Simple Ways You Can Improve Your Air Quality for Better Health

Image source: Allabouthealth.org

Being a pet owner, and someone who suffers from allergies like crazy, I've been learning how to tackle and combat allergens in the home for the last several months now. Some of you may recall when I posted my experience trying an air purifier that plugs into the wall a few months ago. 

Maintaining quality air inside your house is complicated enough what with things like nature throwing pollen at you every once and a while, and that pesky dust that floats around in the air. 

Add a few pets to those typical air quality-reducing factors and it gets even harder. 

It just so happens that having a house full of pets (a wiener dog, 2 lovely cats, and a turtle that smells like pure sewage every 3-5 days) takes a lot of work if you want to keep the smells, allergens, dander, dust, and other cruddy air problems under control. 

So on my journey to try and get my air quality (and allergies) back under control, I've been experimenting with several easy and simple things you can do that's supposed to improve the air. Below are a few things I've found helpful. 

Helpful enough that I'm not sneezing my head off everyday when I wake up, if that tells you anything. 
 


Use HEPA

From HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Arresting) air purifiers -- something on my to-buy-soon list right now -- to HEPA vacuum filters, using HEPA technology can help cut down on everyday allergens and asthma symptoms. HEPA filters are able to catch the tiniest of particles that cause us to suffer so much. That's why they're so popular today. 


Add Activated Carbon to Your Air Purifiers
Combine activated carbon with HEPA and you get a filter that'll not only remove those tiny, allergy-causing particles, but also reduce the chemicals, gases and even odors that are harmful to breathe.

Vacuum The Bed
Vacuuming is something you already know to do,  and something that's likely not necessary to put on a list like this one (I do not want to insult your intelligence, dear reader,) but I have noticed a fairly drastic improvement in my sneezing and sinus issues when I began vacuuming my entire bedroom every single day, and that includes vacuuming my bed! 

Pillows, sheets, covers. I take the vacuum and run it over all of that, right after running it over my hard flooring. 

If you do not have pets who sleep in your bed, you may not require such an extensive daily vacuuming, but if you've not tried vacuuming your bedding on a very regular basis (like I do, daily), then this added tip might be useful to you to try.

Adopt House Plants
Many common house plants are effective in renewing air, and they're nature's natural toxin and pollutant filters. 

I know, I talk about aloe vera here at Healthy, Happy, Wholesome like it's the panacea, the cure-all to all of life's difficulties and problems and stresses... 

Well, it basically is.

When I discuss aloe vera (which is frequent, I know), I always make sure to mention the plant's awesome air-cleansing properties. However, there are a few more plants worthy of mentioning in this department.

• Aside from aloe, Philodendrons, Spider Plant and Devil's Ivy are all also capable of removing formaldehyde from the air indoors, although according to NASA, Philodendrons are best at removing high concentrations of it from indoor air, while aloe is best for removing it in lower concentrations.

• Chrysanthemum and Gerbera Daisies remove the carcinogen benzene from air.

Reduce Your Usage of Smell-Goods!
I know, it's one of the toughest things to cut for many folks. 

Putting a stop to using your chemical-laden perfumes and cleaners that work so well sounds like a life of hell, right?

I mean that Scrubbin' Bubbles (or Foamtastic) stuff works like magic, right? 

I know, but if you're suffering from migraines and allergies and you're using these chemical-filled products often, then you might  want to at least try cutting some of it out.

I love my easy cleaners as much as the next gal. I mean, nothing cleans the shower/tub out like Scrubbin' Bubbles! 

But, these migraines won't tolerate it. 

So, use the products you can't go without, but try to replace a few (especially the rip-off air "re-fresheners" that are basically just a bottle of synthetic fragrances (chemicals) that are sprayed into the air. They're useless. 

Instead, try essential oils, which are safe, natural and allergy-friendly. Peppermint will leave a truly lasting, clean scent. Vinegar will too, and it'll remove and prevent mold! 

Even lemon is a natural cleaner. Tea tree oil is an anti-microbial and anti-bacterial that has one heck of a strong, clean smell. 

Prevent and Remove Mildew
...Speaking of vinegar, use it to prevent and remove mildew, too. Mildew is a cause of wheezing and allergy symptoms. 

Add a de-humidifier into the mix (which will also reduce dust mites), and you should be just dandy. 

Clean it Like You Mean it
Don't forget to clean out small, odd spaces like the inside of your air conditioners, air purifiers, vacuums, heater vents, etc. These places are notorious for harboring dust and crud without you noticing it. Vacuum them up, wipe them down, and you'll be taking your allergy fight one step further. 

Give Your Duct-work a cleaning
While it's not something I've personally gotten around to doing at this point in my life, as an allergy sufferer, if you've already tried most of the solutions available to you like those listed in this article, you can take it one step further and have your duct-work cleaned. The accumulated debris within duct-work can unfortunately wreak havoc on your air quality, and allergies.

There are companies out there that do this cleaning for you, using their own duct-work cleaning tools like what AeroSeal Solutions offers, which has a camera attached to the tool to see everything within the duct-work (and make sure that all the built up debris and fuzz and nasties are cleaned out.)

So what do you do to keep your air quality up and allergies down?

Are The Ingredients In Your Turtle's Food Really Safe

With all the fillers, artificial ingredients like dyes that are

Image Source: Amazon.

found in so many of the pet food products we buy, it's important to ask the question "could your turtle's food be making your beloved pet turtle sick?"

When you purchase food -- whether it's for Fluffy the cat, or Pookie the dog, or Myrtle the turtle, or even for your own family -- you don't automatically question the possibility that the food contains health hazards. You shouldn't have to question something like that when it comes to buying any consumable product! But in today's world, we can't afford not to peruse the entire ingredients list on every single label, and that includes our pet's food products. It's sad, it's a shame, it's B.S. I know. 

But the sad truth is, the food we consume and that our pets consume is often not any safer than eating a box of rat poison. Yet they still sell it to us. They continue to pack it full of the artificial dyes (do they really think Myrtle the turtle notices if the pellets are dark green or pale green?), the GMO's, the fillers, and more poisonous ingredients.

And they know the negative impact these unsafe-for-consumption ingredients are for our health, and our pets' health. 

So, it's up to us to keep an eye out, to read the labels with a knowing eye. 

Because most of us pet owners care about the health of our pets. We want them to live full, healthy, happy lives. We don't want to feed them poison that is sure to send them to an early grave. 

With that said, I'm sure you can empathize with the anger and frustration I felt when I read the ingredients of my turtle's can of food only to find loads of artificial coloring, and other fillers and possibly not-so-healthy ingredients, but what baffles me is why these manufacturers think they need to make pet food colorful? The turtles, dogs, and cats don't care. Plus, the dyes in food have been very well touted for their negative and possibly negative effects on our health, so why would we toss them in there? For what reason? I know my turtle doesn't prefer one color over the other when it comes to his food, and chances are, he may not even see the colors!

So, why does ReptoMin include "artficial colors: blue 2 lake, yellow 6 lake," and even the very harmful preservative ethoxyquin (which is also a pesticide and has been under investigation by the FDA due the possibility of it causing blood and liver problems.  Dog Food Advisor.com has already warned against it as a possibly toxic ingredient in dog food) in their turtle food pellets?

Here's what we know about those artificial colors, according to the FDA themselves:
Blue 2: linked to brain tumors in mice
Green 3: linked to bladder cancer back in 1981
Yellow 6: associated with cancer of the adrenal glands and kidneys as well as possible allergic reactions 

 

So why, would we carelessly toss these ingredients, which may have the potential to create extremely horrendous health problems into the pet food? That's the question I have for these commercial food manufacturers like ReptoMin and many dog food manufacturers. Why? 

 

This is exactly why Myrtle the turtle only gets Wardley turtle pellets, when I do feed him commercial foods.The Wardley brand of turtle food does not contain artificial colors.

CarPET Pet Hair Remover Video Review

 

*Apologies for the quality of my video. The sound of my talking was so low, so I've transcribed it and you can read the captions to follow along without having to strain to hear. Also, I realized after filming that the hairy as hell jacket was not very visible, which is why I took photos of the jacket, including photos of the portion I'd used the CarPET on while filming. I hope this is helpful to ya'll.

Here are the images:

Check out the severity of this jacket's cat-hair content, up close and personal!

So much cat hair!

 

Key Points (Or What Impresses me about CarPET):

While some of our garments that've been collecting large amounts of cat hair did require some elbow work, patience and time, the CarPET didn't fail us. 

It truly does remove deeply embedded pet hair, including hair off some of my items, like my furry pillow that even my strong Bissel vacuum would not remove. I love that!

 Reusable and it can be cleaned by simple rinsing with water.

I like watching the fuzz roll up into a furry ball, ready to be tossed away.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored review.
I am not a specialist, expert, professional or doctor of any kind. Content on this blog is not intended to be taken as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment or advice of any sort. I'm simply sharing information about my own experiences and results from use of a product or activity in hopes of providing useful information to readers, not to be taken as a patient/medical adviser relationship. I am not responsible for what readers choose to do after viewing the content here. Furthermore, I do not hold an "exceptional" or other special relationship with any company mentioned on this site. I'm simply a consumer who worked with the company on a review that is in compliance with FTC's guidelines. That means, everything you read here is my own words, not anything of the company's. I was not provided with monetary compensation for my review. All information posted has been done so with complete honesty. No action should be taken based solely on the content of this publication ( I'm not responsible.) Readers who rely on the information in this blog to replace the advise of an appropriate health care provider assume all risks of such behavior.

AVP Pet Water Filtering Fountain

The whole shebang -- The brochure featuring AVP products and the actual fountain, in its box shown in photo

 

For my pet-lovin' readers (and I know most of you are), I've reviewed this awesome water fountain system called Nature Spa Pet water fountain from AVP Pet (American Valley Pet). 

 This fountain is so exciting to me that I have done a 2-part video showing you a few things -- how it's setup, what it looks like in-use)! Oh, the only reason the video is a 2-part is because my camera died in the middle of filming... Yea.. I'm not a good video-reviewer just yet.

 P.S. The video above is "Part 1." 

Below is "Part 2" of the Pet Fountain review (thanks to a dying camera battery). In Part one, I talk about setting up the filtering system and in part two, I discuss the complication I ran into and what the fountain looks like in-use, which is pretty fabulous, I must say. 

So I hope ya'll take a few minutes to watch those. Further down is the "written review" where I go into more detail about the product, company and how my pets are liking the fountain, etc.

How much Waer does the Basic Nature Spa hold?

The "Basic Nature Spa Pet fountain and the Nature Spa that comes with a UV sterilization light both hold 1.8 quarts.

I have 3 pets -- a weiner dog, and 2 cats. Obviously, they're all pretty small. Well, Fuzz is chubby.. But, being that they're small, they don't drink a whole crazy amount of water, so the "Nature SPA Basic" was a great size for them.

If I fill the NatureSPA up completely, it will last my pets for around 3-4 days, sometimes longer. It only lasts about 2 when I get the urge to stick my water bottle under the stream. Hey, what can I say, I get thirsty at inopportune times.

For someone who had large dogs, you'd probably need more water to keep from having to re-fill it multiple times a day. The Nature SPAs come in different sizes -- and as I said, mine's the "basic," so it's the smallest. However, you can purchase an "Extra capacity reservoir" for $12.99 to get  double the water space. 

This would be really handy if you were going out of town and wanted to make sure the fountain would stay filled for at least several days, or if you just have large pets who drink a lot.

On the other hand, there's also a UV sterlilization NatureSpa!I think that's just awesome that the UV light sterilizes the water and definitely see myself "upgrading" to that one eventually.

 Aside from the different Nature Spas you can get, AVP Pet also has something called a "spill mat" that you place the entire shenangian in and it catches any spills. When I first filled the Nature Spa up, and moved it onto the floor, it spilled water all over the place and I was sure I'd need one of those mats. 

On the other hand, I'm happy that the Pet Fountain "Nature Spa" doesn't leak water as one of my older pet watter bottles did. It was one of those you get at Wal-Mart that was shaped like the water containers you see in some stores where you can fill up a paper cup, and tipped upside down, placed into the bowl-thing. It had a tendency to leak all over the floor.

Thankfully, there aren't even little dribbes that leak from the Nature Spa. 

If your cat likes to play in the water, though, then something like the mat might be useful. Our youngest cat went through a phase where she'd sit at her water bottle (the one I explained that holds like 3 cups of water at once and just flows out as they drink) and use her paws to scoop out all the water! It would soak the kitchen floor. She'd spend hours doing this.

BPA-Free  Materials

I love that the company AVP Pet kept animals' health in mind throughout the entire design-process, as the container is BPA-free, which is obviously important to you if the cleanliness of your pets' water is. 

The Nature Spa is made of ABS plastic. ABS is dishwasher safe and non-porous, which is important because that means it will not harbor bacteria over time. 

The "UL listed Transformer" is low-voltage and considered "energy saving."

 Are the Pets Afraid of The Water Fountain?

Mine are not.  They were curious at first and all of them except the dog slowly approached it, sniffed, backed away, and then  drank  it in seconds.

The dog caught on instantly. 

What's cute is one of my cats licks straight from the stream! 

Note: If your pets have a tendency to chew on cords, you'll want to be very cautious, and perhaps do a good job of somehow concealing the cord on the Nature Spa, if you use it. This problem didn't occur to me until my grandmother saw it and said her dog would elecrocute herself because she chews cords.

Ya'll know I couldn't resist showing pictures of Fuzz drinking from it!

Look! You can even see what I call her "water beard," the water drip on her little chin! I've yet to snap one of the other pets drinking. They get suspicious when I watch them drink.

Oh, and as for noise, the description on the AVP Pet site, and the Nautre Spa's box was right -- it's virtually silent, which made me wonder if it was shut off when I first got it. I kept expecting to hear a sound while it runs, but it's noiseless. Every once in a while, if it's dead quiet, I'll hear a splash.

However, while your pet drinks, it may be loud! It depends if your pet is a loud drinker. Not that the fountain makes them drink any louder than normal.

The youngest cat drinks so loudly that it wakes me up. I think  it's because she lets the stream hit her tongue rather than drinking right out of the bowl area like the rest.  

What do the Charcoal Filters do?

As per AVP Pet: "the filter traps bad tastes and  odors while spout constantly aerates the water increasing  oxygen levels which enhances
pet health."

Basically, to put it briefly and simply, charcoal filters, due to the charcoal's porous nature, filters out impurities in water.  These mostly filter out chlorine and organic impurities and not things like heavy metals (lead, or sodium fluoride, etc.).

This produces a different tasting water -- one with less of a metallic or chlorine taste.

 How long do the Charcoal Filters Last?

Just like with our own charcoal water filter-systems, the Nature Spa pet fountain also uses a charcoal filter that requires replacement after so long. 

AVP Pet recommends changing it every 3-4 weeks.

The replacement filters come 4 to a pack (the fountain comes with one) and can be found and purchased for $9.99 here. 

I am not a specialist, doctor or any kind of expert. Content on this blog is not intended to be taken as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment or advice of any sort. 

I'm simply sharing information about my own experiences (or my pets') and results from use of a product or activity in hopes of providing useful information/suggestions to readers, not to be taken as a patient/medical adviser/vet relationship. I am not responsible for what readers or pets choose to do after viewing the content here. 

Furthermore, I do not hold an "exceptional" or other special relationship with the company mentioned. I'm simply a consumer who worked with the company for a review that is in compliance with FTTC's guidelines. That means, everything you read here is my own words, not anything of the company's. I was not provided monetary compensation for my review. All information posted has been done so with complete honesty. No action should be taken based solely on the content of this publication (I'm not to be held responsible.) Readers or pets who rely on the information in this blog to replace the advise of an appropriate health care provider assume all risks of such behavior.

 All reviews, including this one are in compliance with the FTC guidelines. I recieve no monetary compensation, but my pet may receive prouct in exchange for a completely honest review (that part's done by me, not the pets, just FYI). Each review is my honest opinion.  See my disclosure page and honesty pledge for more info on sponsored reviews!

FRESH PAINT & PEPPERMINT CUPCAKES...

I finally broke down and painted the ceiling today. (Next step is the entire room. ugh!) Anyways, as I was nearly halfway finished, I was finishing the ceiling area around my door when my dad pulled up causing Pookie (weiner dog) to bark like a crazy person. He went running & of course ran straight through my paint tray, right on top of my zebra print rain boots, my jacket, the floor, the rug, and then the couch. The bright red suede couch! So I had a trail white Pookie foot prints all over the place! I was so proud of myself too for not making a mess and doing such a good job in such a hurry.

Pookie ruined it! I could've strangled him. So I hurried to wipe the paint off the couch I used a wet wash cloth and thankfully, it seems to have came off pretty good. It's still there if you look close, but I'm just glad it's mostly gone.

Then I had to take care of my boots. It came off perfectly. But my floor & rug still have white pookie prints. Lol. And Pookie's paws are totally white all the way to his arms! It's kinda cute, so I left it there. But the fresh paint smell, I LOVE!

After all that painting, my back was killing me! It hurt so bad I could've cried. My arms are sore as well as my legs & I have 6 bruises! My entire left hip is a huge bruise. How do I manage to hurt myself doing simple tasks?

Then thank God the boyfriend got off work & cleaned the rest & finished the little bit of painting I had left. And then my mom came with a huge peppermint cupcake! I love those things they're seriously huge!

 

   Isn't it beautiful? It's so pretty I almost wanted to sit it on a shelf & just stare at it, but you know me. I ate it! lol Well, not all of it, I only ate a few bites.. ok 6 bites. lol I thought it'd be better to only eat a little bit for now. It really is big.

My PeArL of the day

 Today, my PeArL of the day is...

Gold bond ultimate healing lotion is My PeArL of the day. I love this product! This is the best lotion I've yet to find. It's not greasy, or sticky or thick. I always have an issue finding good lotion that doesn't feel sticky and heavy on. And, the best thing about this stuff is you won't need to fork over $35 dollars for a pedi anymore! That's a huge plus. It works incredibly well on dry, cracked feet no matter how severe the condition!




  Now, for my not-so PeArL-of the day:

People who promote a game where you torture and kill animals on their blog. That is disturbing and it got me irritated enough to blog about it. Why would we want our kids playing a game that teaches cruelty to animals. It just sickened me to see this blog. It actually said "everybody needs to play abc game. you go around killing animals and slaughtering them, it's so fun and it's hilarious!" They also wrote various ways you can torture the animals on the post but Im not posting that. But, seriously, what is hilarious or fun about being cruel to animals? But, hell, I still don't understand that one game where you have sex with hookers. Maybe it's just me that doesn't get into those things. I just think that's taking away from children when they play those games. It teaches wrong behavior and teaches zero morality.

My PeArL of the day

 My PeArL of the day...

This is my cat fuzz, she is my PeArL of the day! Come back later to see my next PeArL of the day, which will probably be an actual item. I just couldn't resist posting her today!

TORTURED ANIMALS. STOP IT NOW, CHINA! SIGN PETITION HERE..

I was chosen to participate in an at home survery for PETA (People for the ethical treatment of animals) During this survey I learned several things that broke my heart! I will get straight to the point for now and ask you to PLEASE sign the petition to stop china from torturing cats and dogs. Please. http://www.petitiononline.com/sm5115/petition.html

Now, I will ask you to please read on to learn more of what I learned today. And if you do decide to sign the petition please, let me know that you did so and I would love to visit your site & leave feedback as well.

More on what happens in China.
Just like most of you, I was already aware of China's torturing animals and not to mention their morals which seem to not exist and their sickening ways.

These are the HARD FACTS:
  PETA has evidence of the sickening cruelty that goes on in China. These fur farms were investigated.

• These cats & dogs are stolen every day from their loving owners and forced into torture. Some pets were still wearing their collars from when they were taken from their owners.
• Trucks transport up to 800 animals in tiny cages to fur markets in China.
• Cages were so full that the animals were unable to move-some contained as many as 20 cats. None had food or water.
• Dead and dying cats & dogs are crammed into cages along with living animals.
• They are sometimes driven insane, literally- by the conditions they are forced to endure.
• Cages are tossed from the tops of the trucks to the ground below shattering the bones of these helpless pets.
• Methods used to kill and torture these pets include: kicking, bludgeoning, strangling with wire nooses, anal electrocution, drowning by forcing water hoses down their throats, and skinning them while they are alive.
• These pets often breathe and blink for up to 5 minutes after this torture.
• Every kitten, puppy, dog and cat of any sort is used in these sick ways to get their fur.
• Most of the items they make out of the fur are misleadingly labeled as things like "asian jackal" or "rabbit" and others. That is because people are less likely to buy if the label reads: "Stolen kitten" Please, please NEVER WEAR FUR!

If you are interested in helping stop this torture, there are many ways to get involved free of charge or not.

-You can join PETA and make a donation or join free.
-You can go to petition sites and sign them or create them. Here is my favorite: http://www.mycare2.com/
-Get together with others in your area and have a yard sale. Put up flyers, posters, post on bulletin boards at local stores, post signs with details on the roads. Post details on facebook and myspace.  2.) GET as many people as possible to join and donate their old clothing, furniture, toys, etc.  3.) Have your yard or garage sale!  4.) Donate the profits to the organization of your preference. It's not as hard as it sounds and you'll feel good about doing this. You can go online and search organizations to decide on which one you would like to donate the profits to.

5.) Let me know how it goes and if you decide to do this then do let me know. I can offer great organizations for you to look into when deciding on which to donate the profits to. I can also give more tips on how to make more profits, get more people involved, Also, get grants for this type of thing! Need more info: email: kendra30752@yahoo.com or comment below.