Posted by Ivey on September 10th, 2012
Have you noticed a strange pungent odor in your home lately? Perhaps you have been coughing, sneezing, or suffering from other allergy-related symptoms and can’t find the trigger? These can all be signs that your home has a mold problem. Before you condemn your home and call a demolition crew, here are a few tips for identifying a mold problem, treating it, and avoiding future issues.
Most mold experts agree that small amounts of mold are present in every home. However, large amounts of mold can cause hay fever symptoms and be particularly irritating to people with allergies, immune suppression, and asthma, according to the CDC.
Find out where to look for mold, how to remove it, and more
Posted by Vivian on July 18th, 2012
Steam cleaners are wonderful, since they can clean just about anything without the use of harsh chemicals – car exteriors, sealed hardwood floors, leather upholstery, most kitchen appliances, windows, mirrors, and showers.
There are some surfaces, however, that aren’t ideal for steam cleaners.
Let’s look at how steam cleaners work. Essentially, they turn ordinary tap water into deep-cleaning steam vapor. They do this with heat – lots of it. In order to kill germs, they need to heat water to at least 225 degrees F. In fact, the most powerful steam cleaners, like Ladybug steam cleaners, heat the water as high as 325 degrees F.
Read more about surfaces that can't be steam cleaned and non-chemical alternatives to steam.
Posted by Allison on March 19th, 2012
The beginning of spring is the one time of year that I get super jazzed about cleaning, so I always make sure to take it seriously. I leave no blind un-dusted and no pillow cover un-washed. Dust, dirt and allergens don’t stand a chance in my home.
This spring, you owe it to yourself to enjoy a clean that’s more than dirt-deep. I’m talking allergen-deep. Dust mite-deep. Get down to the nitty gritty and really tackle what’s lurking in your home’s air. With the help of these 10 spring cleaning tips, you can do it without making yourself crazy.
1. Make a schedule. If you have a basement, start there – this room usually has the worst air quality. The next day, tackle germs and bacteria in the bathroom. Move onto the living room on day three, and so on. Even if you live in a 600 square foot apartment like mine, this method helps you stay focused on the task at hand and avoid becoming overwhelmed with the amount of work ahead of you.
2. Ditch the store-bought cleaners for a vapor steam cleaner. Typical household cleaners often contain harsh toxic chemicals that can aggravate allergies and ultimately cause health complications. Steam cleaners use pure vapor steam to naturally disinfect and deodorize counter tops, windows, appliances, and upholstery.
Keep reading for more spring cleaning tips.
Posted by Ashley on November 11th, 2011
It’s been a week of celebration and reflection in the halls of Sylvane as we commemorate 11 great years of being your trusted resource for air treatment solutions and education about indoor air quality issues. Over the past 10 days, we have offered you—our loyal customers—10 amazing deals on many of our most popular and bestselling products. Today, on our 11th birthday, we’re bringing back those deals for one final birthday blow-out sale!
Now through midnight, be sure to take advantage of these great offers:
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 Diamond on October 7th, 2011
Bed bugs – they’re creepy, crawly, and have taken over homes across America over the last few years. Dealing with a bed bug infestation is a downright nuisance that can literally drive you crazy, so it’s no surprise that people are willing to do whatever it takes to rid their homes of these bloodsucking pests right away. With such hysteria over the current bed bug epidemic, many Americans are taking drastic measures to eliminate the problem, including fumigating their homes to extreme degrees.
However, a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that frequent and excessive applications of chemical products to kill bed bugs can be more hazardous to your health than the effects of a bed bug infestation. A healthier alternative for effective bed bug remediation, steam cleaners are a chemical-free way to get rid of bed bugs naturally.
Read more about how to remove bed bugs with steam cleaners
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 Ivey on July 30th, 2010
“Sleep tight. Don’t let the bedbugs bite.” This was a simple phrase that my grandmother would say to me each night before I went to sleep. I always thought of it as a sweet bedtime ritual—certainly not a safety warning! With stores like Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch closing due to bedbug infestastions as well as growing residential bedbug complaints, residents of New York City and other major urban areas might not share this sentiment.
New York City residents are not alone in their bedbug war. At a 2009 bedbug conference, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spokesperson, Dale Kemery, reported that bedbug infestation had tripled in the United States since 2005.
Find out more about detecting and treating bedbug infestations
Posted by Ivey on April 22nd, 2010
Today marks the 40th annual Earth Day celebration. Started in 1970 by Gaylord Nelson, a former U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, Earth Day is still bringing awareness to pressing environmental issues around the globe and helping people discover new ways to lead environmentally friendly lives. This Earth Day, consider greening your cleaning routine to improve your indoor air quality, boost your family’s health, and protect the Earth.
Read more about starting a green cleaning routine
Posted by Ivey on February 5th, 2010
Cockroaches. They’re creepy, crawly — and a leading cause of allergies and asthma!
Cockroach allergens are found in the feces, saliva, and body parts of the insects. They cause allergy symptoms, such as irritated skin, itchy eyes and nose, scratchy throat, and can exacerbate asthma conditions. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, there is a correlation between exposure to cockroach allergens and the development of asthma in children.
Read more about controlling cockroach allergy symptoms and asthma
Posted by Ashley on May 27th, 2009
All right, I didn’t actually list 101 here (just 21), but there are seemingly endless uses for our brand new Ladybug Tekno 2350 Vapor Steam Cleaner. Manufactured by Advanced Vapor Technologies, this system is the most powerful Ladybug steam cleaner available. The EPA-qualified Tekno 2350 makes use of the patent-pending TANCS disinfection system—TANCS stands for Thermo Accelerated Nano Crystal Sanitation—to create super-heated dry vapor steam that is lethal for germs, bacteria, allergens, and dirt.
This Ladybug vapor steam cleaner is excellent for residential cleaning tasks, but it’s also a great economical tool for workers in many commercial sectors such as car-detailing, the food and hospitality industries, and janitorial departments in schools, universities, and on corporate campuses. Come to think of it, almost any household and industry would benefit from the Ladybug’s safe and chemical-free approach to cleaning.
Read more about the many uses of Ladybug steam cleaners
Posted by Ashley on January 23rd, 2009
Cleaner, pollutant-free air adds almost 5 months to our lives. So say the results of an interesting study published in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine. The study, headed by an epidemiologist at Brigham Young University (BYU), tracked the correlation between particulate pollution levels and life expectancy over 2 decades in 51 U.S. cities. Researchers say it’s the first to illustrate that reducing air pollution can translate into a longer lifespan. How’s that for a reason to make an air purifier a permanent part of your environment? Read more about how cleaner air can help you live longer
Posted by John on September 30th, 2008
Laundry detergents are supposed to get clothes clean, right? While detergents clear away soil and stains, too many of them leave behind chemicals that are harmful to humans and the environment. Read more about laundry toxins
Posted by John on August 27th, 2008
If there’s one cleaning chore that I dislike more than vacuuming, it has to be mopping – at least in the conventional sense of the verb. Traditional mopping involves filling up a bucket with water and spreading chemicals across the floor with a germ-infested mop that you have to wring out with your hands. Yuck!
Now there’s a much more pleasant alternative to traditional mopping: the Bissell Steam Mop. This chemical-free cleaning machine works well on smooth floor surfaces like marble, ceramic, stone, vinyl, laminated, linoleum, and sealed hardwood floors.
Simply fill up the steam mop’s tank with regular tap water, and you’re ready to go. No bucket. No chemical cleaners. The Bissell mop heats up the water in just 30 seconds to produce a steam vapor that’s around 240 degrees Fahrenheit – hot enough to kill bacteria, mold, dust mites, viruses, and other germs on contact. Read more about Bissell steam mops
