexpress.
- nextos 9y agoGood air filters are complex, not just an HEPA filter, but a series of stages. And an active carbon filter for chemicals.
- vymague 9y agoBut I thought it has been shown putting simple furnace filter on a fan is good enough. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH5APw_SLUU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH5APw_SLUU Are you talking about other filters to filter the larger particles, and carbon filters? Because aliexpress sell them too.
- opencl 9y agoWhat are these complex things they do that are anything but shoving air through a filter with a fan? How do they justify costing hundreds more than taping a HEPA filter+carbon filter to a fan yourself? The product page for the model recommended in that wirecutter article even has a cutaway view, showing that it's just a HEPA filter + carbon filter + fan.
- peferron 9y agoThey look better than DIYs, are typically quieter for the same cfm, and optionally have an automatic mode where the fan speed changes based on the detected air quality. But yeah if you don't care how they look or how noisy they are just assemble one yourself and blast it on max. That's what I did for two years in China and it worked (had a separate particle counter to measure PM).
- opencl 9y agoGlad I'm not missing out on too much with the DIY setup, quiet would be nice though. And the auto mode certainly explains a fair chunk of the price, air quality meters seem to run at least $100.
- innagadadavida 9y agoDo the steam cleaners work with hard water? Our area has really hard water and I need to use a reverse osmosis filter even for our humidifier otherwise the scaling is really bad and accumulates quickly.
- nextos 9y agoThe SC3 comes with a cartridge that claims to soften water and reduce issues. In any case, they use little water. Like 1 tank for 90 m^2. You can always buy distilled water, or use water from your osmosis filter.
- terraforming 9y agoCan you share the source for "that has top (A class in EU) filtration" please? I might be buying a new vacuum soon and would like to research it well before doing so.
- nextos 9y agoMost online ads in EU include this information. Check e.g. Amazon UK or DE. Or manufacturers websites.