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Spring Clean

By By Jason Shaad (Contact)

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Ali Sultani estimates he has used a vacuum twice since August. Enrolled in 20 credit hours this semester, he says he probably won’t use it a third time.

“I don’t like cleaning,” the Shawnee junior says. “After a few weeks, everything is back on the floor.”

When he does clean, it’s for the sake of appearance, not health.

“I don’t think it’s been a big issue,” Sultani says. “After a few parties some cups of beer were hidden and we didn’t find them until they were all messy, and I guess that could be a health hazard, but I don’t think anybody has gotten sick or anything.”

Maybe not, but neglecting to vacuum under the bed or clean the refrigerator once in a while can create an environment in which germs, allergens and pests thrive.

For example, old cardboard boxes in your closet or basement could cause a chain of pest problems. Bugs go into the boxes to feed off the glue that holds them together, says Bob Amyx, a consultant for Schendel Pest Services. Then spiders go into the boxes to eat the bugs, and mice go in to eat the spiders and make nests, Amyx says.

Mice can transmit diseases like the hantavirus, which causes flu-like symptoms and eventually can cause the lungs to fill with fluid. Mice droppings can also spoil food. Spiders like the brown recluse, which Amyx says is the most common hunting spider in northeast Kansas, can inflict bites that cause skin lesions.

Bed bugs (yes, they really exist) also have begun returning to homes during the past few years, Amyx says. He helped eradicate a bed-bug problem at Kansas State University that he says began when students who had stayed in international hostels brought back the bugs. Getting rid of bed bugs requires an exterminator, Amyx says, but keeping your sheets clean couldn’t hurt.

Insects like cockroaches also will feed on dirty dishes and trash. American cockroaches are especially attracted to beer, Amyx says. Because most insects are nocturnal, it may not be obvious they’re in your home.

Then again, maybe animals are in your home because you put them there. Anna Banks, Topeka freshman, has several pets, including cats, dogs, fish, birds and iguanas. Because she lives at home and her family is allergic to pet dander, Banks has to dust and vacuum almost every day to prevent eye irritation and sinus problems. If she doesn’t clean on a daily basis, her allergies can get so bad they give her migraines, she says.

Pet dander and other allergens can be particularly troublesome for the 20 percent of the population with allergies, says Ron Weiner, a asthma and allergy specialist for Asthma Allergy & Rheumatology Associates, 346 Maine St.

Indoor allergens like dust mites, pet dander, pests and mold can increase from a lack of cleanliness, Weiner says. Most indoor allergens cause the same symptoms, such as sneezing, itching, and a runny nose. Mold spores, which can develop refrigerators or old stacks of newspaper or magazines, can line your nose and cause itching, a runny nose and fatigue, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. In extreme cases, mold spores can reach the lungs, causing asthma.

Although allergies won’t cause any major health problems, combined with a spring cold, they could increase a person’s susceptibility to other illnesses, Weiner, the allergy specialist, says.

So what can you do to make sure you’re not sharing your home with insects and allergens?

Weiner says the best way to help control allergens like dust mites is to remember to change your home’s air filter and do whatever you can to reduce humidity, which means keeping wet towels off the floor and tossing all the empty beer bottles.

Amyx, the pest consultant, recommends getting rid of old boxes and putting an inch-long chunk of a flea collar in the bag of your vacuum cleaner to kill any insect eggs it sucks up.

“It’s another little trick that’s got enough pesticide to kill insect eggs,” Amyx says.

Jeff Campbell, author of several books on cleaning, including Spring Cleaning, says the traditional spring clean has nothing to do with spring but rather to do with the needs of each individual.

Two particular problem areas for college students are the refrigerator and the area where the garbage is stored, he says. “Especially when you have roommates, nobody takes anything out of the refrigerator,” Campbell says. “There’s a health issue there. Somebody should throw away everything that’s been in there all month.”

There are no magic cleaning products that people need for hard-core cleaning, but Campbell recommends avoiding antibacterial products that kill weak bacteria while creating a breeding ground for resistant bacteria strains. Also, most college students should invest in a new vacuum instead of using an old one, which might actually spit out more dirt and dust than it collects, Campbell says

And if vacuuming isn’t your forte, at least dump the trash on a regular basis and dust once in a while. You’ll help eliminate pest and allergens, and you’ll improve your health.

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