Posted by Ashley on December 21st, 2011
The holidays are here! It’s the season for rockin’ holiday parties, savory meals, decadent sweets, finding (or receiving!) that perfect gift, and most importantly, cherishing the time we spend with family and friends. While many of us look forward to the holidays with sparks in our eyes, others—namely the estimated 50 million Americans who suffer from allergies—aren’t always so keen.
Too often, the family Christmas tree, a beacon of holiday light and memories, quickly becomes your sneeze-inducing enemy. Your Aunt’s traditional walnut-sprinkled fruitcake has you racing in the other direction. And while all those scented candles add a wonderful fireside ambiance to any space, for you, they’re a stifling headache and a case of the sniffles waiting to happen.
With so many potential allergy triggers stacking up around you, it can be tough to share in the excitement of the season. To help you avoid the wrath of this season’s allergy traps, start with these helpful tips:
Read on to learn tips for coping with holiday allergies
Posted by Ashley on December 9th, 2011
Do any amount of air purifier shopping these days and you’ll quickly learn it’s no secret that not all air purifiers are created equal.
You’ll see air purifiers designed to relieve allergies and asthma, combat odors, reduce chemical sensitivities, filter out smoke, fight pet dander, kill germs, and even help restore your air quality after a flood. In most cases, each type of air purifier features varying attributes and differing levels of filtration that make them effective in solving a specific problem. It’s not often you find an air cleaner that can address a wide range of indoor air quality issues sufficiently. Add to that a user-friendly but feature-rich control panel as well as the product’s ability to provide a great lifetime value—and you’ve got a winner on your hands.
With that, let me introduce (or re-introduce) you to the IQAir HealthPro Plus Air Purifier, our newly chosen Sylvane Air Purifier Category Winner.
Read more about our Air Purifier Category Winner
Posted by Diamond on November 1st, 2011
The Sylvane break room has been decorated and decked out. Balloons and streamers are set to go up and a colossal sheet cake has been ordered. So what’s the big occasion you ask?
It’s our birthday! Next Friday, known around Sylvane office as 11-11-11, marks our eleventh anniversary celebration and you’re all invited. We’ve been in business for eleven years and would like to thank you with an anniversary sale that’s for the books: 11 Days of Deals starting today and extending until Nov. 11th.
Read more about the Sylvane story and get details on our big anniversary sale
Posted by Ashley on October 14th, 2011
Take one look around your favorite store this month and you’ll be dazzled by scores of pretty pink products that incorporate the iconic pink ribbon symbol. That’s because October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month—a time when individuals and organizations come together to promote awareness and education about the disease and raise funds for research, prevention, and finding a cure. This month, while you’re perusing these products and raising awareness in other ways, remember you can also shop pink and show your support with Rabbit air purifiers.
California-based Rabbit Air will donate 5% of each sale of the Rabbit Air BioGS Special Edition Air Purifier to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The money raised will go toward funding genetic and clinical research at medical centers worldwide as well as to increasing public awareness and educating individuals about prevention and early detection. To date, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation has raised more than $330 million for breast cancer research, awareness, and the search for a cure, with more than 90 cents of every dollar donated going directly to awareness programs and research grants.
Read more about the Rabbit Air Special Edition BCRF Air Purifier
Posted by Diamond on September 23rd, 2011
Some people prefer primp and pretty household appliances and are more concerned with style than function. Then there are the folks who can appreciate an attractive design but are more focused on the bottom line: does this product really work?
When you want a vacuum that excels in deep cleaning and filtration without all the exterior bells and whistles, Nilfisk vacuum cleaners provide industrial strength and are a quietly kept solution for residential environments. Translation: they may not have the frilly finishing of a traditional household vacuum, but they really, really do work.
Find out more about Nilfisk vacuums
Posted by Ashley on September 16th, 2011
Now that the dreaded fall allergy season is upon us and you’ve likely heard the not-so-good news that allergy experts are predicting one of the worst allergy seasons yet, there’s a new air purifier on the block.
Meet the new Oransi v-hepa Finn Air Purifier.
On first glance, you’ll see the Oransi Finn as a sleek tower air cleaner with a remarkable ability to blend in with any almost any décor. With a modern design and neutral colors, you can immediately picture it anywhere in your home – next to your favorite reading chair, for instance. Yet, like most things, there is definitely more to it than meets the eye.
Read more about the Oransi Finn Air Purifier
Posted by Diamond on September 9th, 2011
The only thing more disgusting than walking on a grimy floor is “cleaning” it with the same old dirty mop and filthy pail of water. Sure the bucket of water starts out smelling fresh and looking soapy, but by the time you reach the middle of the floor, what was once a bucket of fresh suds has become a cold, gray bacteria fest. And to think we actually dip a spongy mop into that “water” and smear it all over our tile or hardwood floors. Yuck!
It’s ok, we’re all guilty. But there is a better way. A chemical-free, eco-conscious, allergy- and asthma-friendly way. More hygienic than a traditional floor mop and more cost-effective and durable than disposable Swiffer sweepers, a steam cleaner is a healthy way to truly clean your floors of dirt and grime without releasing pollutants from chemical detergents into your indoor environment.
Learn more about cleaning your home with a steam cleaner
Posted by Diamond on August 26th, 2011
Imagine a bagless vacuum that is as big on function as it is on style. Picture a vacuum cleaner that is lightweight and appealing to the eye but also durable and tough on dirt. Now meet the Electrolux Nimble.
The name says it all: nimble. Meaning swift, quick, light, agile – all of the things any modern upright vacuum cleaner should be.
Standing nearly 4 feet tall, the Nimble excels in dirt pickup while offering extreme maneuverability. Loaded with convenience features such as fingertip suction control and a 3-in-1 combination tool, the Electrolux Nimble Vacuum Cleaner offers five-star quality at a budget-friendly price.
Find out more about the Electrolux EL8602A Nimble Upright Vacuum
Posted by Cierra on August 5th, 2011
While the world is currently in awe over the revolutionary design of the Dyson bladeless fan, the company’s signature product has always been the Dyson ball vacuum. Known for exceptional design and innovative technology, Dyson’s DC25 Vacuum Series is no exception. The Dyson DC25 Series includes the DC25 All Floors Vacuum Cleaner and the DC25 Animal Vacuum Cleaner, both of which are sleek, lightweight vacuums featuring HEPA filtration and bagless dirt collection for your convenience.
I had the privilege of testing out the Dyson DC25 Animal Vacuum Cleaner and I must say it is quite an engineering feat. Designed to clean homes with pets, the Dyson DC25 Animal Vacuum comes with a mini-turbine tool to remove pet hair from furniture, fabrics, and tight spaces. The vacuum also includes two onboard accessories—a debris nozzle and a stair tool—that can be attached to the vacuum hose or the extension wand for greater functionality.
After quickly assembling the main components, I was ready to plug the pet vacuum in and go for a test drive.
Read more about how Dyson vacuums differ from traditional vacuum cleaners
Posted by Cierra on July 29th, 2011
If you’ve been looking for an air purifier lately, you may have noticed several that include ionizers. Though they’re beginning to appear practically everywhere, ionizers are common features found in air purifiers, fans and air circulators, heaters, and swamp coolers. But what, exactly, is an ionizer—and why should you invest in a product with one?
In short, ionizers emit ions—charged particles—to help an air purifier’s filters trap contaminants in your indoor environment. Many of our air purifiers, such as the Honeywell HFD-120-Q Tower air purifier, now feature ionizers to capture particles that otherwise would be too small to filter out. This is extremely helpful if you have allergies, asthma, or chemical sensitivities, as ionic air purifiers more effectively remove pollutants ranging from pollen, mold, dust, and pet dander to viruses, smoke, odors, and chemical toxins.
But in addition to boosting air quality, ionic air purifiers also reduce static electricity, improve your mood, and help ward off fatigue. So how can such a simple mechanism have so many positive effects?
Read more about how ionizers can keep your home fresh
Posted by Cierra on July 22nd, 2011
For those of you in the market for a new air purifier, have I got great news! We have unveiled a month-long sale on Blueair air purifiers, renowned for their effectiveness, eco-friendliness, and attractive designs. Through August 15th, every Blueair air purifier we offer now ranges from $50 to $200 off the original price.
One of the first qualities you’ll notice about Blueair purifiers is their sturdy, modern designs. That sleek appearance is the result of an award-winning Swedish aesthetic and resilient steel housing that is both environmentally-safe and smooth to the touch. Plus, every Blueair air purifier is 100% recyclable and never releases ozone or off-gasses harmful chemicals. (That means you can breathe easier knowing that these air cleaners won’t be sitting in a landfill for the next 1,000 years refusing to decompose.) This is definitely not a product I’d be ashamed to have sitting right in my living room for everyone to see.
Read more about the mid-summer Blueair Sale
Posted by Diamond on June 24th, 2011
Earlier this month, we expressed great excitement over the recent addition of two new product lines to the Sylvane catalog, including Dyson air multiplier fans. Now that we’re halfway through the first week of summer, it’s the perfect time to test these high-tech fans out.
Since revolutionizing the way we clean our homes with the Dyson vacuum cleaner, Dyson has led the appliance industry in technology and innovation. After seeing their latest product launch up close and personal, let me be the first to say Dyson air multipliers are no exception. Be prepared to throw everything you thought you knew about fans out of the window.
Read more about Dyson air multipliers
Posted by Ashley on June 17th, 2011
Earlier this week, a string of bad storms blew through metro Atlanta, at one point leaving 100,000 homes—my entire neighborhood included—without power. Shortly after we lost electricity and realized it wasn’t coming back on anytime soon, my husband and I began lighting every candle in the house to help supplement our two lone flashlights that definitely were not making the cut. Remembering the importance of indoor air ventilation and how candle soot can damage your indoor air quality, I cracked open a few windows to help get airflow moving.
This apparently wasn’t enough. Within a half-hour, my eyes began to feel irritated; I could feel my lungs growing tighter; and the humid, stale, un-conditioned air felt clammy and downright unhealthy. Eventually, we had to get outside for some fresh air relief. It was then that it dawned on me—we were experiencing the negative effects that extreme weather can have on your indoor air quality. It was a strange coincidence. After all, I was working on a blog about this very subject.
Read more about how extreme weather can affect indoor air quality
Posted by Ivey on April 5th, 2011
With the launch of our Sweet Dreams Nursery Contest and Sweepstakes last week, things have been a little hectic around the Sylvane office. However, now that things seem to be a little calmer, let’s move on to the third installment of our 28 Tips to Improve Your Indoor Air Quality blog series.
- Leave shoes at the door to keep pesticides, dirt, and other germs out of your home. Occasionally, the quick brushing that you give your shoes on the doormat is not effective at keeping harmful irritants out of your home. If possible, leave shoes on shoe racks or or other shelves located in a garage or other area close to your door.
- Choose a green paint to reduce exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Just because the noxious odors from your latest painting project are gone doesn’t mean that your indoor air is safe. Some paints can release harmful levels of VOCs into your environment causing headaches, dizziness, respiratory ailments, and other issues. Look for paints labeled “zero VOC” and “no VOC”.
- Use a carbon monoxide detector to protect your home. Carbon monoxide cannot be seen or smelled, so the best way to keep your family safe from this “silent killer” is to use a carbon monoxide detector like the Safety Siren Pro Series Combination Gas Detector. This gas detector samples your home’s air every 2.5 minutes for carbon monoxide. If this gas—methane and propane—is detected, visual and audible alarms will be activated.
Read more indoor air quality tips
Posted by Ivey on December 9th, 2010
Each year when I go to pick out a Christmas tree, I have a little tradition. I like to play the “Theme from Rocky” song. Not because I am determined to leave with the perfect Christmas tree (although I am a little obsessive about finding just the right one), but because I know that once that tree enters my home it is going to be a battle until the bitter end of the holiday season thanks to my allergies.
I’m sure many of you are thinking, “Why would she buy a live Christmas tree if she has allergy concerns?” One of the most common misconceptions about Christmas trees and allergies is that they are caused by the actual tree. However, since most Christmas trees do not produce pollen during the winter, the more likely culprits behind your Christmas tree allergies are mold, dust, or other allergens that have accumulated on the tree while it was in the field. In fact, some of the same allergens can collect on Christmas tree ornaments, home decorations, and even artificial trees while they are in storage. Find out tips for controlling your allergies this holiday season
