December 12th, 2017
Vacuum cleaners with a central exhaust may lead to lower airborne dust and allergen concentrations compared with regular vacuum cleaners. In 12 houses, equipped with a central vacuum cleaning system, a standardized vacuum cleaning protocol was performed comparing airborne dust and allergen concentrations between the central system and a regular cleaner.Airborne dust concentrations during (104 vs. 95 ?g/m3) and after vacuum cleaning (38 vs. 36 ?g/m3) were not significantly different. In houses with a cat, Fel d 1 concentrations were also not significantly different either during (6.12 vs.5.91 ng/m3) and after (0.64 vs. 0.91 ng/m3) use of the vacuum cleaners.Airborne dust and Fel d 1 concentrations increased considerably during use of both vacuum cleaners. Compared with central vacuum cleaning systems, conventional modern vacuum cleaners do not cause higher airborne dust or cat allergen concentrations during and after use.